Glenthorne is a Quaker Guesthouse located in the Lake District, Great Britain. They invite Friends to join them for worship at 9:15 AM London time. Perhaps, due to the time difference this is only for those insomniacs among us …
Terry Winterton is the Friend in Residence at Glenthorne Guest House and Conference Center. [Read more…] about Worship with Lake District Friends at Glenthorne, Great Britain
These notes cover information provided during PYM’s March 24th Zoom call. The “What If” artwork above is by Julie Paschkis. Thank you Julie!
WHAT IF … we all had to stay home to be safe?
As our community grows into Zoom and life-at-a-distance we notice the need to connect in other ways. Here are some helpful resources and a list of challenges we’ve been naming as we deal with covid-enforced change.
Post your virtual events on PYM’s website: Use our Event Calendar to publicize zoom events. If you are having virtual gatherings such as worship or Friendly 8’s (using Zoom or otherwise) please consider posting it to the PYM website. Go to pym.org, scroll down to the Community Calendar, and then Click on the yellow button that reads, “Post Your Event.”
Zoom Meeting Support: Monthly and Quarterly Meetings can request Zoom meetings for their communities by filling out an online form at this location on the PYM Website: https://www.pym.org/how-to-guides/communications-to-membership/zoom-calls/
Zoom advice: Some meetings are still considering the appropriate Zoom account or other type of video conferencing service to purchase. For help and to be guided through initial steps please email Zachary Dutton, Associate Secretary for Program and Religious Life.
Helpful Covid-19 updates: responses to the Covid-19 outbreak can be found on the PYM Website https://www.pym.org/covid19/
Connecting to staff: Staff are all working from home. There is a staff list on our website. Email is best, but voicemail is being checked.
Inclusion of children and families as we gather in virtual settings: For resources and consultation Friends are invited to contact Melinda Wenner Bradley, our Youth Religious Life Coordinator. Friends can also check out the Quaker Religious Education Collaborative at quakers4re.org.
Video Conference/Worship/online decision-making how to? Some Zoom support resources for this were mentioned:
Awareness & support for those who do not have access to technology or who do not know how to use it. Some ideas for responding to these needs were:
Concerns for community members not in alignment with the shelter in place directives
There are Friends who continue to meet in person outside meeting houses or continue to express disagreement about the decision to cease meeting in person at meetings. We emphasize that it is not advisable to be meeting in person, even if it is outdoors. Maintaining a distance of at least six feet between yourself and others is not effective on its own unless most people remain at home and only leave for essential tasks such as grocery shopping or obtaining medical attention.
Likewise, we noted that a few Friends are skeptical as to the usefulness of online settings to gather for worship. It was suggested that these friend could be 1) connected with by phone and supported with learning the technology, or 2) simply connected through a phone call to someone who shares on-line audio.
There are also people in our community who will face financial challenges moving forward as the economy is affected by the impact of shelter in place. Some solutions to this in the way of grants have been forwarded previously, but at this meeting the issue was simply named and held.
There are people with disabilities such as blindness who also may need some attention in the work of ensuring that all can participate in virtual gatherings.
Our yearly Meeting’s Ministry & Care Committee is under the weight of the importance of the spiritual self-assessment in meetings and the resulting state of the meeting reports will be collected by May, 2020. More information on this will be made available soon.
With thanks to PYM staff and Linda Lotz of Haddonfield Quarterly Meeting for their note taking.
When planning for Saturday, March 28 and youth programs at Spring Continuing Sessions took an unexpected turn with COVID-19, it didn’t take long for staff to shift gears and think about what is important when we gather in our youth communities, and how to recreate that same energy in a virtual setting. Both Middle School Friends and Young Friends gathered virtually during the weekend of March 28-29 using Zoom. MSF brought the positive middle school energy and their typical warm welcome to a gathering with both new staff members and new faces among the youth participants. Young Friends used two meetings to do much of what they usually engage in at gatherings: fun and fellowship, committee work, meeting for business, worship, and loving one another in community. [Read more…] about Youth Programs Zooming!
At 9:45 on Saturday March 28th, Friends began logging into our PYM all All Ages Sessions Worship. By 9:48 we had 50 people; four minutes later we reached 78; and finally we reached 115. Friends used the chat function for helpful messages about how to manage the technology and offered their greetings. Computer screens were filled with images of Friends everywhere, and some five or six friends also called in by phone. It was wonderful for Friends to see everyone.
Jonathan Rhoads, Alternate Clerk of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM), welcomed the community to PYM’s virtual joining in Worship. We were meeting under conditions of physical distancing imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, but our virtual community is strong and growing.
Melinda Wenner Bradley, PYM’s Youth Religious Life Coordinator, offered her own message of welcome to the all-ages gathering. She noted that whether families were worshiping in Zoom at their meetings, or together at home, we were all connected by spirit. She reminded friends that even as some hearts may be heavy with our condition, when children are present Friends can be mindful of lightening that weight.
