Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

State of the Meeting Reports

LGBTQIA+ Resources | PYM | Updated March 5th, 2025

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Updated March 5, 2025

During the 2025 Annual Sessions, Friends approved a yearly meeting minute in solidarity with LGBTQIA+ people. This minute, adapted from one shared by Germantown Monthly Meeting and Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting, connects to the ongoing threats to the safety and well-being of the LGBTQIA+ community and reaffirms the shared commitment to stand beside them.

Minute of Solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ Community

Below are a few provided resources that Friends may choose to utilize, learn, and share when connecting with the LGBTQIA+ community members and Friends. The following resources were compiled by Karen Lightner of Germantown Monthly Meeting, There is hope that this list will continue to grow, if you have additional resources to share, we invite you to send them to communications@pym.org.

[Read more…] about LGBTQIA+ Resources | PYM | Updated March 5th, 2025

December 2024 | Joint Council Update

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The three councils that guide Philadelphia Yearly Meeting—Quaker Life Council, Administrative Council, and Nominating Council—recently gathered for their second meeting in a newly adopted joint format. In this structure, the councils come together as one Joint Council to worship, discern, and conduct business collaboratively. in an article written about this experiment this summer, this practice ensures that the Joint Council can promptly share its minutes with the PYM community after the meeting.

December Minutes and Reports Joint Council Experiment

[Read more…] about December 2024 | Joint Council Update

October 2024 | Joint Council Update

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

October Minutes →

[Read more…] about October 2024 | Joint Council Update

Making Spaces for Children In Worship

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A rising interest in intergenerational worship in the yearly meeting has also led to meetings creating spaces for children in the places where they worship. This is more than putting a “children’s area” in the places where we worship — It is a visible message to any newcomer, including families with children: “Children are welcome here.” [Read more…] about Making Spaces for Children In Worship

Come to the Table! Friendly Community Outreach

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As the summer months begin, local communities will be hosting festivals, street fairs, and events in parks and other outdoor locations where Friends meetings will find opportunities for outreach and community connections. “Tabling” at these local events is a great opportunity for conversations and sharing information about the meeting. For those who don’t know our meetinghouses are more than historic buildings, meeting Friends at community events lifts up our current presence and vital ministries. [Read more…] about Come to the Table! Friendly Community Outreach

​​​​Spiritual State of the Meeting Report Invitation

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NOTE: The deadline to submit reports has been extended to April 29, 2024

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. All meetings are invited to submit their Spiritual State of the Meeting Reports for 2023 no later than April 15, 2024. We look forward to learning about your meeting and having the opportunity to share that learning more widely. Reports will be carefully read by members of M&C to guide our work in the next year and inform the Spiritual State of the Meeting Report for Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. To learn more about how these reports are used and how they are typically composed, see these advices. If you have further questions, please contact us at ministryandcare@pym.org. [Read more…] about ​​​​Spiritual State of the Meeting Report Invitation

Monthly & Quarterly Leadership Gatherings – January 2023

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Three times a year, Christie Duncan-Tessmer, General Secretary, invites PYM Friends in monthly meeting and quarterly meeting leadership roles to attend gatherings on Zoom. Over 100 leaders attended one or both of the January 18 and January 25, 2023 events, gathering for sharing, listening, and learning. [Read more…] about Monthly & Quarterly Leadership Gatherings – January 2023

​​​​Spiritual Life of the Meeting, We Invite You to Submit a Report

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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 April 15, 2023. 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 26-30. [Read more…] about ​​​​Spiritual Life of the Meeting, We Invite You to Submit a Report

Invitation to Submit Spiritual State of the Meeting Reports

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All monthly meetings, quarterly meetings, and other local Quaker communities within the PYM area are invited and encouraged to submit Spiritual State of the Meeting Reports. Known leaders of monthly and quarterly meetings have been sent this request and guidance on how to conduct the spiritual self-assessment of your community that would lead to composing a report. See the “Guidelines for a Spiritual Self-assessment of the Meeting” section of our Faith & Practice for more information, and read answers to “Frequently Asked Questions” about the Spiritual State of the Meeting reports. The reports are due April 15, 2023. [Read more…] about Invitation to Submit Spiritual State of the Meeting Reports

State of the Meeting Reports, 2021-2022

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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.

[Read more…] about State of the Meeting Reports, 2021-2022

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