For a decade, Tara Rubinstein has served Philadelphia Yearly Meeting by coordinating Annual and Continuing Sessions, Thread Gatherings, and other events held online and in person. Her work has included schedules, spaces, technology, registration, and the many details needed for Friends to participate.
Many Friends have come to know Tara through these gatherings and through her service to PYM. As she ends her time on staff, she has shared reflections on the past decade and what comes next.
Q: In the past years you have been at PYM, can you name some of the things you’ve most enjoyed?
In the early years of my time here, staff had an annual chili cooking competition. I happen to have an excellent chili recipe and won the competition as a brand new staff person. It’s the only time I’ve ever entered or won something like that, so it was very memorable! I was awarded a golden dinosaur as a prize.
I’ve also loved hiking the rock pile at Camp Swatara with the youth programs, dressing up in coordinated rainbow outfits with the rest of the set up crew for Annual Sessions, and of course, getting to know so many wonderful Friends on staff and in the PYM community.
Q: What about the things you were most proud of while working at PYM?
I am most proud of stewarding our Annual Sessions program out of the pandemic shutdown and into a new era of hybrid programming. I remember when we had never offered hybrid programs before and had to figure it all out from scratch. That was a huge undertaking, especially for someone like me who has never been particularly technology-minded.
In the years since, we have continued to experiment with different program formats. We have tried a regional model for Continuing Sessions, with local meetings hosting gatherings at the same time, and returned to all-online or all-in-person programs. Through each approach, we have tried to meet Friends where they want to be.
Q: Having done this job for so many years, what would you say you mostly do? What is the daily work like? What skills and gifts most matter?
On paper, this job involves a lot of logistics, including coordinating site visits, ordering materials, arranging catering, and handling many other details. But I think the heart of the job is listening to what Friends say about their needs and concerns.
As Sessions and Events Coordinator, I might hear Friends say, “We’re worried about the future of our historic buildings,” and help plan an event about caring for buildings and burial grounds. Or I might hear Friends say, “We want to go deeper with worship at our meeting,” and help organize a thread gathering on religious education.
Listening, making connections, and building relationships are at the center of doing this job well.
Q: What do you hope people remember about your contribution to PYM?
I have loved this job, and I love PYM. But it is no secret that I believe major changes are needed to the model of Annual Sessions. We are in a new era, and the old model of a week of business and programs in the middle of summer is no longer working.
I believe the Quaker message matters more than ever. People are seeking community, spiritual relevance, moral clarity, and transparent leadership, all of which are central to Quaker faith and practice.
Annual Sessions was once the event people anticipated most each year. It no longer holds that same place, but it could again. I hope Friends will remember that I spoke plainly about the need for bold change and did what I could to move us in that direction.
Q: What has changed about you or your career while working at PYM?
I never expected to be part of the PYM staff for a full decade. My first role was a 15-month, part-time position as Middle School Friends Coordinator. I was a single mother with a three-year-old, starting my own business, and looking for work to fill the gaps. I have held several roles here over the years, and each time, I thought it would be temporary. But I kept getting drawn back in.
My next chapter is full-time work as a therapist, with a focus on teenagers, parents, and spiritual seekers. I am thrilled to take on this meaningful work. But I realized the other day that this will be the first time in my adult life when no part of my work is centered on spiritual community.
I will miss colleagues with whom I could laugh until we cried over ideas that were both absurd and well-meaning, such as my plan to get a pair of goats that would rotate among meetings, purchase a “Quaker fun bus,” or start a TikTok channel for Quaker humor. I will miss having worship and discernment at the center of my experience with colleagues. I will miss knowing that my spiritual life is welcome in my professional role.
And I will miss you. So many Friends I have met over the years have become part of my community. I trust this is not the end of our friendships, but I will miss the ways we have been connected through this work.
My time here has changed me. I have learned so much and grown in many ways. Thank you, all of you.
And…onward!
Tara will continue her role till August 18, 2026. Friends are invited to connect with Tara, through email, at trubinstein@pym.org if they would like to send well wishes
Photo of Edy Nolan (left) and Tara Rubinstein (right) at Annual Sessions 2026.
