Ministry & Care

Young Friends Support the Peace Fair

Written on: September 21, 2022

A small but enthusiastic contingent of Young Friends helped make the Bucks Quarter Peace Fair, on September 17, a great success. The Peace Fair brings dozens of nonprofits doing work aligned with Quaker values to a wider audience, along with craft vendors, live music, a book sale, kids’ games and a range of food offerings. Starting the day bright and early, before the opening of the Fair, the Young Friends helped set up vendor booths, unloading the vendors’ materials and putting up tents to keep things moving swiftly.

Their help on Saturday was greatly appreciated, with many members of the Peace Fair committee and Buckingham Friends approaching Friendly Presences and facilitators, expressing how helpful the Young Friends had been, and how deeply grateful they were for our team.

With the help of Tim Cunningham, the Young Friends got trained on how to run the games in the Kids Peace Games area and were assigned to stations. They spent the day staffing the bowling lane, the bean bag toss, the dunk tank, and other various games! Our small but enthusiastic team went all out helping in the games area, explaining the games to kids and making sure every child got a prize after playing, keeping them engaged and excited to play.

Young Friends know how to juggle service and fun!

But it wasn’t all hard work. After the first shift at Peace Games, Young Friends broke for lunch, explored the Fair, and went down to Peddler’s Village together, before regathering to do the second shift of the game booths.

As the Fair came to a close, under the direction of Peter Ray, our Young Friends helped break down and pack away the materials from the Fair, collecting the folding tables from all over the grounds, packing up the Peace Games into cars, the tents, the stage, and the Peace Fair Grill, until everything was stored away in the meetinghouse or in cars. After clean up was done, Young Friends still had energy for a few dynamic rounds of gaga, and enjoyed a pizza party and a celebration of the first Young Friends gathering of the school year (plus the birthday of Young Friends Program Facilitator Clare Chalkley).

Look for announcements about the Young Friends Winter Gathering, coming up in December. Young Friends at the Fair were excited to hear about the gathering in the works, especially with the option of it being an overnight retreat– and we are too! Keep an eye out on the Young Friends events page on the PYM website for information on a gathering around the winter holidays!

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Thanks to the authors of this story, Clare Chalkley, Young Friends Program Facilitator, and Robert Rosenthal (Central Philadelphia Meeting), Friendly Presence, for their planning and care of this annual program in relationship with Bucks Quarter planners!

Giant Children’s Meeting: What’s Next?

Written on: August 30, 2022

In the Fall of 2020, as children returned to school online and many meetings settled into hosting worship on Zoom, the question of how to support religious education programs and community for children and families in meetings was on many minds. Local meetings did amazing things in the depth of the pandemic — care packages, calls and notes to young Friends and their families, outdoor programs when possible — even online Christmas pageants! The PYM Children & Families program was also experimenting, and Giant Children’s Meeting was born from both necessity and hope. Now we’re ready to discern what’s next for creating children and their families in our wider PYM community. [Read more…] about Giant Children’s Meeting: What’s Next?

Religious Education Resources & Events for Fall

Written on: August 25, 2022

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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Aging Quakers and Gardening

Written on: August 22, 2022

In my first months as the PYM aging support coordinator, I reached out to many of the Quaker aging communities in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. One interesting resident focused activity I kept hearing Friends bring up was gardening. Around the world, gardening has been recognized for its values of reducing stress, improving moods, providing opportunities for exercise, mobility, socialization, and community outreach while connecting with all aspects of nature. Perhaps Quakers feel particularly connected to gardening because of the quiet peace time with plants provides. More than that, Quakers have also found that gardening reflects our concern for the natural world. [Read more…] about Aging Quakers and Gardening

State of the Meeting Reports, 2021-2022

Written on: July 27, 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

Written on: July 21, 2022

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.”

Celebrating & Nurturing Support for Queer Youth

Written on: June 29, 2022

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

Friends Village – A Focus on Wellness

Written on: June 27, 2022

Friends Village in Newtown, PA shared the resident programs accomplished through the 2021 Aging Assistance Granting Group’s Block Grant from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Sheila Sorkin, Aging Support Coordinator, met by Zoom with their with Executive Director, Chiyo Moriuchi, and the Friends Village management team to review their exciting programs. A core component of the Friends Village model is a focus on wellness. As we age, the advantage of gaining insight into relaxation and skills in balance will assist in reducing health risks. [Read more…] about Friends Village – A Focus on Wellness

Yardley Quakers Step Outside for Spiritual Growth and Medicinal Herbal Gardening

Written on: June 25, 2022

This summer, the Friends at Yardley Meeting (Bucks Quarter) are building a labyrinth and a set of raised bed gardens on the grounds of the meetinghouse. The community is committed to create a space for meditation, and to provide a growing site for medicinal herbs to be shared with the Singularity Botanicals supplying health-related products to the Chester, PA community. [Read more…] about Yardley Quakers Step Outside for Spiritual Growth and Medicinal Herbal Gardening

Workshop Saturday: Experiment With Light: A Gift from Early Quakers

Written on: June 22, 2022

In this series of stories, we’ll highlight the workshops being offered on Workshop Saturday, June 25. Sessions Coordinating Committee and staff experimented this year with offering a one-day online event that includes five workshops on different topics of interest to Friends in our yearly meeting. We will gather and listen deeply together on a day of connection, learning, and meaningful conversations.

Read on to learn more about the facilitators and intentions of this Workshop Spotlight, and register for a workshop by Thursday, June 23.
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