The Runway to Annual Sessions launched on May 4th. Our first gathering engaged 80 participants who convened virtually to share concerns and hopes regarding the process of re-opening to in-person gatherings by the end of 2021. The evening was facilitated by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s (PYM) Associate Secretary for Program and Religious Life, Zachary Dutton, and supported by General Secretary Christie Duncan-Tessmer.
[Read more…] about PYM Community Gathering: Reopening Our Meetings
The Runway to Annual Sessions 2021 begins on 4th May with the Gathering on Reopening Our Meetings. All Friends are warmly welcomed to be present.
We invite you to share concerns, learnings, and hopes regarding how our religious society may begin a process of re-opening to in-person gatherings by the end of 2021. During the gathering, we will revisit the notes of our January 26th meeting about hybrid gatherings and explore the possibility of developing guidance to meetings and other local Quaker communities on re-opening.
[Read more…] about Runway to Annual Sessions 2021: Gathering on Reopening Our Meetings
There are opportunities for Philadelphia Yearly Meeting members to share in the stewardship of PYM’s granting funds by joining one of our Granting Groups. Every year, the Granting Committee seeks new members to join Granting Groups for a three-year term.
Granting Committee last week invited members of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s Granting Groups – along with Administrative Council members, Young Adult Friend consultants, and staff – to gather online to celebrate those involved in the care and stewardship of the Yearly Meeting’s granting funds and to reflect on their work in the past year. “Celebrating Our Granting Witness” offered Granting Group members from different groups the chance to build community and learn from one another. To begin, Ken Park, clerk of the Granting Committee, led us in a period of grounding worship before passing the spotlight on to Friends presenting on their granting group. [Read more…] about Grantmakers Gather to Celebrate PYM’s Granting Witness on April 1
Warm greetings from the Ministry and Care Committee of Quaker Life Council!
We trust this communication finds you well, grounded in Spirit and in your community of faith. This a reminder that if you haven’t already sent yours, we would like to receive the Spiritual Life of the Meeting report from your meeting by May 1, 2021. This will give the Ministry and Care Committee ample time to receive and read what you share, and to craft a document describing the Spiritual State of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and send it to the Quaker Life Council in advance of PYM’s summer sessions, July 27-August 1. [Read more…] about Reminder – Spiritual Life of the Meeting Reports
The author of this post, Zachary T. Dutton, serves our yearly meeting as Associate Secretary for Program and Religious Life. He is a white cisgender gay man working (imperfectly) to dismantle oppression in all its forms. He is a member of Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting.
While many Friends share Zachary’s concerns, the views expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting as a whole. Check out the Rainbow Railroad for information on one way to support international LGBTQ+ people. The PYM Website contains further resources on its page for Peace & Social Justice. [Read more…] about In Solidarity with LGBTQ+ People
Since the first week in February, Zachary Dutton has facilitated a Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting program that shares a new type of mid-week worship from 7:00-8:00 PM each Wednesday. In his role as Associate Secretary for Religious Life, Zachary Dutton listens deeply to Friends in the community; today’s interview focuses on worship, meditation, and upcoming ‘Runway to Sessions’ programming.
They have been wonderfully deep, moving, and illuminating. Attendees have expressed awe and inspiration at the diversity of techniques people have for settling into their center and embracing liberation in the spirit with each other. [Read more…] about Zachary Dutton on Wednesday Worship, Meditation, and Resources for Faith
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s upcoming Continuing Sessions on March 27th will feature three issues of importance to Friends; Membership, Climate Change, and AntiRacism.
It is hoped that Friends at every meeting or worship group will feel led to participate, and that these issues will be brought back to your communities to inform and sustain Friends in an ongoing partnership towards a better world.
[Read more…] about How to Prepare for Continuing Sessions: March 23, 26 and 27
No matter where you go in the Yearly Meeting region, someone is likely to know PYM’s Care and Aging Coordinator, George Schaefer, and to have felt his helping hand. A deeply knowledgeable Friend, and a trained social worker, George treads skillfully in those areas where many hesitate to go. [Read more…] about Care and Aging Coordinator, George Schaefer, on Sabbatical March 15-June14
Deb Hejl, co-clerk of the Legislative Policy Collaborative, submitted the story below about healing circles at the Youth Sentencing and Reentry Project (YSOP). February is a good month to focus on our nation’s problems with incarceration, because there is still time to get informed and ready for FCNL’s Spring Lobbying Sessions.
The school to prison pipeline, and ongoing inequalities faced by persons of color within the policing and judicial systems are things our society must face. Behind the large problems, though, are human hearts and minds that bear witness to the impact on children who have been sentenced to prison for a ‘lifetime of punishment.’ [Read more…] about Life in Prison as a Juvenile: Post Incarceration Stories Shared at Gwynedd
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