Not long ago we came across a news story about a school in Aiken, SC that was benefiting from scholarship grants provided through a trust set up by Martha Schofield, a Bucks County PYM Friend. Of course we were curious, and so we emailed Friends Fiduciary, the trust administrator, with a series of questions. Out of that exchange came a conversation with Mimi Blackwell, Planned Giving Program Manager, at Friends Fiduciary. [Read more…] about Bucks County Quaker, Martha Schofield, and Her Legacy of Scholarship
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
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
Interview with Janaki Spickard Keeler, FCS Coordinator
PYM’s Friends Counseling Service (FCS) brings forward a spiritually sensitive, clinical expertise to care for the mental health and wellness of individuals in the wider Quaker community.
Janaki Spickard Keeler was recently appointed as the FCS Coordinator. As part of her daily job, she interacts with local Quaker communities, supports present counselors, recruits new counselors, helps promote the service, and attends events throughout the yearly meeting to speak on matters related to mental health and wellness.
[Read more…] about Interview with Janaki Spickard Keeler, FCS Coordinator
Newtown Meeting Survey of Members and Attenders
Submitted by Annemarie Hindman, Norval Reece and Brad Sheeks
Background
Membership has increased 62% in Newtown Monthly Meeting (NMM) since 1996. From December 31, 1996 to December 31, 2019, there was a net gain in members of 130, from 210 to 340. This is an average of about 2.5% or 5-6 people per year. Membership as of December 31, 2019, was 291 adult members and 49 members under age 21.
As an all-volunteer Meeting, several surveys have been conducted during this period of growth in order to learn more about the NMM community, ascertain what is being done well, and solicit ideas for improvement regarding: Meeting for Worship, First Day Classes, community service, social events, and welcoming and integrating new people into the Meeting.
In October 2019, NMM conducted online the most recent survey of our members and attenders with 89 respondents. This survey followed earlier surveys in 2001 by PYM of 10 local meetings, including NMM, and one in 2010 conducted by NMM. This report shares findings from our newest survey as well as some references to previous data in order to facilitate comparisons.
These current data indicate the following regarding NMM:
- new Friends are drawn at a variety of points in the lifespan, but particularly in midlife and beyond (and that this pattern has been relatively stable over time);
- most members and attenders were first brought to NMM by family (30%) or friends (26%) and (40%) heard about the Meeting through Friends schools or other organizations;
- occupations currently or before retirement, were almost equally balanced between nonprofits, including universities (41%), and business/self-employment (39%);
- among current attenders, 75% reported that they had been invited to join NMM, while 25% had not and that the membership process was very (50%) or somewhat (50%) clear (compared to earlier surveys, this suggests that changes made to improve the process of inviting people to become members and being clear about how to apply has become increasingly transparent};
- of 11 items listed that respondents were asked to value among the “most important reasons for attending Meeting regularly,” Meeting for Worship was highly valued by 85%, “a loving, caring community” by 82%, and openness to multiple beliefs, the Peace Testimony, and other social Testimonies by 60-75%;
- NMM was perceived to be welcoming to visitors (96%), have a satisfying MfW (92%), be a loving, caring community (97%), and have a good Adult Religious Education (92% strongly agreed or agreed). In contrast, only 20% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed that NMM was free from dissention or power struggles.
- overall satisfaction with NMM was 95% (58% very satisfied and 37% satisfied).
Conclusion
Taken together, findings from the most recent NMM survey offer a snapshot of the demographics, organizational dynamics, and spiritual perspectives of members and attenders. The relatively strong response rate suggests that results are generally representative of the experiences of much of the NMM community. Members and attenders are drawn to NMM in large part because they perceive the Meeting for Worship to offer a valuable spiritual experience, and because they value the sense of community. In the past decade, NMM has been successful in our goal of helping interested attenders become members. The coming decade may offer opportunities to consider questions that arose from the survey, including the challenges and opportunities attendant to conflict within the Meeting. Overall, satisfaction with NMM among respondents is high.
