July 2024 marks the 400th birthday of Quakerism co-founder George Fox. For more than a year, Friends around the world have been pondering and planning how to celebrate the life and legacy of this 17th century spiritual leader. Fox was a gifted speaker who drew on his Christian faith to challenge societal injustice in his time, but he is not a “famous Friend” without aspects of his life and ministry that we are called to consider in the light of today. Almost four centuries after his public ministry shaped the beginnings of the Religious Society of Friends, across the globe Quakerism continues to evolve and contribute to our wider society. Shared here are available resources for summer celebrations and year-round learning about the legacy of George Fox at 400.
Communications & Outreach
Norristown Meeting’s “Memorial to the Lost” Addresses Gun Violence
Norristown Quaker Meeting will hold a public witness to the lives lost to gun violence in Montgomery County this June. Over 40, 000 die from gun violence every year in the United States. The first event, installing a visible memorial, will take place on June 15, 2024, at 10:30am at the Quaker meeting house at 20 Jacoby Street, Norristown, PA. All are invited to attend and join the interfaith prayer vigil and singing afterwards.
Norristown Friends Meeting, part of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, is partnering with Heeding God’s Call to End Gun Violence to install a Memorial to the Lost on the meeting grounds. Each person killed by gun violence in Montgomery County will be honored with a t-shirt with their name, birth and death dates, and age at the time of death. The Memorial is a visible representation of the harm that is done to our communities through gun violence.
On the following Saturday, June 22, at 10:30, Norristown Friends Meeting will host a community event to provide more information and education about gun violence and what people can do to help enact commonsense gun laws and promote safe gun ownership. There will be speakers, testimonials, singing and messages from local organizations. Refreshments will be served. These programs and activities are designed to engage people of all faiths and all meetings, churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques.
“We seek to energize communities of all faiths into activism using positive messaging and inspiring local activities, intended to mobilize and organize”, says Mary Green, organizer for the event.
Norristown Quaker Meeting opened its doors at in 1853, welcoming Friends including Lucretia Mott, a widely known Quaker preacher and leader in the anti-slavery movement. Norristown Friends continue to practice the Quaker values of peace, equality, and community out in the world and gather for the rich silence of unprogrammed worship at the corner of Jacoby and Swede Streets in Norristown, PA.
Heeding God’s Call to End Gun Violence is the outgrowth of a peace conference organized by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Quakers and two other historic peace churches, the Mennonites and the Brethren, in 2009.
In 2023 PYM launched the Friends Ending Gun Violence Collaborative, a network of concerned Quakers that work with partners to support local meetings to take action to reduce gun violence through public witness and education.
Making Spaces for Children In Worship
A rising interest in intergenerational worship in the yearly meeting has also led to meetings creating spaces for children in the places where they worship. This is more than putting a “children’s area” in the places where we worship — It is a visible message to any newcomer, including families with children: “Children are welcome here.” [Read more…] about Making Spaces for Children In Worship
Monthly and Quarterly Meeting Leadership Gatherings
Three times each year, Friends in local and quarterly meeting leadership (clerks, assistant clerks, treasurers, committee clerks) gather online with the presiding clerk and General Secretary. The gatherings include timely announcements and shared conversation, and are one way that we connect across meetings in the yearly meeting. The May 2024 gatherings included several announcements to share back to meetings, and small group discussions around topics of interest. [Read more…] about Monthly and Quarterly Meeting Leadership Gatherings
Come to the Table! Friendly Community Outreach
As the summer months begin, local communities will be hosting festivals, street fairs, and events in parks and other outdoor locations where Friends meetings will find opportunities for outreach and community connections. “Tabling” at these local events is a great opportunity for conversations and sharing information about the meeting. For those who don’t know our meetinghouses are more than historic buildings, meeting Friends at community events lifts up our current presence and vital ministries. [Read more…] about Come to the Table! Friendly Community Outreach
PYM’s Joey Leroux to Lead Tour of Philly’s Quaker Business Influencers
Join Joey Leroux, PYM’s new Director of Grantmaking & Data and co-founder of Beyond the Bell Tours, on Saturday, June 1, for Phriends Influencing Philly, a first-of-its-kind interesting and informative walk (with some surprises in store!) exploring Quaker business impacters in Philadelphia. Beyond the Bell Tours designs inclusive historical tours of Philadelphia highlighting people and communities typically left out of mainstream tourism. Joey holds a degree in Economics from Haverford College, where he was introduced to Quaker history in a course with Emma Lapsansky. He looks forward to sharing the hidden history of Philadelphia with you.
