Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

Peace

Honoring the Past and Protecting the Future: 80 Years of Resistance Against Nuclear Weapons

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August 6 and 9, 2025 mark 80 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These attacks killed a quarter of a million people by the end of 1945 and harmed the Hibakusha, survivors of the atomic bombings, and their families in the decades to follow. We must honor the legacy of the Hibakusha and commit ourselves to ridding the world of these indiscriminate weapons.

Join us for the August First Monday Lecture on August 4 to hear from two professionals who have long worked for nuclear abolition. The lecture will cover the humanitarian and health impacts of nuclear weapons, testimonies from Hibakusha and other impacted communities, and the role of faith communities in working to abolish these weapons. Participants will leave with concrete ideas for how they can take action locally and internationally.

Thinking Out of the Box: Quakers Contending with Peace, Justice & Security in Eastern Africa

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In this First Monday Lecture, Dr. Esther Mombo will consider how Quaker approaches to peace, justice, and security relate to the ongoing violence in Eastern Africa. This region, home to the largest Quaker population in the world, is also challenged by several tragic conflicts.

Esther will discuss ways of boosting peace and security in the region beyond military reactions and peacekeeping forces. In particular, she will explore the role of different Quaker approaches to peace, such as the Alternatives to Violence Project. What are the lessons we can learn from Quakers, as well as other groups like African women theologians, about a holistic approach to peace and security? This “holistic approach,” drawing from indigenous, Quaker, and other peace-building methods and practices, leads to a peace and security where human beings flourish in the context that God has placed them.

Meet George Lakey at the Screening of Citizen George

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Join the Burlington Quaker Meeting House in welcoming George Lakey for a special screening of “Citizen George”  – A feature-length documentary film presentation of the life and work of George Lakey – a nonviolent revolutionary, a deeply spiritual man with a rebel heart, who has been guided in life by his ideal of societal transformation.

PYM Middle East Collaborative Endorses Apartheid-Free Pledge

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In Spring 2023 the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) launched an initiative to have faith and secular communities pledge to be Apartheid-Free. With a goal of connecting like minded communities around issues of freedom from racism, discrimination, domination, and oppression, AFSC reached out to both US and international congregations and organizations. Specifically, AFSC’s framing of apartheid is taking up the current example of Palestinian freedom, justice, and equality in the face of ongoing oppression, violation of human rights, and legal and social discrimination.

[Read more…] about PYM Middle East Collaborative Endorses Apartheid-Free Pledge

Partnership with Church World Service

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In October, PYM announced a new partnership with Church World Service (CWS) as a covenant member. During the recent Joint Council meeting, Clerk Nikki Mosgrove led a discussion on PYM’s new relationship with CWS, a national faith-based organization focused on just and sustainable responses to hunger, poverty, displacement, and disaster. This partnership allows PYM to nominate board members and collaborate closely on CWS’s work, although it holds no voting rights. CWS extended this invitation to deepen the connection, reflecting their commitment to building impactful relationships. The council plans to review this partnership at a future session to assess its impact.
[Read more…] about Partnership with Church World Service

October 2024 | Joint Council Update

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On Saturday, October 12th, the three councils that support Philadelphia Yearly Meeting—Quaker Life Council, Administrative Council, and Nominating Council—held their first meeting in a new joint format. In this structure, all three councils meet together as one Joint Council to worship, discern, and conduct business collaboratively. A key feature in the joint format is the approval of minutes during the meeting. This allows the Joint Council to share the minutes in a news story with the PYM community in the week following the meeting.

October Minutes →

[Read more…] about October 2024 | Joint Council Update

Talking about the Election with Children and Youth

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Authorship is credited to Melinda Wenner Bradley (West Chester Meeting), Quaker Religious Education Collaborative 

The intensity of the election cycle is an experience both for adults and for the children and youth in our families and communities. Depending on their age, preschoolers to teens may be aware of the anxiety in the adults around them — and experiencing their own anxiety about the outcome of the election in November.

[Read more…] about Talking about the Election with Children and Youth

Peace Begins with You: A Gathering for Children & Families

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“If we are to create peace in the world, we must begin with the children.”
Mahatma Gandhi

“Peace Begins with You: A Gathering for Children and Families” is a Sunday afternoon for families with children to come together for fellowship, learning, celebrating peace and how we can each live in our truth and be peacemakers. We hope Friends in meetings will participate and bring their friends.  Grandparents are welcome too! Families with children in Friends schools in the Philadelphia area are also warmly invited.

The program will include a workshop with Dwight Dunston, aka Sterling Duns, a West Philly-based facilitator, hip-hop artist, educator, and activist with deep experience in facilitating Kingian Nonviolence programs and working with children.

Photo: from Dwight Dunston’s website, sterlingduns.com

In addition to Dwight’s workshop, there will be intergenerational activities, parent/guardian worship sharing, a children’s story and activities, snacks (always!), and time to simply enjoy being together.

With the upcoming 2024 Election, and rising concern about election violence and societal conflict, this afternoon program is aimed at giving our children tools to explore the Quaker Way of the Peace Testimony and to know they are part of a wider community standing with courage for peace and justice.

 

Questions? Please email Kristin Simmons, Youth Engagement Coordinator, ksimmons@pym.org 

Please register below.

 

Friends Join Pilgrimage for Peace Walk

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From the PYM statement in response to the crisis in Palestine in October:

These are not problems that can be addressed with one approach or with attention to one side or one truth or one thread of history. We are required by our faith to work for justice and peace. We must do this together with our neighbors. Resolution won’t be immediate, but participation in the resolution must start now. [Read more…] about Friends Join Pilgrimage for Peace Walk

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