Each year Philadelphia Yearly Meeting shares an Epistle at the close of Annual Sessions. Below please find the yearly meeting’s 341st Annual Sessions Epistle.
[Read more…] about Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Epistle for Annual Sessions 2021
Governance & Stewardship
Youth Epistle “We Were Here”
Each year the three Children and Youth programs of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting share Epistles at the close of Annual Sessions. This year, one united Epistle was shared by Youth Programs staff. Below please find their 341st Annual Sessions Epistle.
Meeting For Business – Minutes of Friday July 30
With 102 Friends in attendance, Meeting for Business in Worship was held virtually from just before 1:00 to about 4:15 PM during the afternoon of July 30th. The agenda offered the following items of business: Introductions, Quaker Life Council Report, Nominating Council Report, Ujima Friends Meeting Declaration, and the Membership and Belonging Sprint Report. Minutes follow with thanks to the PYM recording clerk, Jim Herr. [Read more…] about Meeting For Business – Minutes of Friday July 30
Nikki Mosgrove’s Keynote on Investing in Community + Land Acknowledgment
A powerful speaker with a message of kindness, advocacy, and partnerships within the community, Nikki Mosgrove, of Trenton Friends Meeting and Nia Ministries, spoke to the truth that what is right is not always comfortable. She opened with Micah 6:8, a theme of this year’s Annual Sessions. [Read more…] about Nikki Mosgrove’s Keynote on Investing in Community + Land Acknowledgment
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
Annual Sessions 2021 Begins with Spiritual Formation Retreat
The 341st Annual Sessions 2021 commenced with a virtual Spiritual Formation Retreat that was led by .O (she/him/?/they/them) and organized by the Spiritual Formation Collaborative. The retreat was offered to ‘prepare and till the soil of the soul,’ so that Friends are empowered to move forward with the work of addressing and removing injustices, and nurturing justice.
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What Sessions Gives to PYM Community. Why Come? What are the Takeaways?
In the lead-up to Annual Sessions, we asked a few members of the PYM community why they attend sessions and for some of their favorite memories from past annual sessions. Here’s what they had to say… [Read more…] about What Sessions Gives to PYM Community. Why Come? What are the Takeaways?
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
Interview: Annual Sessions Keynote Speaker Pam/Tommy Greenler
Tommy Greenler (stage name Pam) is a drag performer and musician living in Atlanta, Georgia. They were born into a Quaker Family and raised on a small farm in rural Wisconsin, spending much of their childhood very involved with Monthly Meeting, Yearly Meeting, and FGC Quaker Youth programs. Pam’s keynote address will be Thursday evening, and this interview gives you a sense of the person, performer and Friend you will be meeting virtually next week. A composer, musician, and artist, Tommy/Pam talks about their identity and its expression through performance art.
[Read more…] about Interview: Annual Sessions Keynote Speaker Pam/Tommy Greenler
Travel & Witness Grant Report: Quaker Travel in New Zealand
In 2019, PYM’s Travel and Witness granting group awarded Jan and John Schmidt, members of Raleigh Monthly Meeting, a grant for travel to Wellington, New Zealand. Jan and John would be staying there under the care of the Wellington Friends Meeting as Volunteer Resident Religious Worker (the official term for their status).
Travel and Witness’ international outreach funds are available to people engaged in promotion of international understanding, justice and peace through travel. Quakers within and outside of PYM may apply. Now in their second year in New Zealand, Jan and John joined Travel and Witness’ quarterly meeting in June 2021 to share their experience. The granting group recorder took wonderful minutes of Jan and John’s account, shared below.
[Read more…] about Travel & Witness Grant Report: Quaker Travel in New Zealand
