Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

Peace & Social Justice

October Opportunities That Invite PYM Friends Of Every Age

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As Fall begins, the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting community gathers again, with different opportunities to be together at Haverford Friends Meeting, Friends Center, Arch Street Meeting House, and online.

These opportunities invite Friends of every age and group, from families and Middle School Friends to whole committees, to gather in fellowship, discernment, and learning as a faith community, continuing connection through time spent as Members One of Another. [Read more…] about October Opportunities That Invite PYM Friends Of Every Age

Learning and Action in Five Areas of Climate Care

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Creating a Playbook for Climate Action is a tool for Friends and meetings to work in five areas: activism, education, reducing our carbon footprint, finances, and mourning loss & instilling hope. The playbook gives a framework to set goals, share ideas, and track progress.

The playbook connects with Climate Witness: Let Our Actions Speak! Thread Gathering on Saturday, October 25, at Arch Street Meeting House with participation also available online. The day is intergenerational, with workshops and activities for children, youth, and adults. The playbook may not be named in every workshop, however Friends will find that each workshop touches one or more of the five action areas and can be carried into their own planning for themselves or their meeting. [Read more…] about Learning and Action in Five Areas of Climate Care

Eileen Flanagan: Following Ministry Into Common Ground

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Eileen Flanagan worships with Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting and holds a minute of religious service. Her new book Common Ground: How the Crisis of the Earth is Saving Us from Our Illusion of Separation is part of that ministry. Published this month, the book comes from years of climate justice organizing and public action brought forward from her faith.

[Read more…] about Eileen Flanagan: Following Ministry Into Common Ground

July 2025 | Joint Council Update

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On Saturday, July 12, the three councils that support Philadelphia Yearly Meeting—the Quaker Life Council, Administrative Council, and Nominating Council—held their meeting in the joint format. In this structure, all three councils meet together as one Joint Council to worship, discern, and conduct business collaboratively. This allows the Joint Council to share the minutes in a news story with the PYM community following the meeting.

Minutes from the Joint Council meeting this past Saturday are forthcoming. However the council wanted to share the following key updates prior to sessions.

As Philadelphia Yearly Meeting prepares to gather for Annual Sessions, the yearly meeting councils want to particularly highlight two items of their work that will be advancing to the Sessions agenda: the Future of Sessions survey results and an update on evaluating the yearly meeting’s carbon footprint.

[Read more…] about July 2025 | Joint Council Update

Communities of Practice and Threads | Connecting Through the Work We Share

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A Community of Practice is a group of Friends who focus on the same part of meeting life and are seeking to learn through shared experience. This may include care for worship, peace work, religious education, outreach, or the responsibilities that steward the life of the meeting. Each of these is its own practice. Many Friends are already engaged in this work, whether they have been doing it for years or are just beginning. Naming it as a Community of Practice helps our community recognize the learning, the questions, and the care that move through it.

Within Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, we also use the word Thread. It reminds us that this kind of work runs through all our meetings and ties us together. Whether someone says Thread or Community of Practice, they may be naming the same thing. It is a way to describe how Friends connect through shared attention and shared responsibility. [Read more…] about Communities of Practice and Threads | Connecting Through the Work We Share

Trenton Meeting Shares A Minute in Support of Immigrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers

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Trenton Meeting’s Peace and Social Concerns Committee created a Minute expressing support for recent (and not so recent) arrivals in our country against illegal and heavy-handed actions taking place in communities like ours. Emphasis was put on due process.

On June 8 it was approved at Monthly Meeting for Business and on June 15 it was approved at Quarterly Meeting for Business (Burlington Quarter).

Trenton Meeting of Friends
142 East Hanover Street,  Trenton, NJ 08608
Trenton Quaker Meeting House in Continuous Use by Quakers since 1739
The following is a Minute approved by the Trenton Meeting of Friends (Quakers) at its regularly scheduled Meeting for Business on June 8, 2025.

Trenton Quaker Minute of Support for Refugees, Immigrants, and Asylum Seekers

As a Quaker religious body, we support the humane and considerate treatment of all people, and especially those refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers who have fled corrupt and dangerous conditions in their home countries to be here in the United States.

As stated by the Quaker-based American Friends Service Committee, “We believe in the inherent worth of every person, no matter where they were born.  Immigrants – like all people – should be treated with dignity and have their rights respected.”

Many verses of the Bible address the “stranger,” such as Matthew 25:35 which says, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

Refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers should never be referred to with dehumanizing terms such as “criminal alien” or “illegal immigrant.”  We call on religious and secular leaders and groups to treat all immigrants and persons with respect.  Due process must be made available to all. Not doing so is illegal, cruel, hurtful, and can result in major mistakes including detaining citizens or people with full rights to be here, for immediate deportation.  Eliminating due process for some makes it easier to eliminate due process for all.

We encourage people to speak up to put an end to heavy-handed removals, to provide for due process, and to honor the humanity of every person.  When it is asked of us, “What did you do to protect the most vulnerable?” we must have answers of which we are proud.

The Minute in the form shown in the image is being published as an ad in local papers.

The Work of PYM Collaboratives

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Last Saturday, June 28, Friends gathered to learn how Friends in our yearly meeting work together through collaboratives. Collaboratives engage individuals across local meetings in the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting  region. Members generally hold a concern for a joy, social justice issues, or perhaps spiritual formation; these ministries can transform and engage our yearly meeting into an interconnected, community organized space.

This gathering was one way to stay connected before Annual Sessions, which will take place July 23 to 27.

Follow this link to register for Annual Sessions.

[Read more…] about The Work of PYM Collaboratives

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s Representatives to Affiliated Organizations

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Last Friday, June 27, Friends gathered to learn how our yearly meeting stays connected to the wider Quaker world. PYM Friends who serve as representatives to affiliated organizations shared how the work is carried, what is changing, and where Friends are needed. The session provided examples of how Philadelphia Yearly Meeting is part of the work of these organizations, and how the work depends on us being present.

This gathering was one way to stay connected before Annual Sessions, which will take place July 23 to 27.

Follow this link to register for Annual Sessions. 

[Read more…] about Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s Representatives to Affiliated Organizations

Commemorating Juneteenth | Our Yearly Meeting Wide-Witness of Addressing Racism

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What is Juneteenth?

June 19 marks the historical milestone of Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration that marks the end of enslavement in U.S. history. Juneteenth is formed from combining the words “June” and “nineteenth,” and pays homage to the date of June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned from Major General Gordon Granger, along with accompanying Union soldiers, that they had a legally recognized free status across the state of Texas and that the Civil War had officially ended. Then, annual Juneteenth celebrations began the following year in 1866. Juneteenth has also been called Black Independence Day, Emancipation Day, Juneteenth National Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, and Juneteenth Independence Day. [Read more…] about Commemorating Juneteenth | Our Yearly Meeting Wide-Witness of Addressing Racism

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