Spring Sessions 2023
SPRING SESSIONS 2023 at Oakwood Friends School and Online, April 14-16
Spring Sessions 2023 will be a ‘hybrid’ gathering, both online via Zoom and in person at Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie, NY.
New York Yearly Meeting will gather at Oakwood Friends School, Friday, April 14 through Sunday, April 16, to meet for worship and business and to simply spend time together. This is the first time we are meeting in person for Spring Sessions since 2019. We look forward to being together. Most of the events during Spring Sessions will be available both in person and online via Zoom.
Message from the Clerk of NYYM
Dear Friends -
Please come to Spring Sessions. We are planning a hybrid meeting, with some of us on Zoom and some of us in-person at Oakwood Friends School. We had to cancel the Spring meeting in 2020, which we intended to hold there, so this meeting feels like it has been a long time coming and I am really looking forward to being there.
We will have a report from the Task Group on Financial Sustainability, as we approved at Fall Sessions. I hope the task group recommendations will be a useful step in thinking through changes that can make us more healthy financially but also that they will help us serve and respond to the monthly meetings with a fuller sense of community. I am expecting that there will be much for us to mull over and to bring forward for discernment.
Worship and social times are still being planned and updates will be coming; stay tuned!
I hope to see you—in person or on the screen—for good times together.
Love, Elaine
(Elaine Learnard, Clerk of NYYM)
What is Spring Sessions?
This is one of the three times a year that members of the NYYM community gather to worship, conduct business, and have fellowship together. They are open to anyone who is interested in Quakerism and the Quaker meetings in NY state and nearby CT and NJ.
Spring Sessions Schedule
April 14-16, 2023 Online & at Oakwood Friends School
Friday evening, April 14
7:00-9:00 p.m. — Informal gathering of Friends (on campus)
Saturday, April 15
8:00 a.m — Breakfast (on campus)
8:30-9:30 a.m. — Meeting for Worship
9:45-11:45 a.m. — Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business
12:00-1:00 p.m. — Lunch (on campus)
1:15-2:45 p.m. — Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business
3:00-4:00 p.m. — Worship Sharing
4:15-5:45 p.m. — Coordinating Committees
6:00 -7:00 p.m. — Dinner (on campus)
7:00-9:00 p.m. — Fellowship. Singing. Conversation. (on campus)
Sunday, April 16
8:00 a.m — Breakfast (on campus)
10:00-11:00 a.m. — Meeting for Worship
11:15 a.m. -12:30 p.m. — Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business
12:30-1:15 p.m. — Lunch & Departure (on campus)
Planning to Attend Online?
You must register to receive the Zoom information. The day before Sessions begins, Zoom links will be sent to the email address you registered with. If you register the day of Sessions you will still receive the Zoom links. There is a suggested registration contribution of $40 to help cover the cost of these sessions; this is a suggestion and is not a required fee.
Planning to Attend In Person?
OAKWOOD FRIENDS SCHOOL
Oakwood Friends School is in Poughkeepsie, NY, at the end of the Metro North Line and just off Rt. 9 on the east side of the Hudson River. When you arrive on campus, please head to Collins Library to check in; the online map is here: https://www.oakwoodfriendsmap.com/
COVID SAFETY
Sessions Committee agreed to the following suggestions about COVID safety: Masks will be optional. Friends are encouraged to COVID test at home before coming to Oakwood. If you feel unwell, please stay home, regardless of COVID test results. If you feel ill at Oakwood, there will be test kits available and you will be asked to test.
ACCESSIBILITY
All the areas that we will use during Spring Sessions are accessible, including the first floor of the Craig Dormitory. Buildings are close together and easy to move between. One way to help our community is to offer assistance to Friends who may need help getting around campus or getting food in the cafeteria.
CHILDCARE
There is no formal children’s programming at Spring Sessions but childcare is available and should be requested on the registration form.
FRIDAY EVENING
Friends who are already in the area on Friday evening are welcome to gather informally to ‘meet and greet’. Oakwood will provide light refreshments, but Friends are advised to get dinner on their own.
COSTS
There are multiple costs associated with sessions.
Direct costs are paid through NYYM for on-campus meals and dormitory housing. These amounts are listed. You can total them when you register and then make a payment.
Indirect costs are incurred by NYYM more generally such as the contribution NYYM makes to Oakwood for this event, staff time associated with preparing for sessions, and making it possible to hold sessions in a hybrid format. The suggested registration contribution of $40 helps offset some of these costs.
Paying less - Please keep in mind that your presence is more important than your ability to pay these costs. You don’t need to pay anything. If you underpay NYYM for meals or housing at Oakwood, the balance will automatically be covered by the Equalization Fund. The suggested registration amount is voluntary and you don’t need to pay it.
If you need help paying for your transportation or off campus housing costs please contact [email protected] or call the NYYM office at 212-257-5750.
Paying more - Anything you contribute beyond the costs NYYM incurs for your meals and housing will be part of the Sessions Income that NYYM receives to offset the cost of sessions. This will be acknowledged as a contribution to NYYM at the end of the year.
TRANSPORTATION
BY CAR: The address for Oakwood School is 22 Spackenkill Rd, Poughkeepsie, NY. Parking is available on campus.
BY TRAIN: Poughkeepsie is the last stop on Metro-North's Hudson train line, which leaves from Grand Central in NYC. Shuttle service may be available between the train station and Oakwood at certain times (this is still to be arranged); if not, taxis are available. The Poughkeepsie train station is about five miles from Oakwood School. For information on taking the train between New York City and Poughkeepsie, including recommended train times, click here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d5-MYkdO2d3IVk9lsXevvRceKrheXDN8qE3h5lWw0RU/edit?usp=sharing
OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATIONS
ON CAMPUS: There are limited rooms available to Friends on campus in the Craig Dormitory. Each room has two twin beds. The charge will be $50 a night for the room, regardless of how many Friends stay in the room. Friends staying on campus are asked to bring their own blankets and pillows; Oakwood cannot provide bedding for dorm rooms at Spring Sessions. Packets of sheets and towels will be available for rent at $10/person for the weekend, or you can bring your own.
WITH FRIENDS: There is also a limited number of home hospitality offers from regional Friends; you can indicate your interest in either of these options on the registration form.
OFF CAMPUS: NYYM Sessions has reserved a block of rooms at the Holiday Inn Express Poughkeepsie at 2750 South Road, near Oakwood: call 845-473-1151 and ask to reserve a room in the NYYM group using the booking code NYY. Note that the block of rooms will be released after March 31 but rooms may still be available and the NYYM rate will still be honored. For a list of hotels (and their rates) near Oakwood School, click here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lbXv-oPJWTKhvIp03qSoDvJSKo2aV__jdT3KKkBN53g/edit?usp=sharing Friends are asked to make their own off campus arrangements.
MEALS
On your registration, please indicate which meals you wish to have at Oakwood. Our first meal together will be breakfast on Saturday and our last meal will be lunch on Sunday. Meal costs are as follow:
Breakfast $8
Lunch $10
Dinners $12
REGISTRATION AND PAYMENTS
There is a suggested registration contribution of $40. This is a suggested contribution not a required fee. Contributions help offset some of the costs associated with holding sessions.
Payments: When you complete the registration form (and in your confirmation email) you’ll see instructions for payments.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE
Please complete your registration by April 1, so that NYYM can give Oakwood time to be prepared for our stay with them.
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