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
Families
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.
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
PYM Young Friends Launches Brand-New Program for 8th-12th Graders
Why Join Young Friends?
Hey teens! This is Tara and Clare, the co-facilitators for the super awesome, brand-new program for 8th-12th graders. We know spring is a busy season and you might be wondering whether this program is something you really want to make time for. So let us tell you a little bit more about the program and about us! [Read more…] about PYM Young Friends Launches Brand-New Program for 8th-12th Graders
Winter Family Overnight at Camp Onas
On February 10 – 11, twenty Friends gathered at Camp Onas for PYM’s Winter Family Overnight! Crystal Hershey and Abigaile Brace-Higgins, PYM Children & Families CoFacilitators, planned and facilitated the event. As everyone arrived over the course of the afternoon, they opened their arms to one another for big hugs! After hauling luggage into cozy bedrooms, it was time to explore the grounds. The youth went straight to the tire swing and long rope swing hanging from huge old trees. There were trails to hike outdoors, art crafting tables in the common room, and air hockey to play in the game room. Everyone gathered in a circle outside for a game of “The Big Wind Blows.” There was a lot of laughing and chasing one another around! [Read more…] about Winter Family Overnight at Camp Onas
Tuition Aid for Quaker Children in PYM Friends Schools
The Yearly Meeting’s Quaker Education Granting Group reminds meetings and families that local meeting members’ children who are applying to or attending Friends schools are eligible to apply for educational support for the 2024-25 school year. Funding for all grants comes from the National Friends Education Fund and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting endowment income from the Jonathan Rhoads Fund and other PYM education endowments. [Read more…] about Tuition Aid for Quaker Children in PYM Friends Schools
Religious Education Resources & Events for Winter
In this issue of the The Tote Bag: PYM Religious Education and Family Resources newsletter we’re preparing for winter and seasonal holidays and focusing on our testimony of peace.
[Read more…] about Religious Education Resources & Events for Winter
Quaker Spotlight: A Woman of Note
As we began our interview with Demie Kurz, a long-time member of the Religious Society of Friends and retired professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, who also co-directed the Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies program, we were immediately impressed with her flow of conversation and emphasis on the history of Quaker women. Nowadays, Demie Kurz spends her time in retirement writing a book on parenting, written from a sociological perspective. This is her story. [Read more…] about Quaker Spotlight: A Woman of Note
Religious Education Resources & Events Fall 2023
In this year’s Fall issue of the The Tote Bag: PYM Religious Education and Family Resources newsletter you’ll find events and resources to support getting ready for children and youth programs in meetings, including programs on welcome and safety for adults who serve religious education programs. Also shared below are ideas for celebrating our world family of Friends with World Quaker Day on October 1st and the upcoming 400th birthday of George Fox. The Anti-racism Learning & Action section of the newsletter focuses this time on Native Justice and recommended books that center Native American voices.
[Read more…] about Religious Education Resources & Events Fall 2023
