Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

Nominating Council

February 2025 | Joint Council Update

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On Saturday, February 15, the three councils that support Philadelphia Yearly Meeting—Quaker Life Council, Administrative Council, and Nominating Council—held their meeting in a new joint format. In this structure, all three councils meet together as one Joint Council to worship, discern, and conduct business collaboratively. This allows the Joint Council to share the minutes in a news story with the PYM community in the week following the meeting.

February 2025 Minutes

The Joint Council approved the revision of the job description of the General Secretary. The document was recommended by the Search Committee, which sought input from the Personnel Committee and senior staff. The changes are slight and bring it up to date.

General Secretary Job Description

[Read more…] about February 2025 | Joint Council Update

What’s your Gift? | Sharing Skills in Our Community of Friends

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Quaker communities thrive when members share their unique gifts and skills. The Gifts & Skills Collection is a PYM initiative designed to highlight the range of Friends’ contributions and talents. This initiative invites Friends to share their gifts and connect with others who have similar interests or experiences. The goal is to build community by matching gifts, skills, or area of interest with opportunities to collaborate and support shared work.

[Read more…] about What’s your Gift? | Sharing Skills in Our Community of Friends

Selden Smith’s Call to Serve as Rising Clerk

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Selden Smith has been a part of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting community for his whole life, bringing care, humor, and dedication to his work among Friends. Selden shared his reflections on his journey with Quakerism, his unexpected call to serve as Rising Clerk, and his hopes for the future of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. He highlights the importance of recognizing the gifts and talents within our community—both in ourselves and in others—and how these contributions sustain and strengthen the work we share as Friends.

[Read more…] about Selden Smith’s Call to Serve as Rising Clerk

December 2024 | Joint Council Update

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The three councils that guide Philadelphia Yearly Meeting—Quaker Life Council, Administrative Council, and Nominating Council—recently gathered for their second meeting in a newly adopted joint format. In this structure, the councils come together as one Joint Council to worship, discern, and conduct business collaboratively. in an article written about this experiment this summer, this practice ensures that the Joint Council can promptly share its minutes with the PYM community after the meeting.

December Minutes and Reports Joint Council Experiment

[Read more…] about December 2024 | Joint Council Update

Mott Memo – Fall Continuing Sessions 2024

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This past weekend, November 8-10, our Fall Continuing Sessions at Arch Street Meeting House, and online, gathered us into a shared journey of worship, fellowship, and reflection as we closed our theme of “Called to Healing”. In the spirit of Lucretia Mott, this Mott Memo captures the essence of our time together. The Minutes from these sessions will soon be available on the PYM website under Session Minutes, so Friends can read and reflect on the work and joy we shared.

[Read more…] about Mott Memo – Fall Continuing Sessions 2024

Nikki Mosgrove Begins as Presiding Clerk of PYM

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On August 1, 2024, Nikki Mosgrove stepped into the role of Presiding Clerk of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (a collection of 105 Quaker congregations in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania). She is tasked with facilitating business among as . Among unprogrammed Friends, who eschews religious hierarchy, a clerk is the first among equals. Her discernment process in accepting this role involved 30 days of prayer and reflection with people of many different spiritual practices: Presbyterians, Baptists, Nontheists, Pentecostals, and Quakers.

[Read more…] about Nikki Mosgrove Begins as Presiding Clerk of PYM

October 2024 | Joint Council Update

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On Saturday, October 12th, the three councils that support Philadelphia Yearly Meeting—Quaker Life Council, Administrative Council, and Nominating Council—held their first meeting in a new joint format. In this structure, all three councils meet together as one Joint Council to worship, discern, and conduct business collaboratively. A key feature in the joint format is the approval of minutes during the meeting. This allows the Joint Council to share the minutes in a news story with the PYM community in the week following the meeting.

October Minutes →

[Read more…] about October 2024 | Joint Council Update

New Schedule for Councils Meeting Jointly

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Our current governance structure was set up with a goal of simplifying our governance and administration. Some adjustments have been made, such as adding a Clerks Group which encourages the clerks of the councils and officers of the yearly meeting to all collaborate. Another change is that the three councils, Quaker Life, Administrative and Nominating, have met jointly for about an hour every month for many years now.  Over the course of the past two years, the clerks and Governance Advisory Committee have been watching for new opportunities that allow the councils to be increasingly effective in meeting our community’s needs, responsive to the spirit and respectful of the council members’ commitment.    [Read more…] about New Schedule for Councils Meeting Jointly

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