Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

Social Justice

Quakerism, Colonization, & Decolonization

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44th Annual Meeting of the Friends Association for Higher Education
Quakers, Colonization, and Decolonization
June 12-15, 2023
Hosted by Haverford College, Haverford PA
Get more information and register.

  • Full in-person overnight option
  • Commuter option
  • Zoom option
  • Hybrid Plenary Sessions:
    • International Decolonization Issue
    •  Decolonizing and Land Back
    • Indian Boarding Schools
    • Insights for discernment moving forward.

25 Concurrent Presentations

  • 4 session In-person series
  • 4 session Zoom series
  • From “Quaker Colonists” to “the Future of a decolonized quakerism.”
  • From “Seeking Peace Without Land Justice” to “Researching Native American Boarding Schools.”
  • 50 Presenters
  • 12 of Indigenous heritage representing 11 Turtle Island Nations
  • 30 Quakers representing 13 Yearly Meetings and 5 continents
  • 10 Colleges and Universities

All are welcome regardless of your academic background or current knowledge of these issues.
Please join us and spread the word.

FarmerJawn Agriculture to Steward Westtown School Farm

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On Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, 2023, Westtown School officially announced its partnership with Christa Barfield, owner, and operator of FarmerJawn Agriculture. Earlier this year, Barfield joined forces with Westtown School leasing 123 acres to create an organic farm. Westtown families and residents from the surrounding community celebrated the new partnership this past weekend on the school’s campus. Attendees witnessed a special blessing by Lenni Lenape elders and enjoyed tethered balloon rides, hayrides, and a host of family-friendly activities.

[Read more…] about FarmerJawn Agriculture to Steward Westtown School Farm

Let’s Talk About Race

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Join Moorestown F/friends for a free-ranging conversation about race and racism. Share stories, experiences, questions, concerns, recommendations – whatever comes up is welcome. We’ll be on Zoom together on third Thursdays; including April 20, at 7:30pm, for these monthly ‘rap sessions. Join us at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81587816369, or using meeting ID 815 8781 6369.

Let’s Talk About Race and Climate

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Climate change and race relations are two of the biggest concerns many of us carry today. Join Moorestown Friends Meeting for a conversation about how the two issues intersect and overlap. For background, watch this free, 30-minute video: https://vimeo.com/174734727 — and Let’s Talk on Thursday 6 April at 7:30pm in a free, online conversation via Zoom, at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81587816369, or us meeting ID: 815 8781 6369.

Let’s Talk with Local Activist Shevone Torres

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Let’s Talk with Local Activist Shevone Torres, an anti-racist and community-builder based in Maple Shade, founder of Imperfect Village, and a prominent voice in BLM NJ. Shevone inherited activism; her grandmother was involved in the groundbreaking Mount Laurel Fair Housing court cases. Today, Shevone works on a variety of efforts, and she’ll share some of her ideas and experiences with F/friends on Thursday 2 March at 7:30pm. Shevone will speak specifically to work she’s doing – and we can join – to ensure New Jersey continually improves the safety, equity and effectiveness of its policing, justice and carceral systems. We’ll be on Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81587816369, or use meeting ID 815 8781 6369.

Continuing Revolution 2023: Nurturing Experiments in Spiritually Grounded Abolition

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June 2-6, 2023: on campus and online via Zoom

  • On-campus resident  (June 2-6): $100
  • Commuter daily attendance: $15/day
  • Online: $20
  • Significant financial assistance is available!

Continuing Revolution, Pendle Hill’s annual conference for young adults (ages 18-35), is a space of collective exploration and learning for the spiritually curious who are striving to live in ways that reflect their values. We welcome those who are seeking to examine the connections between their spiritual, political, and interpersonal lives. 

Join young adult Friends and seekers (ages 18-35) gathering both online and at Pendle Hill to build community with others exploring abolition of police and policing. Building on themes and feedback from Continuing Revolution 2022: Experiments in Spiritually Grounded Abolition, we will focus this year on the relationship between individual and structural transformation. We will explore together definitions and practices of structural change, building skills for positioning ourselves in that work in our respective communities.

We will continue to draw on Mariame Kaba’s understanding of abolition as “a vision of a restructured society where we have everything that we need to live dignified lives.” Kaba notes that “abolition” is not a static or singular thing; the word is used by people of various political persuasions and imaginations, who “want to eliminate prisons, policing, and surveillance, and . . . want to create true safety, health, and well-being instead.” We will learn collectively from the tools, strategies, and processes that contemporary groups are using in local, national, and interpersonal communities, with an emphasis on the interaction between personal and structural work.

Come to Continuing Revolution 2023 to support and be supported in learning to make decisions that reflect your values and hopes for the building of abolitionist futures. Enjoy opportunities for reflection, sharing, worship, and skill-building with other young adults from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences in the nurturing environment of Pendle Hill, either online or in person.

Building Sanctuary Within to Build Sanctuary for Others

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An online First Monday Lecture with Blanca Pacheco

When immigrants arrive in the United States we face racism, poverty, brokenness, and disconnection from our cultures. The New Sanctuary Movement (NSM) of Philadelphia holds space for the community to move from this trauma to collective action and healing. Along this journey, we have learned to claim our wisdom and unique perspectives, developed new and alternative models for ways to fight for social justice, and connected our personal healing and liberation work to our community organizing.

In this lecture, Blanca Pacheco, Co-Director of NSM, will reflect on her  journey as a community organizer and share the current work of NSM. She will offer tools for reflection on our connections to immigrant experiences and our own tools of resistance to fight for justice, and will offer ways to pay attention and learn from organizing models outside of the U.S.

Standing for Equality & Justice in Southampton: An Update

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On May 25, 2020, police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on George Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds causing George’s death. The country responded with outrage and protests. On Sunday, June 7th, Southampton Friends held their first Vigil for Social Justice and Equality. They haven’t missed a Sunday since. [Read more…] about Standing for Equality & Justice in Southampton: An Update

AFSC Seeks Corporation/Board Clerk – Call for Nominations!

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The American Friends Service Committee is seeking a new presiding clerk of the Corporation and the Board of Directors to begin service in April 2023 on approval of the AFSC Corporation. We are asking everyone in the Quaker and AFSC communities to help identify potential nominees who can serve in this important leadership role in AFSC during a challenging and exciting period in the organization’s history.

[Read more…] about AFSC Seeks Corporation/Board Clerk – Call for Nominations!

Providence Young Friends Host Immigration Vigil At Delaware County Courthouse

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Providence Meeting’s Middle School Friends led a highly successful vigil for immigrant rights at the Delaware County Courthouse on October 3, 2020. The event was to focus attention on the treatment of immigrants on the U.S. border and a call for action to address this issue. Supporting our middle school Friends were a large contingent from the Movement of Immigrant Leaders of Pennsylvania (MILPA) and local elected officials. [Read more…] about Providence Young Friends Host Immigration Vigil At Delaware County Courthouse

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