PYM Quakers seek to experience God within ourselves and in our relationships with others.
We believe that the Divine spirit continues to reveal new truths to us.
We are a community of meetings, members and seekers who support each other in faith, practice and witness.
PYM Quakers are committed to living lives that outwardly attest to our inward spiritual experience.
We express our faith in action and work for a better world through pioneering, inspiring programs and services.
Everything we do is founded in our testimonies of peace, integrity, equality, simplicity and community.
PYM Quakers seek to create and steward resources to help individuals, communities and the world.
We provide spiritual and tangible assistance to those in need.
All our resources stem from our desire to bring light to the world and implement our testimony to the power of the Divine spirit.
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting is both a Faith Community and an Organization.
PYM is one of the oldest yearly meetings of the Religious Society of Friends in the United States.
Meetings, members, seekers and staff work together to nurture Quaker faith and practice in today’s world.
PYM Quakers share experience, leadings and witness with one another and the world.
We have a long tradition of expressing our shared divinity by working to be in community with one another.
We invite you to bookmark this page and come back often to stay up to date with conversations and activities in our faith community.
We experience the Spirit within and among us. Our lives, our witness,
our connection to spirit is what makes up the yearly
meeting. Here are the latest stories of this community in action.
Post a story of your own or visit the archive.
Three years ago, Abington Friends Meeting member and caretaker Dave Wermeling noticed a tall professorial-looking figure wandering in the meeting burial ground. It was the historian Marcus Rediker doing research for a book he was writing on the 18th century Quaker abolitionist Benjamin Lay. Dave confirmed for Marcus that Benjamin …
On April 24 at the Watershed Institute in Pennington, NJ, Friends joined a gathering of over 75 in support of clean water and the environment. Led by tribal elders, scientists, children, and museum representatives, the occasion was the opening ceremony for the “Kwel’ Hoy: We Draw the Line” traveling exhibition …
With deep gratitude, the PYM community acknowledges the many gifts of Young Friends Program Co-Facilitators Hannah Mayer and Kody Hersh as they each enter new stages of their lives and ministries, and move on from the Young Friends program. For many years they have anchored the Youth Program team with …
The magnolia buds are slower to bloom this year but the sight of them means it is time for the PYM Annual Grant Makers potluck at Arch Street Meeting. The PYM Granting Committee sponsors two annual gatherings for the many Friends who are led to support the yearly meeting by …
I received a mailing from Friends Journal, which describes its goal today “to serve the Quaker community and the wider community of spiritual seekers through the publication of articles, poetry, letters, art, and news that convey the contemporary experience of Friends.” I signed up for the one-year subscription, and in …
Dear Friends, After March Continuing Sessions Presiding Clerk Penny Colgan-Davis communicated with Melissa Rycroft, Clerk of Nominating Council that, due to health concerns, she was stepping down immediately as Clerk of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Penny simultaneously shared this news with the Clerks of Administrative and Quaker Life Councils, the PYM …
Beth Popelka has followed a leading about theatre as a transformative practice that connects communities to the sacred since early in her adult life. For the past twenty years, she has worked to continue the legacy of Augusto Boal and other innovators to create dramatic group experiences that open communities …
“This is the best week of my life.” 4th Grade Student For more than forty years, Abington Quarter has supported two summer youth programs for members and attenders of Friends Meetings within the Quarter: Junior Friends Conference (JFC) and Middle School Friends Conference (MSFC). The opportunity to …
“Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation.” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Letter from Birmingham Washington, DC – …
PYM Friends Christie Duncan-Tessmer and Oskar Castro will be speaking at the ACT to End Racism Rally on the national mall on Wednesday, April 4 at 10:30, giving remarks after Rev. Jim Wallis speaks. The full event will be live streamed at the following link: rally2endracism.org Members of Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Native …
Haddonfield Monthly Meeting welcomed some thirty people on Saturday, March 24, between 10-Noon, for a period of worship in solidarity with the 800+ March for Our Lives rallies across the globe Members of Haddonfield and Medford Meetings, as well as some nearby churches participated. Participants reported that some strong messages …
Day 1- Feeling the Faith behind Lobbying We gather on Saturday, March 17 at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. Hundreds of Young Adults from 40 States convene to learn how to effectively lobby our government from a place of faith on the topic of immigration for Friends Committee …
On Saturday, March 24, at Spring Continuing Sessions, Youth from across PYM participated in the March for Our Lives at the Capitol in Harrisburg, PA. The morning program was spent in preparation: wondering about how we let our lives speak as Friends, talking about what it is like to attend …
The Hickman Friends Senior Community of West Chester has added a new three-story building, with 74 additional living units. The new Anna T. Jeanes Building has 74 rooms with 22 private and shared studio suites in a secure memory care neighborhood with a secure outdoor garden. Read the full article at …
Recently, the Administrative and Quaker Life Councils approved a process for addressing minutes of concern that rise up through our monthly and quarterly meetings. Friends can view the process on the PYM website here.
Dear Friends, The Youth Programs Sprint group has nearly completed its work to propose a vision, mission and governance structure for our yearly meeting’s youth programs. The Sprint group, through several iterations, looked at the history of our youth programs and considered their future. The Sprint group intentionally sought out voices that …
What’s in a cartoon and why does it move people? How personal is graphic novel writing? Where do inspired editorial cartoons come from? What makes humor stick? Ramona Sharples and Signe Wilkinson drew on personal and professional truths at Friends in Fellowship, on Thursday March 8th, as they explained the …
Friends Committee on National Legislation has been actively developing “Advocacy Teams” across the United States. They offer training regarding best practices to employ when visiting with members of Congress or their staff. And each year FCNL focuses on a single issue; this year it is improving US relations with North …
Quakers in our region have a long history of concern about gun violence. Individual monthly meetings and the yearly meeting have approved minutes and spoken with lawmakers about it. A campaign that grew out of PYM peace work successfully closed a Philadelphia gun shop with a tremendous reputation and record …
Seventy-five F(f)riends gathered for worship at Schuylkill Meeting—a beautiful and active Friends meeting near Phoenixville—followed by a Friends in Fellowship event at Eden Valley Farm on Sunday, February 25th. As the Spirit moved among them in worship, and the warmth of John and Penny Hunt’s welcome sunk in, Friends who …
