With 107 Friends in attendance, Meeting for Business in Worship was held virtually from just before 1:00 to 4:00 PM on the nose during the afternoon of July 31st. The agenda offered the following items of business: Introductions, Climate Change Sprint Report, Epistles 1st Reading, and an exercise on Deep Listening from the Ministry & Care Committee. Friends moved through the agenda with joy and recognition of the magnitude of their work. Minutes follow with thanks to the PYM recording clerk, Jim Herr. [Read more…] about Meeting For Business – Minutes of Saturday July 31
Communications & Outreach
Minute of Declaration and Commitment of the Ujima Friends Meeting
Below is a minute that the Ujima Friends Meeting has shared with the PYM community.
Minute of Declaration and Commitment
In an act of declaration and commitment, we, a people of African descent, our families and friends, respond to the movement of the Spirit among us to form Ujima Friends Meeting within the Religious Society of Friends. Ujima Friends Meeting is a community of faith without borders, dedicated to bearing witness to peace, justice, and love. [Read more…] about Minute of Declaration and Commitment of the Ujima Friends Meeting
Meeting For Business – Minutes of Thursday July 29
With 82 Friends in attendance, Meeting for Business in Worship was held virtually from just before 1:00 to just past 4:00 PM during the afternoon of July 29th. The agenda offered the following items of business: Introductions, Epistle Writing Committee, Administrative Council and Treasurer’s reports, the 2022 PYM Budget presentation, and the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Sprint Report and work. Minutes follow with thanks to the PYM recording clerks, Jim Herr and Kri Burkander. [Read more…] about Meeting For Business – Minutes of Thursday July 29
State of the Meeting Reports 2020
Each year at Annual Sessions there is a thick book with printouts of the prior year’s collected ‘State of the Meeting’ reports. Last year we were unable to share in the special joy of leafing through those printed reports. People missed learning about each meeting’s activities.
This year we have compensated for that loss by creating a virtual “book” of all of the reports. You can access them in this news story and they will also be in the Annual Sessions Advance Documents. [Read more…] about State of the Meeting Reports 2020
Remembering Fenwick’s Colony
Carried forward by Salem Quarter Worship and Ministry for Salem Quarter discernment, members of dual Salem Quarter committees (Worship & Ministry and Indian Affairs) sought approval from Salem Quarterly Meeting for the follow minute: [Read more…] about Remembering Fenwick’s Colony
Young Adult Friends: Engagement, Program, and Work
The Young Adult Friends (YAF) program has flourished through years of service by Meg Rose, Young Adult Engagement Coordinator, and her predecessor, Elizabeth Piersol Schmidt. As we look ahead to when Meg is leaving Philadelphia Yearly Meeting to begin a career in social work in late July, it is worth looking back at all that ties this engaged set of young adults to one another, to their leadership commitment to peers, and to this Faith.
The YAF program supports the spiritual vitality and community of PYM by creating programming specifically for young adult Friends (age 18-35-ish), as well as strengthening commitment and involvement of young adult Friends in PYM’s multigenerational community.
Read Minutes of Appreciation for Meg.
[Read more…] about Young Adult Friends: Engagement, Program, and Work
Greenwood Friends School welcomes Andy Jones-Wilkins
Greenwood Friends School is excited to introduce new Head of School, Andy Jones-Wilkins!
Andy Jones-Wilkins began his career in education in 1989 at the oldest Quaker school in the country, the William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia. After five years of service Andy and his spouse Shelly embarked on a two year, 18,000 mile bicycle tour around the world before settling in Paradise Valley, AZ where they both taught at the Phoenix Country Day School.
Andy’s administrative career began at Head-Royce School in Oakland, CA where he served for five years as the Head of the Middle School before accepting his first Head of School appointment in 2006 at The Community School in Sun Valley, ID. Longing to return to Friends education, Andy became the 6th Head of School at Tandem Friends School in Charlottesville, VA in 2011. While there he guided the school through a comprehensive accreditation process with Friends Council on Education and along the way reinforced the school’s Quaker identity. Most recently Andy served for two years as Head of School at The Delta School before accepting the appointment as Head of School at Greenwood Friends in Spring, 2021. [Read more…] about Greenwood Friends School welcomes Andy Jones-Wilkins
Happiness Is a Meetinghouse Re-Opened – Here’s How Meetings Are Getting There
June was a big month for the Friends community as it emerged from pandemic conditions. A number of meetings have been “open” in one way or another for a time, others have met only via Zoom. Those that have been meeting in person for some time (including Centre, Quakertown, Little Egg Harbor, Plumstead, Horsham, and Third Haven) found that as (mostly) smaller communities they could find ways to safely meet. Some set up outside worship, developing and sharing safety protocols that were appropriate to meeting under the wide open sky. Numbers of communities–large and small–accessed indoor in-person worship once local restrictions eased by keeping windows open, or functioned safely by having plenty of space between people and requiring masks.
[Read more…] about Happiness Is a Meetinghouse Re-Opened – Here’s How Meetings Are Getting There
Youth Programs at Sessions Reimagined!
We’ve scrambled our plans for Annual Sessions and made something new! Register here for all programs described below!
Recognizing that young people are both “Zoomed out” and families are out and about more this summer, Youth Programs staff have rethought and remixed our approach to Annual Sessions this year. We’re very excited to partner with Historic Fair Hill to offer an in-person event on Sunday morning, July 25, for children and youth of all ages and their families! During the week of Sessions, we scaled back online programming to focus on special guests and programs that explore identity, inclusion, and belonging. With these programs, we’re kicking off our Youth Programs theme for this year: “Building the Quaker Community We Want to Be.”
We’re Joining Annual Sessions from the Meetinghouse
As we continue our Yearly Meeting journey through this time of staying connected while being apart, Annual Sessions is another opportunity to employ what we’ve learned in new ways. For meetings who are gathering for hybrid worship, how can you bring Annual Sessions into the meetinghouse, and also bring your community gathered to join the body at Sessions? There is an opportunity to explore these possibilities together, July 28th to August 1st! [Read more…] about We’re Joining Annual Sessions from the Meetinghouse
