Sheila Sorkin, Aging Support Coordinator for Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, recently joined the Honestly Aging podcast by Friends Life Care VigR®. Speaking with host Cheryl Proska, she shared that she grew up in a three-generation household and learned from an early age to hold respect and value for older persons. That early experience continues to connect to her care for others. [Read more…] about Aging Support Coordinator for PYM Featured on Honestly Aging Podcast
Aging
Building Connections Through Grief, Loss, and Pastoral Care
On October 19th, Friends gathered at Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting for a Thread Gathering focused on grief, loss, and pastoral care. The day provided space for conversations about how meetings offer support during life’s difficult moments. Participants shared their experiences, noting that strong relationships help meetings respond when members are going through challenges.
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Exploring Thoughtful Planning with Compassion and Care
Discussing the stages of life is never easy, but it still remains one of the most essential acts we can offer both ourselves, our loved ones, and members of our meeting. The upcoming workshop, Creating Your Advance Directives and End of Life Plan, which will be one of the three at the Grief, Loss & Bereavement: A Pastoral Care Thread Gathering On October 19th, will provide a welcoming space for Friends to navigate this delicate subject. Participants will gain insight into critical documents, such as living wills and healthcare directives, that help ensure their values and wishes are honored. The facilitators, Susan W. Hoskins (Newtown Friends Meeting) and Susan K. Garrison (Media Friends Meeting), will lead a discussion on completing important materials, offering peace of mind to us and those we care for.
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Ways to Connect Before Sessions
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting has multiple October events that will provide ways to engage within our community before Fall Continuing Sessions. Three opportunities include fellowship of the thread gathering, a family-centered peace-building event, or the collective discernment over climate during a virtual threshing session. Each of these events offers a unique opportunity to engage with the PYM community and prepare ourselves spiritually for the work ahead. Whether you are seeking fellowship, family engagement, or discernment on critical issues, these events will help ground us as we come together as a faith community:
We Invite You to Join a PYM Granting Group!
Granting groups are a very meaningful part of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM), and each group is thankful for the volunteers who give their time and effort as granting group members. PYM Friends are encouraged to join a granting group to have the opportunity to practice philanthropy through discernment and to be part of distributing grants on behalf of all of PYM’s members.
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Support & Resources for Caregivers
Following my participation at Haverford Quarterly Meeting in January, I spoke with Friends Winnie Shaw Hope, who spent many years as a Special Education teacher and as a Social Worker, and Meg Lytton, a retired Family Medicine physician. In 2023, Haverford Quarter made a concerted effort to reach out to caregivers. They identified a need that many caregivers have emotional and financial concerns with great differences. Their goal was to “insert into people’s consciousness” the needs of caregivers, themselves. [Read more…] about Support & Resources for Caregivers
Third Haven Helps Members and Attenders Navigate Life Stages as Friends
A meeting with Lorraine Claggett, member of the Third Haven Friends Meeting Pastoral Care Committee, during fellowship at Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Annual Sessions opened many doors to learning about dedication, creativity, and outreach to the meeting’s aging Friends. Connecting with Dona Sorce, past Clerk of the Pastoral Care Committee was also enlightening. Several years ago, the meeting recognized many members were over the age of 50. Subsequently, the group invited George Schaefer, a member of Abington Meeting who previously served Philadelphia Yearly Meeting from 2009 to 2022 as Care and Aging Coordinator, to discuss PYM’s resources for aging Friends. We recently connected with Pastoral Care Committee members Bill Schauer, Terry Thomas-Primer, and Dee Rein to learn more about their efforts. [Read more…] about Third Haven Helps Members and Attenders Navigate Life Stages as Friends
Welcoming Sheila Sorkin, Aging Support Coordinator
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting welcomes with joy Sheila Sorkin into the role of Aging Support Coordinator; we are ecstatic to have someone with a long history of working in fields related to care for the aging. [Read more…] about Welcoming Sheila Sorkin, Aging Support Coordinator
