Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

Ministry & Care

For Our Children: A Quaker Parent’s Perspective

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Abigaile Brace-Higgins is a member of Mickleton Meeting and serves on the planning circle for PYM Giant Children’s Meeting programs. This article originally appeared in the Salem Quarter News, Fall 2020.

On March 16th, 2020, I laid down in the cool, muddy-grass at the foot of a tree in my backyard and looked up at the bare branches crackling like brittle-veins across the clear sky in the stark morning light. My two and a half year old son, Keegan, played quietly in his sandbox next to me. The heavy news of Covid-19 was thrashing like a storm all around us, but in that moment we were still. Nowhere to go, anytime soon. The impossible sadness of tragedy befalling thousands of people around the world pounded deep inside me. As a parent of a young child, my mind swelled with questions: How should my child understand this? How should I help him adapt? To cope? To stay safe? How long is this going to be? How are we going to move forward and stay connected to all those in our lives we hold dear? [Read more…] about For Our Children: A Quaker Parent’s Perspective

Quakers in The News: a Centering Faith with Conviction

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The Quaker Faith has been called a “quiet faith,” by others, but it comes with a practice of acting with conviction, and a belief in being open to the Divine.

Multiple sides of this faith equation were named and discussed in the Philadelphia Inquirer this week, with interviews with the activists Eileen Flanagan and George Lakey, and with Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s General Secretary, Christie Duncan-Tessmer. [Read more…] about Quakers in The News: a Centering Faith with Conviction

Conversations on Civility

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There is a ‘shadow side’ to civility that has led to the following story and resources. There is also an emotional and experiential part of civility that can suppress honesty necessary to growth or serve as tool to oppress.  As a religious community we hope to expand understandings around the different perspectives Friends have and so provide this follow up on the civility topic.

[Read more…] about Conversations on Civility

Parenting + Presidential Election + Pandemic

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Parents have been holding a lot in these past eight months. In addition to the multiple stressors of life during a pandemic and social unrest and violence in the news and neighborhoods, the intensity of the election cycle is an experience both for us as adults and for our children. Depending on their age, children and teens may be aware of the anxiety of the adults around them and experiencing their own anxiety about the outcome of the election next week. [Read more…] about Parenting + Presidential Election + Pandemic

In These Times: A Pastoral Message

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George Schaefer serves Philadelphia Yearly Meeting as the Care and Aging Coordinator. He works with meetings, aging Friends, and individuals to support PYM’s spiritual growth, pastoral care, and community wholeness. This essay is his response to the burdens we may be carrying today and in the coming weeks. Tea with George is always perfect. Please sit with these thoughts and have a favorite cup of tea close to hand. [Read more…] about In These Times: A Pastoral Message

Preparing for Election Week

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As we look ahead to election week we’ve assembled resources for Friends concerning care for community, crisis response planning, buddy systems, worship sharing, alternatives to calling the police, plus state-specific websites and some democracy organizations. We know that different communities have different needs and interests so have provided a range of alternatives. [Read more…] about Preparing for Election Week

Restoring Civility Across the Political Divide: Author Interview with Karen Tibbals

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Karen Tibbals uses her background in market research and Quaker religious studies to help people understand how others–on opposing political sides and with different ethical frameworks–make decisions. This work, like the graphic image above, draws groups with differing opinions into relationship (pink and blue become purple!) Her book can help liberals and conservatives identify the truths they share, and it explains the success of modern societal accomplishments like gay marriage and outlines why guns feel safe to conservatives and scary to liberals. Here we interview her about who she is, and how she came to publish the very helpful books she writes.

[Read more…] about Restoring Civility Across the Political Divide: Author Interview with Karen Tibbals

Catch Up on the Quaker College Fair

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A free event designed for students engaged in the college search process, the 2020 Quaker College Fair was held 11:00 am – 1:30 pm on Saturday, October 17th over Zoom. After the panel discussion, representatives from several college admissions spoke with attendees.

See below for the agenda, a list of panelists, and a list of the college admissions representatives. [Read more…] about Catch Up on the Quaker College Fair

Video: Aging Well

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The Newtown Meeting Aging Well series continues with two programs on housing: Where Will You Live in Your Later Years?  and Aging in Place.  They are presented in video format by Susan W. Hoskins, LCSW. Susan is a clinical social worker certified in gerontology.  She is the Executive Director of the Friends Foundation for the Aging, and was director of the Princeton Senior Resource Center for nearly 20 years. [Read more…] about Video: Aging Well

In Person Worship: Outdoors and in Meetinghouses

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that every empty meeting house exists to embrace worshipers. Friends say they miss in-person worship during this pandemic, and some have found ways to carefully manage convening for indoor and outdoor worship.

Over the course of a month, PYM staff have started visiting meetings to be present in community. As we’ve connected through personal fellowship and phone calls, clerks and meeting members have explained how they have seasoned the decision to reopen. They’ve had to balance safety, tech support, and overall meeting capacity with the genuine need that Friends have to sit together in worship.

All of the four meetings that we visited in late August and September — Horsham, Quakertown, Third Haven, and Plumstead — were offering in-person worship. [Read more…] about In Person Worship: Outdoors and in Meetinghouses