Meetings connected to Friends schools are asked to share this article with teachers, parents, board members, and others in their school communities. Friends who share it can consider how their meeting might welcome families whose connection to the Religious Society of Friends comes through the school their child attends. Sharing the article can be one way to help those families learn that their connection to Friends can extend beyond the school community.
Ministry & Care
Share with Your Quaker Community
Every Friend that shares their gifts, skills, and opportunities within our faith community keeps our community connected. [Read more…] about Share with Your Quaker Community
Remembering Gene Elston Hillman
On May 2, 2026, Gene Elston Hillman, 82, died in the West Chester Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania of "natural causes".
Gene was born October 26, 1943 to Barbara Kelley Hillman and Elston Hillman in another University of Pennsylvania hospital, this one in Philadelphia — a hospital that literally saved his life in the 1980’s, almost 50 years later. Gene’s early years were spent in what was then the “farm country” of Downingtown, where he liked to say his closest playmates were “cows and horses” as well as the three large Collies his parents owned as pets.
Authors of Patterns of Racial Wounding and Racial Justice in Quaker Communities
This year’s One Pamphlet, One Yearly Meeting selection is Pendle Hill Pamphlet 495, Patterns of Racial Wounding and Racial Justice in Quaker Communities, by Lauren Brownlee (she/her) and Zenaida Peterson (they/them). Together, the authors invite Friends to consider how racial harm can occur within Quaker communities and what accountability, repair, and more loving relationships can ask of us.
As Friends across Philadelphia Yearly Meeting continue to read and begin to discuss the pamphlet, learning more about Lauren and Zenaida offers helpful context for the experiences and perspectives they bring to this conversation.
Gather online on Thursday, October 29, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm for an evening discussion on this years One Pamphlet, One Yearly Meeting.
Friend can also access an audible version of the pamphlet at https://www.audible.com/pd/Patterns-of-Racial-Wounding-and-Racial-Justice-in-Quaker-Communities-Audiobook/B0H2ZT35HW
[Read more…] about Authors of Patterns of Racial Wounding and Racial Justice in Quaker Communities
Dee Rein | Share the Care Discussion | Quaker Aging Resources Video
In the following video, Dee Rein shares their experience caring for a loved one using resources and also on holding a memorial service at their meeting. Dee continues to advocate for community-led care, recommending the structured group approach found in the book Share the Care.
[Read more…] about Dee Rein | Share the Care Discussion | Quaker Aging Resources Video
Preparing for the 1990s Young Friends Reunion Weekend
Paul Burkander, who grew up attending Yardley Friends Meeting, and Kri Burkander, who grew up attending Doylestown Friends Meeting, are helping organize a reunion for former Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Young Friends at Camp Onas Friday, October 9 – Monday, October 12. Today, they attend Mountain View Friends Meeting in Denver, Colorado.
[Read more…] about Preparing for the 1990s Young Friends Reunion Weekend
Upper Susquehanna Quarterly Meeting Invites all Friends for its Annual Fall Family Gathering | Press Release
Upper Susquehanna Quarterly Meeting invites all Friends, members and attenders, along with families, seekers, nature lovers, and anyone interested in learning more about community, to gather for its annual Fall Family Gathering at Crystal Lake Camp in Hughesville, Pennsylvania, from Friday, September 25, to Sunday, September 27, 2026. [Read more…] about Upper Susquehanna Quarterly Meeting Invites all Friends for its Annual Fall Family Gathering | Press Release
Ways Friends Participate with the LGBTQIA+ Community
As Pride events continue taking place across our region and the world this month, Friends are finding different ways to participate in their local communities.
For some meetings, that participation extends well beyond June through minutes, community partnerships, events, and ongoing support for LGBTQIA+ people and their families. [Read more…] about Ways Friends Participate with the LGBTQIA+ Community
Talking to Children about Gun Violence | Lunden Abelson | Part 2
National Gun Violence Awareness Day has taken place each June since 2015 and will be observed this year on June 5. As part of that wider conversation, last week, Melinda Wenner Bradley recently shared ways adults can approach conversations with children about guns, violence, fear, and safety. This week, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting continues to share, with the perspective of Lunden Abelson, a parent, holistic somatic trauma therapist, and healer.
Lunden Abelson is a therapist and parent whose family is part of the Moorestown Friends School community. Much of Lunden’s work focuses on people who have experienced trauma and violence. Through her private practice, Lunden works with people helping them heal and gain deeper clarity and connection with their values and beliefs. In addition to therapy Lunden offers a variety of workshops for adults, families and children. Her program, The Warren, specifically is designed to support children engage in proactive nonviolent communication.
Learn more about her work at: www.seedsofpotential.com [Read more…] about Talking to Children about Gun Violence | Lunden Abelson | Part 2
Shulamith Clearbridge: Prayer, Companions, and Good Night
Shulamith Clearbridge worships with Swarthmore Friends Meeting and holds a minute of religious service from the meeting. Her new book, Good Night: Interfaith Prayers & Meditations Before Sleep, grew from years of collecting prayers, quotations, poetry, and reflections that accompanied her through periods of caregiving, change, and spiritual searching. Published this year by Wipf and Stock Publishers, the book gathers readings from many faith traditions and secular sources into a nightly practice intended to help readers put the day to rest so they can sleep well. [Read more…] about Shulamith Clearbridge: Prayer, Companions, and Good Night
