This past month, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting staff and volunteers worked hard to support and uplift our Quaker community. Here are just a few of their stories. [Read more…] about This Past Spring Around the Yearly Meeting
Staff
A Junior Project on Aging and Intergenerational Relationships | Quaker Aging Resources
Joey Szpilczak served on the Quaker Aging Resources Support Group which provided insight to the Friends Foundation for the Aging funded project to Reimagine Quaker Aging Resources. The group helped her celebrate her 17th birthday!
My name is Joey Szpilczak, and I am a current junior at Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. My junior project began with a hope to give back to my community by working with different organizations and individuals, including Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and an art therapist in UPenn’s Radiation Oncology Department, as well as through an independent project creating creative kits for a rehabilitation hospital and memory center.
[Read more…] about A Junior Project on Aging and Intergenerational Relationships | Quaker Aging Resources
Quaker Fund for Indigenous Communities Annual Report – October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025
Members of the Granting Group: Tom Armstrong (Clerk), Cherie Cark (Recording Clerk), Terry Cooke, Carol Ann Gray, Tom Grabe, Winnie Hope, Miriam Fisher Schaefer, Lois Kuter, Shay O’Connor, Fran O’Neill. Also attending: Edie Paige(community member), Joey Leroux (PYM Director of Grantmaking) and David Park (PYM Chief Financial Officer)
Grants Awarded
The Granting Group awarded $760 in travel assistance for a young adult to attend the National Congress of American Indians Youth Commission’s 2024 Native Youth Convention October 27 to November 1 in Las Vegas, Nevada. [Read more…] about Quaker Fund for Indigenous Communities Annual Report – October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025
Community Led Workshops at Annual Sessions
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) is bringing back community-led workshops at Annual Sessions. Friends can submit a proposal to lead a workshop that connects with this year’s theme, Members One of Another, or that supports Friends’ faith and commitment in the life of the yearly meeting.
[Read more…] about Community Led Workshops at Annual Sessions
A Letter from PYM’s General Secretary: Starting Service With Visits Among Friends
Dear Friends,
Greetings and best wishes for winter! I hope you, your family, your friends, and your Friends are all doing well; even in the face of some challenging times.
I began service as General Secretary on November 8, at Fall Continuing Sessions. It was a day of discernment, fellowship, and sinking down together in small groups in the afternoon workshop. It was a rewarding way to start!
[Read more…] about A Letter from PYM’s General Secretary: Starting Service With Visits Among Friends
Food Assistance Within the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Community?
As we move into the holiday season, many in our wider community are seeking ways to support neighbors who are experiencing food insecurity. Philadelphia Yearly Meeting would like to share a list of meetings and affiliated groups that operate food pantries, meal programs, holiday food drives, or other efforts that help feed our communities. A list has already been started; we would need to make it current.
[Read more…] about Food Assistance Within the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Community?
An Invite Before the Next Fundraising Friends Gathering Comes Together
Ensuring monthly meetings have the financial resources they need can be challenging work; PYM formed a new cohort for Friends who hold fundraising or stewardship responsibilities in their meetings, called Fundraising Friends.
[Read more…] about An Invite Before the Next Fundraising Friends Gathering Comes Together
Community Through PYM This Fall
October began for Philadelphia Yearly Meeting with the announcement that Chris Mohr will serve as the next General Secretary. Friends have come to know his work through the years, and the announcement invites tenderness across community of Friends as PYM continues through a time of transition. Christie Duncan-Tessmer’s final weeks in the role brought thoughtful messages and shared gratitude for her service; the month closed with thanks that her leadership has shaped how Friends move together in faith.
Celebrating Christie Duncan-Tessmer
After more than two decades of service to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, including ten years as General Secretary, Christie Duncan-Tessmer has stepped down from her role. Please join us and other Friends across our community in pausing to reflect with deep gratitude for her leadership, creativity, and commitment to the health and vitality of our yearly meeting.
At the Home of Martha and Mary
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
- Luke 10:38-42 New International Version
