• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Mission & Structure
    • Councils
      • Administrative Council
      • Nominating Council
      • Quaker Life Council
    • General Secretary
    • Finance
    • Employment
    • Quakerism
  • News
    • News
    • Post Your Story +
    • Newsletters
    • Meeting Statements
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Post Your Event +
    • Annual Sessions
    • Continuing Sessions
  • Programs
    • Grants
    • Youth
      • Children (K-5th)
      • Middle School Friends (6-8th)
      • Young Friends (9-12th)
      • Friends Who Care for Youth
    • Young Adults (18 +)
    • Counseling
    • Aging Services
    • Pastoral Care
  • Resources
    • Faith & Practice
    • Library
    • Governance & Stewardship
    • Ministry & Care
    • Outreach & Communications
    • Peace & Social Justice
    • Religious Education
  • Community
    • Working Together
    • Bridge Contacts
    • Resource Friends
  • Directory
    • Find a Meeting
    • Staff
    • Leadership
    • Quarterly Meetings
    • Arch Street Meeting House
  • Donate
  • Search
    • Sitemap

Staff

Interview with Janaki Spickard Keeler, FCS Coordinator

Written on: June 24, 2020

PYM’s Friends Counseling Service (FCS) brings forward a spiritually sensitive, clinical expertise to care for the mental health and wellness of individuals in the wider Quaker community.

Janaki Spickard Keeler was recently appointed as the FCS Coordinator.  As part of her daily job, she interacts with local Quaker communities, supports present counselors, recruits new counselors, helps promote the service, and attends events throughout the yearly meeting to speak on matters related to mental health and wellness.

[Read more…] about Interview with Janaki Spickard Keeler, FCS Coordinator

Filed Under: Counseling, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Staff This article mentions:Counseling, FCS, friends counseling service, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Staff

Guidance for Re-Opening: Abundance of Caution

Written on: June 10, 2020

Many local Quaker communities are in the midst of a discernment process as to whether, when and to what extent to resume meeting in person for worship or other activities. A multitude of resources has been shared, and we have included a short list of resources at the end of this message.

Most importantly, make sure you are following guidelines issued by your state government and the Centers for Disease Control. Links to the appropriate websites are also at the end of this message. [Read more…] about Guidance for Re-Opening: Abundance of Caution

Filed Under: Monthly Meeting Management, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Staff, Volunteering

PYM’s Friends Counseling Service Coordinator: Janaki Spickard Keeler

Written on: May 7, 2020

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting is excited to announce the new Friends Counseling Service (FCS) Coordinator, Janaki Spickard Keeler. FCS brings forward a spiritually sensitive, clinical expertise to care for the mental health and wellness of individuals in the wider Quaker community.

The FCS Coordinator interacts with local Quaker communities, supports present counselors, recruits new counselors, helps promote the service, and attends events throughout the yearly meeting to speak on matters related to mental health and wellness.

[Read more…] about PYM’s Friends Counseling Service Coordinator: Janaki Spickard Keeler

Filed Under: Counseling, Friends Counseling Service, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Staff

PYM Staff Snapshot: One Month of Shelter in Place

Written on: April 16, 2020

A snapshot of the Community Engagement Team’s work by Zachary Dutton, Associate Secretary for Program and Religious Life

[Read more…] about PYM Staff Snapshot: One Month of Shelter in Place

Filed Under: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Staff This article mentions:Community Engagement, PYM, Staff

Financial Health Insights During COVID-19: Linell McCurry, Associate Secretary for Business & Finance

Written on: April 16, 2020

Linell McCurry has served PYM’s community as Associate Secretary for Business & Finance for the past eight years. 

COVID-19 has thrust the United States, along with the rest of the world, into a period of recession.

The last major downturn in 2008 found PYM unprepared.  The yearly meeting had posted a string of operating losses that decade and depleted cash to fund deficit spending.  During the slow recovery that followed the Great Recession, PYM reduced staff by half through a series of painful layoffs.  Other spending declined.  Operations went into the black in 2012, and the bottom line has been positive for eight consecutive years.

We believe PYM is positioned today to ride out a period of economic uncertainty and continue providing services to meetings and our communities of  young, mid-life, and elderly Friends.  Thanks to Friends Fiduciary’s distribution, which is based on a rolling 12-quarter average, investment income should only flatten a bit in 2020-21.  We also have a cash cushion in a rebuilt operating reserve that stands at six months’ worth of operating expenses.  Staff remains small, but operating efficiencies and an embrace of technology allow us to provide as much or more service as in earlier years, all while spending less.  PYM’s total expenses in FY 2019 were $200,000 less than its FY 2012 spending.

PYM has been working remotely since Monday, March 16.  In the two prior weeks, as we prepared to work from home in the event of COVID-19-related limits on non-essential activity, PYM:

  • Developed a protocol to make decisions about when staff would work from home, for example, if the Philadelphia schools closed or if any staff person’s home school district closed.
  • Made sure everyone had a laptop and a secure internet connection.
  • Developed protocols for paying bills and making grant payments remotely.
  • Developed protocols for receiving mail and logging and depositing checks under work-from-home conditions.
  • Developed protocols for closing the Arch Street Meeting House and having that staff rotate working from home and going in to check on the building and grounds.
  • Expanded our Zoom capacity.
  • Began planning for the possibility of virtual alternatives for Continuing Session on March 28 and youth programs and initiated weekly calls with monthly meeting clerks that began March 17.

The staff has adjusted to working from home amazingly well, and everyone is being paid their full wages.

The work of streamlining and automation has been in service of the broader community.  For the March quarter just ended, more than one-third of PYM’s monthly meetings have been sent a check for gifts made to them on PYM’s website, a service where PYM absorbs the costs and remits 100% of the contribution.  PYM offers meetings Zoom support, and 115 Friends of all ages worshiped together by Zoom on March 28.

