At 6:45 Tuesday evening our 340th Annual Sessions launched with a Spiritual Formation Retreat guided by Marcelle Martin.
There were 76 participants of all ages. Marcelle grounded the retreat by connecting the lived experience of early Friends and their longing for God with our spiritual feelings and practices today. [Read more…] about Spiritual Formation Retreat Launches our 340th Annual Sessions
The 2020 PYM Annual Sessions poem has been created and it’s fabulous! Make sure you are there Thursday (from 7-9 PM) when our Poet in Residence, Zenaida Peterson (they/them), presents it as part of their Keynote presentation. [Read more…] about Poet in Residence to Share 2020 Annual Sessions Poem Thursday
Friends gathered for the Saturday, July 25, Plenary on Addressing Racism. The last of five Plenary meetings in preparation for Annual Sessions July 28-August 2, the meeting began with worship at 10:00 AM, followed by S. Boone O’Scheyichbi offering a prayerful acknowledgment that we meet on “traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape People, a vast land supporting the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting region.” This was followed by the reading of minutes (noted in full below), a Poor People’s Campaign presentation, a discussion, a group photo for those who wished to participate, and breakout groups. The breakout groups met to discuss queries and gave verbal and emailed reports on their discussions. The meeting ended at 1:00. [Read more…] about Plenary Session on Addressing Racism – Minutes
At 7:30 PM on July 21, participants gathered for a Plenary Session on PYM’s FY 2021 budget. Alternate Clerk Jonathan Rhoads opened the meeting with worship. S. Boone O’Scheyichbi offered a land acknowledgement that named the four historical Lenape Nations and spoke to “inclusion in a place of truth with diversity and equity.” General Secretary Christie Duncan-Tessmer briefed the 34 participants on technology. [Read more…] about Report on Budget Plenary – A Steady, Familiar Budget
The third in a series of five plenaries on the “Runway to Sessions” took place on Sunday July 19 from 2:00-5:00 PM. Very brief formal minutes are below, followed by additional notes offered by recording clerk Kri Burkander. A January 26, 2020 Threshing Session on Membership Report, PYM’s July 2020 panel discussion video and the 2019 Young Adult Friends Epistle on Membership informed the conversation. The plenary opened with worship and a land acknowledgement offered by S. Boone O’Scheyichbi, of PYM’s First Contact Reconciliation Collaborative.
69 Friends gathered via Zoom this afternoon to discuss issues of membership, belonging, and commitment in our community. We expressed our appreciation for the Friends who gathered for a Threshing Session on Membership held on January 26, 2020 at Haddonfield Friends Meeting and received the report from that Gathering. [Read more…] about A Report on July 19 Plenary Session on Membership & Belonging
The following article introduces the Quaker Life Council’s 2019-2020 work since July 2019. The full 14 page QLC report and all appendixes and minutes received are posted with Annual Sessions advance documents. We recommend reading the full report.
[Read more…] about Quaker Life Council Annual Report for 2020 Sessions
Please stay connected with the PYM community on climate action by filling out the form at the end of this page.
Saturday, July 11, 2020, 70 people gathered in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s Plenary Session on Climate Change to share minutes and discuss yearly-meeting-wide witness for climate action. [Read more…] about A Report on the July 11 Plenary Session on Climate Change
It has been an exciting and engaging seven weeks since we started Annual Sessions programming on May 28th, and we’ve noticed that all the work to assemble an interesting set of workshops for our community has yielded a great turnout. Friends have joined from PYM, Monteverde, Costa Rica, Britain Yearly Meeting, plus many other yearly meetings and Quaker organizations. We hope to see you too!
[Read more…] about Our Workshops are Ending and Annual Sessions is Around the Corner
Re-imagining Our Relationship with the Planet
There are many ways to connect to our planet: environmental projects, trails, management of our carbon footprint, decisions around what we use, purchase, eat, or invest in, considerations about what we plant in our backyards, how we build our homes or get from place to place. All are important, but most important is to be informed.
As we prepare to address climate change during Annual Sessions 2020 it is helpful for Friends in our community to ground themselves with advance preparation.
[Read more…] about Re-imagining Our Relationship with the Planet
Families and young people are a vital part of our PYM community and when we gather for Sessions it is to be an all-ages spiritual community. The time of Covid-19 has changed the shape of our gathering this year — and the shape of this summer for many families. We hope PYM programs will support parents and children at home who are seeking experiences of online camp and community this summer.
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