 November/December 2000 (XXXVIII 5) |
hen we think of the Yearly Meeting we often think of Annual Sessions, committees, working groups, our staff, etc., but the Yearly Meeting really comprises all our local Meetings and Friends. This is highlighted in the area of Peace and Concerns where most of our work is carried out by individual Friends and projects of local Meetings and regions. PYM's new Meetings' Initiatives Coordinator for Peace and Concerns Laurence Sigmond is working to link up this work, make it better known and help foster cooperation. Contact Laurence by e-mail at laurence@pym.org or telephone 215-843-8747 or toll-free 866-843-8747. Here is a sampling of some of the exciting work in our local Meetings.
Falls Meeting's "Sacred Grounds" Coffee House Helps to Send City Children to Camp Onas
Both to help send city children to Camp Onas and as outreach to the community, Falls Meeting invites young people to listen to music usually performed by local teen-age bands. On a typical Friday evening 80-100 young people attend with $5 donations divided between the band and the Camp Onas fund. Last year, the Meeting was able to send six children and it hopes to send eight this coming year.
Towanda Meeting Holds a "Stop the Hate" Vigil
The vigil held at Guthrie Square in Sayre, Pennsylvania, October 5, was part of a national campaign sponsored by the Interfaith Alliance (http://www.interfaithalliance.org/) and the Fellowship of Reconciliation (http://www.forusa.org/). Last year the Towanda Meeting held a vigil on the courthouse steps in Towanda. This year 25 people stood in pouring rain in the vigil which was co-sponsored by Athens Unitarian Universalists and the Bradford County Abuse and Rape Crisis Center. The vigil was covered by two TV stations as well as local newspapers.
Green Street Meeting Teenage First-day School Class Going to South Africa
On a trip next summer Green Street First-day Schoolers will interview South African Friends about what it was like to be a Quaker during Apartheid. "How did you live out your faith under those conditions?" They will interview people involved in the Truth and Reconciliation Hearings, a bold statement by the new government about nonviolence and healing. The travelers will also ask themselves about race relations and economic development, "What things here in South Africa are like home and what things are different?" The students have begun raising the money needed to make the trip, which may cost up to $36,000.
Westfield Meeting (NJ) Sponsors Workcamp to Help Create Technical School for Girls in Rural China
Workcampers will work with local residents to transform an old school building into the first non-profit secondary technical school for girls in rural Hunan province of China. The program will run from July 22 to August 15, 2001, departing from Philadelphia. The estimated cost to participants is $2,200. Financial assistance may be available, and participants should look to their local Meetings for additional support. For more information, contact Jamie and Wuna Reilly at jreilly@gwu.edu
Interactive Web site for PYM Friends: philapeace.org
More can be learned about these and other projects at a new web site where Friends can directly post notices, questions and reports. Using your web browser, go to http://philapeace.org. In your first visit you will be asked to register (it takes only a minute). Then you can see what others have posted and add your own material. A future goal is to make the system accessible by e-mail to Friends who prefer e-mail or who do not have convenient access to the World Wide Web.
Last modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:19 AM