A rising interest in intergenerational worship in the yearly meeting has also led to meetings creating spaces for children in the places where they worship. This is more than putting a “children’s area” in the places where we worship — It is a visible message to any newcomer, including families with children: “Children are welcome here.” [Read more…] about Making Spaces for Children In Worship
Ministry & Care
Come to the Table! Friendly Community Outreach
As the summer months begin, local communities will be hosting festivals, street fairs, and events in parks and other outdoor locations where Friends meetings will find opportunities for outreach and community connections. “Tabling” at these local events is a great opportunity for conversations and sharing information about the meeting. For those who don’t know our meetinghouses are more than historic buildings, meeting Friends at community events lifts up our current presence and vital ministries. [Read more…] about Come to the Table! Friendly Community Outreach
Spring Family Overnight Recap
On the cool, spring Saturday afternoon of Mother’s Day weekend, seventeen families met at Camp Dark Waters in Medford, NJ for PYM’s Spring Family Overnight. Nearly sixty Friends stepped joyfully onto the sandy forest floor. PYM Youth Staff Crystal Hershey, Abigaile Brace-Higgins, and Elizabeth Croce were there to welcome and direct them to their cabins. Children from ages 4-13 years old got busy playing with the tether ball, building sandcastles, and playing ping pong. Families paddled canoes around the lake. After settling in and playing, everyone got into a large circle for a game of The Big Wind Blows. Then CDW guides led multigenerational team building games. Families had to work together and think creatively through challenges that involved balance, stealth, speed, and trust. The Big Swing (a very long rope hanging from a very large tree) was a favorite activity. Friends wearing harnesses and helmets held the rope tightly, and bravely swung out over the lake!
Everyone worked up an appetite, so a team of Friends prepared dinner together in the kitchen. A fantastic feast of tacos, burritos, nachos, wraps, beans, and rice provided something for every taste! With full bellies, Friends snuggled around a campfire. There’s always room for s’mores! Children told scary stories, giggled, and played with flashlights until it was finally time for bed. No one wanted the beautiful day to end.
Campers awoke to the gentle sound of raindrops falling on the forest leaves. Warming up with coffee, hot chocolate, a big breakfast banquet of bagels, eggs, sausages, fruit, and yogurt was wonderful. Then it was time for Worship. Friends gathered outside under the shelter of the raised dining hall, sitting in a large circle on the sand. Many warm thoughts and loving stories about mothers and caregivers were shared out of the silence. At the rise of Worship, there was a birthday celebration for a 7-year-old. Cupcakes and song made a marvelous finish to a fantastic weekend together.
Many more opportunities for families to connect will be available in the future! Save the date for our next gathering – a PYM Family Day at Pendle Hill on Saturday, September 21. More detailed information will be available soon on the Youth Programs page of the PYM website.
PYM’s Joey Leroux to Lead Tour of Philly’s Quaker Business Influencers
Join Joey Leroux, PYM’s new Director of Grantmaking & Data and co-founder of Beyond the Bell Tours, on Saturday, June 1, for Phriends Influencing Philly, a first-of-its-kind interesting and informative walk (with some surprises in store!) exploring Quaker business impacters in Philadelphia. Beyond the Bell Tours designs inclusive historical tours of Philadelphia highlighting people and communities typically left out of mainstream tourism. Joey holds a degree in Economics from Haverford College, where he was introduced to Quaker history in a course with Emma Lapsansky. He looks forward to sharing the hidden history of Philadelphia with you.
The group will start at Arch Street Meeting House for a light breakfast, departing for the tour at 9:30am featuring: Philadelphia’s Forgotten Founder, Hannah Callowhill Penn; Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, the first medical school in the world to offer medical degrees to women founded by Quakers in 1850; Anna T Jeanes, Quaker philanthropist still impacting Friends today; Strawbridge & Clothier, a Quaker business dedicated to service to customers, community, and employees; Dr. Caspar Wistar, physician and anatomist; the Legend of the Penn Treaty Elm; and more!
Accessibility: There are restrooms and benches along the route if needed. Wheelchairs and strollers are welcome. The tour aims to take the pace of a casual stroll and will last approximately an hour and a half. The walk will traverse concrete and brick sidewalks and cobblestone streets. There are no steps to climb once departed from ASMH, and curb cuts on and off sidewalks will be followed.
What to bring: This is a rain or shine event. Please come wearing weather-appropriate clothing, comfortable shoes, and water to stay hydrated.
The tour will conclude with fellowship, food, and continued fun at National Mechanics. The deadline to register is May 28 and there is a limited number of spots available.
Phriends Influencing Philly Details
Saturday, June 1, 2024
Coffee, tea, and a light breakfast, 9:00 am
Tour departs ASMH, at 9:30 am
Tour concludes with fellowship, food, and continued fun at National Mechanics at 11:00 am
Distance covered: The tour is approximately 1.5 miles long
Parking is available at Arch Street Meeting House
Cost: $50
(Includes breakfast and tour. Food at National Mechanics is not included.)
