The Middle School Friends Program

 Stephen Dotson

Middle School Friends Coordinator

Phone number: 215-241-7171

Email address: SDotson [at] PYM [dot] org

The goal of the Middle School Friends (MSF) program is multi-faceted, but focuses broadly on enabling the spiritual growth and commitment of Friends who are in that peculiar stage of life, commonly known as middle school. It is hoped that by participating in the MSF program, middle school Friends will come away with a better sense of what it means to be Quaker, establish and maintain meaningful relationships with other Quakers their age and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM), develop a sense of possibility for what being Quaker could mean for them in their lives today, and grasp an understanding of how they can both be served by, and be servant leaders for, PYM. To complement this work, the program also seeks to support and enhance any efforts done by Monthly and Quarterly Meetings in relation to middle schoolers.

With an awareness that the audience for this work includes middle-school aged Friends, their parents, their Meetings and first-day school teachers, and the wider community of Quaker middle-schools; the Middle School Friends Program Coordinator seeks to serve by:

• Running 6 weekend –long gatherings for any Middle School Friend or any Middle Schooler who is open to and interested in the Religious Society Of Friends. (see calendar on the right side of this page for dates and info about upcoming gatherings)
• Running gatherings/programs at every major Yearly Meeting business gathering that the Yearly Meeting holds (ex.: Interim Meeting and Annual Sessions).
• Helping with publicity, coordinating, and spreading awareness of the different activities that are happening around the Yearly Meeting that involve middle-school aged Friends.
• Helping to train and supply volunteers, and providing other resources, themes, and content that assist members in executing their middle school Friends events.
• Providing a source to learn about games, songs, and activities that are pertinent to this age group and are supportive of the faith and practice of the Religious Society of Friends.
• Consulting with Monthly Meetings and Friends Schools regarding their needs and gifts for the religious and spiritual education of middle schoolers. 
• Creating unique programming opportunities that can not be developed on the Monthly and Quarterly Meeting level (ex. a pilgrimage to Britain to join British Middle School Friends and tour the historic sites of early Quakers).