On November 2nd, PYM hosted a second public meeting to provide a forum where Friends could hear and give feedback on the ongoing development of plans to shift PYM staffing structure.
[Read more…] about Report on Upcoming Staffing Shifts
News
Fall Continuing Sessions News and Minutes
On a sparkling fall weekend in November, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting convened Fall 2021 Continuing Sessions, offering opportunities to be in Quaker community across generations on multiple days. Friends participated as they were led. The theme for fall sessions and the coming year is: Across the generations as we repair broken foundations, we become unified in beloved Quaker community. [Read more…] about Fall Continuing Sessions News and Minutes
2021 YAF-BIPOC Retreat: Conversation with Interim Young Adult Friends (YAF) Coordinator Afroza Hossain
PYM Young Adult Friends (YAF) recently hosted a Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) Young Adult Friends retreat from October 8 – 10. The retreat was a space offered to BIPOC between the ages of 18 and 45(ish) from anywhere in the world who are Quaker, Quaker-leaning, or Quaker-curious for virtual and some in-person opportunities for community, empowerment, and fun.
Former YAF Coordinator Meg Rose wanted to offer a gathering in a safe BIPOC space with other Quakers and Quaker-adjacent folx. The interim YAF Coordinator Afroza Hossain and Community Engagement Associate Kimani Keaton took Meg’s initiative and led their first PYM event. The retreat had 14 attendees for the virtual event and six at the in-person gathering. Quaker artist Zeinada Peterson facilitated the online workshops.
Famous Quaker: John Cadbury, The Inception of Cadbury Bros and the Eventual Chocolate Empire
John Cadbury (1801 – 1889) was born into a prominent Quaker family in Birmingham, England. A businessman who capitalized on the fashion for chocolate drinks, John parlayed a specialized coffee and tea shop on Bull Street into the Cadbury chocolate business.
The Cadbury family joined the Quaker Faith in 1725. John’s father Richard Tapper Cadbury was Chairman of Birmingham City for 15 years and his career as a successful merchant is explored in John Crosfield’s book, A History of the Cadbury Family, Vol 1. The Cadbury family’s legacy was felt beyond the chocolate business.
Ten Reasons to Come to Fall Sessions
The air is crisp, and fall color is everywhere. Quaker events are happening, and PYM’s community is gathering in multiple ways for fun and business. There’s Historic Arch Street Meeting House’s Rocky Horror Picture Show Movie night on October 29th, then the following weekend, on November 5th, 6th, and 7th, there is Fall Continuing Sessions. [Read more…] about Ten Reasons to Come to Fall Sessions
South Jersey Gathering: Welcoming Families, Spiritual Writings, Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Judicial Court
Tri-Quarter 2021 Virtual Gathering Information
The news below has been adapted from web content and email information shared by Carleton Crispin on behalf of the South Jersey Quakers. At their September tri-quarter meeting, Friends in South Jersey shared presentations by Greenwich Meeting, Gary Smith, Rev. J. R. Norwood, Ph.D., and PYM’s Youth Religious Life Coordinator, Melinda Wenner Bradley. Friends who missed these interesting presentations can access links to the recordings. Brief content summaries are also included. [Read more…] about South Jersey Gathering: Welcoming Families, Spiritual Writings, Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Judicial Court
Greenwich Meeting – A Place of Activity at the End of a Winding Road
At the end of the winding road, known as Ye Greate Street, in Greenwich, Cumberland County, NJ, stands a historic Quaker meetinghouse. Built-in the mid-eighteenth century and known at that time as “The Place of Prophets,” the building – situated at present far from the bustle of contemporary life on the banks of the Cohansey River – remains an active, albeit seasonal, Friends meetinghouse today. Yet for all of its contemplative and rural qualities, Greenwich Friends Lower Meetinghouse also serves, at times, as a touchstone of community activism, storytelling, education, and outreach.
[Read more…] about Greenwich Meeting – A Place of Activity at the End of a Winding Road
General Secretary Report, Fall 2021
On a regular schedule PYM’s General Secretary, Christie Duncan-Tessmer, publishes a report to PYM Councils detailing work that PYM Staff has completed. You can read a full archive of reports to councils or read her report for November 2021 below. [Read more…] about General Secretary Report, Fall 2021
New Leadership at 11 Quaker Schools + Interview with Andrea Carty at Recently Opened Lancaster Friends School
The Friends Council on Education recently announced 11 new Heads/Interim Heads of Schools, one of whom is also serving at a brand new Kindergarten to Grade 8 school — Lancaster Friends School. We are sharing the biographies of each new school head in the second part of this story, while the first focuses on the first newly founded Friends School in Lancaster. [Read more…] about New Leadership at 11 Quaker Schools + Interview with Andrea Carty at Recently Opened Lancaster Friends School
Invitation from PYM’s Presiding Clerks to join a Multigenerational Fall Continuing Sessions 2021
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s upcoming Fall Continuing Sessions begins with a Friday evening, November 5th program with music therapist Molly Hicks, and proceeds with meeting for worship and business the next day. On Saturday Deborah Cooper, a licensed professional counselor, will lead a mindfulness meditation program before lunch followed by an afternoon program of Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business. Sessions closes with an intergenerational program Sunday with the author and artist Anastasia Higginbotham, creator of the Ordinary Terrible Things series.