Kimberly Spence, Clerk of Atlantic City Area Friends Meeting never thought a casual visit to her gym would lead her and other local Friends from ACAFM and Barnegat Monthly Meeting to join a Martin Luther King March, but it did. [Read more…] about A Casual Connection Leads Atlantic City Area Friends Meeting to Join MLK March
Anti-Racism
Middle East Collaborative Shares Peace Resource
As we approach the time of remembering Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Middle East Collaborative shares this timely resource from the Fellowship of Reconciliation: “Continuing to Break the Silence: Learning and Reflection on Vietnam, Palestine, and Beyond.” A winter series of programs on Why Palestine Matters is being planned by Middle East Collaborative members Deb Wood, Sandy Rea, and Joan Broadfield; watch the website calendar and the Collaborative’s webpage for details and registration.
[Read more…] about Middle East Collaborative Shares Peace Resource
FGC Changing Times Conference
Registration is open for the January 18-21 2024 online FGC Changing Times Conference – In these changing times, how is spirit moving among us?
Come and together we will see where Spirit leads us as we seek deeper connection to Spirit, explore next steps in becoming an actively antiracist faith community, see what structures will support the Religious Society of Friends, and hear from younger Friends as they consider the future. Join us and we will grow together.
Westtown Monthly Meeting Statement on the Shooting of Palestinian Students
November 27, 2023
Westtown Monthly Meeting is holding in the Light Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdel Hamid, and Tahseen Ahmed – the three Palestinian students who were the victims of a senseless gun attack in Burlington, Vermont, the evening of November 25, 2023. [Read more…] about Westtown Monthly Meeting Statement on the Shooting of Palestinian Students
Feature Film about Friend Rustin Bayard Opens November 3rd
A movie focused on the life and work of Friend Bayard Rustin is being released in the coming days, joining the 2002 documentary Brother Outsider and offering a new way for the wider public to learn about the peace, labor, and civil rights organizer and activist. [Read more…] about Feature Film about Friend Rustin Bayard Opens November 3rd
Darby Friends Meetinghouse Named as Underground Railroad Site by National Park Service
Church Creek, MD – The National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom accepted the Darby Friends Meetinghouse and School site, in Darby, Pennsylvania., as one of 23 new listings, from the 46th round of applications, representing sites and programs in 14 states across the U.S. and Canada. These new listings, alongside more than 750 sites, facilities, and programs already in the Network, provide insight into the diverse experiences of freedom seekers who bravely escaped slavery and allies who assisted them. [Read more…] about Darby Friends Meetinghouse Named as Underground Railroad Site by National Park Service
Reparations: Responsibility & Relationship
“We are responsible for the world that we’ve inherited, and the world that we pass down.” — Reverend Naomi Washington-Leapheart
January Workshop Opens Conversations
At the start of the year, the Mayor’s Commission on Faith-based and Interfaith Affairs invited members of Philadelphia-area faith communities to spend four days examining the intersection between theology and systems of white supremacy alongside reparations and truth telling. Under the leadership of Reverend Naomi Washington Leapheart, Director for Faith-Based and Interfaith Affairs for the city of Philadelphia, and the Commission’s ongoing “Rise Up for Reparations” campaign, inaugurated in June 2022, the January program was part of ongoing work to build a culture of reparations in the city – and one where faith leaders are at the front of the movement. [Read more…] about Reparations: Responsibility & Relationship
FarmerJawn Agriculture to Steward Westtown School Farm
On Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, 2023, Westtown School officially announced its partnership with Christa Barfield, owner, and operator of FarmerJawn Agriculture. Earlier this year, Barfield joined forces with Westtown School leasing 123 acres to create an organic farm. Westtown families and residents from the surrounding community celebrated the new partnership this past weekend on the school’s campus. Attendees witnessed a special blessing by Lenni Lenape elders and enjoyed tethered balloon rides, hayrides, and a host of family-friendly activities.
[Read more…] about FarmerJawn Agriculture to Steward Westtown School Farm
Providence Young Friends Host Immigration Vigil At Delaware County Courthouse
Providence Meeting’s Middle School Friends led a highly successful vigil for immigrant rights at the Delaware County Courthouse on October 3, 2020. The event was to focus attention on the treatment of immigrants on the U.S. border and a call for action to address this issue. Supporting our middle school Friends were a large contingent from the Movement of Immigrant Leaders of Pennsylvania (MILPA) and local elected officials. [Read more…] about Providence Young Friends Host Immigration Vigil At Delaware County Courthouse
Providence Meeting Unites on Racial Justice and Anti-Racism Statement
Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
This fall Providence Meeting united around the following statement on Racial Justice and Anti-Racism.
Consistent with our mission, Providence Friends Meeting seeks to involve members and attenders as partners in the ongoing work of racial justice, advancing equity, and undoing the effects of racism. This work requires us to examine and transform our own individual beliefs and actions, the beliefs, actions and policies of our meeting as a corporate body, and to challenge the effects of racism in the larger society. These include, among others, disparities in healthcare, economics, housing, voting access, climate justice, the workplace, criminal justice, and education.
Goals
- As Providence Friends Meeting acknowledges and honors the fundamental value and dignity of all individuals, we strive to be a culturally safe space where all individuals and groups are treated with respect in regard to their unique cultural needs and differences.
- We strive to build a pluralist, anti-racist community that encourages participation and leadership among all Friends, and supports and elevates partners and community members most affected by racism and bias.
Providence Friends Meeting resolves to use these queries to further these goals.
Corporate Queries
- How does our meeting support, model and encourage active and ongoing anti-racism work? How do we move all members forward on their journey to being their best selves?
- How are we working to change the ways that our meeting benefits from privilege and systemic inequality?
- How do we create “space at the table” for all individuals and groups?
- How do we actively consider the effects of our decisions on those who have been harmed by racism?
- How do we use Spirit-led decision making to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion rather than support structures that reinforce inequities?
- How do we carry this work into our worship and committee work?
Individual Queries
- How do I regularly examine myself for attitudes and behaviors that indicate any hidden prejudice?
- If someone suggests that something I have said or done is racist or discriminatory, do I listen and consider their point of view?
● How do my lifestyle choices affect the causes of justice and injustice in our nation and the world?
● How do I seek ways to make my local community, state and nation more just and equitable?
● How do I challenge statements, practices, behaviors, and interactions that diminish, demean, disempower, or otherwise harm others and their identities?
How do I do this with loving kindness that honors that of God in each person?
