Fall Sessions 2024

December 6-8, 2024
Online via Zoom

The next gathering of the New York Yearly Meeting community for business, worship, and fellowship will be Fall Sessions. Find out what’s happening with other Quakers in our region, and hear reports of committees’ good works. There will be items that require discernment from the “body” of the yearly meeting — decisions to be made under direction from the “inner source.” If you care about Quakers, Quakerism, or the Quaker community in the NYYM region, you are warmly invited and encouraged to attend these business sessions. All events will be online, making these sessions accessible to anyone with a computer, tablet, smartphone, or regular phone.

Plenaries

LOVE THY NEIGHBOR: THE STORY OF MAGNUS HIRSCHFELD
“We Embrace That of God and The Light in Every Person.”

Friday Evening, December 6, 2024, 7-9 PM

At Spring Sessions 2024, we approved a minute in support of the dignity and basic human rights of transgender and gender non-conforming people, known as the Love Thy Neighbor Minute. The long-standing persecution of persons whose gender identities may not fit into classic heterosexual boxes is well known. The concern and advocacy for LGBTQIA+ Rights also has an important history that is less well known.

Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld (1868-1935) founded the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, the world’s first queer advocacy group, in 1897, and led the effort to create The World League for Sexual Reform in the 1920s. He opened the Institute for Sexual Science in Berlin in 1919, which pioneered trans healthcare, gender-affirming treatments, research, and sexual education. The Institute was ransacked and destroyed by the Nazis within months of taking power in 1933, and history has largely forgotten or erased the revolutionary work undertaken by Magnus and his colleagues. See The Forgotten History of the World’s First Trans Clinic, Brandy Schillace, Scientific American, May 10, 2021.

Jennifer Swann (South Berkshire Meeting) and Alex Yakacki are completing a feature-length documentary, “INTERMEDIACY,” about the life and work of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld and the experiences of LGBTQIA+ Berliners today. They will tell us about Magnus Hirschfeld and his revolutionary leading, will share with us their creative, collaborative approach and experiences in making this documentary, and will present segments from the documentary. We will also explore the state of queer rights, today and in the likely next few years, and share reflections on the making of the documentary, the importance of Magnus Hirschfeld’s work and the urgent need to protect and further the right of each person to realize their true gender identity(ies). Join us for this interactive virtual program on Friday, December 6, from 7 to 9 pm.

WHAT ARE WE CALLED TO DO NOW?
“We Find Ways To Serve God in the World”

Saturday Evening, December 7, 2024, 7:00-9 PM

“If God ever spoke, He is still speaking. . . . He is the Great I Am, not the Great He Was.”

(Rufus Jones)

“You will say, ‘Christ saith this, and the apostles say this;’ but what canst thou say?”

(Margaret Fell)

“Let your Light shine. . . .”

(Matthew 5:17 (NIV))

Many are finding the election results unsettling, distressing and worse. Join us for a virtual program on Saturday evening, December 7th from 7 to 9 pm that will provide an opportunity for Friends to share our concern and resolve, to learn about ways to serve God in these darkening times, to worship together and to organize. Joyce Ajlouny, General Secretary of the American Friends Service Committee, and Bridget Moix, General Secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, will discuss AFSC’s and FCNL’s plans for responding to the coming political and societal changes, share ways in which Friends can shine our Light into the public sphere in Washington, DC and in our home communities, and answer questions. In addition, through worship, sharing and small groups, we will explore how Friends in NYYM are preparing and how the Yearly Meeting can support Friends’ witness and can be a public voice for our beliefs. How can “we find ways to serve God in the World” in the coming political turmoil? Come to Saturday’s Plenary Program to learn more about how to make a difference.

Fall Sessions Schedule

December 6-8, 2024 • Online

Friday evening, December 6

7:00-9:00 p.m.      Plenary: Love Thy Neighbor: the Story of Magnus Hirschfeld

Saturday, December 7

8:30-9:30 a.m.      Meeting for Worship
9:30-11:45 a.m.    Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business
1:30-2:30 p.m.      Meeting for Worship
2:30-4:30 p.m.      Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business
7:00-9:00 p.m.      Plenary: What Are We Called To Do Now?

Sunday, December 8

Morning off so that folks can join the worship of their choice.
1:30-2:30 p.m.      Meeting for Worship
2:30-4:30 p.m.      Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business 
 

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