Resource Friends help our community thrive by providing support in specific areas of concern in our monthly and quarterly meetings. These are Friends who offer a diversity of gifts and extensive “how-to” knowledge. [Read more…] about Resource Friends Offer Tech Support to Meetings
News
“Together” Sunday of Spring Sessions
On Sunday of Spring Continuing Sessions weekend, we encourage meetings to “create your own” intergenerational gathering of Friends. While the pandemic has opened the possibility to join together from across the PYM region without travel, which we’ll do on Saturday online, our local meetings are where we gather most often across generations for fellowship, worship, learning, and business. Let’s continue the energy of being together at Sessions in the time after worship on Sunday morning, March 27. Shared here are resources and suggestions to plan simple opportunities for togetherness!
Religious Education Resources for March & April 2022
A parent in my meeting shared with me that they were not sure how to talk to their children about Russia’s war on Ukraine. I recalled a line in an article that had resonated for me as a parent and educator: We don’t have to protect children from difficult feelings, but we must not leave them alone with them. The Tote Bag newsletter for March/April has many resources and events to share with meetings and families, but these ideas for supporting one another and talking about ways to create peace are perhaps the most important. [Read more…] about Religious Education Resources for March & April 2022
Statement Against Expression of Racism in Our Country
February, Black History Month, began with threats of bombing directed to Historic Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). The month ended with the bombings in the Ukraine. Friends believe that there is that of God in everyone. We deplore this violence. The following statement was crafted by PYM’s clerks group in February with the intention of publishing it that month. Staff transitions and the war in Ukraine interrupted and delayed that intention.
[Read more…] about Statement Against Expression of Racism in Our Country
The Mighty Salem Oak
Get a Seedling from the Mighty Oak
The seedling offspring of a 600 year old grand oak tree from Salem Monthly Meeting (NJ) are being planted in sixty Quaker locations – 20 of them are still available. In 2019 this historic tree came down. The tree was so loved that the meeting held a memorial service for it. The memorial program is reprinted below. Salem Meeting had gathered her acorns the previous year and following the tree’s demise they collaborated with the NJ Forest Service to plant them. The seedlings are now large enough to be replanted. Forty will join the landscape of New Jersey meetings. Many more are ready to be claimed for meetings or other Quaker grounds in PYM. If you would like one for your meeting, there is a simple two-step process: [Read more…] about The Mighty Salem Oak
Stories of Faith on the Road to Easter
We are a people full of stories. Stories help us create meaning, make sense of our world, and develop identity. Stories are how some of the greatest teachers, including Jesus of Nazareth, shared their message and showed the path of a faithful life. This series of Godly Play and Faith & Play stories about the life and ministry of Jesus can be used during the time leading up to Easter, and are for viewing with meeting communities or sharing at home. While the style of this storytelling is often associated with programs for children, we all need and yearn for stories. These are for all of us at any age! [Read more…] about Stories of Faith on the Road to Easter
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Response to the Crisis in Ukraine
Quakers from around the world are in anguish and deeply concerned with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Our hearts are with the people of Ukraine and Quakers in the affected areas in this dark time. As a historic peace church, we join our call for peace in the world to their cries for peace and help. [Read more…] about Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Response to the Crisis in Ukraine
QuakerSpeak Completes 8th Season, Gears up for Season 9
QuakerSpeak videos are useful tools for researching the faith. You can post links to them on your social media or website, or embed them in newsletters. Friends enjoy sharing them with the community. They are concise lessons in faith and practice delivered in well edited soundbites.
With over 856,000 video views on YouTube, 2021 saw the most viewers yet in the Quaker video project’s eight-year run. Despite the ongoing pandemic, the QuakerSpeak team created and posted 18 all-new videos, while vigorously promoting classic videos to new audiences. [Read more…] about QuakerSpeak Completes 8th Season, Gears up for Season 9
Retooling Our Staff Structure to Better Support Our Community
Our strategic directions guide us to connect Friends and meetings to one another so that we may experience vibrant, Spirit-led community and deepen our relationships. Philadelphia Yearly Meeting has the gift of a devoted staff who support the community in making those connections. When there is turnover, as staff members move on, we have the opportunity to reflect on their meaningful contributions and to consider what new opportunities there are to continue to build on those contributions. [Read more…] about Retooling Our Staff Structure to Better Support Our Community
Legacy Fund Donor: Amy Kawabe Kurkjian (1923 – 2020)
Last summer Philadelphia Yearly Meeting received a significant bequest to PYM as well as a Legacy Fund gift. When the bequest arrived, accompanied by a letter from Pat McBee, the executor, we knew that Amy Kurkjian had an interesting life story. There was a second story, too. Amy’s executor and care advocate, Pat McBee, was challenged to figured out how to support Amy’s goal of living independently. Pat found a way forward and the causes near and dear to Amy’s heart, including PYM, benefited. So did Amy! [Read more…] about Legacy Fund Donor: Amy Kawabe Kurkjian (1923 – 2020)
