Collaboratives are hives of activity in the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting community. Friends work and meet together around shared interests or concerns. All Friends are welcome to join an existing collaborative or start a new one. If joining a collaborative isn’t the right fit at the moment, you can still engage with and support their work by attending events or sharing information.
Friends form collaboratives in PYM when they are called together by a shared leading, ministry, or interest. Each group grows from the experiences of its members and focuses on a particular concern such as care for the Earth, ending gun violence, or spiritual formation.
Various collaboratives share newsletters, lead programs, host events, and post updates. In 2025, active collaboratives include Addressing Racism, Eco-Justice, First Contact Reconciliation, Friends Ending Gun Violence, India Friends, Middle East, and Spiritual Formation. Leading up to Annual Sessions, each collaborative shared its work through a report and a virtual Q&A session as an offer for Friends to learn about and take part in ongoing ministry.
Several collaboratives are hosting events in the coming weeks. The Eco-Justice Collaborative, with the Climate Witness Stewards, will offer the Friendly Households workshop during the Climate Witness: Let Our Actions Speak! Thread Gathering on October 25, sharing how meetings can track their climate work and learn from the Climate Action Playbook. Other collaborative members are involved in the other workshops as well.
Next week, the Eco-Justice Collaborative will co-host a hybrid book talk with Central Philadelphia Friends Meeting. The book talk welcomes author and Zen priest Shodo Spring on Wednesday, October 29, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Friends Center. Friends who attend in person are invited for conversation and refreshments; all participants, online or in Philadelphia, will consider how care for the Earth can guide our community actions.
On November 2, the First Contact Reconciliation Collaborative continues its 2025 series on right relationship with sovereign Indigenous Nations. Friends are invited to learn from the group’s ongoing discernment and its living document, Guidelines for Those Seeking Healing Relations with Indigenous Peoples.
On November 8, the Friends Ending Gun Violence Collaborative and Heeding God’s Call to End Gun Violence will hold a dedication for Memorial to the Lost at Arch Street Meeting House during Fall Continuing Sessions. The memorial shares the names of people whose lives were taken by gun violence locally in the last year.
Looking ahead to next spring, the Spiritual Formation Collaborative will host its annual retreat May 15 to 17, 2026. The weekend will focus on healing and renewal through worship, reflection, and creative practice.
These are only some of the opportunities ahead. Friends can visit the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting community calendar as more opportunities are scheduled. To learn about a specific collaborative, visit its webpage or contact the clerk of that group. If you are unsure where to begin, connect with Claire Kinnel, Community Engagement Coordinator, at ckinnel@pym.org.