Soon afterwards, we heard, in a humble acknowledgement, that today’s gathering place is part of the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape; land where Lenape Tribal Nations people have continuing presence and relationship with their territory. We affirmed the aspiration of harmony between the Lenape people of this land and early Quakers.
Outside many of our homes rain fell, and the sky promised that the land would not suffer drought.
Friends shared several messages of Spirit and hope during the hour of worship. It is Friends’ practice not to record vocal ministry so we’ll simply capture here that the messages included a prayer, a hymn, a biblical passage and gave some shape to the practical and spiritual experience of being in this time.
Melanie Douty Snipes and Johnathan Snipes broke worship with the song “Give me Oil in My Lamp.” It was remarkable to see some 100 faces singing together at one time. After a second song, “Jubilate Deo,” Melanie and Jonathan closed with the African-American Spiritual “Every Time I Feel the Spirit.”
Christie Duncan-Tessmer, PYM’s General Secretary, then concluded our Spring Continuing Sessions with a statement that we Friends of PYM create an “architecture of love in community” when we are together. She offered; “what a joy it is for us to be with one-another in this way. This day has been a perfect illustration of what a yearly meeting is and can be. Each of us–from our home spaces–are joining across the geography of multiple states; we share spirit among us. As we walk across the larger world – we are here together. Be well!”
A group of Friends continued to share their reflections in conversation at the rise of meeting via the zoom call. Friends were reminded that virtual events can be posted on the PYM website and were also invited to log in to other Friends’ Zoom Meetings for Worship as they wish.
Melinda Wenner Bradley noted that Middle School Friends are doing a virtual hangout later today and Young Friends are continuing with their virtual meetings and sharing digital space as well. All Virtual Events are listed on the community calendar at pym.org/virtual-events/
PYM is launching a new digital program of Wednesday Evening Worship for Children and Families at 7:30 each week.
Meg Rose, our Young Adult Friends Coordinator, noted by Zoom chat that Young Adult Friends meet for worship each Thursday.
Friends with pastoral care needs can email our Care and Aging Coordinator George Schaefer.
With rain still falling in the background, our Zoom call closed at 11:50.
Remote work at PYM launched two weeks ago. The shift has presented both opportunities and challenges with children at home, shared workspaces with spouses and roommates, and in some cases, excessive isolation when there are no housemates to chat with.
Like Quakers everywhere, PYM staff’s approach to working from home is leading to creative outcomes and interesting ways to address work and make personal connections in communities everywhere.
[Read more…] about PYM Staff: A Balancing Act on Work from Home vs. Private Time
Clerks Zoom Call minutes – 3.17.20
Christie took attendance at 7:01 – initially there were 25 on the video conference plus another 12 on the phone, growing to 61 finally.
Christie read a defining statement from a registrant and then led the digital community in worship.
Defining Statement: The challenging thing about this pandemic is that it pits two of our most deeply held values against each other. The first is the health and well-being of our community. The other is that a direct and unmediated relationship with the Divine is best experienced together, in community, as one body. [Read more…] about Minutes from 3.17.20 Clerks/Coordinators Zoom Meeting
Our General Secretary, Christie Duncan-Tessmer has served PYM as staff for over 14 years and served as General Secretary for more than five years.
With gratitude for the work accomplished and a desire for her to be at her best as she continues to serve Friends, the Administrative Council began planning a three-month wellness leave in the winter with final approval in February. This is a paid leave during which she will have the time and space to rest and be renewed.
Anthony Stover was first introduced to the Germantown Monthly Meeting after his daughter was enrolled at the Germantown Friends School more than 20 years ago. He has been a member of GMM ever since. He is also a founding member of the Ujima Friends Peace Center, which was formed a few years ago.
Anthony has been working as the Community Relations Manager at the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House since 1999. His work profoundly speaks to his faith, and that faith is centered in spirituality.
[Read more…] about Anthony Stover – “I Like the Simplicity of Quakerism”
Last Sunday, a handful of families in my meeting decided to try online Children’s Meeting (our First Day program for children) and worship together online. It was a last-minute decision to fire up my Zoom account and see how it worked. We posted the information on Facebook and sent out a quick email on the meeting listserv. Two hours later, when we gathered across households, we were joined by a former attender now living in Seattle, and three other PYM families who had seen the Facebook post. We came together across miles and even time zones to share songs, a reading, queries, and waiting worship. [Read more…] about Gathering Together: Support for Families & First Day Programs
Huzzah! We’re excited to welcome new staff members to the Youth Programs team. Kristin Simmons joins Elizabeth Croce as MSF Co-Facilitator, and Alix Vallery joins as the MSF Program Assistant. Both bring new gifts and skills to the MSF team and will contribute to the wider Youth Programs mission and vision.
Elizabeth Croce says it best, and speaks for the whole Youth Programs team: “I’m thrilled to welcome Kristin and Alix to the MSF staff team! Together, the three of us bring diverse experiences, passions, and ideas that will enrich the MSF program. I am so excited to continue growing the MSF program with this multi-talented team.” [Read more…] about Meet the Middle School Friends Team
Update your contact & Meeting information at pym.org/updates
