Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

Haddonfield Friends Meeting

Manumissions Within the Compass Of Haddonfield Friends Meeting

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Join us in person or online.

In 1754, Friends decided to end slavery within the PYM community.   John Woolman of Mt Holly and others were appointed to labor with Quaker families “within the compass” of Haddonfield and other Meetings regarding the importance of releasing people of African heritage from bondage.   It took four decades until this vision of freedom finally became true.

Over the past year, a joint Lawnside-Haddonfield research team reviewed local manumission documents – releasing people of African heritage from bondage – and other materials to learn about the people named in these legal papers.  Please join us to hear Shamele Jordan, Linda Lotz, and Jayne Stokes report on their findings.

Join us for Worship 10:15 AM, Program: 11:25, followed by a potluck lunch.

Or, use Zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87188319237?pwd=SUYvbjVWWU9GY1N4cklqMEZYZTZMZz09

An intersex, Trans, Christian, and Quaker experience

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A member of Haddonfield Meeting, Deidre Gavel will share her personal story and address common objections – Biblical, biological, and historical – to legal rights and protections for trans and intersex individuals.  “With the rise in anti- trans bigotry and hate, especially in the wake of the recent election, it is more important than ever to understand who trans and Intersex people are, the truth behind the claims about these individuals, and the realities of these lives.”

Deidre hopes to demonstrate that rather than being fact – based, most, if not all of the major objections today are based on a religious and political-based campaign to whip up fear, political division, and votes.

This program will run 11:15 AM – 12:15 PM, following silent worship 10-11 AM.   A potluck lunch will follow the program.  Haddonfield Friends Meeting is located at 47 Friends Avenue, one block from both Kings Highway and Haddon Avenue, and a half mile walk from the Haddonfield PATCO station.

 

 

The Preserving Black Haddonfield History Project

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Our speakers will be:  C. Adrienne Rhodes, Co-Founder and Executive Editor of PRESERVE: Narratives from Historic Haddonfield’s African-American Community; and Dr. Dyann Waugh, featured in the inaugural PRESERVE edition.  She previously attended Haddonfield Meeting.

Worship is 10-11 AM, and the program will start about 11:15 AM.

This project was created to educate the general population and celebrate the African-American community that once thrived in Haddonfield, this project has created a walking tour and online map with information about churches, schools, businesses, and homes. Many of these historic sites were located on or near Ellis Street, as well as Lincoln, Douglass, and E. Park Avenues.  The Project’s website (accessed via the Haddonfield Library) includes oral histories from elders in the community and a docu-series.  Historical markers will be placed along the tour route.

339 MANUMISSIONS AND BEYOND PROJECT

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Avis Wanda McClinton and Kitty Taylor Mizuno will talk about the 339 Project.  Pennsylvania was the first colony/state to implement gradual manumission of all enslaved African people. Between 1765-1790, Quakers living in the greater Philadelphia area released – manumitted – 413 enslaved Africans; these manumission documents are preserved by Haverford College.  In 2020 a new database – “About Manumitted: the people Enslaved by Quakers” – was placed online, providing detailed information included in 339 manumission documents.  The 339 Project wants to know:  What happened to these manumitted people? Funds are being raised to support research by Howard University students, to answer these questions.   Worship is 10-11 AM, followed by the program starting about 11:15 AM.

John Woolman: An Early Quaker Abolitionist

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Charles Bruder, Director of the Woolman Memorial, will share stories from the life of John Woolman, who was an 18th century Quaker, a man of peace and disciple of Christ.   He identified slavery as the major issue of his day and provided an example of non-participation: he refused to write wills, bills of sale, or any other document that perpetuated slavery.

Woolman boycotted all products associated with slave labor including tobacco, silver, rum, sugar, and dye.  A resident of Mt. Holly, he travelled to speak with Friends, including early members of Haddonfield Friends Meeting, and encouraged them to manumit all Africans they held in bondage.

Meeting for Worship begins at 10 AM, followed by the program about 11:15 AM,

Follow-up from Haddonfield Friends Meeting

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On Sunday morning, April 3rd, members of Haddonfield Friends Meeting gathered for a celebration focused on peace and healing. This came about with the confluence of two events at the end of last week: receiving a sapling from the historic Salem oak tree and finding several trees at the entry to our graveyard had been spray-painted with graffiti including two swastikas. [Read more…] about Follow-up from Haddonfield Friends Meeting

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