Young Adult Friends Cost: $35
(Use code “YAF” when registering)
Register here by May 28 to secure your spot!
Questions? Contact Merri Brown at mbrown@pym.org or 215 241 7115
Youth Programs at Camp Swatara with Caln QM
Over the weekend of May 3 to 5, PYM high school and middle school Friends shared community and had lots of fun at Camp Swatara in Bethel PA. Joining Caln Quarter in their annual gathering, the youth enjoyed fellowship, various workshops and activities, and the beauty of the rain! It was a wonderful opportunity to build relationships with youth from around the Yearly Meeting. The youth program was facilitated by PYM youth staff Clare Chalkley, Tara Rubinstein, Alix Vallery, and Crystal Hershey. Robert Rosenthal, from Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, served as an adult Friendly Presence, supporting staff and youth throughout the weekend.
Arriving Friday night, Friends set up their bunks and played cards (Apples to Apples!) before gathering around the campfire to play name games and sing songs. Saturday morning started with breakfast and Meeting for Worship with the assembled Caln Quarter, followed by diving into the first youth workshop of the weekend. Recognizing the importance of learning how to engage with one another in peaceful ways, Tara led a workshop focused on resisting polarization and having difficult conversations with others. After lunch, some Friends went on a hike up to the rock pile (narrowly avoiding getting caught in the rain!), while the rest of the group painted Peace Rocks and attended workshops presented by Caln Quarter. After some much needed down time, Friends went to dinner, the art opening, and the talent show. Many of the youth showed off their artistic and musical talents throughout the evening, sharing their paintings, Tae Kwon Do demonstrations, violin and guitar performances, and more!
On Sunday morning, Friends participated in the second youth workshop of the weekend. Clare facilitated an introduction to the Quaker model of conducting business, and the youth practiced the decision-making process. The weekend ended with Meeting for Worship with the rest of the gathering, lunch, and goodbye until next time!
It’s been a long-standing tradition for PYM youth to take part in Caln Quarter’s Camp Swatara retreat weekend, and as always, it was wonderful to be together in community! This year, the PYM group included some youth who are part of a new Young Friends pilot program, which has been meeting twice a month throughout the spring. This program has focused on building community and having fun, and also providing opportunities for learning – about Quakerism and about social justice issues of importance to youth. This new Young Friends program will continue in the fall…more information will be available on the PYM website later this summer. All 8th to 12th graders are invited to join us!
Millville Meeting: Service to the Aging and One Friend’s Story
A Meeting’s Deep Care:
I was delighted to interview Elaine Graham, a member of Millville Monthly Meeting’s earlier Senior Concerns Committee, which is currently part of the meeting’s Spiritual Care Committee. The names of the committees both fit well with Elaine’s background as a nurse at Geisinger Health System in Danville, PA, and a professional educator who taught comunication courses. With care and communication as her background and with the support of members of the Senior Concerns Committee members including Dean Girton, Melanie Anderson, and Sandra Smith (now worshipping with Mountain View Monthly Meeting, Denver), programs and meeting guidelines regarding aging friends were developed. [Read more…] about Millville Meeting: Service to the Aging and One Friend’s Story
Friends Fiduciary Welcomes New Executive Director
Last month Friends Fiduciary named a new Executive Director: Ethan Birchard. PYM, as well as many meetings, Friends schools, retirement communities, and other Quaker organizations trusts Fiduciary to invest funds and advocate for change in a way that is in alignment with Quaker testimonies. The announcement letter from Bennett Lomax (Doylestown Meeting), board chair for Fiduciary, shares some information about Ethan and welcomes him to the role.
[Read more…] about Friends Fiduciary Welcomes New Executive Director
Asma’s First FGC Gathering Story
May 19, 2023
by Joan Botto, (first published on the Friends General Conference website)
Asma arrived at her first Gathering in 2022 after driving 10 hours with Friends from her monthly meeting in Florida to Radford University in Virginia. [Read more…] about Asma’s First FGC Gathering Story
Support & Resources for Caregivers
Following my participation at Haverford Quarterly Meeting in January, I spoke with Friends Winnie Shaw Hope, who spent many years as a Special Education teacher and as a Social Worker, and Meg Lytton, a retired Family Medicine physician. In 2023, Haverford Quarter made a concerted effort to reach out to caregivers. They identified a need that many caregivers have emotional and financial concerns with great differences. Their goal was to “insert into people’s consciousness” the needs of caregivers, themselves. [Read more…] about Support & Resources for Caregivers
PYM’s Joey Leroux Accepts New Role
PYM’s very own Joey Leroux has been working with PYM as the data coordinator for nearly two years. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce Joey accepted the new role of Director of Grantmaking and Data earlier this month. We sat down with Joey to discuss the future of this key position and how it will best serve Friends. [Read more…] about PYM’s Joey Leroux Accepts New Role