Category Archive

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 …

 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 …

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, …

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.

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 ...

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 ...