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Yearly Meetings are gatherings of members and attenders of the Religious Society of Friends—also known as 'Quakers' or 'Friends'—from across a large geographical area such as a whole country or state. In addition to referring to the gathering itself, Friends also use the term 'Yearly Meeting' to refer to the collection of smaller, more frequent constituent Meetings within that geographical area. These constituent Meetings go by various names such as Quarterly Meetings and Monthly Meetings, or Regional Meetings. The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, or Friends, is a religious community founded in England in the 17th century. ...
General Description
Yearly Meetings are times for Friends from a wide geographical area to come together to worship, to discuss their concerns, and to seek God's guidance on issues facing Friends in that region. Yearly Meetings also oversee the constituent meetings, and publish the guiding principles of the Friends in that geographical area. These guiding principles are often contained in a 'Faith and Practice' booklet.
Origin Like many aspects of Quakerism the concept of the Yearly Meeting arose gradually. English Friends began to meet as a large group starting in the 1650's. However, the oldest Yearly Meeting, Britain Yearly Meeting (originally the London Yearly Meting), considers the year 1668 its official founding. In the early days the business of the meeting was to receive answers to the Yearly Meeting's queries to the Quarterly Meetings, to read epistles from traveling Friends, and to discuss current events and issues. They also proposed and planned the establishment of Quaker institutions, such as schools. Britain Yearly Meeting is the umbrella body for the Britain (England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Isles and the Isle of Man). ...
As the Religious Society of Friends grew and spread around the world, new Yearly Meetings were established. While often influenced by the activities of other Yearly Meetings, each of the Yearly Meetings is autonomous.
Procedure A Yearly Meeting, as with all Quaker meetings, is considered a time of worship and contemplation, even when dealing with matters of business. The Friends who are gathered wait in silence, listening to the leading of God's spirit within them. Those who feel led to do so share their insights, while the others listen. Ideally a member takes time to listen to the Friend who spoke previously, before sharing his or her thoughts. Eventually a 'sense of the meeting' begins to emerge. The clerk of the meeting—a type of facilitator—tries to formulate a minute that reflects the sense of the meeting, and then more discussion follows. When it is clear that there is agreement, the sense of the meeting is recorded in the minute developed by the clerk. Some Friends at the meeting may have reservations about the matter but choose to defer to the others. Friends believe and hope that the minute is God's will on the matter. However, nothing is considered a permanent and inviolable law among Friends and every matter is open to future changes.
All Friends who are members of a constituent Meeting are members of the corresponding Yearly Meeting and may attend and participate on an equal basis—there is no hierarchy within the Religious Society of Friends. Many specific issues of concern to Quakers are dealt with by committees selected by Yearly Meetings.
Names Yearly Meetings are named for a nation (e. g., Canadian Yearly Meeting), a region within a nation (e. g., New England Yearly Meeting), a state (e. g. Illinois Yearly Meeting), or a large city that serves as a hub (e. g., Philadelphia Yearly Meeting). The entire name of a Yearly Meeting usually includes the words 'of the Religious Society of Friends' (e. g., New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends). Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends or simply Philadelphia Yearly Meeting or PYM is the central organizing body for Quaker meetings in the Philadelphia, PA, USA area. ...
Larger Groups Many Yearly Meetings are part of larger groups. In the United States and a few other countries the three main groups of Friends are the Friends General Conference, the Friends United Meeting, and Evangelical Friends International. A broader group that crosses theological, organizational, and national lines is the Friends World Committee for Consultation. The Friends General Conference (FGC) is a Quaker organization in the unprogrammed tradition of the Religious Society of Friends which primarily serves affiliated yearly and monthly meetings in the United States. ...
Friends United Meeting is an association of yearly meetings of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) encompasing twenty-six yearly meetings in North America, Africa, and the Caribbean. ...
Evangelical Friends International is an association of Religious Society of Friends Yearly Meetings (regional associations) around the world that profess evangelical Christian beliefs. ...
List of Yearly Meetings
Europe Britain Yearly Meeting is the umbrella body for the Britain (England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Isles and the Isle of Man). ...
Africa - Burundi Yearly Meeting
- Central and Southern Africa Yearly Meeting
- Congo Yearly Meeting
- East Africa Yearly Meeting
- Nairobi Yearly Meeting (for others in Kenya, see Quakers in Kenya)
- Tanzania Yearly Meeting
- Uganda Yearly Meeting
Asia - Cambodia Yearly Meeting
- India--General Conference of Friends
- Indonesia Yearly Meeting
- Japan Yearly Meeting Quakers in Japan
- Middle East Yearly Meeting
- Nepal--Evangelical Friends Church
- Philippine Evangelical Friends Church
- Taiwan Yearly Meeting
Americas - Canada
- United States
- Beanite
- Conservative
- Evangelical Friends International EFI North America Website
- Alaska Yearly Meeting AYM Website
- Evangelical Friends Church—Eastern Region EFCER Website
- Evangelical Friends Church—Mid-America EFCMA Website
- Evangelical Friends Church—Southwest EFCSW
- Northwest Yearly Meeting NWYM Website
- Rocky Mountain Yearly Meeting RMYM Website
- Friends General Conference
- Friends General Conference and Friends United Meeting
- Baltimore Yearly Meeting BYM Website
- New England Yearly Meeting NEYM Website
- New York Yearly Meeting NYYM Website
- Northern Yearly Meeting NYM Website
- Southeastern Yearly Meeting SEYM Website
- Friends United Meeting
- Great Plains Yearly Meeting
- Indiana Yearly Meeting IYM Website
- Iowa Yearly Meeting (FUM) IAYM Website
- North Carolina Yearly Meeting (FUM) NCYM Website
- Western Association WARSF Website
- Western Yearly Meeting WYM Website
- Wilmington Yearly Meeting WYM Website
- Others
- Missouri Valley Friends Conference
- Mexico
- Evangelical Friends Churches
- General Meeting of Friends
- Caribbean
- Cuba Yearly Meeting
- Jamaica Yearly Meeting
- Central America
- El Salvador — Evangelical Friends Churches in El Salvador
- Guatemala — Evangelical Ambassadors Friends Church
- Guatemala Holiness Friends Yearly Meeting
- Guatemala — National Evangelical Friends Church of Guatemala
- Honduras Yearly Meeting
- South America
- Bolivia Central Yearly Meeting
- Bolivia National Evangelical Friends Church INELA Website
- Bolivian Evangelical Mission Friends Church of Holiness
- Bolivian Evangelical Union Friends Church on the Rock
- Peru National Evangelical Friends Church
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends or simply Philadelphia Yearly Meeting or PYM is the central organizing body for Quaker meetings in the Philadelphia, PA, USA area. ...
Australia and Oceania - Australia Yearly Meeting Quakers in Australia
- Aotearoa/New Zealand Yearly Meeting
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