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Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

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Community News

Clerks’ Report at Meeting For Business

Written on: December 10, 2020

PYM Presiding Co-Clerks Frank and Jean-Marie Barch presented the following report in the called December 8th Meeting for Business in Continuing Sessions. They shared information gathered from Monthly and Quarterly  Meetings in response to the three PYM Initiatives launched at Annual Sessions in July 2020.

Clerks of Meetings who have not already submitted feedback to Jean-Marie and Frank Barch may use this form to do so.

[Read more…] about Clerks’ Report at Meeting For Business

Filed Under: Addressing Racism, Continuing Sessions, Minutes, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

Minutes of PYM’s Meeting for Business in Sessions – December 8, 2020

Written on: December 10, 2020

Meeting for Worship with Attention Business at Philadelphia Yearly Meeting is held at Fall and Spring Continuing Sessions and during the summer at Annual Sessions in late July. Nominations are approved and yearly meeting wide initiatives are reviewed or established.

The following minutes were taken by recording clerk, Kri Burkander and approved in Sessions on December 8th. There were 104 participants in the meeting, which began at 6:30 and closed at 8:45. [Read more…] about Minutes of PYM’s Meeting for Business in Sessions – December 8, 2020

Filed Under: Continuing Sessions, Minutes, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

Land Acknowledgment Prayer – December 8th, 2020 Meeting for Business

Written on: December 10, 2020

Land acknowledgments connect us with the rich heritage and spiritual thinking of the native people of this land. They appear as prayers and help convene Friends in the truths of the past and opportunities of the present. Each time we gather for Sessions, a land acknowledgment is offered as vocal ministry out of worship. This one was offered on Tuesday, December 8th by sandra o’scheyichbi (Boone Murphy).

[Read more…] about Land Acknowledgment Prayer – December 8th, 2020 Meeting for Business

Filed Under: Continuing Sessions, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

Christmas Together in New Ways

Written on: December 3, 2020

Meetings may be seeking to create meaningful Christmas programs that keep Friends connected while also being safe about Covid-19. Two online Conversation Circles were hosted by the Youth Religious Life Coordinator to share ideas and support each other with how to plan for celebrations in this challenging time. [Read more…] about Christmas Together in New Ways

Filed Under: Families, Friends Who Care For Youth, Ministry & Care, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Religious Education This article mentions:Children, Christmas, Community, Families

Part II: Interview with Sean Connolly, Executive Director of Arch Street Meeting House

Written on: December 3, 2020

This is the second part of our interview with Arch Street Meetinghouse‘s Executive Director, Sean Connolly. The first interview was published two weeks ago. The current story deals with the Historic Arch Street Meetinghouse’s planning for a new outdoor interpretive exhibit. [Read more…] about Part II: Interview with Sean Connolly, Executive Director of Arch Street Meeting House

Filed Under: Arch Street Meeting House, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting This article mentions:Arch Street Meeting House

Prayers for this Holiday

Written on: November 25, 2020

Below are prayers for this week. It was an idea to offer these along with a sense of why these prayers were meaningful to the people who shared them. [Read more…] about Prayers for this Holiday

Filed Under: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

Report to Councils

Written on: November 23, 2020

General Secretary Report – Autumn 2020


Program and Ministry:

  • Fall Continuing Sessions was held by Zoom on its regularly scheduled date, which fell on the Saturday after the election. In anticipation of having not knowing in advance what would be happening in our world on that day, Continuing Sessions focused on worship and youth programs only. It postponed business until Tuesday, December 8.
    • Over 160 Friends gathered for worship with storytelling and traditional waiting worship. The election results were called during our worship.
    • Participation in afternoon events was decreased as a result of the election results. Some Friends joined together for lunch by zoom in small groups. Some Friends returned for worship sharing in the afternoon.
    • Youth Programs Virtual gatherings for Children & Families, Middle School Friends and Young Friends took place in the afternoon.

