Friends are sharing minutes that express solidarity with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) communities; reflect on the Department of Homeland Security lawsuit; address unjust incarceration; and affirm support for Lenape leaders. [Read more…] about Share Your Minutes!
News
The Progress Towards Planting 381 Trees!
Friends across our yearly meeting have been sharing about the trees they are planting on PYM Connect!
An initiative launched on Earth Day. We hoped that Friends, individually and collectively with their local and quarterly meetings, would plant 381 trees by the Climate Witness Thread Gathering on October 25.
How did we get 381 trees as our goal?
The Climate Witness Thread Gathering will take place the day after William Penn’s 381st birthday. Penn’s legacy of land stewardship, rooted in his Quaker faith, inspired us to set a goal that honors this connection—381 trees for 381 years. [Read more…] about The Progress Towards Planting 381 Trees!
A Minute from Merion Monthly Meeting on Unjust Incarceration
Minute by Merion Monthly Meeting
Of the Religious Society of Friends
Merion, Pennsylvania
April 24, 2025
For over three centuries, members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), inspired and guided by the Divine Spirit, have written Minutes in order to address spiritual concerns about human affairs.
Unjust incarceration has been a concern of Quakers from their inception. Many Quakers were unjustly incarcerated for their beliefs in England during the 17th Century and many English Quakers emigrated to Pennsylvania and other parts of America seeking religious liberty. Edward Burrough, who was himself unjustly incarcerated, wrote on behalf of Quakers in 1659, “We are not for names, nor men, nor titles of Government, nor are we for this party nor against the other . . . but we are for justice and mercy and truth and peace and true freedom, that these may be exalted in our nation.”
[Read more…] about A Minute from Merion Monthly Meeting on Unjust Incarceration
Epistle from the Quaker Indian Boarding School (QIBS) Research Group
Friends are answering the call from sovereign Indigenous communities, researching and acknowledging Friends’ roles in Indian Boarding Schools, toward acts of righting relations with Native Nations’ Peoples – those on whose land we benefit. A network of Friends, east coast to Alaska, have found unity in forming the Quaker Indian Boarding School (QIBS) Research Group and have written a 2025 QIBS Epistle. Initiator and facilitator of both Salem Quarter IAC and PYM First Contact Reconciliation Collaborative participates in the QIBS research and is an epistle signatory. Thoughtful responses may be submitted to FCRC via emailing SacredWovenWord@yahoo.com. [Read more…] about Epistle from the Quaker Indian Boarding School (QIBS) Research Group
Art as Resistance: “The Return” Brings Quakers Another Chance to Know Benjamin Lay” | Radnor Friends Meeting
Authorship attributed to Friends from Radnor Friends Meeting
Opening night for The Return of Benjamin Lay in Philadelphia was fabulous!
Our field trip group carpooled from the Radnor Friends meetinghouse, and enjoyed vegan soul food at the Nile Cafe before the show. Jai A., who recently completed the Benjamin Lay Fellowship, was in the group. Author-historian and co-playwright Marcus Rediker stopped by and gave us an intro, setting our mental stages for what we were about to experience. [Read more…] about Art as Resistance: “The Return” Brings Quakers Another Chance to Know Benjamin Lay” | Radnor Friends Meeting
Welcome to the new and improved Middle School Friends Program!
With Daniel Doan bringing fresh energy and ideas, and Elizabeth Croce-Karaca’s decade of dedicated service, we are shaping a new vision for MSF—and we hope you’ll be part of it. These programs and retreats would not be possible without the wonderful middle schoolers across our yearly meeting. Bringing a friend is always welcome! [Read more…] about Welcome to the new and improved Middle School Friends Program!
This May with the Programs and Religious Life Team and Grant Opportunities to Know
This May, there are numerous programs available for Friends across the yearly meeting. Caln Quarter will gather at Camp Swatara from May 2 through May 4, with special programming for middle school and young Friends (ages 18 and under), along with a sizable Young Adult Friends (ages 18–35) group in attendance. The YAF community will also come together for a potluck on Friday, May 9. The following day, May 10, Gwynedd Friends Meeting and the Eco-Justice Collaborative will host a viewing of Citizen George, a documentary about Friend George Lakey, at the Ambler Movie Theater. The Disability and Caregiver Support Groups will continue to meet in May and will hold their final two sessions in June and July. Meanwhile, staff are preparing to launch registration for Annual Sessions, which will take place July 23–27 at Cheyney University. [Read more…] about This May with the Programs and Religious Life Team and Grant Opportunities to Know
Love Thy Neighbor Walk
Authorship attributed to Christie Duncan-Tessmer
Because of our lawsuit, organizations that support immigrants in Philadelphia have reached out to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting to be in relationship. One of the things I’ve learned is that a result of our government’s current approach to immigration is that immigrant-owned shops are struggling—staff and customers are afraid to go to them. This suggests one faithful response to the question, “What can I do?”: shop at immigrant-owned stores. [Read more…] about Love Thy Neighbor Walk
Quaker Walk to Washington | Frequently Asked Questions
Beginning May 4, a group of New York City Quakers from Brooklyn Monthly Meeting’s Peace and Social Action committee will be leading The Quaker Walk to Washington, An Interfaith Pilgrimage for Migrant Solidarity and Universal Freedoms. The group will walk 300 miles from Flushing, Queens to Washington D.C. and expect hundreds to join along the way while drawing attention to migrant persecution and free speech rights. [Read more…] about Quaker Walk to Washington | Frequently Asked Questions
Multnomah Monthly Meeting Minute of Support for Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Portland, Oregon’s Multnomah Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends supports Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and associated plaintiffs in their legal challenge to the new policy of U.S. Department of Homeland Security to allow federal agents to take immigration enforcement actions within churches, meeting houses, and other places of worship. [Read more…] about Multnomah Monthly Meeting Minute of Support for Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
