PYM Quakers seek to experience God within ourselves and in our relationships with others.
We believe that the Divine spirit continues to reveal new truths to us.
We are a community of meetings, members and seekers who support each other in faith, practice and witness.
PYM Quakers are committed to living lives that outwardly attest to our inward spiritual experience.
We express our faith in action and work for a better world through pioneering, inspiring programs and services.
Everything we do is founded in our testimonies of peace, integrity, equality, simplicity and community.
A comprehensive listing of all the collaboratives and sprints who are doing the work of our yearly meeting community.
PYM Quakers seek to create and steward resources to help individuals, communities and the world.
We provide spiritual and tangible assistance to those in need.
All our resources stem from our desire to bring light to the world and implement our testimony to the power of the Divine spirit.
PYM is undergoing a structural change.
Read about how this affects the PYM website.
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting is both a Faith Community and an Organization.
PYM is one of the oldest yearly meetings of the Religious Society of Friends in the United States.
Meetings, members, seekers and staff work together to nurture Quaker faith and practice in today’s world.
PYM Quakers share experience, leadings and witness with one another and the world.
We have a long tradition of expressing our shared divinity by working to be in community with one another.
We invite you to bookmark this page and come back often to stay up to date with conversations and activities in our faith community.
"We contribute to the Annual Fund because we value the way PYM connects us to a wider Quaker fellowship and supports our beliefs and actions."
Cathy Gumlock, Lehigh Valley Meeting
Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “General Secretary”
“Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation.” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Letter from Birmingham Washington, DC – Live stream Quaker Volunteer Service’s Director of Equity and Inclusion, …
Quakers in our region have a long history of concern about gun violence. Individual monthly meetings and the yearly meeting have approved minutes and spoken with lawmakers about it. A campaign that grew out of PYM peace work successfully closed a Philadelphia gun shop with a tremendous reputation and record for straw purchases. At this time when the youth of …
In January for the first time, the three governing councils held their meetings concurrently and in the same space. This allowed them to begin their separate meetings with shared worship. Additionally, I gave the monthly General Secretary’s report to the combined group rather than first to one council and then to another. The opportunity for the three councils to be …
Business & Finances Worked with the executive committee of the Arch Street Meetinghouse Preservation Trust to confirm the steps needed to transition authority for the direction and goals of the Arch Street Meeting House staff from the PYM office to the Trust. This includes approving the job description for Executive Director rather than Director, identifying a transition team, setting up …
Business & Finances Mapped out the December appeal Reviewed and edited minutes from Annual Sessions and forwarded them for the next step on their journey. Corresponded with Friends Fiduciary regarding administrative fees on funds for which they are both the trustee and have the beneficial interest. Continued exploration of the impact of the admin fee on all other restricted funds …
Each month I present a report that shares highlights of the work of staff to the PYM Councils. It includes a written report with highlights organized by focus area (Finance, Program, etc) and an oral report going into a little more detail on one or two areas. Beginning this year, I am posting the reports online as well so they …
Dear Friends! I want to make sure you are aware that we are nearing completion of the process to hire our first Youth Engagement Coordinator. We aim to complete the process by the middle of November, 2017. Another announcement will follow at that time. When the new Youth Engagement Coordinator is hired, they will need immediately to commence another process …
Tonight is our last night in the Middle East. Every day so far I’ve felt like the day couldn’t be any longer or more emotional. Each day I learn that it can be. This was absolutely the longest day filled with more experience than I can process.
I’m writing this letter at the end of two very full days in and around Jerusalem. We are staying in a place right across the street from the New Gate to the Old City. It is mesmerizing to be walking in Jerusalem on the same streets that Jesus did.
Today was another very full day. Our first stop was a meeting with the leaders of Evangelical churches in Egypt. In the Middle East “evangelical” typically means what we might call protestant. There were about 30 people in the room including ten of us from the NCC delegation. Their ministries varied widely, from social services to pastoring churches, including a university professor and the first protestant in the Egyptian parliament.
We started today with very early worship at St. Peter’s Church at St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo. This church is the same one that was the target of an ISIS bombing last December.
It is 1:25 a.m. I just got back to the hotel from visiting with a member of the Quaker meeting here in Lebanon. The daytime, from 8-6 was entirely devoted to a series of conversations with people from the Middle East Council of Churches, including the General Secretary, the staff for Ecumenical Relief and the president of the board.
Sometimes, following multigenerational connecting activities at annual sessions we have “report-back worship.” In this style of worship, we settle into the love of God together and share out of the stillness our reflections on how the activity moved within us. As I sit in my room in Beirut and reflect back on this day so I can share it with you, I feel some of that same kind of deepening of experience in community.
Starting today, PYM General Secretary Christie Duncan-Tessmer is currently traveling as a member of a delegation of the National Council of Churches to the Middle East. This ten-day trip includes visits with diplomats, politicians, church leaders, and activists in Lebanon, Egypt, Israel, and Palestine. PYM will be posting periodic updates from Christie this week during her trip, to share what …
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting will cover $150.00 per person of the cost of the registration of PYM Friends of Color and their families to attend the upcoming Retreat for Friends of Color. It will be held November 3 to 5 at the Stony Point Center in Stony Point, New York. Head to the Friends General Conference Website for more information and …
The following updates have been published to share further information about staffing changes: MAY 2, 2017 Staffing Update: Administrative Support in the Office APRIL 22, 2017 Communication from Leadership to PYM APRIL 14, 2017 Financial Impact: Staff Changes Follow Up Information MARCH 23, 2017 Advancement: Staff Changes Follow Up Information MARCH 23, 2017 Salaries: Staff Changes Follow Up Information MARCH ...
The following updates have been published to share further information about staffing changes: MAY 2, 2017 Staffing Update: Administrative Support in the Office APRIL 22, 2017 Communication from Leadership to PYM APRIL 14, 2017 Financial Impact: Staff Changes Follow Up Information MARCH 23, 2017 Advancement: Staff Changes Follow Up Information MARCH 23, 2017 Salaries: Staff Changes Follow Up Information MARCH ...
Note: This news was originally announced to the gathered body at Continuing Sessions on March 25, 2017. After listening to the leadership of the Young Adult Friends community, responding to the questions they asked me, and considering funding sources, I’ve revised the new staffing structure to keep the Young Adult Friends Coordinator. The position will be decoupled from the youth ...
On February 10th 2017, PYM General Secretary attend a conference hosted by the National Council of Churches and Church World Services, representing Quakers across the nation. The conference was made up of different religious denominations across the country of various faith traditions to serve as an ecumenical call to action in response to ani-refugee legislation. Together, the gathered group created …
The following updates have been published to share further information about staffing changes: MAY 2, 2017 Staffing Update: Administrative Support in the Office APRIL 22, 2017 Communication from Leadership to PYM APRIL 14, 2017 Financial Impact: Staff Changes Follow Up Information MARCH 23, 2017 Advancement: Staff Changes Follow Up Information MARCH 23, 2017 Salaries: Staff Changes Follow Up Information MARCH ...
