A snapshot of the Community Engagement Team’s work by Zachary Dutton, Associate Secretary for Program and Religious Life
[Read more…] about PYM Staff Snapshot: One Month of Shelter in Place
Written on:
A snapshot of the Community Engagement Team’s work by Zachary Dutton, Associate Secretary for Program and Religious Life
[Read more…] about PYM Staff Snapshot: One Month of Shelter in Place
Written on:
Linell McCurry has served PYM’s community as Associate Secretary for Business & Finance for the past eight years.
COVID-19 has thrust the United States, along with the rest of the world, into a period of recession.
The last major downturn in 2008 found PYM unprepared. The yearly meeting had posted a string of operating losses that decade and depleted cash to fund deficit spending. During the slow recovery that followed the Great Recession, PYM reduced staff by half through a series of painful layoffs. Other spending declined. Operations went into the black in 2012, and the bottom line has been positive for eight consecutive years.
We believe PYM is positioned today to ride out a period of economic uncertainty and continue providing services to meetings and our communities of young, mid-life, and elderly Friends. Thanks to Friends Fiduciary’s distribution, which is based on a rolling 12-quarter average, investment income should only flatten a bit in 2020-21. We also have a cash cushion in a rebuilt operating reserve that stands at six months’ worth of operating expenses. Staff remains small, but operating efficiencies and an embrace of technology allow us to provide as much or more service as in earlier years, all while spending less. PYM’s total expenses in FY 2019 were $200,000 less than its FY 2012 spending.
PYM has been working remotely since Monday, March 16. In the two prior weeks, as we prepared to work from home in the event of COVID-19-related limits on non-essential activity, PYM:
The staff has adjusted to working from home amazingly well, and everyone is being paid their full wages.
The work of streamlining and automation has been in service of the broader community. For the March quarter just ended, more than one-third of PYM’s monthly meetings have been sent a check for gifts made to them on PYM’s website, a service where PYM absorbs the costs and remits 100% of the contribution. PYM offers meetings Zoom support, and 115 Friends of all ages worshiped together by Zoom on March 28.
PYM’s General Secretary, Christie Duncan-Tessmer, concluded that meeting by saying PYM wanted to create “an architecture of love in community” Everyone at home was joined across the geography of multiple states, and we shared spirit among us.
Written on:
Dear Friends,
This is a check-in to see how you and your meeting are doing in these unique times. The physical distancing required by the Covid-19 pandemic has created unexpected opportunities for discerning how to feel connected when physical contact is not possible. Some meetings are also struggling with how to complete their Spiritual State of the Meeting Report given the challenges of Covid-19. We offer some guidance here. [Read more…] about Ministry & Care Letter to Our Meetings
Written on:
Remote work at PYM launched two weeks ago. The shift has presented both opportunities and challenges with children at home, shared workspaces with spouses and roommates, and in some cases, excessive isolation when there are no housemates to chat with.
Like Quakers everywhere, PYM staff’s approach to working from home is leading to creative outcomes and interesting ways to address work and make personal connections in communities everywhere.
[Read more…] about PYM Staff: A Balancing Act on Work from Home vs. Private Time
Written on:
Huzzah! We’re excited to welcome new staff members to the Youth Programs team. Kristin Simmons joins Elizabeth Croce as MSF Co-Facilitator, and Alix Vallery joins as the MSF Program Assistant. Both bring new gifts and skills to the MSF team and will contribute to the wider Youth Programs mission and vision.
Elizabeth Croce says it best, and speaks for the whole Youth Programs team: “I’m thrilled to welcome Kristin and Alix to the MSF staff team! Together, the three of us bring diverse experiences, passions, and ideas that will enrich the MSF program. I am so excited to continue growing the MSF program with this multi-talented team.” [Read more…] about Meet the Middle School Friends Team
Written on:
The February 2020 PYM Thread Gathering on Diversity and Equity in Our Meetings and the World was a day-long workshop that explored the spiritual foundation of the work of healing racism. Facilitated by Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting members .O and Dana Reinhold, and Francis Elling, a member of Unity Meeting and attender at Ujima Friends Peace Center and CPMM, the workshop focused in particular on building our personal readiness to transform as we uncover what is needed for our Meetings to become truly equitable and inclusive.
Written on:
New staff! The Youth Programs team is delighted to announce that Crystal Hershey has agreed to serve as the Children and Families Program Assistant. While Crystal is a new addition to our team, she is a familiar face in youth programs and the PYM community.
[Read more…] about Youth Programs Team Updates: New Staff and An Invitation
Written on:
Written on:
The September issue of “Vital Friends,” the e-newsletter from Friends General Conference (FGC), highlights “Religious Education Programming for Children.” Melinda Wenner Bradley, serving PYM as Youth Religious Life Coordinator, was asked to contribute to the issue.
FGC staff write, “Melinda’s work as a consultant and trainer for religious education programming has produced several worthwhile resources for Quaker parents and teachers. Here, we’ve included highlights of her work, beginning with a beautiful essay about her ministry.”
The essays and articles shared can be found — along with other great resources for children’s religious education programs — at this link. They include pieces on fostering community, exploring vocal ministry, a lesson on being present and worship, and nurturing children’s spiritual lives.
See the PYM website page, “Writings on Religious Education: Practical and Prophetic” for more resources for welcoming and nurturing children, their families, and the people who support programs for youth in meeting communities.
Written on:
Update your contact & Meeting information at pym.org/updates
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
1515 Cherry St
Philadelphia, PA 19102
info@pym.org
215-241-7238
215-241-7045 (FAX)
Contact Us
The latest news, events and program updates from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
© 2024 Philadelphia Yearly Meeting · Privacy Policy