Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

Governance & Stewardship

Takeaways From the Clerks’ Listening Session

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In powerful way, listening can really generate a sense of community and belonging. This was felt recently when eighteen Friends from across the yearly meeting gathered for a Clerks’ Listening Session Tuesday, July 13th, from 7:00 to 8:30.

They shared joys, concerns, and experiences of the past year as well as particular hopes or questions they wished to share as our yearly meeting community heads into our annual five-and-a-half day gathering to worship, learn, and grow together in fellowship and business.

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Young Adult Friends: Engagement, Program, and Work

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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.

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Anna T. Jeanes Cremation Fund and FEMA COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Available

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Featured Photo: The Philadelphia Inquirer – October 1, 1907

Anna T. Jeanes Cremation Fund

Friends are reminded that the Anna T. Jeanes Cremation Fund is available to reimburse cremation costs of members of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting monthly meetings.

Application may be made by monthly meeting pastoral care committees, family members, administrators or executors for a deceased member of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Applications may be submitted up to one one year after the member’s death, after cremation costs are paid, and once required documents are available. Reimbursement maximum is $800. Contact PYM grants staff at grants@pym.org for help applying. [Read more…] about Anna T. Jeanes Cremation Fund and FEMA COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Available

Interview: Annual Sessions Keynote Speaker Mai Spann-Wilson

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Mai Spann-Wilson is giving an Annual Sessions Keynote talk and offering a series of workshops during Annual Sessions. His keynote address on Friday, July 30 from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm will engage All-Ages work on Anti-Racism. An experienced, licensed social worker, Mai has worked with people of many different backgrounds. Learn more about his calling and his vision for his workshops in this interview.

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Happiness Is a Meetinghouse Re-Opened – Here’s How Meetings Are Getting There

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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.

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PYM Guidance on Re-Opening

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Philadelphia Yearly Meeting shares this resource to guide others in their process of re-opening. As is our Quaker practice, we have produced a series of queries to consider. After each set of queries, a few resources are included for further exploration. No matter what, follow CDC, state, and local guidelines. [Read more…] about PYM Guidance on Re-Opening

Youth Programs at Sessions Reimagined!

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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.”

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We’re Joining Annual Sessions from the Meetinghouse

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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

New Quaker Communities: Johanna Jackson

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Johanna Jackson (she) is a member of State College Friends Meeting. She travels in the ministry with JT Dorr-Bremme, a Friend with a gift for eldering. They formed the Listening Project, a series of creative conversations rooted in love. Johanna writes about the spiritual community that sustains her, imagining how similar groups could help sustain others, too.

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