Spring Sessions 2025
The next gathering of New York Yearly Meeting Friends is Spring Sessions, April 4-6, 2025. This will be a hybrid gathering, accessible both online and in person at Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie, NY. Registration is now OPEN!
What is Spring Sessions?
Spring Sessions is one of the three times a year that members of the New York Yearly Meeting community gather to worship, conduct business, and have fellowship together. New York Yearly Meeting encompasses all of the Quaker meetings within New York State and parts of Connecticut and New Jersey. These gatherings are open to anyone who is interested in Quakerism or the Quaker meetings in our area.
Meetings for Worship and Business
At Sessions we gather in meetings for worship with a concern for business. Business meetings are preceded by an hour of worship to help us spiritually center and gather ourselves together. This worship will be a mix of unprogrammed worship (silent, unless someone is moved to speak) and programmed worship. Worship may include readings, singing and playing music. At business meetings the clerk leads us through an agenda of items, including the hearing of reports and the discernment of issues that require an action on the behalf of the gathered body of Friends.
The business meeting agenda and reports to be read in advance of Spring Sessions will be posted below once available.
Evening Programs
Friday Evening Program: Hope, Healing, and Witness in a Time of Discord
The Friday evening, April 5, 7-9 p.m. program will be a worship experience titled “Hope, Healing, and Witness in a Time of Discord.” Prayers and messages will be given by Friends from different beliefs and practices, and may include a pastor-led program, unprogrammed silent (listening) worship, songs, and readings from Buddhist and non-theist Friends. Friends are invited to “Listen in Tongues” as we celebrate the diversity of belief in our yearly meeting and feel the love that binds us together.
Saturday Evening Program: Ministry and Witness in a Time of Discord
Join Friends for a plenary program during Spring Sessions on Saturday evening, April 6, from 7-9 p.m., on “Ministry and Witness in a Time of Discord.” We will hear from:
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Amy Gottlieb of American Friends Service Committee and Ravi Ragbir, an activist on immigrant rights who the first Trump administration tried to deport to punish him for his activism;
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Yohannes "Knowledge" Johnson, who recently was released from prison after 40+ years and who found Quakerism while in prison and served a leading role in the meeting in Green Haven Correctional Facility (as well as becoming a member of Bulls Head-Oswego Meeting);
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Daniel Seeger, who applied for conscientious objector exemption from the draft as a non-theist, and took his case all the way to the Supreme Court (where he won); and
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Jens Braun, a member of Old Chatham Meeting who will talk about his vision that "Another World Is Possible".
Schedule
(Meals in cafeteria, programs in the Theater except where noted)
Friday (4/4)
4:30 Check in begins - Collins Library
5:30 - 7:00 p.m. Dinner
7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Hope, Healing, and Witness in a Time of Discord - Extended Worship in Multiple Formats
After Evening Program: Games and Social Time in Collins Library
Saturday
7:30 - 9:00 a.m. Breakfast
8:30 - 9:30 a.m. Programmed Worship
9:45-11:45 a.m. Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business
12:00-1:30 p.m. Lunch (Food OK in other buildings except Theater and Science Labs)
1:30 - 3:45 p.m. Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business
4:00 - 5:30 p.m. Meeting for Remembrance
5:30 - 7:00 p.m. Dinner
7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Ministry & Witness in a Time of Discord
After Evening Program: Games and Social Time in Collins Library
Sunday
7:30 - 9:00 a.m. Breakfast
10:00 - 11:00 a.m. Worship with Poughkeepsie Meeting (Main Building Meetingroom)
11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business
12:00 - 1:30 p.m. Box/Bag Lunch
2:00 p.m. Departure (rooms cleared)
Friday April 11, 2025 (if needed)
7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Online-Only Meeting for Business
Accessibility
Online: Live closed captioning will be turned on during Zoom meetings. If you are joining the meeting on a computer or laptop, click the button on the bottom menu labeled “Show Captions”. If you are on a phone/tablet, on the meeting controls toolbar, swipe and tap the Captions (CC) icon.
