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.
A comprehensive listing of all the collaboratives and sprints who are doing the work of our yearly meeting 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.
PYM is undergoing a structural change.
Read about how this affects the PYM website.
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 contribute to the Annual Fund because we value the way PYM connects us to a wider Quaker fellowship and supports our beliefs and actions."
Cathy Gumlock, Lehigh Valley Meeting
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.
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 to hidden sources of healing and wholeness. “The exploration of …
“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 join the Junior Friends Conference is open to all young …
“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 – Live stream Quaker Volunteer Service’s Director of Equity and Inclusion, …
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 American and numerous other congregations from all over the United …
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 were shared during worship, and that it felt like a …
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 National Legislation (FCNL) Spring Lobby Weekend. Today we go …
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 a march/rally, and processing different perspectives on the issue of …
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 the dailylocal.com.
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 we don’t always hear from, including those of LGBTQ families, Friends of …
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 origins of their very different cartoons to a group of …
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 Korea. Advocacy Team members are thoughtfully and professionally trained, and …
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 for straw purchases. At this time when the youth of …
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 had come from as far away as Third Haven Meeting, …
With much anticipation, it is with great joy to inform you that the Minutes from Fall 2017 Continuing Sessions have been posted to the PYM’s website. The posted minutes entails the discussions and decisions made during the 2017 Fall Continuing Sessions held at The Arch Street Meeting House where many were in attendance. As we apologize for the delay, we …
Friends Find Inspiration and Support for the Journey of Ministry at Resource Friends Gathering As a volunteer, George Salloom remembers being profoundly affected by a hospice patient who was different, he didn’t fear his own death. This man’s clear-eyed courage, wisdom and compassion inspired George to become a hospice worker and eventually a bereavement counselor, a vocation which he continues …
We are sharing this Feb 18 blogpost by Joey Hartmann-Dow, from her US & We Art website as we feel it perfectly illustrates the spirit of Quaker activism. Hey humans, I have some pretty rad news. Next week I will be heading to Washington DC where I will fulfill a 3-month residency with the Friends Committee on National Legislation. I’ve …
We will be known forever by the tracks we leave. – Dakota Indian Committee of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Report for October 2016 through September 2017 During the Fiscal Year 2016-17 fifteen individuals were active as Members and Attenders at ten meetings held during the year. On average nine people attended each meeting. We were greatly saddened by the sudden loss …
On Saturday, February 10th the Willistown Meeting hosted some fifty Friends and visitors for a panel discussion on the Pennsylvania Prison system. Willistown’s clerk, Will Scull, and event organizer Derek Stedman welcomed two West Chester University professors, Michael Antonio and Sami Abdel-Salaam, along with four other presenters—Chrissy Nye, an ex-offender; Laura Taylor, (Gwynedd Meeting) an expert on the Quaker-led Alternatives …
This photo is not a screen grab of the Brady Bunch. It is an action photo showing old dogs learning new tricks! Yesterday was the big Eagles Parade that closed Center City Philadelphia to all but those wearing green, to celebrate the self-proclaimed Underdog Philadelphia Eagles. The PYM Granting Committee was scheduled to meet there as well. But we thought better …
