On January 15, 2023 Birmingham Meeting hosted a special program with guests Adam Waterbear DePaul and Grandmother Shelley DePaul, members of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania. Adam is a member of the tribal council and is its Chief of Education and Tribal Storykeeper, and Grandmother Shelley is a Clan Mother and has also been a storykeeper and instrumental in preserving the Unami language of the Lenape. Both have worked in the university setting and helped bring the story of their people to the wider world through classes and exhibits in libraries and museums, public presentations like this one, and their involvement with the Lenape Nation Cultural Center in Easton, PA. [Read more…] about Lenape Voices: the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania
News
Care Package Challenge Met
We are so excited to share with you that we have now fully met – exceeded, in fact – the Worship & Care Package Challenge! Back in early November, we announced to you that a generous Philadelphia Yearly Meeting family had agreed to donate $30,000 if we could meet that amount through new and increased gifts. Because of Friends like you, we did it. Then, our generous PYM family extended the Challenge by $20,000.
Life Cycle of Meetings Series
Many Quaker meetings are changing. A lot of our numbers are smaller. What are some of the ways we might adjust? What does it look like to have faith and cherish our communities while also recognizing that our energy levels are getting low? An upcoming series of conversations explores the life cycles of meetings and offers support and resources for questions rising in meetings. [Read more…] about Life Cycle of Meetings Series
Impact Investing by People at Pennswood Village in Kenya
Some Pennswood Village residents in Newtown have donated $6,500 to fund a Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR) group in Kenya. Soon they will be getting reports on how and what the members of the group are doing.
The Pennswood Village residents are now engaged in international impact investing — sending money from a country with one of the highest median incomes in the world, $43,585, to one of the lowest, $1,870. Gallup 2021 [Read more…] about Impact Investing by People at Pennswood Village in Kenya
An Interview with Naomi Madaras, a Quaker Chaplain
To attain the highest standard in chaplaincy is no easy feat and Naomi Madaras is taking it in stride, along with her full-time job as chaplain at St Luke’s University Hospital, a volunteer position as clerk of the Young Adult Friends community, a commitment to running a half marathon with her father every year, nurturing new friendships in Bethlehem, and caring for herself, her cat, and her home. [Read more…] about An Interview with Naomi Madaras, a Quaker Chaplain
New Friends Historical Association Grants
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 April 15, 2023.
Details about each opportunity and application instruction are provided at https://www.quakerhistory.org/grants.
Electrical & Safety Upgrades in the Meetinghouse, Thanks to Yearly Meeting Support
Cropwell’s infrastructure got a big upgrade this week. Thanks to a generous gift from the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s Quaker Buildings & Programs Granting Group, the building’s electric was rewired, and fire safety upgrades and security lighting were installed. The work was done by Front Line Electric of Glendora, N.J., who were prompt, professional, and courteous. [Read more…] about Electrical & Safety Upgrades in the Meetinghouse, Thanks to Yearly Meeting Support
A Friend, A Life, & Spirituality
The more you get to know Alex Morisey, the more you become aware you are speaking with a spiritual giant. His path has woven through so much of our world of faith and through the lives of so many Friends that he has become part of the fabric of the Religious Society of Friends. Key to Alex’s approach to his spirituality is his intuitive connection with the world and people around him. Not inclined to regale listeners with his many noteworthy accomplishments, Alex seems happier sharing how he finds himself in the natural world that surrounds him and how valuable people of all walks of life are to him. As an avid writer, Alex loves to write essays that explore the meaning of all this, the meaning of his life and his faith. Alex is a member of the Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. [Read more…] about A Friend, A Life, & Spirituality
Gratitude & Next Steps for Outreach & Communications Resource Friends
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Resource Friend program pivoted to accommodate the urgent needs in the yearly meeting about connectedness, technology, and spiritual guidance. John Marquette, a member of Lehigh Valley Meeting, served Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) as an Outreach and Communications Resource Friend in 2021 through December 2022. PYM received a generous grant from the Thomas H. & Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund which supported both the Resource Friend program in this area and grants for local and quarterly meetings in the yearly meeting interested in outreach and the caring work of connecting Friends in online and hybrid spaces.
[Read more…] about Gratitude & Next Steps for Outreach & Communications Resource Friends
Winter Youth Programs: City & Camp!
PYM Youth Programs have been busy connecting in-person! Two recent programs included a trip to Washington DC for older youth and a Family Overnight for children and families.
The weekend of January 27-29, ten Young Friends (high school) and Middle School Friends from three local meetings traveled to Washington DC with Friendly Presences (adult volunteer chaperones) and Youth Program staff to spend the weekend building friendships, learning more about African American history, and reflecting on how to be agents of change in our world. The group stayed at Friends Place on Capitol Hill, a Quaker learning center and guesthouse. The trip was conceived by the youth from Lancaster Monthly Meeting, who wanted to visit DC and meet other Quaker youth. They collaborated with staff from the yearly meeting Youth Program to organize the itinerary, plan programming, and invite other youth from around the Yearly Meeting.
[Read more…] about Winter Youth Programs: City & Camp!
