Summer Sessions 2021

Sunday, July 25, 2021 - 2:00pm to Saturday, July 31, 2021 - 2:00pm

 

Three times a year, for a weekend each in fall and spring and for a week in summer, New York Yearly Meeting (NYYM) Friends gather to worship, conduct business, and form a community together. NYYM is the organization that gathers together the Quaker congregations in New York State, northern New Jersey, and southwestern Connecticut. These sessions are open to anyone in the NYYM area who is interested in Quakerism and experiencing Quaker community. We will meet via Zoom until it is safe to gather in person again.

 

 

Summer Sessions is July 25-31, 2021

 

Summer Sessions will be online

 

At the January 23 meeting of the Sessions Committee, it was agreed that NYYM Summer Sessions will be held virtually. This decision was not made rationally by the will of the committee, but, I truly believe, by the presence of the Spirit in the meeting.  It was made in the conviction that the Spirit was among us and led us to this decision. When the clerk reflected back what she was hearing, although there were tears and unhappiness, a mantle of peace came over us.

 

There are a number of reasons why we decided not to plan for an in-person gathering in July. Although many are optimistic that most Friends will be vaccinated by then, we really cannot be sure. Will healthy younger adults be vaccinated? How about children? Will Friends be willing to register without assurance that it will be safe for them and for other Friends? As one Friend asked, how will we feel if even one person who came to Silver Bay got sick from exposure there? I know that those of us who look forward to Summer Sessions are very, very disappointed. We had hoped that we would be done with this pandemic by Summer 2021. And maybe we will be, but we cannot be sure. 

 

I ask that Friends hold us in the Light as we work to set up a schedule for Summer Sessions. That is a work in progress, but there was a general agreement that we would only meet for one week. Following the example of other yearly meetings, and wishing to spare Friends Zoom fatigue, Sessions Committee may schedule activities outside of those seven days. A final schedule and registration information will be in the next issue of Spark, in May.

 

Dawn Pozzi

Clerk, Sessions Committee  

 

Call for Facilitators
for Summer Sessions

The Sessions Committee is seeking Friends who are willing and able to facilitate these activities:

 

Cafe Night — a spectacular, intergenerational talent show starring YOU. Friends sign up to sing, tell stories and jokes, play music, dance, act... while also raising funds for the Sharing Fund, which supports many of the yearly meeting's witness activities, and for Powell House, the NYYM retreat center.

 

Interest groups — a good way to introduce yourself to a topic or to dive deeper, to learn and to share, and can consist of a presentation, slide show, film, discussion group, or other activity.

 

Meals with Meaning — mealtime presentations and discussions on a topic, both programmed and not. Participants are encouraged to bring a meal!

 

Playful intergenerational activities — for Friendly people of all ages. Can we play online games together? Get together in a Zoom room and be silly? Maybe we can interact in an ongoing way, not limited to a specific time? Think outside the (digital) box!

 

If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please contact Dawn Pozzi, clerk of Sessions Committee, at [email protected]​. An online form for Interest Group and Meals with Meaning proposals will go live on the NYYM website soon.