The questionnaire utilized for the survey and/or the complete summary results are available upon request from Brad Sheeks, Clerk NMM Inreach/Outreach Committee: sheeksbrad@gmail.com
Zenaida Peterson Leads A Poetry Project for All
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Poem 2020
Our Annual Sessions poet-in-residence, Zenaida Peterson, will weave
together a yearly meeting POEM based on your reflections!
All ages are invited to participate and Families with children can work together. You can assist younger children in writing their lines of poetry, or scribe for them. We hope everyone in a household will share as they are led!
The queries
How do we find Spirit in the shadows during this time?
What does it mean to be Faithful now?
- Begin your poetry experience:
- Pick one of the queries to reflect upon. Set a timer for 15 minutes.
- Reflect. Discern. Write!
- Tease out your favorite lines.
- Email those lines to poetry@pym.org
Mail your poetry
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Attn: Annual Sessions
1515 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
The poem will be revealed at Annual Sessions
Zenaida will receive the reflections, and weave together all the lines Friends of our yearly meeting have submitted to create a Yearly Meeting Poem 2020. This will be revealed during the week of Annual Sessions, July 29-August 2.
WHYY films a story on Benjamin Lay and Abington Meeting
WHYY-TV’s Movers & Makers: Hidden History features local stories that have resonance with today’s struggles for equality and justice.
On June 11, Hidden History broadcast the often-untold story of the revolutionary abolitionist Benjamin Lay who condemned slavery long before his Quaker peers. WHYY featured filmed interviews with Abington members and the film is available on YouTube. [Read more…] about WHYY films a story on Benjamin Lay and Abington Meeting
YAF At-Home Spring Retreat 2020: In Light Together, Apart Week 4
This series titled, “In Light Together, Apart” shares artwork of the attenders from the Young Adult Friend (YAF) retreat on May 15-16, 2020. The idea behind the retreat was to collaboratively create something that speaks to where young adult friends were at that time. The themes that emerged were: time, place, people, loss, change, searching, and reflection. The stories and art shared in this series reflect the feelings and opinions of the people who made them.
[Read more…] about YAF At-Home Spring Retreat 2020: In Light Together, Apart Week 4
2020 Poor People’s Campaign: A 52 Year History Renewed
In 1968, the Poor People’s Campaign (PPC) was first named as a key concern of Friends in America. American Friends Service Committee’s (AFSC) Associate Executive Secretary, Stephen Cary, remarked that the PPC “…has made poverty in America visible, and never again will it be possible to pretend that it is not real.”
52 years later, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) recognizes that we need to work together as a community to continue to make poverty and all the injustices that contribute to it more visible. As part of that process, PYM’s Quaker Life Council recently minuted an endorsement of the PPC, as has PYM’s Young Adult Friends community, Trenton Meeting of Friends and Haddonfield Quarter. PYM has also offered youth programming (described later in this story) around this initiative and will continue to support the community’s energy on addressing the causes and consequences of poverty in America today.
[Read more…] about 2020 Poor People’s Campaign: A 52 Year History Renewed
A Message Regarding State Sanctioned Violence from Fellowship of Friends of African Descent
The Fellowship of Friends of African Descent was formed at a Gathering at Pendle Hill in Pennsylvania in 1990. It arose among a group of committed Friends out of a desire for Quakers of African descent to get to know each other. It was incorporated with the following mission statement in 1991:
- To publish and respond to the concerns of Friends of African descent within the Religious Society of Friends.
- To provide for the nurture of Friends of African descent, their families and friends.
- To address and respond to issues affecting people of African descent in their communities.
Friends Emily and Julia Visit the Friends International Bilingual Center in La Paz, Bolivia
The Friends International Bilingual Center (FIBC) is a Bolivian program that offers educational programs for children, young people, and adults in la Paz, Bolivia. Their programming is focused around human value and Quaker principles, and participants experience spiritual and intellectual growth centered in the belief that there is that of God in everyone.
