Yearly Meeting update March 2026

Yearly Meeting sessions in 2026

We hope to see you soon in Friends House or online for YM 1-4 May 2026. You can register here and read the preparatory documents here. YM is open to all but you will need to register in advance to attend, whether you wish to come to Friends House or join us online.

Yearly Meeting 2026 won't finish on 4 May as there will be two further sessions this year: on 18 July in Manchester and online and on 21 November in Friends House and online. If you register to attend in May then you will automatically get further information about sessions later in the year. We will ask you to let us know in advance if you are planning to come to the venue in Manchester in July so that we can take care of the practical arrangements.

Engaging with Yearly Meeting

Area meetings and other Quaker communities have been asked to appoint Yearly Meeting representatives (YM reps) to attend from July 2026 onwards.

The key roles of a YM rep are to:

• attend regularly, supporting continuity of attendance
• strengthen connections between local Friends and the yearly meeting as a whole by making sure there is someone in the local Quaker community who knows about YM and can encourage others to join in
• reflect the wide diversity of Quaker experience by ensuring Friends are present from across the yearly meeting

See the full guidance for the appointment of Yearly Meeting representatives (PDF). Area meetings and other Quaker communities may send their minutes to the Agenda Planning Committee of Yearly Meeting.

Need financial support to help you attend Yearly Meeting?

Everyone is welcome at Yearly Meeting so if you want to come but need help with the costs then please ask. The process is simple and non-judgemental. Email grants@quaker.org.uk to ask for financial support to attend YM.

Make a donation

Yearly Meeting is free to attend and we want everyone to come, no matter what their financial circumstances. If you can afford to make a donation to help sustain Yearly Meeting then please do so here https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/29440#!/DonationDetails (the same link is available on the registration form).

Roles needed to support Yearly Meeting

If you're attending Yearly Meeting there are short-term service opportunities you might like to consider. Find out more about the Committee to Examine Minutes (aka "Dots & Commas") or Yearly Meeting Nominating Group (YMNG), the body that nominates to the Central Nominations Committee.

Yearly Meeting and Meeting for Sufferings

Meeting for Sufferings met for the last time on 7 March 2026 and Yearly Meeting is preparing to lay it down in May. All the functions previously held by Meeting for Sufferings will transfer to Yearly Meeting, unless they have been delegated to another committee. Quaker communities should now send their minutes to the Agenda Planning Committee instead of Meeting for Sufferings. You can read more about this in the section on APC below. Look out for changes to the Quaker website as we reorganise the Meeting for Sufferings and Yearly Meeting pages in the coming months. Find out more about the last Meeting for Sufferings.

Introducing the Agenda Planning Committee (APC) for Yearly Meeting

The new Agenda Planning Committee will work closely with Yearly Meeting clerks to shape the agenda for future Yearly Meeting sessions. APC's work includes:

• receiving and considering minutes from Quaker groups across the Yearly Meeting
• reviewing past Yearly Meeting minutes
• tracking progress and identifying what needs further attention

Find out more about the Agenda Planning Committee.

Join us in preparation for Yearly Meeting

Whether you're able to attend YM or not, you can still use our online materials for personal spiritual preparation or as part of a discussion or study group in your Quaker community.

Find all the documents on the Yearly Meeting documents page – look out for Preparing for Yearly Meeting, Agenda & Notes, and Agenda & Notes Volume 2 (governance supplement), but browse the whole page for more information.

Register to attend YM and you can also join special interest meetings online 20-26 March and preparation sessions online 13-17 April. See below for more information.

Special Interest Meetings

If you're attending Yearly Meeting in May, please join us at our online Special Interest Meetings. Once you have registered, you can sign up for meetings via Sched. If you want to find out more about nominations and how you can offer vital service to Quakers in Britain, these two might appeal:

• Sunday 22 March 2pm – 'Getting involved in Central Service - how does nominations work?' A chance to ask questions about nominations, what it's like in central roles, and find out about some of the more unusual types of service you may never have heard of!
• Tuesday 24 March 7.30pm – 'Yearly Meeting Nominating Group information session' Anyone attending Yearly Meeting can put themselves forward for potential service on YMNG. This session is for information about the essential function the committee has and how the discernment process to select the next committee members for this one-year role works.