In Person: Those attending Sessions in person may find closed captioning to be helpful when sound is quiet or garbled. Closed captions will be visible on the screen to the right of the stage. Friends who would like to read the captions may wish to sit closer to that screen. Those with mobility issues, special needs, and/or young children should feel free to go to the head of the food line in the cafeteria.
Information for Attending In Person
Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie, NY, is part of New York Yearly Meeting and will once again host us for Spring Sessions. The school’s campus is a suburban park-like setting. The yearly meeting will be using the theater, the dining hall, the library, and two dorms. For more information and an interactive map of the campus, visit www.oakwoodfriends.org.
Need help at Spring Sessions? Have questions about the schedule, or want to know who to contact about a problem? Call the NYYM event phone at 212-673-2285 to reach NYYM staff or a registration team member. If no one answers, leave a message and someone will respond as soon as they can.
If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 first.
Childcare
Warm, friendly childcare will be provided if requested on your registration form. Please request childcare by March 15 to ensure availability.
Meals
Meals will be available at the Oakwood School dining hall. Meals should be requested in advance using the NYYM Spring Sessions registration form. You can specify your food preferences and allergies on the registration form.
Meal Prices:
- Breakfast: $10 per person
- Lunch: $14 per person
- Dinner: $17 per person
For children under 12:
- Breakfast: $6 per child
- Lunch and Dinner (per meal): $10 per child.
Lodging Options
On Campus
A limited number of rooms are available in Oakwood’s Newlin and Reagan dorms, which are up a small hill from the library and theater. Dorm rooms have two twin beds and share a bathroom on each hall. The nightly rate of $70 covers the entire room and two sets of linens (sheets, blankets, towels, and pillows). Please register no later than March 12 if you would like a dorm room. We cannot guarantee rooms after that date.
Home Hospitality
A few area Friends are offering home hospitality: a bed, sofa, or floor space at no cost. If you’re interested in this option, please indicate this on your form. Space is limited.
Hotel
NYYM is reserving a block of rooms at the Hampton Inn & Suites Poughkeepsie for the reduced rate of $129 +tax a night. Reserve a room by calling the hotel directly at 845-463-7500 and referring to the Religious Society of Friends room block under group code NYM. Guests may also reserve online via this direct link for the block dates & rates. The Hampton Inn is very close to Oakwood’s campus; address is 2361 South Rd., Poughkeepsie, NY. Note that the rooms in our block will be released to the public a month beforehand (March 4), but the reduced rate will still be honored after that if rooms are still available.
If you’d like to stay on campus or ask for home hospitality please indicate that on your Spring Sessions registration form. If you’d like to stay in a hotel off campus you must contact the hotel directly.
Costs
There are multiple costs associated with sessions.
Direct costs are paid through NYYM for on-campus meals and dormitory housing. Indirect costs are incurred by NYYM more generally, such as the rental fee, staff time associated with preparing for sessions, and making it possible to hold sessions in a hybrid format. The suggested registration contribution of $100 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 of $100 is voluntary.
If you need help paying for your transportation or off campus housing costs please contact [email protected] or call the NYYM office at 212-673-5750.
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
Oakwood School is at 22 Spackenkill Road in Poughkeepsie, NY, just off Rt. 9 on the east side of the Hudson River. Parking is available on campus. The Poughkeepsie train station is a short taxi ride away from the school. Metro-North and Amtrak trains stop at Poughkeepsie.
Arrival
When you arrive on campus please head to the Collins Library near the center of campus – the address is 87 Friends School Lane, Poughkeepsie – to check in and receive your name tag.
Registration
Registration is OPEN!
Before you register, please read the Participant Agreements. In order to be fully and authentically present to each other as a faith community, we have agreements that guide our behavior toward each other and towards the whole body, ensuring safety and comfort for all of us, starting with living into our testimonies of integrity, simplicity, peace, and equality. All participants at NYYM Sessions must agree to these guidelines as part of registration. Please use the Online Registration Form to register for Spring Sessions, or call the NYYM office at 212-257-5750 for assistance.
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