The picture above shows Friends at Newtown Meeting as they assembled in 2018 to honor World Quaker Day. While the meeting has been gathering virtually during the pandemic, they are still planning to celebrate this ‘special day’ of Friends’ activities around the world. [Read more…] about Friends Prepare for World Quaker Day
Quakers & Quakerism
News from Glenthorne: A Quaker Guest House in England
Terry Winterton is Friend in Residence at Glenthorne Guest House in the Lake District, England. He sent this update on Glenthorne’s reopening.
Every other year Friends Council on Education convenes a pilgrimage to “George Fox and Margaret Fell country” where Quakerism began. Friends stay at Glenthorne and enjoy the charm of Grasmere while they learn about Quaker history. An English guest house and Quaker center (a little like Pendle Hill) Glenthorne is a pleasure to stay at. It sits in the midst of mountains, in a Harry Potter like village, surrounded by walking trails, mountains and tarns (mountain lakes). [Read more…] about News from Glenthorne: A Quaker Guest House in England
Norval Reece: Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and Other Mountains (Like the Pandemic)
With many thanks to Norval Reece of Newtown Monthly Meeting who wrote the following piece about his experience climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro following a Quaker assignment in India. Norval was at the Friends Centre in Delhi, sponsored by the AFSC and British Friends Service Council. He is a member of Newtown Meeting and previously published a version of this story in the Courier Times of Bucks County (PA).
[Read more…] about Norval Reece: Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and Other Mountains (Like the Pandemic)
Merion Member Charles E. Hires: a Manufacturer of Root Beer
The story below was previously published in the Merion Friends Meeting June 2021 Newsletter. The article was written by Janet Frazer. We publish it here with thanks to Janet and Merion meeting.
Charles E. Hires was a pharmacist, an active member of Merion Meeting in the early twentieth century and an amateur historian.
Hires started his root beer business in the 1870s, at a time when beer or hard cider was the typical drink at mealtime and alcohol consumption was increasing rapidly (it expanded more than five times over the last 35 years of the nineteenth century). Taverns/saloons were important venues for social and political gatherings and there were more of these institutions than churches, schools, libraries, hospitals, parks and theaters combined. At about the same time that drinking was increasing, the temperance movement took off for the second time, often calling for equal rights for women as well as reduced alcohol consumption. Under its well-known president, Frances Willard, the WCTU sponsored parades, speeches and demonstrations. The end of the 19th century witnessed both more drinking and more protests against it. [Read more…] about Merion Member Charles E. Hires: a Manufacturer of Root Beer
Cherice Bock on Building Hubs of Climate Resilience
In her July 31st Annual Sessions keynote, Cherice Bock explored the question “Will friends act in radical faithfulness?” with 78 Friends. She lifted up a range of ideas and possibilities for advocacy, emphasizing community-focused work that builds hubs of climate resilience.
[Read more…] about Cherice Bock on Building Hubs of Climate Resilience
Quakerism and Constructive Conflict Addressed by Dr. Sa’ed Atshan
Dr. Sa’ed Atshan offered the closing keynote to 106 Friends at Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s 341st Annual Sessions with a talk on managing conflict within the Religious Society of Friends. He spoke of the powerful healing force of a humble, empathetic approach to difficult conversations. In his personal work across the Palestinian-Israeli divide, he has forwarded a shared understanding of the facts, avoidance of social media, and an approach that recognizes the humanity of each person even when disagreeing. Dr. Atshan began the talk by sketching his Quaker schooling at Ramallah Friends School and credited Quakerism with shaping his thinking on constructive conflict.
[Read more…] about Quakerism and Constructive Conflict Addressed by Dr. Sa’ed Atshan
Mai Spann-Wilson: A Powerful Question Is More Important Than The Answers
Sankofa
Drawing more than 100 friends, Mai Spann-Wilson’s keynote presentation and poetry reading began with Sankofa, a piece he wrote as a teenager. It closed with an impromptu recollection by his aunt, Diane Spann, of Mai at 18 as he shared Sankofa in a spontaneous performance on the side of the road. [Read more…] about Mai Spann-Wilson: A Powerful Question Is More Important Than The Answers
Designing the Next Arch Street Meeting House Exhibit
On Friday August 13th Arch Street Meetinghouse Preservation Trust (ASMHT) is organizing a one-day event, from 10:00 AM-3:00 PM, for Friends and the ‘Quaker unaware’ to visit and test out sample exhibit ideas. PYM Friends will help them understand how the exhibits are experienced, and people who are not familiar with the Quaker faith will help them become more aware of Quaker jargon to avoid in the new displays. [Read more…] about Designing the Next Arch Street Meeting House Exhibit
Interview: Annual Sessions Keynote Speaker Pam/Tommy Greenler
Tommy Greenler (stage name Pam) is a drag performer and musician living in Atlanta, Georgia. They were born into a Quaker Family and raised on a small farm in rural Wisconsin, spending much of their childhood very involved with Monthly Meeting, Yearly Meeting, and FGC Quaker Youth programs. Pam’s keynote address will be Thursday evening, and this interview gives you a sense of the person, performer and Friend you will be meeting virtually next week. A composer, musician, and artist, Tommy/Pam talks about their identity and its expression through performance art.
[Read more…] about Interview: Annual Sessions Keynote Speaker Pam/Tommy Greenler
Interview: Annual Sessions Keynote Speaker Cherice Bock
Cherice Bock is our Keynote speaker for Saturday, July 31st at 4:30 PM. She lives in Oregon and is an adjunct professor of ecotheology at Portland Seminary. Cherice serves as the Creation Justice Advocate at Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. She holds an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary and an M.S. in environmental studies from Antioch University New England. She is a Ph.D. candidate in environmental studies at Antioch University New England.
Cherice is an editor of Barclay Press’s Illuminate (Bible study curriculum written by Friends, for Friends). She also edits the environmental studies journal Whole Terrain as well as curates web content for the watershed discipleship website. As a recorded Quaker minister, Bock sees environmental concerns as one of this generation’s most important social justice issues.
In the interview below she shares some of her thinking around this important issue and its relationship with her faith. [Read more…] about Interview: Annual Sessions Keynote Speaker Cherice Bock