Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Worship and Ministry”
Dear PYM Friends, I am excited to announce that Meg Rose will begin serving as our Young Adult Engagement Coordinator on September 1, 2017. She has served as Interim YAF Co-Coordinator for the past few months and as Interim Children’s Religious Life Coordinator for the past year. Meg’s unique experience in …
We are excited to report that the Quaker Life Council approved investing nearly forty thousand dollars over two fiscal years to raise up a momentous new program called Resource Friends. Resource Friends help our community be healthy and thrive, by providing expert support in areas of need in our monthly …
by Ellen Deacon After the Worship and Care conference call on 2/7/17, I was asked to write some stories from our meeting’s spiritual life. (I serve on the worship and ministry committee at Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting.) Here is one about ways we seek to support spiritual deepening and learning …
Thread Gatherings began in January of 2013 to draw meetings into closer fellowship, to nurture our collective wisdom and corporate ministry, and to share resources so work can be joined and strengthened. The image of the “thread” was and remains a useful metaphor, representing aspects of Quaker Faith and Practice …
Maybe you’ve heard of FCNL. I first came into relationship with Friends Committee on National Legislation by way of a push from a Friend. They said, “This is important, you are important, you should team up.” So I attended Spring Lobby Weekend (begrudgingly!) in 2014 with expectations of feeling overwhelmed, …
Quakers understand that there is a strong connection between working toward social justice and walking through life in mindful spirituality. Insights emerge from a life that expresses and searches for that of God in everyone. These insights often present opportunities to recognize the need for collective liberation. With further examination, …
Towards Transformation We strive as Quakers to live our daily lives grounded in the center of our beings. In this striving, we gather as a community away from everyday challenges to strengthen our spiritual practice. As we strengthen our practice, ever deeper insights emerge, and we ready ourselves to embrace …
Since becoming a Quaker in college (at a non-Quaker school!), I have attended plenty of PYM workshops and events and been either the only young adult or one of a very small handful of young adults. My experiences generally fell on a spectrum with “alienated” on one end and “overwhelmed” …
Symbolically, the start of Germantown Meeting’s current efforts for racial justice can probably be identified as the moment in 2006 that the Meeting recovered the 1688 document against slavery. That document by local German Quakers was the first known statement of public opposition against slavery in the Western Hemisphere. The document now …
A Quaker Freedom Memorial By Avis Wanda McClinton, Upper Dublin, PA Monthly Meeting I am the first African American member of Upper Dublin Monthly Meeting. I would like to tell about the leading that I have had to protect the earthly remains of the fugitives from slavery that have been buried …
“Just as a midwife is there to care for the safe delivery of the baby while being aware of the care for the mother, an elder is there to care for the safe delivery of a ministry while being aware of the care for the minister.” Bob Schmitt, Deep Listening: …
The following is excerpted from the PYM pamphlet, Worship: “The Gathered Meeting” Revisited. The pamphlet is a printing of the talk given by Tom Gates at PYM’s Annual Sessions, July 27, 2006. An earlier version of the talk was given at a Deepening and Strengthening (now called Meeting Enrichment Services). …
Responding to a felt need for proven paths to spiritual growth and renewal, Worship & Care Standing Committee assembled a collection of resources into this handy Toolkit. The hope is to offer ideas Friends can try on for size, take home and use, and share with their Monthly Meetings. Having found for …
Faith and Practice encourages us to come to meeting for worship with our hearts and minds prepared. There are many stories throughout our community which lift up the efforts Friends have taken to prepare themselves and their meetings for worship. Here are stories from 4 meetings for worship where the …
How did I even know about Quakers? My Uncle Sidney was a convinced Quaker, a Conscientious Objector during World War II, and very familiar with Pendle Hill. His CO testimony was profound to me, but an even more dramatic witness came from seeing Uncle Sid on his home front, married ...
An Intergenerational Spiritual Formation Program is specifically designed for Young Adult and other interested Friends. This 7-month program begins in Sept. 2014 and closes in April 2015. The elements of Spiritual Formation include retreats, personal spiritual disciplines, readings, and prayerful support. Participants will meet monthly in spiritual friendship and reading groups. We will …