The 2020 PYM Annual Sessions poem has been created and it’s fabulous! Make sure you are there Thursday (from 7-9 PM) when our Poet in Residence, Zenaida Peterson (they/them), presents it as part of their Keynote presentation. [Read more…] about Poet in Residence to Share 2020 Annual Sessions Poem Thursday
Community News
Plenary Session on Addressing Racism – Minutes
Friends gathered for the Saturday, July 25, Plenary on Addressing Racism. The last of five Plenary meetings in preparation for Annual Sessions July 28-August 2, the meeting began with worship at 10:00 AM, followed by S. Boone O’Scheyichbi offering a prayerful acknowledgment that we meet on “traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape People, a vast land supporting the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting region.” This was followed by the reading of minutes (noted in full below), a Poor People’s Campaign presentation, a discussion, a group photo for those who wished to participate, and breakout groups. The breakout groups met to discuss queries and gave verbal and emailed reports on their discussions. The meeting ended at 1:00. [Read more…] about Plenary Session on Addressing Racism – Minutes
Report on Budget Plenary – A Steady, Familiar Budget
At 7:30 PM on July 21, participants gathered for a Plenary Session on PYM’s FY 2021 budget. Alternate Clerk Jonathan Rhoads opened the meeting with worship. S. Boone O’Scheyichbi offered a land acknowledgement that named the four historical Lenape Nations and spoke to “inclusion in a place of truth with diversity and equity.” General Secretary Christie Duncan-Tessmer briefed the 34 participants on technology. [Read more…] about Report on Budget Plenary – A Steady, Familiar Budget
Willits Book Trust Participates in A Community Reading of Frederick Douglass’ July 4 Speech
As a representative of the Willits Book Trust Committee, a grantmaking group of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Lisa Stewart Garrison, a member of Greenwich Friends Meeting in Salem Quarter, was invited to take part in a community reading of Frederick Douglass’ “4th of July Speech” sponsored by the National Park Service and the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.
Pendle Hill’s Hybrid Worship Experiment
As many Friends know, Pendle Hill has been hosting daily meeting for worship – both ‘in-person worship’ in Pendle Hill’s Barn, and with Zoom. It’s a spiritual and community wide success that we believe many meetings will want to replicate as they find it’s possible to reopen monthly meeting buildings.
We are grateful to Traci and Walter Hjelt Sullivan and the team at Pendle Hill for sharing their suggestions on how to manage a ‘Hybrid Worship Experiment’.
A Report on July 19 Plenary Session on Membership & Belonging
The third in a series of five plenaries on the “Runway to Sessions” took place on Sunday July 19 from 2:00-5:00 PM. Very brief formal minutes are below, followed by additional notes offered by recording clerk Kri Burkander. A January 26, 2020 Threshing Session on Membership Report, PYM’s July 2020 panel discussion video and the 2019 Young Adult Friends Epistle on Membership informed the conversation. The plenary opened with worship and a land acknowledgement offered by S. Boone O’Scheyichbi, of PYM’s First Contact Reconciliation Collaborative.
Minutes from PYM’s recording clerk Kri Burkander – Saturday July 19
69 Friends gathered via Zoom this afternoon to discuss issues of membership, belonging, and commitment in our community. We expressed our appreciation for the Friends who gathered for a Threshing Session on Membership held on January 26, 2020 at Haddonfield Friends Meeting and received the report from that Gathering. [Read more…] about A Report on July 19 Plenary Session on Membership & Belonging
Quaker Life Council Annual Report for 2020 Sessions
The following article introduces the Quaker Life Council’s 2019-2020 work since July 2019. The full 14 page QLC report and all appendixes and minutes received are posted with Annual Sessions advance documents. We recommend reading the full report.
[Read more…] about Quaker Life Council Annual Report for 2020 Sessions
A Report on the July 11 Plenary Session on Climate Change
Please stay connected with the PYM community on climate action by filling out the form at the end of this page.
Saturday, July 11, 2020, 70 people gathered in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s Plenary Session on Climate Change to share minutes and discuss yearly-meeting-wide witness for climate action. [Read more…] about A Report on the July 11 Plenary Session on Climate Change
Quaker Communities Share Resources for Racial Justice
Communities in our yearly meeting and in other yearly meetings have been increasingly focused on racial justice. We’ve assembled a summary of monthly and quarterly meeting e-news submitted to PYM news@pym.org this past month. This is by no means a complete portrait of all the work being done across the yearly meeting, but it testifies to the energy and breadth of work among Friends. [Read more…] about Quaker Communities Share Resources for Racial Justice
Our Workshops are Ending and Annual Sessions is Around the Corner
It has been an exciting and engaging seven weeks since we started Annual Sessions programming on May 28th, and we’ve noticed that all the work to assemble an interesting set of workshops for our community has yielded a great turnout. Friends have joined from PYM, Monteverde, Costa Rica, Britain Yearly Meeting, plus many other yearly meetings and Quaker organizations. We hope to see you too!
[Read more…] about Our Workshops are Ending and Annual Sessions is Around the Corner