The group will start at Arch Street Meeting House for a light breakfast, departing for the tour at 9:30am featuring: Philadelphia’s Forgotten Founder, Hannah Callowhill Penn; Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, the first medical school in the world to offer medical degrees to women founded by Quakers in 1850; Anna T Jeanes, Quaker philanthropist still impacting Friends today; Strawbridge & Clothier, a Quaker business dedicated to service to customers, community, and employees; Dr. Caspar Wistar, physician and anatomist; the Legend of the Penn Treaty Elm; and more!
Accessibility: There are restrooms and benches along the route if needed. Wheelchairs and strollers are welcome. The tour aims to take the pace of a casual stroll and will last approximately an hour and a half. The walk will traverse concrete and brick sidewalks and cobblestone streets. There are no steps to climb once departed from ASMH, and curb cuts on and off sidewalks will be followed.
What to bring: This is a rain or shine event. Please come wearing weather-appropriate clothing, comfortable shoes, and water to stay hydrated.
The tour will conclude with fellowship, food, and continued fun at National Mechanics. The deadline to register is May 28 and there is a limited number of spots available.
Phriends Influencing Philly Details
Saturday, June 1, 2024
Coffee, tea, and a light breakfast, 9:00 am
Tour departs ASMH, at 9:30 am
Tour concludes with fellowship, food, and continued fun at National Mechanics at 11:00 am
Distance covered: The tour is approximately 1.5 miles long
Parking is available at Arch Street Meeting House
Cost: $50
(Includes breakfast and tour. Food at National Mechanics is not included.)
Young Adult Friends Cost: $35
(Use code “YAF” when registering)
Register here by May 28 to secure your spot!
Questions? Contact Merri Brown at mbrown@pym.org or 215 241 7115
Youth Programs at Camp Swatara with Caln QM
Over the weekend of May 3 to 5, PYM high school and middle school Friends shared community and had lots of fun at Camp Swatara in Bethel PA. Joining Caln Quarter in their annual gathering, the youth enjoyed fellowship, various workshops and activities, and the beauty of the rain! It was a wonderful opportunity to build relationships with youth from around the Yearly Meeting. The youth program was facilitated by PYM youth staff Clare Chalkley, Tara Rubinstein, Alix Vallery, and Crystal Hershey. Robert Rosenthal, from Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, served as an adult Friendly Presence, supporting staff and youth throughout the weekend.
Arriving Friday night, Friends set up their bunks and played cards (Apples to Apples!) before gathering around the campfire to play name games and sing songs. Saturday morning started with breakfast and Meeting for Worship with the assembled Caln Quarter, followed by diving into the first youth workshop of the weekend. Recognizing the importance of learning how to engage with one another in peaceful ways, Tara led a workshop focused on resisting polarization and having difficult conversations with others. After lunch, some Friends went on a hike up to the rock pile (narrowly avoiding getting caught in the rain!), while the rest of the group painted Peace Rocks and attended workshops presented by Caln Quarter. After some much needed down time, Friends went to dinner, the art opening, and the talent show. Many of the youth showed off their artistic and musical talents throughout the evening, sharing their paintings, Tae Kwon Do demonstrations, violin and guitar performances, and more!
On Sunday morning, Friends participated in the second youth workshop of the weekend. Clare facilitated an introduction to the Quaker model of conducting business, and the youth practiced the decision-making process. The weekend ended with Meeting for Worship with the rest of the gathering, lunch, and goodbye until next time!
