Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

Faith & Practice

Reminder – Spiritual Life of the Meeting Reports

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Warm greetings from the Ministry and Care Committee of Quaker Life Council!

We trust this communication finds you well, grounded in Spirit and in your community of faith. This a reminder that if you haven’t already sent yours, we would like to receive the Spiritual Life of the Meeting report from your meeting by May 1, 2021. This will give the Ministry and Care Committee ample time to receive and read what you share, and to craft a document describing the Spiritual State of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and send it to the Quaker Life Council in advance of PYM’s summer sessions, July 27-August 1.

Please also send a copy to the clerk of your Quarterly meeting. Please contact them directly since the Quarter’s deadline may differ.

As a reminder, here are the queries we proposed:

  • How have we sustained our commitment to be a covenant spiritual community during this past year?
  • What have been the joys and the learnings of this past year and where have we encountered challenges?
  • How has our faith supported our social witness?
  • How have our community members supported one another?

If these queries do not speak to your condition, please feel free to use the queries found in Faith and Practice (pp.213-14) or to provide us with a narrative that describes your meeting’s spiritual condition at this time.

You may respond directly to this email or use the form on the PYM website.

We look forward to hearing how the movement of the Spirit is faring in your meeting.

In the Light,

Jean-Marie Prestwidge Barch, Clerk

On behalf of the Ministry and Care Committee of Quaker Life Council

Image: Princeton Monthly Meeting

Quakers in Education: Sarah Willie-LeBreton, Sociologist and Swarthmore Dean

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To meet Sarah Willie-LeBreton, Ph.D. is to encounter an exceptionally grounded Friend with a deep knowledge of human societies. Currently Swarthmore College’s Provost and Dean of the Faculty since 2018, Sarah was appointed after having chaired the Department of Sociology & Anthropology (2009-2018), chaired the President’s Task Force on Sexual Misconduct (2013-14), served as Associate Provost (2005-8), and coordinated the Black Studies Program on and off for more than a decade beginning in 1998. Somehow, as she does all this, she has still found time to be present in leading PYM towards growth in important areas. [Read more…] about Quakers in Education: Sarah Willie-LeBreton, Sociologist and Swarthmore Dean

Quaker Traditions Series: Part II – Worship

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This is part II in a series of four articles on Quaker Traditions. In his role as Associate Secretary for Religious Life,  Zachary Dutton has listened deeply to Friends in the community. Working with the PYM staff community engagement team he has provided answers to framing questions for this four-part series. The answers are reflective as opposed to definitive. [Read more…] about Quaker Traditions Series: Part II – Worship

About Hybrid Meetings: How They Work

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Background

Back in the fall of 2020, two gatherings took place – one for monthly meeting leaders and another for quarterly meeting leaders. Worship during the pandemic was a big topic of discussion, so we had a follow up meeting on January 26, 2121 wherein we asked monthly and quarterly meetings to let us know who in their communities had experience with virtual and hybrid meetings. These are the notes from that meeting. [Read more…] about About Hybrid Meetings: How They Work

Share Your Meeting’s Spiritual Self-Assessment

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Dearest Friends in PYM Monthly and Quarterly Meetings and other PYM Quaker Groups,

We trust this finds you seeking to be grounded in Spirit and in your community of faith. 2020 has certainly been a year filled with both opportunities and challenges! The Ministry and Care Committee of Quaker Life Council is once again asking for your help as we look to better understand the spiritual state of our yearly meeting through this past year.

To accomplish this, we are asking meetings to consider responding to the following queries: [Read more…] about Share Your Meeting’s Spiritual Self-Assessment

Quaker Traditions Series: Part I – Spiritual Practice

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The Quaker Traditions Series is a set of articles on the Quaker faith. In his role as Associate Secretary for Religious Life,  Zachary Dutton has listened deeply to Friends in the community. Working with the PYM staff community engagement team he has provided answers to framing questions for this four-part series. The answers are reflective as opposed to definitive.

The gift of the Quaker faith is that it is one of continuing revelation, so the article speaks to the ‘here and now’ of our faith even as it is tied to, and reflects, our history and tradition. If you have thoughts on these questions, please share them with Zachary – his email is at the end of this article. He is always looking for new ways to be in relationship with our wider Quaker community.

[Read more…] about Quaker Traditions Series: Part I – Spiritual Practice

Tuition Aid for Friends Children in PYM Friends Schools

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PYM’s Committee on Friends Education reminds families that monthly meeting members’ children attending or applying to Friends Schools  are eligible to apply for educational support for the 2021-22 school year. Funding for all grants comes from the National Friends Education Fund and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting endowment income from the Jonathan Rhoads Fund and other PYM education endowments. [Read more…] about Tuition Aid for Friends Children in PYM Friends Schools

Ministry & Care Letter to Our Meetings

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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

Threshing Session on Membership Minutes of Appreciation

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The Quaker Life Council approved the following minutes of appreciation as a sincere expression of gratitude to the Friends who facilitated the recent January 26 Threshing Session on Membership and to the monthly meeting that hosted. In addition to continuing a process of discernment about membership that has had many years of seasoning in our wider yearly meeting, this was an opportunity for intervisitation during which Friends from across our yearly meeting community could join a meeting for its worship on Sunday and take part in its community life. Intervisitation is an important part of Quaker tradition because it serves to reinforce the bonds we need in spiritual growth.

[Read more…] about Threshing Session on Membership Minutes of Appreciation

Diversity & Equity in Our Meetings

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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