Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

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Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s Representatives to Affiliated Organizations

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Last Friday, June 27, Friends gathered to learn how our yearly meeting stays connected to the wider Quaker world. PYM Friends who serve as representatives to affiliated organizations shared how the work is carried, what is changing, and where Friends are needed. The session provided examples of how Philadelphia Yearly Meeting is part of the work of these organizations, and how the work depends on us being present.

This gathering was one way to stay connected before Annual Sessions, which will take place July 23 to 27.

Follow this link to register for Annual Sessions. 

[Read more…] about Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s Representatives to Affiliated Organizations

June 2025 | Joint Council Update

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On Saturday, June 14, the three councils that support Philadelphia Yearly Meeting—Quaker Life Council, Administrative Council, and Nominating Council—held their meeting in the joint format. In this structure, all three councils meet together as one Joint Council to worship, discern, and conduct business collaboratively. This allows the Joint Council to share the minutes in a news story with the PYM community in the week following the meeting.

June 2025 Minutes

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Dr. Ayesha Imani and Joyce Ajlouny Will Speak at Annual Sessions

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Picture left Dr. Ayesha Imani and Pictured Right General Secretary of the American Friends Service Committee Joyce Ajlouny

Dr. Ayesha Imani and Joyce Ajlouny will speak at Annual Sessions. Ayesha’s Quaker faith journey is rooted in being true to her relationship with the Divine, committed to Black liberation, and grounded in a spirituality that affirms her Africanity. She is a founder of the Fellowship of Friends of African Descent, Ujima Friends Peace Center, and Ujima Friends Meeting, and is a member of both Ujima Friends Meeting and Unity Monthly Meeting – a Pan-African Quaker community within Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Joyce is a Quaker leader with 30 years of experience in non-profit management and international work for peace and justice. She served as director of Ramallah Friends School in Palestine for 13 years and is now General Secretary of the American Friends Service Committee.

Register for Sessions [Read more…] about Dr. Ayesha Imani and Joyce Ajlouny Will Speak at Annual Sessions

Quakerly Juneteenth Read on Bayard Rustin

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Western Quarterly Meeting and West Chester University’s African American Studies Program are coming together to celebrate Juneteenth and honor the life and legacy of civil rights leader Bayard Rustin—a Chester County native, committed Quaker, and key architect of the modern nonviolent protest movement. [Read more…] about Quakerly Juneteenth Read on Bayard Rustin

Bristol Friends Meeting Awarded $10,000 Grant

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Bristol Friends Meeting made their meetinghouse more open and usable through a $10,000 grant from the PYM Quaker Buildings & Programs Granting Group. The work addressed long-identified needs with attention to both the history of the space and the people who continue to gather in it. [Read more…] about Bristol Friends Meeting Awarded $10,000 Grant

Commemorating Juneteenth | Our Yearly Meeting Wide-Witness of Addressing Racism

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What is Juneteenth?

June 19 marks the historical milestone of Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration that marks the end of enslavement in U.S. history. Juneteenth is formed from combining the words “June” and “nineteenth,” and pays homage to the date of June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned from Major General Gordon Granger, along with accompanying Union soldiers, that they had a legally recognized free status across the state of Texas and that the Civil War had officially ended. Then, annual Juneteenth celebrations began the following year in 1866. Juneteenth has also been called Black Independence Day, Emancipation Day, Juneteenth National Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, and Juneteenth Independence Day. [Read more…] about Commemorating Juneteenth | Our Yearly Meeting Wide-Witness of Addressing Racism

Providence Friends Meeting Added to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program

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The Providence Friends Meeting in Media, Pennsylvania, is among 31 new listings added by the National Park Service to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program. The new listings join more than 800 sites, facilities and programs already in the network that provide insight into the diverse experiences of freedom seekers who bravely escaped slavery and allies who assisted them. [Read more…] about Providence Friends Meeting Added to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program

Lehigh Valley Monthly Meeting Awarded $8000 Grant

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Lehigh Valley Monthly Meeting has completed a major improvement to its meetinghouse, supported in part by an $8,000 grant from the PYM Quaker Buildings & Programs Granting Group. The project focused on replacing windows and a door in the main worship space. The result is a room that better holds worship and invites the community to gather again. [Read more…] about Lehigh Valley Monthly Meeting Awarded $8000 Grant

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