The event took place in the worship room at Friends Center, bringing together worship leaders, city officials, healthcare workers, legal professionals, and community advocates. They joined together to address the impact of immigration enforcement on Philadelphia’s neighborhoods and communities. The event allowed attenders to learn what is happening and ways to take action. [Read more…] about One Philadelphia: A Community Meeting about Immigrant Rights & Concerns
Ministry & Care
Friends Counseling Service: A Source of Support in Difficult Times
The Friends Counseling Service (FCS) is a program of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) that offers members and regular attenders professional counseling by licensed Quaker mental health professionals at a discounted rate. In times of stress and uncertainty, counseling can be a source of strength and support. [Read more…] about Friends Counseling Service: A Source of Support in Difficult Times
Quaker Fund for Indigenous Communities supports the work of Native Roots Farm Foundation
The Quaker Fund for Indigenous Communities provides grants to Indigenous communities enabling their work to build cultural, economic, environmental, and social well-being. We give priority to projects created and carried out by Indigenous peoples of a one-time nature: pilot projects and seed money to help initiatives which serve a community get off the ground. One organization we have supported this past year is Native Roots Farm Foundation (NRFF) for their work rematriating culturally meaningful plants. [Read more…] about Quaker Fund for Indigenous Communities supports the work of Native Roots Farm Foundation
Connected as Members One of Another Across Four States | All Together Worship
On Sunday, March 9th at 10:00am, members and attenders across the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting region will gather in worship, joining from meetinghouses, online, and wherever they are able to participate. All Together Worship is an opportunity for our intergenerational community to experience semi-programmed worship, held in as part of Spring Continuing Sessions. [Read more…] about Connected as Members One of Another Across Four States | All Together Worship
State College Friends Meeting Minute of Solidarity with the LGBTQIA Community
State College Friends Meeting
Minute of Solidarity with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA) Community
Adapted from a similar minute from Germantown Monthly Meeting:
Those who would extinguish freedom have historically targeted the most vulnerable and disregarded in society — those with the fewest allies, the fewest willing to put themselves in harm’s way to defend them, the fewest who see their fate as inextricably bound up with them. [Read more…] about State College Friends Meeting Minute of Solidarity with the LGBTQIA Community
LGBTQIA+ Resources | PYM | Updated March 5th, 2025
Updated March 5, 2025
During Fall Continuing Sessions, Friends were provided with a minute from Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting standing in solidarity with LGBTQIA+ people. This minute, adapted from one shared by Germantown Monthly Meeting, connects to the ongoing threats to the safety and well-being of the LGBTQIA+ community and reaffirms the shared commitment to stand beside them.
Minute of Solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ Community
Below are a few provided resources that Friends may choose utilize, learn, and share when connecting with the LGBTQIA+ community members and Friends. The following resources were compiled by Karen Lightner of Germantown Monthly Meeting, There is hope that this list will continue to grow, if you have additional resources to share, we invite you to send them to communications@pym.org.
[Read more…] about LGBTQIA+ Resources | PYM | Updated March 5th, 2025
Finding Space for Transformation | PYM Spiritual Formation Collaborative Spring Retreat
“The retreat was a vessel; it provided the excuse for the Presence to come among us.” Anonymous.
The Spiritual Formation Program has been one of the great blessings of my life. I have been attending annual retreats for the last 25 years, facilitating for about 20. Here is what I have learned by “sweet experience.” The facilitators serve only as vessels. Our participants come together on Friday evening, mostly strangers to each other. During the weekend, a transformation occurs. By Sunday’s time of departure, we have learned about the sweetness of each precious Friend and experienced Spirit at the deepest level. That of God in each of us has been coaxed out of the shadows. And there is a great Light. The facilitators may miss the mark. But Spirit’s constant Presence always enables the transformation.
The PYM Library: An Opportunity for Community and Stewardship
The Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Library, formally known as the Henry J. Cadbury Library, has been an important part of our community since the 1970s, offering valuable resources for Friends and the wider community. It houses a collection of materials, including books by Quaker authors, resources addressing modern and historical issues, and items for spiritual growth and discernment. The library has served PYM as a hub for individuals and monthly meetings seeking to deepen their faith, strengthen their community, and engage in social witness.
[Read more…] about The PYM Library: An Opportunity for Community and Stewardship
What’s your Gift? | Sharing Skills in Our Community of Friends
Quaker communities thrive when members share their unique gifts and skills. The Gifts & Skills Collection is a PYM initiative designed to highlight the range of Friends’ contributions and talents. This initiative invites Friends to share their gifts and connect with others who have similar interests or experiences. The goal is to build community by matching gifts, skills, or area of interest with opportunities to collaborate and support shared work.
[Read more…] about What’s your Gift? | Sharing Skills in Our Community of Friends
Why DOES Palestine Matter? An Invitation to a 6 Session Course with Members of the Middle East Collaborative
Authorship of this invitation is attributed to Deb Wood and other resources.
As I thought about writing an invitation to the Why Palestine Matters course, I came across the following quotation, which fits the Palestine/Israel situation so well:
“The purpose of propaganda is to make one set of people forget that other sets of people are human.”
— Aldous Huxley
The Palestine/Israeli relationship and conflict can often appear so complex and intractable that we don’t know how we can ever understand enough to move forward. News coverage often lacks the entire context, leaving us unable to honor the humanity of all involved. When we stop seeing a person or group as human, we much more easily discount and discredit their experiences and humanity, making it far easier to deny their needs and right to exist.
