With divine assistance, the Quaker Life Council maintains the health and integrity of the community, spiritual depth and relationships within Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. The Council stewards yearly meeting activities, including nurturing meetings, supporting corporate work for peace and justice, and bringing members across meetings together to collaborate on projects of common interest. The Quaker Life Council meets on the third Saturday of every month. Minutes are posted one to two weeks after they occur.
Mission
Members of the Quaker Life Council undertake a solemn responsibility to help provide the yearly meeting community with humble leadership in Quaker faith and practice. With divine assistance and in relation with other council members, Friends on the Quaker Life Council maintain the health and integrity of the community, spiritual depth, and relationships within Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
What We Do
The Quaker Life Council oversees the programs and activities of Yearly Meeting Friends, including nurturing monthly and quarterly meetings, supporting Friends work for peace and justice, bringing members across meetings together to collaborate on projects of common interest. Review the Quaker Life Council Corollary Governance Handbook for information regarding the full compliment of QLC committees and policies.
Submit a State of the Meeting Report
As our new Faith & Practice illuminates, this tradition provides, “a deep and meaningful opportunity that draws the community together.” When we see what others are celebrating, mourning, and witnessing, we can be inspired, drawn even closer together, and moved in our spiritual development.
Submit your report using the form or email to zdutton@pym.org
Submit a Work & Witness Application
There is a place for all sorts of activity within our yearly meeting community. The Quaker Life Council will help discern the right direction for your work. Do you have a common interest or concern? Are you under the weight of an emerging leading for work or witness?
Information about Thread Lists and Thread Gatherings
We now include all information about the life of our yearly meeting community in PYM Today Online, the PYM Calendar and News Section, and in print publications like Faith in Practice. If you’d like to receive print publications and currently do not, please email us. We used to send multiple Thread Newsletters. The Thread Newsletters were newsletters containing stories and announcements within several areas, including Pastoral Care, Worship & Ministry, Peace & Social Justice, Finances and Giving, Communications & Outreach, Religious Education, and Youth Programs. You can still sign up to be added to Thread Lists that are themed according to one of these threads. It will mean you receive periodic announcements (5 to 10 times per year) about upcoming events happening within the Thread.
Thread Gatherings are continuing! Check out the PYM Calendar for the upcoming Thread Gatherings or our Upcoming Thread Gatherings page.
It is the job of the Quaker Life Council to name Threads, per our Governance Handbook. Until such time as the Quaker Life Council sees that our current Threads need to be revised, they are the set of issues that we acknowledge almost every community in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting faces. The Thread Gatherings and Thread Lists are our main ways of supporting the broader community in our work to attend to each Thread.