It’s been a long-standing tradition for PYM youth to take part in Caln Quarter’s Camp Swatara retreat weekend, and as always, it was wonderful to be together in community! This year, the PYM group included some youth who are part of a new Young Friends pilot program, which has been meeting twice a month throughout the spring. This program has focused on building community and having fun, and also providing opportunities for learning – about Quakerism and about social justice issues of importance to youth. This new Young Friends program will continue in the fall…more information will be available on the PYM website later this summer. All 8th to 12th graders are invited to join us!
Millville Meeting: Service to the Aging and One Friend’s Story
A Meeting’s Deep Care:
I was delighted to interview Elaine Graham, a member of Millville Monthly Meeting’s earlier Senior Concerns Committee, which is currently part of the meeting’s Spiritual Care Committee. The names of the committees both fit well with Elaine’s background as a nurse at Geisinger Health System in Danville, PA, and a professional educator who taught comunication courses. With care and communication as her background and with the support of members of the Senior Concerns Committee members including Dean Girton, Melanie Anderson, and Sandra Smith (now worshipping with Mountain View Monthly Meeting, Denver), programs and meeting guidelines regarding aging friends were developed. [Read more…] about Millville Meeting: Service to the Aging and One Friend’s Story
Quaker Call to Protect Our Elections and Save Democracy
In February, 2022, Bruce Birchard, Sam Caldwell and Michael Wajda, all members of meetings in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, initiated what became “An Urgent Call to the Religious Society of Friends.” This was a call to Friends and meetings to join in an effort to protect the integrity of the 2022 elections. Many other Friends joined in drafting the call, which was released in June of 2022. Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and many individual PYM members endorsed the Call.
We formed a “steering committee” of eight experienced Friends who have guided this work. We are an ad hoc group, not a formal organization, no tax exempt status, etc. Our mission is to bring Friends (and Friends meetings) together to take action to protect our federal, state and local elections, save and strengthen our democracy, and stand up for truth and integrity in our American political life. [Read more…] about Quaker Call to Protect Our Elections and Save Democracy
Death Café at Arch Street Meeting (MMFP)
The Care and Funeral and Interment committees at Arch Street (Monthly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia) recently organized a two-part Death Café series for our members and attenders. Its purpose was to talk openly about death, facing our own mortality and how to make the most our lives going forward, as well as to provide useful information on end of life planning. The first session was modeled on the popular “Death Café” concept which began in France and England. Similar to worship sharing, this is a safe and confidential space to express fears, hopes and misgivings about death and dying. The topics of community, family dynamics, end of life planning, financial and legal issues were touched on during this session. In addition, Friends learned much about each other and about how our beliefs and traditions can honor our wishes and preferences for a memorial service in the manner of Friends.
In the second part of the series, useful information and forms were shared. Most importantly, Friends were urged to write a will. (PYM’s website provides a very useful resource from Faith and Practice: A Checklist for the Settlement of All Outward Affairs.) MMFP has a form called “Planning for Death and Burial Arrangements” which meeting members can fill out and file at home and have another copy stored at the meeting house in the care of the Funerals and Interments committee. This document is a vital part of leaving our affairs in order so that family members do not have to struggle to make decisions for their departed loved one and they can find all the pertinent details in one place. Other forms such as a medical directive, power of attorney, medical durable power of attorney were made available. Lastly, the clerk of Funerals and Interments gave a short presentation on the Friends Southwestern Burial Ground, which is available for green burials and welcomes all faiths in its park-like setting.
Friends who attended one or both Death Café sessions were grateful for the opportunity to learn and share with other members and attenders about this important topic. MMFP hopes to make this effort every few years and encourages other monthly meetings to do so. If your monthly meeting would like a copy of our planning document, or would like to know more about how we organized our two-part series, please be in touch.
Submitted by Sandra Williams, Clerk of Care committee, MMFP and Mike Kachur, Clerk of Funerals and Interments, MMFP