When the afternoon sunshine softens and the crickets take over for the cicada chorus, I know it’s back to school time. The former classroom teacher in me feels the tug to get ready for the new year, and of course in meetings we may be getting ready to welcome children and youth back from summer adventures to school-year routines. One of the ideas I’m thinking about a lot is rethinking “First Day School” — both that language and the scholastic model. It’s not “the way we’ve always done things” as Friends, and the interruptions of the pandemic continue to create opportunities for new ways of exploring, listening, and being community in our meetings. Join me for a conversation on this! Below you’ll find resources for Fall and events for conversation, service, and fellowship.
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Governance & Stewardship
Plumstead Friends Pack Food Bags for Ukrainian Children
click – click – soy – rice … click – click – soy – rice … click – click – soy – rice …
This chant helped the assembly line move smoothly and efficiently, as volunteers from Plumstead Friends Meeting filled bags with rice, powdered soy, dehydrated vegetables and vitamin powder, that, when cooked, will provide complete nourishment for a hungry child. These particular bags are destined for the children of Ukraine, who have been suffering since Russia declared war on the Ukrainian people back in February 2022
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Annual Sessions Recap: Sunday, July 31
And that wraps up the 342nd Annual Sessions of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting!
We began the week with an online “roll call” in the form of a word cloud, gathering us into community from across the four states in our PYM region. On Sunday, we joined from across geography, generations, and Zoom links in our first All Together Worship online — more than 300 people attending, from their homes and 19 meetinghouses. The worship was held in the prayerful care of elders, and was an opportunity to glimpse teens and children we’ve been missing this week in their homes and meetinghouses. [Read more…] about Annual Sessions Recap: Sunday, July 31
Annual Sessions Recap: Mott Memo for Saturday, July 30
This is the 342nd Annual Sessions of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting! This year, we’re sharing the Mott Memo daily recaps here on the website, a loving tribute to the august Quaker, Lucretia Mott. Each Mott Memo is a brief look-back on the day’s events. We hope you enjoy taking part in Annual Sessions through this tradition. [Read more…] about Annual Sessions Recap: Mott Memo for Saturday, July 30
Annual Sessions Recap: Mott Memo for Friday, July 29
This is the 342nd Annual Sessions of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting! This year, we’re sharing the Mott Memo daily recaps here on the website, a loving tribute to the august Quaker, Lucretia Mott. Each Mott Memo is a brief look-back on the day’s events. We hope you enjoy taking part in Annual Sessions through this tradition. Shared below is the news from Friday, July 29. [Read more…] about Annual Sessions Recap: Mott Memo for Friday, July 29
Annual Sessions Recap: Mott Memo for Thursday, July 28
This is the 342nd Annual Sessions of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting! This year, we’re sharing the Mott Memo daily recaps here on the website, a loving tribute to the august Quaker, Lucretia Mott. Each Mott Memo is a brief look-back on the day’s events. We hope you enjoy taking part in Annual Sessions through this tradition. Shared below is some of the news from Thursday, July 28. [Read more…] about Annual Sessions Recap: Mott Memo for Thursday, July 28
Annual Sessions Recap: Mott Memo for Wednesday, July 27
This is the 342nd Annual Sessions of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting! This year, we’re sharing the Mott Memo daily recaps here on the website, a loving tribute to the august Quaker, Lucretia Mott. Each Mott Memo is a brief look-back on the day’s events. We hope you enjoy taking part in Annual Sessions through this tradition. Shared below is the news from Wednesday, July 27.
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State of the Meeting Reports, 2021-2022
Spiritual State of the Meeting reports give all of us a glimpse into the communities of meetings in our Yearly Meeting. Together, they create a tapestry that tells the story of our yearly meeting in the last year; a vibrant community engaged in spiritual formation and witness across four states and many experiences of the Spirit. When we are together in residence at an Annual Sessions gathering, there is a thick book with the collected ‘State of the Meeting’ reports. During the years we have gathered online, the special joy of leafing through those printed reports has needed a new model. This year, we again created a virtual “book” of all of the reports. You can access them in this news story and they will also be published in a booklet following Annual Sessions.
An Urgent Call to the Religious Society of Friends
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting has endorsed the following Urgent Call to the Religious Society of Friends. This call to action was authored by an ad hoc group of nineteen Friends, more than half of whom are from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. In it they share that they see forces at work in our country that undermine some of our basic values: equality of all people, truth-telling, and deep listening.
Christie Duncan-Tessmer, PYM’s General Secretary says, “This call represents our Quaker faith in action: It expresses Truth as discerned in the discipline of relationship and prayer; it calls all to examine how this revelation can lead them to witness and act. It offers us all fellowship on a challenging journey.”
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Celebrating & Nurturing Support for Queer Youth
Throughout the month of June, Pride celebrations have happened across our PYM region. As the month comes to a close we can carry on that spirit of affirmation and inclusion. In this year when religious groups and government legislation are fighting to repress queer youth and their families, PYM celebrates the importance of our LGBTQ+ community. The Youth Programs Advisory Committee recently approved a minute of support for the LGBTQ+ youth, staff, families, and volunteers in our Youth Programs, which was accepted in June by the Quaker Life Council. There is more work to do! Shared here is the YPAC minute in full, along with resources and reflections on how we can continue to educate and celebrate belonging for all in our local meetings and yearly meeting community. [Read more…] about Celebrating & Nurturing Support for Queer Youth