INTERMOUNTAIN YEARLY MEETING

Children, Youth and Family Program Coordinator - For several months the Coordinating Committee has been discerning inputs from many Friends about the needs of Children, Youth and Families - especially young families.  Members have reached out to other yearly meetings for perspective and success stories.  Now a proposal is ready.  The Coordinating Committee asks that everyone read the proposal, talk about it - especially within their meetings, and know that the proposal is on the agenda for the January Representatives Committee Meeting. Please read the proposal HERE.

Non-Violence Training Update:  

The weekend of December 13 and 14 there were Nonviolence Training events in Salt Lake City and Moab, Utah, led by David Wells, a member of  Tempe Meeting.  David reports that he counted 18 as participants at each location.   

Charlene Weir reports that in Salt Lake the program started with Compassionate Listening and ended with role play covering different situations. They focused a lot on how to control yourself so as to de-escalate as opposed to escalating any situation/confrontation.  Two  Quakers drove 4 hours from St. George to attend.  The training was well received. The event also served the Salt Lake Monthly Meeting needs to form connections with like-minded community members.  

We hope to hear more about the training in Moab. 

Connecting in Joy Across All Ages - The program group is meeting weekly - stay tuned!

Connecting in joy across all ages 

Dear Friends – Above is the theme for Annual Gathering 2026.

The Program Group discerned across several meetings. They took into account the input gathered from three listening sessions held by Zoom in December about Annual Gathering 2026.  Click three vertical dots up and to the left to READ MORE.

A sense of unity and enthusiasm rose for this theme – and we hope that it will for you too.

Watch for updates as the program begins to take shape.

Now, plan to attend.  Be sure your calendar is marked for June 17 – 21 at Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO.

Early days camping starts on the 14th.

More details will be sent as they develop.

Annual Gathering - Date Change - Mark Your Calendars:  Friends, the new dates for the 2026 Gathering are June 17-21.  More information will follow in the weeks ahead.  Now is the time to update your calendars.  

Annual Gathering Update:  The program is being discerned by the Program Group, clerked by Penny Thron-Weber.  Listening Sessions - open to all in the IMYM community - were held in early December by Zoom.  Many theme and program ideas were shared.  Discernment is in process.  If you have questions or suggestions, or a desire to contribute, even in a small way, please send an email to Penny Thron-Weber. 

Annual Assessments and Pay-as-Led Monthly Meetings - now is the time to respond to the annual assessment request.  The Assessment amount is unchanged from last year; pay as led contributions at this time are to assist IMYM with operations expenses. An email has been sent to all Monthly Meeting Clerks and Treasurers.  Please be sure your Meeting's checks is mailed to Treasurer - IMYM, Post Office Box 2114, Flagstaff, Arizona 86004 as soon as possible. 

Have skills and background working with children?  Available during Annual Gathering 6/17-21? - Paid Contractor Opportunity: Is there someone in your Meeting who works with children who might be interested in five days at the Annual Gathering in Durango, CO with the Yearly Meeting kids? Elizabeth Freyman has done this for three years and her term is over.  E-mail RepComClerk@imym.org for information or interest.

Possible new contractor position is in discernment by the Coordinating Committee: At the January 24 Representatives Committee meeting we will consider descriptions of an IMYM Next Generation program, its program coordinator, and fundraising being developed by the Coordinating Committee in consultation with the Next Gen Working Group and the Finance Committee.  We plan to send you a draft of this proposal next month so you have time to review and discuss it with your meeting in January.

Representative's Committee Dates: Sat Jan 24, 2026 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM (Mountain Time) by Zoom.  Links will be emailed closer to the date of the meeting. Mark your calendars now - lots will be discussed and discerned. 

Monthly Meeting Clerks Important Resource:  A Support Group for IMYM Monthly Meeting Clerks,  hosted by Ministry and Council.  The next Zoom Support Meeting will be January 27. People with questions could contact Vickie Aldrich.

Non-Violence Training: David Wells from Tempe Monthly Meeting will be giving nonviolence to Friends and others in those communities training in Salt Lake City and Moab, Utah soon . Non-violence training is one of the items recommended by the Way Forward Group to support our communities in the Intermountain West. 
The trainings will cover: 

If your meeting would like Dave to come to you to provide training, contact him at makedemocracywork@gmail.com.  So far, meetings have been collaborating and are paying for his transportation.

