by WebPost | May 20, 2025 | Children and Religious Education
Willow Working Group
During the May Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business, the Religious Education committee presented an idea that came forth from one of our children, Margaret Garrett, about a new working group. The Willow Working Group was enthusiastically approved by our Meeting. The purpose of the Willow working group is for children ages 9-17 to be actively engaged in the life of the Meeting. This is a child-led group assisted by adult sponsors and plans to meet during First Sunday coffee hour each month. The willing adult sponsors for this group are Elizabeth Price and Julie Allinson. If your child is interested in joining this group, please contact Margaret Garrett (via Shannon Garrett's contact info in the directory) or one of the RE sponsors.
Playground Policy: With the warmer weather, we want to remind families of our playground policy and rise of meeting procedures. At the rise of Meeting, all children (ages PreK-17) are returned by teachers to parents in the meeting room. The parents may then dismiss their own children at their discretion to play on the playground with the understanding that there will be no supervision provided by RE volunteers. Please talk with your children about this policy so they understand the importance of adult to adult transfer here at RFM.
Summer Committee Led Lessons: Each Sunday from June 15th to August 31st, a committee presents children with an experience related to the work of that committee. It’s a fantastic way for children to learn about the role of committees in our Meeting life. The Care & Counsel committee will kickstart these summer sessions on June 15th.
Faith & Play Training: The next Faith & Play training opportunity will be in June in Greensboro, North Carolina. More information may be found on the Faith & Play website. https://quakerfaithandplay.org/playing-in-the-light-greensboro-june-27-29/
by WebPost | Apr 14, 2025 | Activity, Baltimore Yearly Meeting, BYM Camps, Children and Religious Education
The Spark newsletter to the BYM Camp families contains the following: A Letter to Campers
The directors of our camps have a letter written directly to your children. Here’s what they want to make all campers hear from them before camp starts:
To all our fabulous campers new and returning (and to all of those wonderful staff and volunteers too!)
Our friends, I’m sure you’ve noticed that we are in a hard time in our country, a time where lots of people are being judged and excluded and treated badly. That weighs heavily on our hearts and it makes us more excited than ever to create a community with you this summer where each of us can be fully welcomed and belong. So we wanted to get a jump start on reminding you now that in just a few short months, we can’t wait to welcome you!
We can’t wait to welcome you and your family if you have been in this country since your grandparents, grandparents, grandparents, or if you’ve just arrived, or if your ancestors were the first humans who ever lived here. We can’t wait to welcome all the things you want to share about that family: the languages you speak, your favorite comfort food, the funny inside jokes you have, the pet name your aunty calls you.
We can’t wait to welcome all our boys and girls (no matter who someone said they were when they were first born) and all our campers who aren’t boys or girls! We are excited for you to show up just as you are with all of the fun quirks and special sauce that make you you. We trust you when you say who you are. And we love creating lots of space for you to still be figuring that out too.
At camp we know that every group of people is equally full of goodness or “Light” even though we are not all the same. By respecting each other's differences (and being open to the places we might be more similar than we thought!) we can learn from each other and have fun in new ways. We are excited for you to bring all the things you’ve learned from whoever your people are.
At camp we want to celebrate the awesomeness that comes in bodies of all different shapes and sizes, and in minds of all different types and styles. We all challenge ourselves to do new things, knowing that what is hard for one person might be easy for another and vice versa. But all of us bring gifts to the community that only we can bring and the community wouldn’t be the same without each one of us.
Because of all that, we are excited to welcome you, each one of you, and all parts of you. We can’t wait for the community you will help us create together!
With so much love,
The BYM Camp Directors:
Dyresha (CQC), Brick (OQC), Hope (SQC), Rosie, and Jesse (TA)
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How to help
See: bymcamps.org
- Encourage kids aged 9-14 to sign up for camp. There is a sliding-scale for registration fees and RFM has additional scholarships available. Encourage your non-Quaker friends to sign up their kids too!
- If your child is already signed up, you can earn $200 by referring other kids who sign up for camp.
- Sign up for Spring Work Days. The one at Shiloh Quaker Camp is the first Saturday in May.
- Donate to BYM Camps scholarships or to RFM scholarships.
- Ask how else you can help: Anna Best and Al Best are the RFM contacts.
by WebPost | Jan 19, 2025 | Baltimore Yearly Meeting, BYM Camps, Children and Religious Education
BYM Camp registration is open. Financial assistance is available. Please contact Anna Best or Shannon Garrett with questions. You may also visit bymcamps.org for more information. If you know of a child who may enjoy attending camp, RE encourages you to engage with families directly.
by WebPost | Jan 19, 2025 | Children and Religious Education
The RE committee would like to clarify a procedure for parents of babies. Babies will not be brought to the Meeting room with the older children at the rise of meeting. For safety reasons, we ask that parents please retrieve their babies immediately following the conclusion of announcements, relieving our nursery staff & volunteers in a timely manner.
The RE committee is looking for a few more nursery volunteers and a new Nursery Coordinator. This is a low-demand role that offers a great opportunity for young and/or new attendees to meet and get to know people in our community. A background check is required. See Kassia Arbabi or Elizabeth Price for more information.
On February 2nd, children will experience Yoga on Groundhog Day led by Mary Burruss! They are invited to bring yoga mats or beach towels. They should wear clothes that are easy to move in and appropriate for bending or child’s pose.
We continue to seek volunteers for the occasional non-RE sponsored event. These events currently happen only once or twice per month. Volunteers may agree to work these events as little or often as they wish. No curriculum planning or teaching is typically needed. Volunteering for an event is usually done with one of our paid nursery workers. Two adults are required to be present in any room with children. A background check filed with RFM is required. Please contact Elizabeth Price if you are interested.
by WebPost | May 27, 2022 | Announcement
The RE Committee is cancelling all children's classes at the meetinghouse and nursery for this First Day, May 29.
Several teachers have been exposed to Covid and the risk is too high. We are planning
to keep open June 5. We'll let you know if we close RE.
Monica Shaw,
clerk of RE
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