On Saturday, October 11, the three councils that support Philadelphia Yearly Meeting—Quaker Life Council, Administrative Council, and Nominating Council—held their meeting in the joint format. In this structure, all three councils meet together as one Joint Council to worship, discern, and conduct business collaboratively. Their practice is to share the minutes in a news story with the PYM community in the week following the meeting.
Annual Sessions
PYM Epistle – 2025 | 345th Annual Sessions of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
The 345th Annual Sessions of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting happened this past July online and at Cheyney University. This epistle records the work and witness of those sessions and is not meant to serve as minutes. Fall Continuing Sessions will be held in hybrid format at Arch Street Meeting House on Saturday, November 8, with All Together Worship on Sunday, November 9.
[Read more…] about PYM Epistle – 2025 | 345th Annual Sessions of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Mott Memo: Wednesday, July 23 – Thursday, July 24
Annual Sessions has begun. Friends are joining from home. Yesterday was the first day. Everything took place online. Today will carry on the same. Some will come to Cheyney University tomorrow. Others will stay connected online or in other ways. [Read more…] about Mott Memo: Wednesday, July 23 – Thursday, July 24
July 2025 | Joint Council Update
On Saturday, July 12, the three councils that support Philadelphia Yearly Meeting—the Quaker Life Council, Administrative Council, and Nominating Council—held their meeting in the joint format. In this structure, all three councils meet together as one Joint Council to worship, discern, and conduct business collaboratively. This allows the Joint Council to share the minutes in a news story with the PYM community following the meeting.
Minutes from the Joint Council meeting this past Saturday are forthcoming. However the council wanted to share the following key updates prior to sessions.
As Philadelphia Yearly Meeting prepares to gather for Annual Sessions, the yearly meeting councils want to particularly highlight two items of their work that will be advancing to the Sessions agenda: the Future of Sessions survey results and an update on evaluating the yearly meeting’s carbon footprint.
Communities of Practice and Threads | Connecting Through the Work We Share
A Community of Practice is a group of Friends who focus on the same part of meeting life and are seeking to learn through shared experience. This may include care for worship, peace work, religious education, outreach, or the responsibilities that steward the life of the meeting. Each of these is its own practice. Many Friends are already engaged in this work, whether they have been doing it for years or are just beginning. Naming it as a Community of Practice helps our community recognize the learning, the questions, and the care that move through it.
Within Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, we also use the word Thread. It reminds us that this kind of work runs through all our meetings and ties us together. Whether someone says Thread or Community of Practice, they may be naming the same thing. It is a way to describe how Friends connect through shared attention and shared responsibility. [Read more…] about Communities of Practice and Threads | Connecting Through the Work We Share
A Weekend Together for Youth and Families
Children and youth will have space to be with one another during Annual Sessions. Some moments will be simple, and others will be full of creativity and play. The Youth Programs team is putting care into planning a weekend that feels welcoming and joyful. [Read more…] about A Weekend Together for Youth and Families
This Month with Programs and Religious Life and Other Opportunities
July is a big month for the Programs and Religious Life Team! Why you may ask? It’s because we’re gearing up for Annual Sessions, which will be taking place from Wednesday, July 23, through Sunday, July 27, at Cheyney University. Sessions will offer a space for Friends to worship in community and practice our faith. The theme of sessions, Members One of Another, reminds us that our faith is not just about the places we meet, but the relationships we build, nourish, and support. If you haven’t already, be sure to register! [Read more…] about This Month with Programs and Religious Life and Other Opportunities
Dr. Ayesha Imani and Joyce Ajlouny Will Speak at Annual Sessions
Picture left Dr. Ayesha Imani and Pictured Right General Secretary of the American Friends Service Committee Joyce Ajlouny
Dr. Ayesha Imani and Joyce Ajlouny will speak at Annual Sessions. Ayesha’s Quaker faith journey is rooted in being true to her relationship with the Divine, committed to Black liberation, and grounded in a spirituality that affirms her Africanity. She is a founder of the Fellowship of Friends of African Descent, Ujima Friends Peace Center, and Ujima Friends Meeting, and is a member of both Ujima Friends Meeting and Unity Monthly Meeting – a Pan-African Quaker community within Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Joyce is a Quaker leader with 30 years of experience in non-profit management and international work for peace and justice. She served as director of Ramallah Friends School in Palestine for 13 years and is now General Secretary of the American Friends Service Committee.
Register for Sessions [Read more…] about Dr. Ayesha Imani and Joyce Ajlouny Will Speak at Annual Sessions
This Summer with Programs and Religious Life
The Summer is near and you may be wondering about how you can stay involved in the yearly meeting’s activities in the coming weeks. There is a whole roster of programming for you to choose from! [Read more…] about This Summer with Programs and Religious Life
Annual Sessions to Address Deferred Question: How Are We Called at This Moment?
Photograph of a building at Cheyney University.
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s Annual Sessions will take place from Wednesday, July 23 – Sunday, July 27 at Cheyney University’s campus, offering a space for Friends to worship in community and practice our faith. The theme of sessions, Members One of Another, reminds us that our faith is not just about the places we meet, but the relationships we build, nourish, and support. [Read more…] about Annual Sessions to Address Deferred Question: How Are We Called at This Moment?
