Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

Adult Religious Education

Forum: Being a Quaker Author

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Being a Quaker author

British Friend Jennifer Kavanagh spent nearly 30 years in publishing, mostly as a literary agent, and now works as a retreat leader and writer. In the last twenty years she has written 12 books of non-fiction and three novels.  Currently she is serving as Friend-in-Residence at Pendle Hill and will visit Swarthmore Meeting on December 1 to talk with us.  She will tell about the transition from literary agent to writer, the difference between writing fiction and non-fiction, and her individual process of writing. Most of all she will explore why she writes, how inspiration emerges, and how her faith informs her writing. 

Building Connections Through Grief, Loss, and Pastoral Care

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On October 19th, Friends gathered at Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting for a Thread Gathering focused on grief, loss, and pastoral care. The day provided space for conversations about how meetings offer support during life’s difficult moments. Participants shared their experiences, noting that strong relationships help meetings respond when members are going through challenges.

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Exploring PYM Connect: Features for Connection and Community

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Philadelphia Yearly Meeting is launching a new online community platform, PYM Connect, in January of 2025. PYM Connect is a secure and supportive virtual space to discuss, engage, and grow with PYM Friends. It allows participants to share updates and meaningful news, while also providing a virtual space to connect with other Friends within PYM who share similar ministries and leadings.

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Ways to Connect Before Sessions

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Philadelphia Yearly Meeting has multiple October events that will provide ways to engage within our community before Fall Continuing Sessions. Three opportunities include fellowship of the thread gathering, a family-centered peace-building event, or the collective discernment over climate during a virtual threshing session. Each of these events offers a unique opportunity to engage with the PYM community and prepare ourselves spiritually for the work ahead. Whether you are seeking fellowship, family engagement, or discernment on critical issues, these events will help ground us as we come together as a faith community:

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Friends Committee on National Legislation | Lobbying for the World We Seek

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The Monthly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia (Arch Street Friends) welcomes fellow PYM F/friends to participate in its virtual Adult Education Series on Zoom.

About the Lecture & Speaker
The Friends Committee on National Legislation has a long history of social advocacy on Capitol Hill, but how are Friends called to influence our government today?

Just over 80 years ago, Friends started FCNL and became the first registered religious lobbying organization in the country. Today, with a team of expert lobbyists and coalition partners, grassroots networks from across the country, and the input of hundreds of Quaker communities at the start of every new congress, FCNL faithfully works to create the World We Seek. Grounded in a vision to bring about a more peaceful, equitable, and sustainable world, that legacy continues to guide our prophetic work within the federal government.

Join us to hear from Micah MacColl Nicholson, Program Associate for Quaker Engagement on the past and present of FCNL’s advocacy.

Micah MacColl Nicolson is the Program Associate for Quaker Engagement at the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL). An attender of Friends Meeting of Washington and alumna of Earlham College, she joined FCNL in 2023 as part of the Young Adult Program Assistant fellowship through a calling to help welcome more F/friends into the work being done in Washington, DC. She works to advocate for Quaker voices within our nation’s legislative processes and strengthen relationship with established and new Quaker communities across the country.

All are welcome! No prior registration required. Please note that the Zoom link for the event will go live on archstreetfriends.org/calendar the day of the event.

About MMFP’s Adult Education Series
The Adult Education Committee at Monthly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia (Arch Street Friends) hosts a monthly series of Zoom talks on Quaker topics of particular relevance to meeting members and attenders. For a full slate of upcoming lectures, visit archstreetfriends.org/calendar.

Inaara Shiraz | Inclusion & Belonging in Quakerism

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The Monthly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia (Arch Street Friends) welcomes fellow PYM F/friends to participate in its virtual Adult Education Series on Zoom.

About the Lecture & Speaker
What are the ways that Quaker meetings can think expansively about inclusivity? How might Friends welcome spiritual seekers and support members of their own communities with a broad spectrum of needs? During this program facilitated by Inaara Shiraz, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s Inclusion and Belonging Coordinator, we will explore ways in which Friends can center ourselves in the practice of inclusivity and belonging. We will explore the topics of community building and engaging with each other through a framework of love.

Inaara Shiraz (she/her) serves as the Inclusion and Belonging Coordinator as part of the Program and Religious Life (PRL) Team in the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. In her role, Inaara supports diversity, inclusion, and belonging efforts within the yearly meeting and supports the community of young adult Friends. She is an attender at Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting.

 

All are welcome! No prior registration required. Please note that the Zoom link for the event will go live on archstreetfriends.org/calendar the day of the event.

About MMFP’s Adult Education Series
The Adult Education Committee at Monthly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia (Arch Street Friends) hosts a monthly series of Zoom talks on Quaker topics of particular relevance to meeting members and attenders. For a full slate of upcoming lectures, visit archstreetfriends.org/calendar.

John Woolman: An Early Quaker Abolitionist

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Charles Bruder, Director of the Woolman Memorial, will share stories from the life of John Woolman, who was an 18th century Quaker, a man of peace and disciple of Christ.   He identified slavery as the major issue of his day and provided an example of non-participation: he refused to write wills, bills of sale, or any other document that perpetuated slavery.

Woolman boycotted all products associated with slave labor including tobacco, silver, rum, sugar, and dye.  A resident of Mt. Holly, he travelled to speak with Friends, including early members of Haddonfield Friends Meeting, and encouraged them to manumit all Africans they held in bondage.

Meeting for Worship begins at 10 AM, followed by the program about 11:15 AM,

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