Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

News

2020 Poor People’s Campaign: A 52 Year History Renewed

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In 1968, the Poor People’s Campaign (PPC) was first named as a key concern of Friends in America. American Friends Service Committee’s (AFSC) Associate Executive Secretary, Stephen Cary,  remarked that the PPC “…has made poverty in America visible, and never again will it be possible to pretend that it is not real.”

52 years later, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) recognizes that we need to work together as a community to continue to make poverty and all the injustices that contribute to it more visible.  As part of that process, PYM’s Quaker Life Council recently minuted an endorsement of the PPC, as has PYM’s Young Adult Friends community, Trenton Meeting of Friends and Haddonfield Quarter. PYM has also offered youth programming (described later in this story) around this initiative and will continue to support the community’s energy on addressing the causes and consequences of poverty in America today.

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A Message Regarding State Sanctioned Violence from Fellowship of Friends of African Descent

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The Fellowship of Friends of African Descent was formed at a Gathering at Pendle Hill in Pennsylvania in 1990. It arose among a group of committed Friends out of a desire for Quakers of African descent to get to know each other. It was incorporated with the following mission statement in 1991:

  • To publish and respond to the concerns of Friends of African descent within the Religious Society of Friends.
  • To provide for the nurture of Friends of African descent, their families and friends.
  • To address and respond to issues affecting people of African descent in their communities.

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Friends Emily and Julia Visit the Friends International Bilingual Center in La Paz, Bolivia

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The Friends International Bilingual Center (FIBC) is a Bolivian program that offers educational programs for children, young people, and adults in la Paz, Bolivia. Their programming is focused around human value and Quaker principles, and participants experience spiritual and intellectual growth centered in the belief that there is that of God in everyone.

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Quakers Making a Difference: Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting Members Donate their Stimulus Checks

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COVID-19 has left many Americans in dire situations. With millions of people filing for unemployment, this pandemic has had a devastating effect on American workers struggling to survive.

Congress passed a $2 trillion stimulus package to help the American economy. It is hoped that stimulus checks recently distributed will help those struggling with sudden painful poverty most; however, for some people this is ‘found’ money – something they do not actually need.

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