Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

Monthly Meeting News

Millville Meeting: Service to the Aging and One Friend’s Story 

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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

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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)

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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

Monthly and Quarterly Meeting Leadership Gatherings

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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 January 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

Ramallah Friends School Christmas Song

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A message from Plymouth Meeting

During Eleventh Month Business Meeting, our Monthly Meeting united in sending in a letter conveying our love and concern for Ramallah Friends Meeting, Friends School and all people of Palestine during this time of violence against the people of Palestine and Israel that has escalated to war in Gaza and continual random violence in the rest of Palestine and Israel. The letters and reply can be found on our website. [Read more…] about Ramallah Friends School Christmas Song

Harrisburg Monthly Meeting Minute on Israel-Palestine conflict

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Today 11/12/2023 Harrisburg Monthly Meeting approved the following minute on the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Nov 12, 2023
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) testimony on peace, justice, and nonviolence is based in our experience of the divine in all of creation and within all persons:
Thus, we are deeply troubled by the suffering and injustice caused by the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and we are concerned that our government perpetuates that violence by continuing to send billions of dollars of military aid to the region. We affirm the right to self determination for both Israel and Palestine.
We call upon our nation to:
* Work for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to save precious human life
* Cease sending United States military aid and selling weapons to Israel and work to end military aid and arms sales from all outside countries to all parties in this conflict 
* Continue diplomatic efforts with all parties and remain in dialogue even with those who have acted violently
* Work towards a just, comprehensive resolution that allows all people of the region to live in security and equality, and repairs harm that has been done 
* Join the international court system and accept its jurisdiction
We call upon all nations to: 
* Support efforts based in international law to bring justice, peace, security, and reconciliation to all parties in the conflict 
* Take measures to assure that international laws are applied universally
We call upon all individuals and communities to: 
* Support and learn from organizations that bring Israelis and Palestinians together for justice and peacemaking. 
* Examine how anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism, and privilege affect our understanding of the conflict
Adapted from here: https://www.fcnl.org/updates/2017-12/quaker-meeting-minute-israel-palestine-conflict

Fall Monthly and Quarterly Meeting Leadership Gatherings

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Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s General Secretary, Christie Duncan-Tessmer, invited Friends in monthly and quarterly meeting leadership roles to gatherings on Zoom on September 21 and September 28. Many leaders attended to share, listen, and learn from each other.

[Read more…] about Fall Monthly and Quarterly Meeting Leadership Gatherings

What’s After Quaker Cloud?

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December 2023 marks the end of the Friends General Conference Quaker Cloud, which many meetings have utilized to host their websites for over a decade. The transition to creating a new website may feel daunting to some meetings, but it doesn’t have to. Creating websites can truly be as simple or as complicated as anyone wants to make it, and there is a tool that will meet everyone’s skill-level and interests. [Read more…] about What’s After Quaker Cloud?

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