Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

Pastoral Care

Share Your Meeting’s Spiritual Self-Assessment

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Dearest Friends in PYM Monthly and Quarterly Meetings and other PYM Quaker Groups,

We trust this finds you seeking to be grounded in Spirit and in your community of faith. 2020 has certainly been a year filled with both opportunities and challenges! The Ministry and Care Committee of Quaker Life Council is once again asking for your help as we look to better understand the spiritual state of our yearly meeting through this past year.

To accomplish this, we are asking meetings to consider responding to the following queries: [Read more…] about Share Your Meeting’s Spiritual Self-Assessment

Quaker Traditions Series: Part I – Spiritual Practice

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The Quaker Traditions Series is a set of articles on the Quaker faith. In his role as Associate Secretary for Religious Life,  Zachary Dutton has listened deeply to Friends in the community. Working with the PYM staff community engagement team he has provided answers to framing questions for this four-part series. The answers are reflective as opposed to definitive.

The gift of the Quaker faith is that it is one of continuing revelation, so the article speaks to the ‘here and now’ of our faith even as it is tied to, and reflects, our history and tradition. If you have thoughts on these questions, please share them with Zachary – his email is at the end of this article. He is always looking for new ways to be in relationship with our wider Quaker community.

[Read more…] about Quaker Traditions Series: Part I – Spiritual Practice

Pastoral Care for Our Children in These Times

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As the pandemic continues, and this week our nation struggles once more against the legacy of racial injustice and violence, our children look on. 

Children and teens are experiencing the continued uncertainty of Covid and its impact on school, peer relationships, and future plans. Additionally, the events in Washington D.C. on January 6 were deeply disturbing and young people may feel anxiety, confusion, fear, sadness, or anger, and have questions about what they see and hear in the media and from friends. As parents, we’re holding space for our children’s feelings alongside our own anxiety, fury, and questions about moving forward. What follows are resources specifically for children, youth, and families.*

[Read more…] about Pastoral Care for Our Children in These Times

Tuition Aid for Friends Children in PYM Friends Schools

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PYM’s Committee on Friends Education reminds families that monthly meeting members’ children attending or applying to Friends Schools  are eligible to apply for educational support for the 2021-22 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 Friends Children in PYM Friends Schools

In These Times: A Pastoral Message

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George Schaefer serves Philadelphia Yearly Meeting as the Care and Aging Coordinator. He works with meetings, aging Friends, and individuals to support PYM’s spiritual growth, pastoral care, and community wholeness. This essay is his response to the burdens we may be carrying today and in the coming weeks. Tea with George is always perfect. Please sit with these thoughts and have a favorite cup of tea close to hand. [Read more…] about In These Times: A Pastoral Message

Preparing for Election Week

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As we look ahead to election week we’ve assembled resources for Friends concerning care for community, crisis response planning, buddy systems, worship sharing, alternatives to calling the police, plus state-specific websites and some democracy organizations. We know that different communities have different needs and interests so have provided a range of alternatives. [Read more…] about Preparing for Election Week

Restoring Civility Across the Political Divide: Author Interview with Karen Tibbals

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Karen Tibbals uses her background in market research and Quaker religious studies to help people understand how others–on opposing political sides and with different ethical frameworks–make decisions. This work, like the graphic image above, draws groups with differing opinions into relationship (pink and blue become purple!) Her book can help liberals and conservatives identify the truths they share, and it explains the success of modern societal accomplishments like gay marriage and outlines why guns feel safe to conservatives and scary to liberals. Here we interview her about who she is, and how she came to publish the very helpful books she writes.

[Read more…] about Restoring Civility Across the Political Divide: Author Interview with Karen Tibbals

What Do We Talk About, When We Talk About God? – Personal Reflection on a Workshop

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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

Ministry & Care Letter to Our Meetings

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Dear Friends,

This is a check-in to see how you and your meeting are doing in these unique times. The physical distancing required by the Covid-19 pandemic has created unexpected opportunities for discerning how to feel connected when physical contact is not possible. Some meetings are also struggling with how to complete their Spiritual State of the Meeting Report given the challenges of Covid-19. We offer some guidance here. [Read more…] about Ministry & Care Letter to Our Meetings

Sustaining Community in Challenging Times – Report from Lehigh Valley

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The following report comes from Lehigh Valley Friends Meeting’s recent  experience with virtual Meeting for Worship. With thanks to Friend John Marquette, who interviewed Lehigh Valley Worship & Ministry clerk, Mary Lou Hatcher

On March 22, six Friends from Lehigh Valley gathered at their Bethlehem meetinghouse to experience and share worship online.

Many meetings have selected the Zoom system to begin online meetings for worship. Lehigh Valley took an incremental step toward true unprogrammed worship with a live stream using YouTube Live and a notebook computer. [Read more…] about Sustaining Community in Challenging Times – Report from Lehigh Valley

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