Newtown Quaker Meeting recognizes the growing maturity of the young people in the Meeting by:
[Read more…] about Newtown Quaker Meeting Fourth Graders Receive Their Bibles
A workshop was held on Saturday May 7, and we returned to the questions we’ve held since 2020 about navigating the new normal of life through the ongoing pandemic. We highly recommend to readers the guidance on virtual gathering authored by Emily Provance, a Traveling Minister of New York Yearly Meeting. [Read more…] about Workshop on Gathering Virtually
Quaker practice invites Friends to listen deeply to the Inward Teacher and then to follow the leading that comes as a result. This is foundational to our faith, and individuals and meetings expect ourselves to be guided by Spirit in our daily decisions and with the direction of our lives. One way of responding to Spirit is through political action, including creating lasting and structural change through local, state, and federal legislation. Individuals may do this without limitation. When monthly, quarterly, and yearly meeting engagement is political, in addition to seeking unity in spiritual discernment we must also consider what is legally necessary for our non-profit organization. [Read more…] about Policy on Advocacy Explained
Arch Street Meeting House has just installed brand new outside exhibits. This exciting addition will elevate the meetinghouse to one of the must-see historic sites in Old City Philadelphia and will attract thousands of visitors to the historic property to learn about Quakerism for years to come. On Friday, May 27th, from 5-8, regional Quakers, history enthusiasts and supporters of the Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust will celebrate this milestone with a celebration and exhibit unveiling.
Interview with Sean Connolly, the Executive Director of the Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust, about their new outside exhibits.
Q: It’s been a year since the successful fundraising campaign for the new outside exhibits at Arch Street Meeting House, how is the project progressing?
Things have progressed really well. Last summer, we hired Exhibitology out of Newark, NJ and Paul Trapido to design the new outside exhibit designs. That was really successful, we followed up that design process with two days of exhibit prototyping, basically testing out the new exhibit content and making sure it spoke to both the regular visitor and to the Quaker community. Based off of what we learned there we made a few edits to the design and the Board of Trustees approved the final design this past Fall. After that the designs went off to the fabrication company and are now ready to be installed at Arch Street Meeting House in early May.
Q: What role do you see these new exhibits will have in Arch Street Meeting House’s ability to engage with the public and teach about Quakerism?
These exhibits have everything to do with fulfilling that role. These exhibits will give visitors just enough information to spark their interest and encourage them to come inside the Meetinghouse to learn more. Getting people in the door had been one of our biggest problems, most visitors were unsure of what this site is. The terms meetinghouse and monthly meeting, while integral to the Quaker faith offered little clarity to visitors on what they would learn about when they step inside out grounds. These new exhibits signs clear that up. They answer the broad questions like what is Quakerism, and then also tell really impactful relatable stories that resonate with visitors. In the end more visitors will learn about Quakerism and come away more interested in the Quaker faith than ever before.
Q: You mention impactful, and relatable stories, can you give an example?
I wish I could, but I’d prefer if visitors could stop down to Arch Street and see the new exhibits for themselves. Let me just say that you will now see a more well-rounded, and full story of Quakerism on display at ASMH.
Q: Have there been any challenges associated with this project?
Sure, Covid-19 presented a continuing challenge, as most of the designs had to be done virtually. But that also made us more efficient with our time. Shipping delays were an ever-present cause for concern and we were not immune from the global shipping delays. But luckily, we kept it pretty much on track and are very glad to be able to deliver on our goals to our supporters, Grantmakers and Quakers across the world. We’ll be so glad to have the exhibit in place before the summer tourist rush. Really even with some small delays its perfect timing.
Q: What is next on the agenda for the Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust?
We recently conducted a Feasibility Study in preparation for a capital campaign for the meetinghouse. We have a lot of big projects on the horizon, HVAC, fire suppression systems and preservation and delivering on phase 2 of the exhibit overhaul – inside the meetinghouse. Honestly the next decade is going to be awesome and I’m looking forward to being able to see the meetinghouse address new problems. But before then make sure to stop by to see the new exhibits, they offer a glimmer into exciting things to come.