 

Thoughts on Building an IMYM Intervisitation Program (Exploration Phase)

Rob Pierson – 29.Nov.2025

Vision: We see an IMYM community where Friends recognize and share their spiritual call and gifts across the region. We see Meetings making known their spiritual needs and longings, welcoming visits from traveling Friends. We see intervisitation providing mutual encouragement and building up of both individual Friends and Meetings across the Intermountain west. 

Near Term Goals:

• Kick-start - Let’s get things going

• Discovery – What do Meetings need? What Friends are called to this work?

Principles:

• Keep It Simple

• Experiment – feel our way forward – try stuff, listen, learn

Roles:

• Rob Pierson will gather interested folk, instigate, see what arises, convene a huddle 

• Intervisitation Huddle (does not exist yet! not anything formal!) gathers Friends willing to explore what can be done; see “Potential Initial Tasks” list below. 

• Coordinating Committee helps with practical details, like announcements

• Program Committee includes “Intervisitation Exploration” session in annual gathering

This program is coming and still being formed.  If you are interested, contact Rob Pierson. 

501c3 update - IMYM filed for 501c3 status October 21, 2025 following approval .  501c3 is not necessary for tax exempt status for IMYM.ORG.  Donors, except for those restricted in their donations to 501c3 organizations, may claim tax exemptions for their donations to IMYM.ORG (please check with your own tax advisor); some donors requiring 501c3 status may approve donations based on the filing date.  As of December 12, 2025, the government taxing authorities have yet to issue IMYM an approval letter or any response beyond acknowledging the filing and requesting our patience with their backlog of work.

If you have items for IMYM's News Brief, send them to:  AdminClerk@imym.org

Invitation to Annual Gathering Planning Meetings

Dear Friends,

It is time to move ahead with the planning of our 2026 IMYM Annual Gathering which we plan for June 10 to 14. We want to include you in the planning. We are  looking forward to a gathering that is structured in much the same way it was last year.  In early December we will begin to explore what we want our theme to be and perhaps what speakers or presenters we want to have.

Our current plan is for members of the IMYM Coordinating Committee to facilitate these sessions because we do not have a Gathering Clerk. In the event that we do not have a clerk for the Gathering, we are confident that we can have a simple gathering which will nurture us, build community and perhaps provide insight, inspiration and ideas on how to respond to the challenges we are experiencing in the world today.

We have chosen the following dates and times to meet with everyone in the yearly meeting who would like to take part in choosing our theme

• Saturday, December 6 at 10 - 11:30 am MST
• Monday, Dec 8, 6:30 - 8:00 MST
• Thursday, Dec 11, 7:30 - 9:00 MST

We have set multiple times because different people will have different schedules and we want to hear from the greatest variety of people we can. Please attend any or all the sessions that you would like to and are able to. If some of the same people attend multiple times, we may be able to build on what was done at the previous meeting.

Links for these meetings will be sent out closer to the time. We look forward to seeing you.

In service,

Bruce Thron-Weber,
Presiding Clerk

If you have any questions or need support, please email support@imym.org, or clerk@imym.org.

Communication may open the seeds of imagining and growing the culture of a more active IMYM and a healthier world. – Larry Newton, Musings – 2025

Coordinating Committee was on retreat this past weekend (October 24-26, 2025), hosted by Albuquerque Meeting. It was a time of building shared clarity about the call (or the charge) of the Committee. In addition, much time was spent on these topics: Youth and Family Coordinator, Communications, Annual Gathering 2026, Connecting Friends, and Nominations and Structure. These topics were lifted up, with calls for action, by the Way Forward Working Group’s report recommendations, accepted at Annual Gathering Business Meeting 2024. Read the Report HERE. Watch for more news as the Committee follows through with its discernment and invites more IMYM community participation on these important topics. [Members: Bruce Thron-Weber, DeAnne Butterfield, Larry Newton, Elizabeth Freyman, Sara Keeney, and Jane Kroesen]

To read all of this News Brief Click HERE

Online conversation, hosted by Western Friend on 10/26

Announcing an online conversation:  

Among Western Friends: What a new attender needs to know 

October 26, 2025 at 3 pm Pacific/4 pm Mountain Daylight Time.  

