Programs & Projects

In addition to annual sessions, Illinois Yearly Meeting has various ongoing programs.

• Winter Retreat is a chance to gather for worship and friendship a half year from the summer sessions.

• Youth Programs, overseen by the Youth Oversight Committee, offer fun and supportive activities for ILYM junior high and high school age Friends exploring their Quaker values. There is also a High School / Adult Young Friend Yahoo Group.

• Adult Young Friends provides programs and activities for those between the ages of 18 and 35. There is also a Adult Young Friends of ILYM Google Group forum.

• Women's Weekend is an annual gathering of ILYM women on the last weekend of April. Women aged 16 and up are welcome, as are infants and toddlers who are still nursing. The program is a retreat format with time to connect, worship, relax, play, and laugh.

• Project Lakota promotes relations between Lakota people and Friends. This includes supporting housing, land, tatankah (bison), ceremonies, and other appropriate activities at the Pine Ridge Reservation. This is a project of St. Louis Monthly Meeting, under care of a guidance and support committee. Contact them for latest reports and projects, and their Statement of Leading.

• Site Visioning, overseen by the Site Envisioning committee, is an ongoing process regarding the uses of the ILYM property near McNabb, Illl. There is an online discussion component of this process.

• Property Improvement projects, overseen by the Site Envisioning committee, have included the restoration of the historic yearly meetinghouse, the conversion of the former dormitory into six summer cabins, the relocation of the Junior Yearly Meetinghouse to serve as a high school bunkhouse, and long range planning for year round buildings at our McNabb, Illinois site — including a vision for a Peace House on the Prairie.