Spring Sessions 2026
Spring Sessions 2026 will be held online via Zoom and in-person at Oakwood Friends School from Friday evening through Sunday Meeting for Worship and lunch. Business sessions, evening programs and Meeting for Worship will be hybrid to enable online participation. There is no programming for children and youth at Spring Sessions. Please plan to join in!
Spring Sessions Plenaries
Friday Plenary: Promoting Racial Equality and Justice
Friends Alex and Monica, co-conveners of the Peace with Justice in Palestine/Israel (PJPI) working group, will speak from the heart about the calling of Friends to promote racial equality and justice everywhere, including in Palestine/Israel. Alex is a member of Montclair Meeting, and Monica is a member of Buffalo Meeting. They advocate for human rights in Palestine through Friends Committee on National Legislation, American Friends Service Committee, and their local communities.
In Friday night's plenary, Alex and Monica will draw on the historical legacy of Palestine/Israel as a place of Coexistence between different faith communities, including Muslims, Christians, Jews and others. But, they will also speak about Catastrophe as a part of the story of this land and the people who live on it.
"Catastrophe" is the meaning of the Hebrew word "Shoah," or the Holocaust against Jews in Europe. It's the same meaning of the Arabic word "Nakba," which describes the forced displacement of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes in 1948. It's an apt word for the catastrophic system of racial segregation and domination against Palestinians in this land today.
How do we as American Friends respond when our government and taxes support this system of racial domination? How can we draw on the legacy of this land to call for racial equality? How can we acknowledge the catastrophe of violence and trauma that so many in this land have experienced in different ways, while also demanding justice for the atrocities that continue to be perpetrated today? How do we call articulate our call for both peace and justice, recognizing that violence grows in the mud of injustice? How do we see the Light of God in everyone?
Saturday Plenary: Friends' Work in Ministry through Three Quaker Organizations
Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP)
Jill McClellan (Buffalo Meeting) will be presenting on the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP). You can read about the celebration, in which one hundred outside guests—AVP facilitators from the United States, Canada, Brazil, Portugal, Australia and New Zealand (Aotearoa)—joined with 61 AVP facilitators and participants at Green Haven Prison and NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision staff to celebrate 50 years of AVP that began inside Green Haven Prison, here in AVP's newsletter.
Friends Peace Teams (FPT)
Gloria Thompson (Manhattan Meeting) recently traveled to Indonesia with Friends Peace Teams (FPT) and will tell us about her journey. FPT's work in Indonesia includes an interfaith peace movement in Pati, Central Java, seeking justice for women, children, and families in West Papua, and much more. Read about it here on FPT's website.
Bolivian Quaker Education Fund (BQEF)
Rebecca Day Cutter (Ithaca Meeting) will share about the Bolivian Quaker Education Fund, which was established in 2003 to support connections between, Andean, American, and European Friends. At this link you can read about the Quaker Connections Study Tour in January and see many wonderful pictures of Friends sharing fellowship and fun.
Housing
Hotel: A block of rooms was reserved for us at the Hampton Inn and Suites at 2361 South Road, Poughkeepsie. The block is NO LONGER reserved, but rooms may still be available if the hotel has not already booked them. To reserve a room, call the hotel at 1 845-463-7500. We are past the date for booking as part of the block with a discounted rate.
There are many other hotels close to Oakwood. If you’re staying at a hotel you must make your own reservation separate from your Sessions registration.
Home Hospitality: Roughly a half dozen Friends who live driving distance from Oakwood usually offer to host others.
Dorms: Dorm rooms at Oakwood are now filled.
Meals
Meals at Oakwood’s cafeteria will be available for purchase when registering for Sessions. If you choose to bring your own meals, you can still eat in the cafeteria with others. Our first meal will be dinner on Friday and our last meal will be lunch on Sunday.
Meal costs are as follow:
- Breakfast $12
- Lunch $15
- Dinners $18
Registration
Registration is completely online. If you are unable to register online, please ask someone you know to assist you, or call the NYYM office at 212-673-5750. Volunteers are ready, willing, and able to provide online registration assistance.
Register now using the Online Registration Form.
Schedule
See below for the Online Schedule
In-Person Schedule
Friday, April 10, 2026
4:00 pm Check-in begins, Collins Library
5:30 - 6:30 pm Dinner, Dining Hall
7:00 - 8:30 pm Plenary / Program, Theater
8:45 - 9:30 pm or later Games and Social Time, Collins Library
Saturday, April 11
8:00 - 9:00 am Breakfast, Dining Hall
9:15 - 10:15 am Semi-Programmed Worship - AT Miller (Poplar Ridge Meeting co-pastor), Theater
10:15 - 10:30 am Break and stretch
10:30 - 11:45 am Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business #1, Theater
12:00 - 1:00 pm Lunch, Dining Hall
1:00 - 1:30 pm Break – take a walk, etc.
1:30 - 3:30 pm Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business #2, Theater
3:30 - 3:45 pm Break
3:45 - 5:15 pm Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business #3, Theater
5:30 - 6:30 pm Dinner, Dining Hall
6:30 - 7:00 pm Break
7:00 - 8:30 pm Plenary / Program, Theater
8:45 - 9:30 pm or later Games and Social Time, Collins Library
Sunday, April 12
8:00 - 9:00 am Breakfast, Dining Hall
9:00 - 10:00 am Pack up
10:00 - 11:00 am Worship with Poughkeepsie Meeting, Main Building
11:15 - 12:00 pm Fellowship with Poughkeepsie Friends and pack out of rooms, turn in keys
12:00 - 1:00 pm Lunch – carry out containers available, Dining Hall
1:30 pm All rooms must be cleared
Friday, April 17 - If needed, Online only
7:00 - 8:30 pm Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business #4, Online only
The Healing Center will be available with one massage table in Collins Library. Abby Burford, Healing Center coordinator, will provide massages, as possible, by request.
Online Schedule
Friday, April 10, 2026
4:00 pm Check-in begins, Collins Library
7:00 - 8:30 pm Plenary / Program
8:45 - 9:30 pm or later Online Meetinghouse *
Saturday, April 11
9:15 - 10:15 am Semi-Programmed Worship - AT Miller (Poplar Ridge Meeting co-pastor)
10:15 - 10:30 am Break and stretch
10:30 - 11:45 am Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business #1
11:45 - 1:00 pm Online Meetinghouse *
1:00 - 1:30 pm Break – take a walk, etc.
1:30 - 3:30 pm Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business #2
3:30 - 3:45 pm Break
3:45 - 5:15 pm Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business #3
5:15 - 6:00 pm Online Meetinghouse* - discussion and shared meal
6:00 - 7:00 pm Break
7:00 - 8:30 pm Plenary / Program
8:30 - 9:00 pm Online Meetinghouse*
Sunday, April 12
9:00 - 10:00 am Pack up
10:00 - 11:00 am Unprogrammed Worship with Poughkeepsie Meeting
11:00 - 12:00 pm Online Meetinghouse* - fellowship and shared meal
Friday, April 17 - If needed, Online only
7:00 - 8:30 pm Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business #4, Online only
Supporting Documents and Agenda
The Agenda (below) has links to supporting documents that will help Friends prepare for our time together in Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business. The Agenda is not yet finalized, and may change as way opens. Please check back regularly to ensure that you are viewing this up-to-date Agenda.
Agenda with links
Supporting Documents