Pennsauken, NJ, native Calvin Bell graduated from Moorestown Friends School in 2020 with an impressive roster of accolades, including a Yale Award for Community Engagement, the Princeton Prize in Race Relations, a White House visit as a video game innovator (for an app that enables residents to report environmental hazards, in English or Spanish, to local government), and a lead role in ‘The Drowsy Chaperone.’ At MFS, Calvin served on the Diversity Committee; today he’s a junior at Morehouse College, an historically Black college. He’ll join Moorestown Meeting’s Anti-Racism Committee to talk about his experiences at MFS, at Morehouse, and through many richly varied experiences of a young life. You are welcome to join us on Zoom, at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81587816369 or meeting ID 815 8781 6369.
Social Change
Let’s Talk…
Join F/friends from Moorestown Meeting and beyond for a free-ranging conversation about race and racism. Share stories, experiences new and old, questions, concerns, recommendations, testimony – whatever comes up is welcome. We meet on Zoom at 7:30pm EST, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81587816369, meeting ID 815 8781 6369.
Let’s Talk About One White Man’s Witness
In 2020, traditional country music artist Tyler Childers released an album of Appalachian fiddle tunes and one original song supporting those protesting the deaths of George Floyd and others. Join Moorestown Friends Meeting’s Anti-Racism Committee, watch a couple of short videos together, and discuss what they suggest about whether and how “white” equals “normal” in America today. To preview the videos, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_I3Rp1CQak and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ3_AJ5Ysx0.
Let’s Talk About Whiteness
Thirty years ago, Toni Morrison told a newspaper interviewer, “In this country, American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate.” For most of us, whiteness is still the default, the norm, in our communities – and that makes identifying and eradicating racism more difficult. Our Friend Prof. Janet Gray, currently editing a book of feminist writings on whiteness, joins us online to discuss the idea of whiteness, and how it affects us as individuals and in community. We all have much of value to contribute to the conversation – so Let’s Talk. All are welcome at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81587816369 on Thursday 15 December at 7:30pm for this conversation sponsored by Moorestown Friends Meeting’s Anti-Racism Committee.
The Life Cycle of Meetings
In September 2022, New York Yearly Meeting published a themed Spark newsletter issue on the life cycle of meetings. You can read the full PDF here.
If you’d like to talk more about the topics raised in the newsletter, you’re invited to join a reflection session.
These two reflection sessions, which will be identically structured, will include:
- Information about an ongoing conversation across yearly meetings about how best to support meetings at the end of their life cycles;
- An opportunity to reflect in small groups about what most piqued your interest in Spark;
- Thoughts on how to begin a conversation about meeting life cycles in your own faith community, including communities that are thinking ahead to “someday” rather than coming near the end of the life cycle now;
- And a takeaway downloadable resource designed to support faith communities considering these issues.
The reflection sessions will last 60 minutes and will take place on Zoom. They are open to Friends everywhere.
Mural Dedication at Arch Street Meeting House
A brand new outdoor mural entitled In the Palm of Your Hand, by local artist Nila Devaney, has been installed on the historic grounds of Arch Street Meeting House! Illustrated by Devaney with management from Amber Art & Design and Quaker artist Keir Johnston of Newtown Monthly Meeting, the mural features depictions of lush greenery and interpretive figures of notable Quakers from Philadelphia history.
The mural is currently on view and visitors are welcome, and a dedication ceremony will occur during Continuing Sessions on Saturday, November 5th at 1:00 pm outdoors on the grounds of the meetinghouse.
[Read more…] about Mural Dedication at Arch Street Meeting House
Beyond Diversity 101
An on-campus intensive with Niyonu Spann and Lisa Graustein
(Sunday at 4:30pm through Thursday at 1:00pm)
Beyond Diversity 101 intends healing transformation. We provide frameworks, offer practices, and hold a space for growing skills to de-structure systems of oppression and raise up liberation. Participants are offered pathways to move beyond the guilt-blame cycle toward radical truth-telling, co-responsibility, and activating joy & justice!
Participants will:
- Recognize and remove blocks that hold you back as a facilitator, artist, leader, healer, teacher, or organizer;
- Articulate and break patterns of domination/power-over/oppression;
- Practice being a courageous and heart-centered transformer;
- Increase the ability to discern, speak, and activate a vision of liberation;
- Recognize how our spiritual lives relate to our social justice work;
- Develop applications for continuing work at home.
Green Street Meeting provides school supplies to children at EMIR Healing Center
Green Street Meeting’s EMIR Ministry Support Group says a heartfelt “Thank you!” to everyone at Green Street, the meetings in Philadelphia Quarter, and beyond who supported our school supplies drive in summer 2018.
The drive benefited 103 children whose families had lost a loved one to homicide, and who received services and support from the EMIR Healing Center. The center was founded by our member Victoria Greene, and named in memory of her son Emir, who was murdered. The name also makes the statement “Every Murder Is Real.” No matter who the victim was, or how much or little attention the crime received, that person’s loved ones are mourning their loss for years afterwards.
Still going strong in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood, after 19 years, the EMIR Healing Center continues to help families survive and eventually heal from the pain of losing a loved one to homicide.
Friends from Green Street Meeting formed the EMIR Ministry Support Group in early 2018. We use the Quaker Social Change Ministry model, developed by American Friends Service Committee (especially Green Street member Lucy Duncan). In this model, a group of Quakers partner with a local organization led by people most impacted by a particular issue. The Quaker group follows their lead in deciding what to work on. The model also makes time for spiritual sharing, connection, and reflection, leading to deeper relationship, followership, and grounding of action.
Victoria asked our group at Green Street to organize a drive to provide backpacks with school supplies to the children EMIR serves. When a parent is mourning a murdered family member, whether it be a brother, sister, parent, or child, it can be very hard for them to keep things together for the rest of the family. They may be depressed and overwhelmed, and not as able to track things like school start dates and supply lists. They may lose income or even their job.
Our ministry support group got organized in the spring, asked the Meeting to take us under their care, and then spent the summer campaigning and publicizing the drive. An online buying service was set up so supporters could buy things and have them shipped directly to EMIR. (See this PYM news story from May 2018.)
With a couple of weeks to go before our deadline, we had 51 backpacks, toward our goal of 85. And then we found out there were 103 kids served by EMIR! With God’s abundance, people came through. We had enough to serve every child. We raised about $1,750 in donations, which enabled us to fill gaps in what was bought online or contributed in person.
The week before school started, we gave away 103 backpacks with school supplies in them at the EMIR office. The little children in particular were overjoyed. There were even a few backpacks left over, in case other children have a need.
Victoria said it was a great success and thanked our support group for doing the project and everyone who contributed supplies, funds, or time.
To everyone who purchased supplies online, dropped off supplies directly at the Meetinghouse or at the EMIR office, or made a donation, THANK YOU!
– Chris Mohr, support group convenor
Photo: Victoria Greene, member of Green Street Meeting and founder of EMIR Healing Center, with a box used to collect school supplies. Learn more about EMIR at emirphilly.org.