Finer Details

Legally, we are the Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. We are an independent religious institution under federal law and the laws of the State of Maryland. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit religious organization and all donations are tax-deductible.

The terms "Friends" and "Quakers" are generally used interchangeably. Likewise, the terms "Friends Meeting," "Quaker Meeting," and "Monthly Meeting" have virtually the same meaning in the United States. "Friends Church" carries a slightly different meaning.

Although Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting was instrumental in the creation of Sandy Spring Friends School, the school is a separate, independent legal entity with its own board of trustees. The school is not an ongoing project of the Meeting nor does the Meeting "run" the school in any practical sense. 

Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting is loosely affiliated with several larger Quaker organizations, including Baltimore Yearly Meeting, our regional grouping of Quaker Meetings that has existed for more than 300 years. However, Quakers today are multidimensional and there is no "central authority" that speaks on behalf of all Quakers.