PYM’s General Secretary, Christie Duncan-Tessmer, concluded that meeting by saying PYM wanted to create “an architecture of love in community” Everyone at home was joined across the geography of multiple states, and we shared spirit among us.

Filed Under: Finance, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Staff

Ministry & Care Letter to Our Meetings

Written on: April 6, 2020

Dear Friends,

This is a check-in to see how you and your meeting are doing in these unique times. The physical distancing required by the Covid-19 pandemic has created unexpected opportunities for discerning how to feel connected when physical contact is not possible. Some meetings are also struggling with how to complete their Spiritual State of the Meeting Report given the challenges of Covid-19. We offer some guidance here. [Read more…] about Ministry & Care Letter to Our Meetings

Filed Under: Aging Services, Annual Sessions, Communications & Outreach, Continuing Sessions, Faith & Practice, Friends Counseling Service, Governance & Stewardship, Ministry & Care, Pastoral Care, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Quaker Life Council, Resource Friends, Staff, State of the Meeting Report

PYM Staff: A Balancing Act on Work from Home vs. Private Time

Written on: March 26, 2020

Remote work at PYM launched two weeks ago. The shift has presented both opportunities and challenges with children at home, shared workspaces with spouses and roommates, and in some cases, excessive isolation when there are no housemates to chat with.

Like Quakers everywhere, PYM staff’s approach to working from home is leading to creative outcomes and interesting ways to address work and make personal connections in communities everywhere.

[Read more…] about PYM Staff: A Balancing Act on Work from Home vs. Private Time

Filed Under: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Staff

Meet the Middle School Friends Team

Written on: March 10, 2020

Huzzah! We’re excited to welcome new staff members to the Youth Programs team. Kristin Simmons joins Elizabeth Croce as MSF Co-Facilitator, and Alix Vallery joins as the MSF Program Assistant. Both bring new gifts and skills to the MSF team and will contribute to the wider Youth Programs mission and vision.

Elizabeth Croce says it best, and speaks for the whole Youth Programs team: “I’m thrilled to welcome Kristin and Alix to the MSF staff team! Together, the three of us bring diverse experiences, passions, and ideas that will enrich the MSF program. I am so excited to continue growing the MSF program with this multi-talented team.”  [Read more…] about Meet the Middle School Friends Team

Filed Under: Middle School Friends, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Staff

Diversity & Equity in Our Meetings

Written on: February 20, 2020

alleluia tree

What Happened at the Recent Thread Gathering on Diversity and Equity in Our Meetings and the World, and Next Steps

The February 2020 PYM Thread Gathering on Diversity and Equity in Our Meetings and the World was a day-long workshop that explored the spiritual foundation of the work of healing racism.  Facilitated by Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting members .O and Dana Reinhold, and Francis Elling, a member of Unity Meeting and attender at Ujima Friends Peace Center and CPMM, the workshop focused in particular on building our personal readiness to transform as we uncover what is needed for our Meetings to become truly equitable and inclusive.

[Read more…] about Diversity & Equity in Our Meetings

Filed Under: Addressing Racism, Faith & Practice, Governance & Stewardship, Peace & Social Justice, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Quaker Life Council, Staff

Youth Programs Team Updates: New Staff and An Invitation

Written on: December 12, 2019

New staff! The Youth Programs team is delighted to announce that Crystal Hershey has agreed to serve as the Children and Families Program Assistant. While Crystal is a new addition to our team, she is a familiar face in youth programs and the PYM community. 

[Read more…] about Youth Programs Team Updates: New Staff and An Invitation

Filed Under: Middle School Friends, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Staff, Youth Programs

Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Browse News

  • Communications & Outreach
    • Epistles
    • Friends in Fellowship
    • Minutes
    • Quaker Self Portrait
    • State of the Meeting Report
  • Governance & Stewardship
    • Administrative Council
    • Annual Sessions
      • Annual Sessions 2019
      • Annual Sessions 2020
    • Arch Street Meeting House
    • Continuing Sessions
    • Employment
    • Finance
    • General Secretary
    • Grants
    • Monthly Meeting Management
    • Quaker Life Council
    • Staff
    • Volunteering
  • Ministry & Care
    • Aging Services
    • Counseling
    • Faith & Practice
    • Families
    • Friends Counseling Service
    • Pastoral Care
    • Resource Friends
    • Worship
  • Peace & Social Justice
    • Addressing Racism
    • Eco-Justice Collaborative
    • Environment
    • First Contact Reconciliation Collaborative
    • Legislative Policy Collaborative
    • Middle East Collaborative
  • Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
  • Quakers & Quakerism
    • Famous Quakers
    • Quaker History
    • Quaker Tourism
  • Religious Education
    • Friends Who Care For Youth
    • Middle School Friends
    • Young Adult Friends
    • Youth Programs

Before Footer

Resources

  • Faith & Practice
  • Governance & Stewardship
  • Ministry & Care
  • Outreach & Communications
  • Peace & Social Justice
  • Religious Education
  • Library

About Us

  • Mission & Structure
  • Administrative Council
  • Nominating Council
  • Quaker Life Council
  • Finance
  • General Secretary
  • Employment

Community

  • How We Work Together
  • Addressing Racism
  • Collaboratives
  • Sprints
  • Threads
  • Resource Friends
  • Bridge Contacts

Footer

Contact Us

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
1515 Cherry St
Philadelphia, PA 19102
info@pym.org
215-241-7045 (FAX)
Directory

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Email Newsletters

The latest news, events and program updates from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.

Subscribe →
© 2021 Philadelphia Yearly Meeting · Privacy Policy · SiteMap