The Newtown Meeting Aging Well series continues with two programs on housing: Where Will You Live in Your Later Years? and Aging in Place. They are presented in video format by Susan W. Hoskins, LCSW. Susan is a clinical social worker certified in gerontology. She is the Executive Director of the Friends Foundation for the Aging, and was director of the Princeton Senior Resource Center for nearly 20 years. [Read more…] about Video: Aging Well
Ministry & Care
In Person Worship: Outdoors and in Meetinghouses
It is a truth universally acknowledged that every empty meeting house exists to embrace worshipers. Friends say they miss in-person worship during this pandemic, and some have found ways to carefully manage convening for indoor and outdoor worship.
Over the course of a month, PYM staff have started visiting meetings to be present in community. As we’ve connected through personal fellowship and phone calls, clerks and meeting members have explained how they have seasoned the decision to reopen. They’ve had to balance safety, tech support, and overall meeting capacity with the genuine need that Friends have to sit together in worship.
All of the four meetings that we visited in late August and September — Horsham, Quakertown, Third Haven, and Plumstead — were offering in-person worship. [Read more…] about In Person Worship: Outdoors and in Meetinghouses
How Can the Practice of Mindfulness Benefit Friends?
We live in a fast-paced world, with a constant stream of input from email, news, texts, and social media. Whether we are working from home or are in retirement, we are bombarded with so much stimulation that the still small voice inside is easily crowded out, and we lose our grounding.
Mindfulness meditation is a spiritual practice that has its origin in the teachings of the Buddha and has been described as “learning to become aware, in the moment, of exactly what is happening, without judgement.” (Jon Kabat-Zinn) As we learn to quiet the mind by centering our awareness on the body or the breath, we begin to slow down, the mind becomes quieter, and we become more receptive to the voice of the Spirit. [Read more…] about How Can the Practice of Mindfulness Benefit Friends?
John Martin Trust: Grants for Friends with Financial Need
Purpose and History of the Trust
The John Martin Trust (JMT) of the Monthly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia exists to aid financially needy Friends in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. It gives aid through the Monthly Meetings, not directly to individuals.
Elizabeth Simms, a seamstress and once a servant of William Penn, married John Martin, a Quaker tailor. Penn gave Simms the property at 320 Walnut Street in Philadelphia, on which she and her husband built a small stone cottage. John Martin inherited this property from his wife, and at his death in 1702, left it to the Monthly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia (now at 4th and Arch Streets) to be used to assist poor and necessitous Friends.
[Read more…] about John Martin Trust: Grants for Friends with Financial Need
Fall Religious Education Planning: Connection and New Directions
We are in a liminal space right now: there is uncertainty about what is ahead, but it is also a threshold to a new place. Thinking about planning for First Day programs this fall, I wonder what new possibilities are emerging during this de-stabilized time? In March, there was a crisis response and many meetings pivoted into online spaces; now the shift is to the new normal. Friends are thinking about how and when to return to meeting houses and what the implications are for children and young people gathering with the meeting. Some questions we might consider in this moment of community planning:
[Read more…] about Fall Religious Education Planning: Connection and New Directions
Willits Book Trust Participates in A Community Reading of Frederick Douglass’ July 4 Speech
As a representative of the Willits Book Trust Committee, a grantmaking group of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Lisa Stewart Garrison, a member of Greenwich Friends Meeting in Salem Quarter, was invited to take part in a community reading of Frederick Douglass’ “4th of July Speech” sponsored by the National Park Service and the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.
What Do We Talk About, When We Talk About God? – Personal Reflection on a Workshop
As part of our Runway to Annual Sessions we’ve been featuring more than two dozen workshops, plenary, or wellness events. Shelly Xia is a young professional who works with PYM on organizing membership information in our new database. In addition to being knowledgeable about data and excel sheets, she is passionate about bridging people from different parts of the world to work together on protecting the environment and addressing climate change. She enjoys martial arts, photography, and Argentine tango in her spare time.
Many people come to Quakerism without growing up in the faith. We wondered what it might be like for someone to experience Annual Sessions programming for the first time, so we asked Shelly if she’d be interested in describing her ‘first time’ experience of a PYM workshop for our web readers. [Read more…] about What Do We Talk About, When We Talk About God? – Personal Reflection on a Workshop
Youth & Families at Annual Sessions
You’re invited!
Families and young people are a vital part of our PYM community and when we gather for Sessions it is to be an all-ages spiritual community. The time of Covid-19 has changed the shape of our gathering this year — and the shape of this summer for many families. We hope PYM programs will support parents and children at home who are seeking experiences of online camp and community this summer.
Travel and Witness Grant: Elom Tettey-Tamaklo’s Travel to Ramallah, Palestine
PYM’s Travel and Witness Granting Group makes grants to support active service and witness by individuals following leadings of the Spirit. Recent grants help illustrate the types of travel and projects that bear witness to the overall granting mission of the Travel and Witness Granting Group. We write about one particular grant recipient today – to Elom Tettey-Tamaklo. Elom has been awarded two travel grants to visit the Isreal – Palestine region.
[Read more…] about Travel and Witness Grant: Elom Tettey-Tamaklo’s Travel to Ramallah, Palestine
Summer Fun for PYM Families
It’s Summertime!
If your family is like mine, you’re planning for a different shape to this summer. Many day camps and sleep-away camp experiences are cancelled. Some parents are continuing to work from home. But alongside the continued Covid changes and challenges, we’re also finding new ways to enjoy nature, be in community, and create summer memories. Popsicles will still be cold and delicious in the summer heat! There are adventures ahead.
[Read more…] about Summer Fun for PYM Families
