Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

Quakers & Quakerism

PYM’s Joey Leroux to Lead Tour of Philly’s Quaker Business Influencers

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Join Joey Leroux, PYM’s new Director of Grantmaking & Data and co-founder of Beyond the Bell Tours, on Saturday, June 1, for Phriends Influencing Philly, a first-of-its-kind interesting and informative walk (with some surprises in store!) exploring Quaker business impacters in Philadelphia. Beyond the Bell Tours designs inclusive historical tours of Philadelphia highlighting people and communities typically left out of mainstream tourism. Joey holds a degree in Economics from Haverford College, where he was introduced to Quaker history in a course with Emma Lapsansky. He looks forward to sharing the hidden history of Philadelphia with you.

The group will start at Arch Street Meeting House for a light breakfast, departing for the tour at 9:30am featuring: Philadelphia’s Forgotten Founder, Hannah Callowhill Penn; Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, the first medical school in the world to offer medical degrees to women founded by Quakers in 1850; Anna T Jeanes, Quaker philanthropist still impacting Friends today; Strawbridge & Clothier, a Quaker business dedicated to service to customers, community, and employees; Dr. Caspar Wistar, physician and anatomist; the Legend of the Penn Treaty Elm; and more!

Accessibility: There are restrooms and benches along the route if needed. Wheelchairs and strollers are welcome. The tour aims to take the pace of a casual stroll and will last approximately an hour and a half. The walk will traverse concrete and brick sidewalks and cobblestone streets. There are no steps to climb once departed from ASMH, and curb cuts on and off sidewalks will be followed.

What to bring: This is a rain or shine event. Please come wearing weather-appropriate clothing, comfortable shoes, and water to stay hydrated.

The tour will conclude with fellowship, food, and continued fun at National Mechanics. The deadline to register is May 28 and there is a limited number of spots available.

Phriends Influencing Philly Details
Saturday, June 1, 2024
Coffee, tea, and a light breakfast, 9:00 am
Tour departs ASMH, at 9:30 am
Tour concludes with fellowship, food, and continued fun at National Mechanics at 11:00 am
Distance covered: The tour is approximately 1.5 miles long
Parking is available at Arch Street Meeting House

Cost: $50
(Includes breakfast and tour. Food at National Mechanics is not included.)

Young Adult Friends Cost: $35
(Use code “YAF” when registering)

Register here by May 28 to secure your spot!

Questions? Contact Merri Brown at mbrown@pym.org or 215 241 7115

Quaker Call to Protect Our Elections and Save Democracy

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In February, 2022, Bruce Birchard, Sam Caldwell and Michael Wajda, all members of meetings in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, initiated what became “An Urgent Call to the Religious Society of Friends.”  This was a call to Friends and meetings to join in an effort to protect the integrity of the 2022 elections.  Many other Friends joined in drafting the call, which was released in June of 2022.  Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and many individual PYM members endorsed the Call.

We formed a “steering committee” of eight experienced Friends who have guided this work.  We are an ad hoc group, not a formal organization, no tax exempt status, etc.  Our mission is to bring Friends (and Friends meetings) together to take action to protect our federal, state and local elections, save and strengthen our democracy, and stand up for truth and integrity in our American political life. [Read more…] about Quaker Call to Protect Our Elections and Save Democracy

Funding Opportunities from the Friends Historical Association

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The Friends Historical Association is pleased to offer funding to support contributions to the field of Quaker history.

There are three grant opportunities: project support, publication subventions, and research funds.

All opportunities run on the same cycle, and applications are due May 15, 2024.

Details about each opportunity and application instruction are provided at https://www.quakerhistory.org/grants

Image: Library Assistant Linet Mmbone readies the space for the Africa Quaker Archives. Quaker Religious Education Collaborative (QREC) received a grant from FHA in 2020.

FGC Gathering Registration Update

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General Registration will re-open on Wednesday, May 01!

The Gathering of Friends has almost 800 Friends registered as of the close of early registration, and we expect that we will have to close registration before the May 31 deadline. When programs are full, they are full. Once the Gathering is full, we will not be able to add additional full-time registrants, and will have limited space for single day commuter registrants.

Our Gathering expectations state, “The Gathering is an event for registered attenders. The Gathering programs and facilities are restricted to registered attenders, except for use of the dining hall when cash sales are permitted by the host site. In no case is someone who has not registered for the Gathering permitted to stay overnight on campus.”

Haverford is a smaller, private campus, and will not have cash sales for non-registered guests to eat in the dining hall. We will sell tickets to commuters and day registrants for meals they wish to purchase. Pay-as-you-go meals are breakfast $10; lunch $13; dinner $16.

We will have tickets for the Evening Plenaries on Monday thru Thursday nights available for purchase. The tickets will be $25 per night, with a discounted rate of $10 per night for Haverford students. These tickets will allow anyone to attend the plenary only.

While in the past, Friends have been able to visit the bookstore without registering, we have suspended that as part of our COVID safety practices.

Attenders who want to connect with F/friends in the area who are not registered should make plans to do so off campus. Friends who are not registered will not be able to meet up on campus to visit attenders.

We ask that you understand that this is in the spirit of integrity, honoring our contract with the college, and preserving the safety of our community.

Attending The Gathering From Childhood Reinforced Lifelong Connections with Friends

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Attending the Gathering from Childhood Reinforced Lifelong Connections with Friends

When I was nine, my family’s move brought us to a different unprogrammed meeting in a new state. My newly- made friend’s warm, cheerful mother invited me to go to the Cape May, New Jersey, Conference (not called the Gathering yet) with her and my friend, since my family was not able to attend. I eagerly accepted. [Read more…] about Attending The Gathering From Childhood Reinforced Lifelong Connections with Friends

Asma’s First FGC Gathering Story

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May 19, 2023

by Joan Botto, (first published on the Friends General Conference website)

Asma arrived at her first Gathering in 2022 after driving 10 hours with Friends from her monthly meeting in Florida to Radford University in Virginia. [Read more…] about Asma’s First FGC Gathering Story

Spring Continuing Sessions REWIND

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Continuing Sessions Rewind 

Last weekend, Friends from across the four states of our PYM footprint came together for Spring Continuing Sessions. We learned, listened and felt the joyous presence of Spirit in community while we explored the 2024 Sessions theme, “Called to Healing.” Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business was held on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon, and minutes from business sessions will be on the website in coming days. Because the Annual Sessions schedule is shorter this summer (July 6-7), our times for business at Continuing Sessions weekends are being extended.   [Read more…] about Spring Continuing Sessions REWIND

Fostering Equality in Everyday Home Life

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Lois Volta, Germantown Meeting, wants you to clean your house. Not just for the aesthetic reasons, but for the spiritual and feminist reasons. As she writes, “There will always be something waiting for you to clean up. It’s better to make peace with this concept than to fight it. Let contentment and peace be just as never-ending as the laundry.”  [Read more…] about Fostering Equality in Everyday Home Life

The FGC Gathering Changed My Life Also

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The Gathering Changed My Life.

When I attended my first Gathering in 2002, my life was in the midst of rapid change. All the activities I had based my identity on were shifting – I was facing the empty nest (the youngest of my three children would go to a distant college in the fall), my husband had retired, I no longer had a job outside the home (no daily professional work), even my 13 years as a Girl Scout leader were ending with all the girls graduating from high school. I was stressed and somewhat frightened, not knowing how my life would unfold. [Read more…] about The FGC Gathering Changed My Life Also

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