INTERMOUNTAIN YEARLY MEETING

IMYM germinated in the 1960’s within the Arizona and New Mexico Quarterly Meetings, both affiliated with Pacific Yearly Meeting. Those Friends invited Colorado and Utah Friends to a fellowship gathering at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico, in June, 1970 with the hope that this and future gatherings would be primarily times of worship and fellowship. In 1975, this Intermountain Friends Fellowship became Intermountain Yearly Meeting, which has gathered annually since then, formerly at Ghost Ranch and, since 2022, returning to Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.

The Annual Gathering is held in mid-June, providing a rich fabric of worship, interest groups, worship sharing, business meetings, games, tending to matters of peace and social justice, outdoor activities, and fellowship.

The Yearly Meeting enjoys an inspiring youth program, centered around the annual gathering, but with individual youthful connections year-around. Children’s Yearly Meeting comprises children from infants through grade 5. Junior Young Friends, grades 6 to 9, conduct their own organization using Friends’ business practice and help with the planning of their activities. Senior Young Friends, grades 10 and up, conduct their own yearly meeting at the gathering, have their own activities, and provide leadership and support to the Junior Young Friends. The Young Adult Friends, typically in their twenties and thirties, integrate their own activities with the Yearly Meeting sessions, with many of this group holding yearly meeting service positions.

IMYM currently enjoys a close relationship with Mountain Friends Camp since its inception among Senior Young Friends in 2009. The Camp draws its steering committee and substantial financial support from IMYM. Guided by Quaker values, the Camp provides youth ages 10-15 one- and two-week long camping experiences in a diverse intergenerational setting. IMYM affiliates with the Friends Committee on National Legislation, American Friends Service Committee, Friends World Committee for Consultation, Friends General Conference, Friends Peace Teams, and Quaker Earthcare Witness by appointing representatives to these organizations and receiving their reports. IMYM joins Pacific Yearly Meeting and North Pacific Yearly Meeting in overseeing operation of the publication Western Friend, and benefiting from its function as the news organ for those three yearly meetings.