To see the new exhibits readers can visit Arch Street Meeting House, Thursday-Sunday, between 10am and 4pm or attend the official exhibit unveiling celebration on Friday, May 27th between 5pm and 8pm. Email Sean Connolly at SConnolly@HistoricASMH.org or go to www.HistoricASMH.org for more details.
The Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust, operates the Arch Street Meeting House on behalf of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
“Something Odd at Quarterly Meeting” . . .
Birmingham Meeting‘s children and youth have used their drama skills and interests to participate in intergenerational programs for Concord Quarterly Meeting over the last twelve years. The young people give a performance that is followed by adults and youth present being invited to respond to wondering questions on issues brought up by the story they share. Various topics have been used for their performances including scripture, Quaker history, and recently a science fiction story!
Practicing the plays, and creating sets and costumes, have been the focus of the late winter and spring religious education program for Birmingham Meeting children and youth. Over the years, meeting members have supported the dramas and preparations: Marty Boston has adapted the scripts for the programs and Gwynne Ormsby directs the plays. Faith & Play stories have also been adapted to be used in this format.
On April 24, 2022, Birmingham Meeting hosted a hybrid Concord Quarterly Meeting program. It was decided to do the story this time as a radio drama, a format that could work well for people attending the program on Zoom as well as those attending in person. After getting permission from the author, the radio drama was adapted from a science fiction story “Something Odd About the Dyers” which was featured in the November 2021 Friends Journal. This story was particularly thought provoking and one that resonated with the youth. The program was advertised as “Something Odd at Quarterly Meeting.”
The radio drama format was inspired by Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion radio show. With Keillor’s format as a model, the youth figured out imaginative ways to create the many sound effects incorporated into the story as they read the script.
Over the years it has been exciting to see how much the young people love to present the dramas and how working on the productions drew them to meeting to prepare for the big day when the show would be presented for the Quarter. Although the core “stars” of the drama were Birmingham young people, there are always ways for other children in Concord Quarter to participate.
The intergenerational discussion after the drama this April was especially rich. If Friends haven’t yet read Mel Stephen Sharpe’s story, “Something Odd About the Dyers” (linked above), please do so, and imagine how the young people animated this thought-provoking story.
– Martha Boston and Gwynne Ormsby, for Birmingham Meeting
Featured image: Pixabay.com
Photo Above: left to right in the first row: Sarah Armour, Jack Ciccimaro, Lydia Ciccimaro and Meredith McDonald; second row Nicholas Vandenberg and Devin Vandenberg.
The Quaker Kids of Newtown Quaker Meeting have done it again! At the first in-person dinner at the historic Quaker Meetinghouse since the start of the COVID pandemic two years ago, the Quaker Kids attracted an enthusiastic crowd who contributed over $3,300 to their designated charity! [Read more…] about Newtown Quaker Kids Raise $3,300 at Lasagna Dinner for Trenton Pre-School Program
A collection of Quaker related links published occasionally.
From 1916 to 1966, the Young Friends Movement of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting hosted a lecture series, which they called The William Penn Lectures (later renamed the Seeking Faithfulness Lectures). The Young Friends Movement began the lecture series “for the purpose of closer fellowship; for the strengthening by such association and the interchange of experience, of loyalty to the ideals of the Society of Friends; and for the preparation by such common ideals for more effective work through the Society of Friends for the growth of the Kingdom of God on Earth.” These lectures were published by the Book Committee of PYM, and PYM has granted Pendle Hill Publications permission to digitize them for the public.
[Read more…] about Pendle Hill Releases Historic Lecture Series
On Sunday morning, April 3rd, members of Haddonfield Friends Meeting gathered for a celebration focused on peace and healing. This came about with the confluence of two events at the end of last week: receiving a sapling from the historic Salem oak tree and finding several trees at the entry to our graveyard had been spray-painted with graffiti including two swastikas. [Read more…] about Follow-up from Haddonfield Friends Meeting
Abington Quarterly Meeting in session endorsed Abington Monthly Meeting’s Minute of Reconciliation and agreed that it should be made available to all members of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Abington Quarterly Meeting and Abington Monthly Meeting have also created a list of resources for friends who would like to learn more. You can find these resources at the end of the article. [Read more…] about Abington Quarterly Meeting Endorses Minute of Reconciliation
Update your contact & Meeting information at pym.org/updates