[Read more…] about Report to Councils

Filed Under: General Secretary, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

For Our Children: A Quaker Parent’s Perspective

Written on: November 23, 2020

Abigaile Brace-Higgins is a member of Mickleton Meeting and serves on the planning circle for PYM Giant Children’s Meeting programs. This article originally appeared in the Salem Quarter News, Fall 2020.


On March 16th, 2020, I laid down in the cool, muddy-grass at the foot of a tree in my backyard and looked up at the bare branches crackling like brittle-veins across the clear sky in the stark morning light. My two and a half year old son, Keegan, played quietly in his sandbox next to me. The heavy news of Covid-19 was thrashing like a storm all around us, but in that moment we were still. Nowhere to go, anytime soon. The impossible sadness of tragedy befalling thousands of people around the world pounded deep inside me. As a parent of a young child, my mind swelled with questions: How should my child understand this? How should I help him adapt? To cope? To stay safe? How long is this going to be? How are we going to move forward and stay connected to all those in our lives we hold dear? [Read more…] about For Our Children: A Quaker Parent’s Perspective

Filed Under: Families, Religious Education, Youth Programs This article mentions:Covid 19, Giant Children's Meeting, Melinda Wenner-Bradley, Query, Religious Education, Wondering

Interview with Sean Connolly, Executive Director of Arch Street Meeting House

Written on: November 19, 2020

Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust preserves, operates and interprets the meetinghouse and grounds which will serve to increase public understanding of the impact and continued relevance of Quakers and Quaker history. Executive Director, Sean Connolly talks to us about his work at the historic Meeting House. [Read more…] about Interview with Sean Connolly, Executive Director of Arch Street Meeting House

Filed Under: Arch Street Meeting House, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting This article mentions:Arch Street Meeting House

Providence Meeting Unites on Racial Justice and Anti-Racism Statement

Written on: November 17, 2020

Providence Meeting

Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.

— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This fall Providence Meeting united around the following statement on Racial Justice and Anti-Racism.

Consistent with our mission, Providence Friends Meeting seeks to involve members and attenders as partners in the ongoing work of racial justice, advancing equity, and undoing the effects of racism. This work requires us to examine and transform our own individual beliefs and actions, the beliefs, actions and policies of our meeting as a corporate body, and to challenge the effects of racism in the larger society. These include, among others, disparities in healthcare, economics, housing, voting access, climate justice, the workplace, criminal justice, and education.


Goals

  1. As Providence Friends Meeting acknowledges and honors the fundamental value and dignity of all individuals, we strive to be a culturally safe space where all individuals and groups are treated with respect in regard to their unique cultural needs and differences.
  2. We strive to build a pluralist, anti-racist community that encourages participation and leadership among all Friends, and supports and elevates partners and community members most affected by racism and bias.

Providence Friends Meeting resolves to use these queries to further these goals.

Corporate Queries

  • How does our meeting support, model and encourage active and ongoing anti-racism work? How do we move all members forward on their journey to being their best selves?
  • How are we working to change the ways that our meeting benefits from privilege and systemic inequality?
  • How do we create “space at the table” for all individuals and groups?
  • How do we actively consider the effects of our decisions on those who have been harmed by racism?
  • How do we use Spirit-led decision making to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion rather than support structures that reinforce inequities?
  • How do we carry this work into our worship and committee work?

Individual Queries

  • How do I regularly examine myself for attitudes and behaviors that indicate any hidden prejudice?
  • If someone suggests that something I have said or done is racist or discriminatory, do I listen and consider their point of view?
    ● How do my lifestyle choices affect the causes of justice and injustice in our nation and the world?
    ● How do I seek ways to make my local community, state and nation more just and equitable?
    ● How do I challenge statements, practices, behaviors, and interactions that diminish, demean, disempower, or otherwise harm others and their identities?

How do I do this with loving kindness that honors that of God in each person?

Filed Under: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting This article mentions:Anti-Racism, Social Justice

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