If you’re new to a Quaker meeting, have you puzzled over Friends subculture, with questions such as:  
∙    How is this different from the church where I grew up, or the ones I’ve heard stories about?  
∙    What else does a meeting do besides sit in silence?  
∙    If I have an idea or a need, whom should I ask?  
∙    When do I speak up in worship or a conversation?
∙    What is the Quaker language:  Clearness, Unity, Threshing?  
∙    Is there some core belief or practice that’s essential?  

If you want to involve new attenders with your local meeting, what do they want and need to know?  When should you invite them to lunch, or to meeting for business?  What’s a good book or pamphlet to offer?  If a Friend has experience in some other region, what are the differences for these versions of Quakerism?  

Quakers will gather from across the West to hear reflections from a panel of new comers, including Lou Glowacki, Mary Ward, David Westmoreland and Jerilyn Winstead.  Lively interchange will continue in small groups and with the larger body.

Register here. 

Hello Friends, 

It's time for the IMYM Newsletter: End-of-Summer 2025. This edition offers highlights from Annual Gathering, messages from our clerks, and ways to stay connected with Friends in the months ahead.

Click HERE to read a PDF version OR for an online version, scroll down. 

Beloved community, may we continue on faithfully, gathered in courage and care. 

In the Light,

Intermountain Yearly Meeting

**If the visual newsletter looks "too big" on your screen, scroll to the bottom and click the two "expanding arrows" icon on the bottom right hand corner.**

IMYM - End-of-Summer Newsletter 2025 by erinbates1204

On May 31, Intermountain Yearly Meeting had an online business meeting to consider 5 statements of conscience, most of which were submitted by constituent monthly meetings. With a few changes, these statements were enthusiastically approved by 60 Friends and they are attached to this email.  Two Friends stood aside because they were concerned that their meetings had not had the opportunity to review the statements before our meeting on May 31. The statements cover: Religious Freedom and Immigrant Rights, Middle East Violence, Resistance to Oppressive Federal Actions, Faith Guiding our Witness, and Action on Climate Change. 

Read the approved statements HERE. 

On Sept 13, 2025, 10 am to noon, MDT, Intermountain Yearly Meeting will have an online meeting for worship with a concern for business. Please put this on your calendar and plan to attend. I look forward to a great turnout for this meeting similar to what we have had for our first two online business meetings. The Zoom link and documents in advance will be sent later. 

At this business meeting, I have agreed with the Coordinating Committee to explore how Spirit is leading the Intermountain Yearly Meeting to serve us all and our local meetings. We have heard the desire on the part of meetings and individuals to have a more vibrant presence of youth and young adults in our local and regional meetings and annual gatherings. The possibility of hiring a Youth/Next Gen Coordinator could be part of this discussion. 

We hear that more personal connection between meetings and individuals, opportunities to build community and to learn more about Quaker spirituality and service in the current day are wanted. I want to hear what you see IMYM contributing to this.  

The assumption has always been that we will have an annual gathering.  When that assumption was first developed, the only way to meet was in-person. Now we can meet nearly anytime online. The pandemic decreased Friends' connection with the yearly meeting. How do these things change what we want to do? 

One tool in helping us to accomplish these things is our budget. On September 13, after discussing program possibilities, I expect that we will provide you with a budget with broad outlines which we will together make more specific in a future meeting(s). This is because the sharing that we begin on Sept 13 will be followed by discernment through Fall Queries in order to get a clearer picture of our program priorities. A business or representatives committee meeting in December or January will make additional decisions about how to use our resources. 

Also on the agenda for September 13 will be some nominations for approval and other more defined items.  

Please join us for this discernment.

Learn History of Colorado's Ute Tribes

IMYM Friends meet for our annual gathering in Durango, just a short ways from the Ute Mountain Ute reservation and the Southern Ute reservation. If you'd like to learn about the history of the Ute tribes in Colorado, watch this PBS Colorado Experience documentary film: 

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxcSB-2qBoEiVPyBT9f6emZ3mPwtx0ZghQ?si=U1zjpawCVVpybmef