Below are some of the highlights from this year’s Annual Sessions!
Ayesha Imani – Friends General Conference
Convinced over 40 years ago that Christ had indeed come to teach His people Himself, Ayesha Imani, has been on a Quaker faith journey to be true to her personal relationship with the Divine, true to her commitment to Black liberation, and true to a Quaker experience rooted in a spirituality that affirms her Africanity.
Youth & Family Programs
Annual Sessions is getting closer! We hope that you will join us for a fun-filled weekend of friendship-building with other families and youth from around the Yearly Meeting. Youth programming will focus on our theme of “Members One of Another”. There will be worship and worship sharing, conversations and relationship-building, games and art, water play, outdoor activities, and more! Youth will have the opportunity to get to know others in their age group, and there will be time for families to gather together to build community.
In addition, during the weekend of Annual Sessions, we will offer affinity group time and space for both parents and grandparents. We hope that this will provide the opportunity for people to meet and share about the experience of Quaker parenting (grandparenting).
Joyce Ajlouny (she/her), Keynote Speaker
General Secretary, American Friend Service Committee
A Quaker leader who is committed to helping bring peace and justice to communities globally, Joyce Ajlouny has deep experience in international development and relief, education and non-profit management. Under her leadership, AFSC is entering its second century with a bold strategic revisioning and planning initiative for the next decade (2020-2030).
A Palestinian American, Joyce started her career in international development in Palestine. She served as country director for Palestine and Israel with Oxfam-Great Britain, chaired the Association of International Development Agencies there and took on leadership roles at the UNDP and UNFPA. Prior to joining AFSC, Joyce served as the director of the Ramallah Friends School, a leading K-12 Quaker school in Palestine, for 13 years, where she led a diverse staff to transform the school academically, physically and financially.
Joyce holds a master’s degree in Organizational Management and Development from Fielding Graduate University in California. She and her husband have three adult children.
Timothy Simmons (he/him), Artist in Residence
Timothy Simmons, a member of Old Haverford Monthly Meeting in Havertown, PA, is an educator, multi-instrumentalist, writer, and artist who loves to explore the intersections between language, music, and art through storytelling, dynamic musical interplay, improvisation, and an unabashed love of the groove.
As part of his work as the music teacher at Delaware Valley Friends School, in Paoli, PA, Tim created a music curriculum for adolescents with Dyslexia and ADHD that uses improvisation that addresses language learning needs, exercises executive function skills, and builds capacity for Social Emotional Learning. This work has extended into the rest of Tim’s life – from facilitating community drum circles all around the Philadelphia area and playing drums on stages all around the country; from creating stories to share with his students that bring the magic of music to life, to writing original songs and collaborating with musicians from across the globe. Tim is the author of Serafine Finds a Song, a storybook guide to musical improvisation for readers of all ages, and his most recent album, Moonfish, is a rock opera that tells the story of three teenagers who sacrifice everything to do the right thing. Tim is thrilled to share his love of music, improvisation, drumming, and storytelling with everyone this year’s Annual Sessions!
