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:
Community
Talking about the Election with Children and Youth
Authorship is credited to Melinda Wenner Bradley (West Chester Meeting), Quaker Religious Education Collaborative
The intensity of the election cycle is an experience both for adults and for the children and youth in our families and communities. Depending on their age, preschoolers to teens may be aware of the anxiety in the adults around them — and experiencing their own anxiety about the outcome of the election in November.
[Read more…] about Talking about the Election with Children and Youth
Haddonfield Friends Meeting: Open House and Graveyard Tour
Haddonfield Friends Meeting is holding an open house this Saturday. Learn about the birth of Haddonfield and the remarkable story of the borough’s founder, Elizabeth Haddon. Visit the historic graveyard, including her (presumed) resting place. Three hundred years of history await your discovery!
This event is part of the Camden County History Alliance’s annual “History Month,” with more than 30 historical sites hosting activities between October 1-31 across the county. These activities include exhibits, re-enactments, and guided tours; most are free. A complete guide to all the activities can be found at: https://cchsnj.org/history-month/
Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting on “Going Veggie” and Using “Creating a Playbook for Climate Action”
Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting has embraced a new initiative to support climate action by “going veggie” on the third Sunday of each month. This meeting-wide project is the result of collaboration between the Climate Action and Hospitality Committees, reflecting a shared commitment to addressing climate change.
Sarah Whitman, a member of both committees at Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting, shared her perspective and the behind-the-scenes on this new initiative. “Last spring, we started a Climate Action Committee to help the meeting address climate change,” Sarah shared. “There have been individual leadings and practices related to climate change, but not a project that the whole meeting does together. I happen to be a member of both Hospitality and the Climate Action Committee, so I felt like this was an opportunity for synergy between those two committees.”
Update From the Listening and Lobbying Sprint of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Authorship of this update is attributed to the Jeanne Elberfield and the Listening and Lobbying Sprint of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
Friends, I am writing this update with much optimism in my heart and mind. The Listening and Lobbying Sprint is working diligently towards a draft policy and guidance addressing political lobbying for Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Over the past few months, we have learned from a nonprofit expert and PYM’s lawyer about the IRS definitions and limitations on lobbying for a 501(c)(3). We have had regular conversations about how this information helps us to find a solution that mutually satisfies Friends who are led to political advocacy, the PYM Quaker community with diverse leadings and ministries, and the PYM as a 501(c)(3). We continue to ask Spirit to guide our hearts and minds as we navigate our way forward. [Read more…] about Update From the Listening and Lobbying Sprint of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
PYM Young Friends – December Monthly Gathering!
Youth in grades 8 through 12 are invited to participate in our monthly Young Friends (YF) gathering! Join us as we gather together to build relationships and community, learn about Quaker practice and issues of social justice, and have fun together! The day will include community-building games and activities, a program/discussion, and lunch.
NOTE: All participants must have a copy of the PYM Health/Permission form for 2024-2025 on file with youth staff.
*The gathering will take place from 10 AM to 2 PM at Old Haverford Meeting. Lunch will be provided!
Have questions and/or want to register?
Please contact Ember Eldridge, Young Friends Facilitator, eeldridge@pym.org
*To register, please include your name, grade, and meeting/Quaker affiliation in your email.
PYM Young Friends – October Monthly Gathering!
Youth in grades 8 through 12 are invited to participate in our monthly Young Friends (YF) gathering! Join us as we gather together to build relationships and community, learn about Quaker practice and issues of social justice, and have fun together! The day will include community-building games and activities, a program/discussion, and lunch.
**Our gathering will take place at Downingtown Monthly Meeting from 11 AM to 3 PM. (Note the change of time!) We will spend the first part of the day participating in an activity/conversation about peace as a practice and managing disagreements, followed by make-your-own-pizza lunch, pumpkin carving, and a costume contest!
All participants must have a copy of the PYM Health/Permission form for 2024-2025 on file with youth staff.
Young Friends Events Registration
Questions? Please contact Kristin Simmons, Youth Engagement Coordinator: ksimmons@pym.org
Young Friends Peace Fair and Overnight!
All Young Friends (grades 8 to 12) are invited to the 24th Annual Peace Fair and Overnight at Buckingham Meeting/Buckingham Friends School in Lahaska, PA!
The Peace Fair features local crafts, artwork, traditional and vegetarian food, kids’ games, a dunk tank, and Bucks County area non-profits that focus on peace, community service, healthy living, and the environment.
Young Friends arrive at 8:00 AM on Saturday morning, September 21st and serve as volunteers for the Peace Fair, helping with tasks such as set-up and clean-up, running kids’ games, and food preparation and service. Young Friends will also have the opportunity to explore Peddler’s Village during their break.
Following the clean-up of the Fair, Young Friends will join together for a pizza party and overnight at Buckingham Meeting. There will be an opportunity for community building, conversation, worship, and fun. The overnight will end on Sunday morning, September 22nd, following Meeting for Worship with Buckingham Friends. Bring a friend!
NOTE: All participants must have a copy of the PYM Health/Permission form for 2024-2025 on file with youth staff.
For more information, please contact Kristin Simmons, PYM Youth Engagement Coordinator: ksimmons@pym.org
December Family Meetup
Calling all PYM families! Please join us on December 7th for the opportunity to gather with and get to know other children and families from around PYM. There will be an intergenerational activity, time for parent/guardian worship sharing, children’s activities, and dinner as a community. Pizza and beverages will be provided. Families are invited to bring a snack/side dish/dessert to share. All ages are welcome, along with grandparents!
*NOTE – Change of Time: 2 to 5 PM
Meetinghouse Location: Kennett Friends Meeting
We look forward to seeing your family on December 7th!
For more information, contact Kristin Simmons, Youth Engagement Coordinator: ksimmons@pym.org
Death Café at Arch Street Meeting (MMFP)
The Care and Funeral and Interment committees at Arch Street (Monthly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia) recently organized a two-part Death Café series for our members and attenders. Its purpose was to talk openly about death, facing our own mortality and how to make the most our lives going forward, as well as to provide useful information on end of life planning. The first session was modeled on the popular “Death Café” concept which began in France and England. Similar to worship sharing, this is a safe and confidential space to express fears, hopes and misgivings about death and dying. The topics of community, family dynamics, end of life planning, financial and legal issues were touched on during this session. In addition, Friends learned much about each other and about how our beliefs and traditions can honor our wishes and preferences for a memorial service in the manner of Friends.
In the second part of the series, useful information and forms were shared. Most importantly, Friends were urged to write a will. (PYM’s website provides a very useful resource from Faith and Practice: A Checklist for the Settlement of All Outward Affairs.) MMFP has a form called “Planning for Death and Burial Arrangements” which meeting members can fill out and file at home and have another copy stored at the meeting house in the care of the Funerals and Interments committee. This document is a vital part of leaving our affairs in order so that family members do not have to struggle to make decisions for their departed loved one and they can find all the pertinent details in one place. Other forms such as a medical directive, power of attorney, medical durable power of attorney were made available. Lastly, the clerk of Funerals and Interments gave a short presentation on the Friends Southwestern Burial Ground, which is available for green burials and welcomes all faiths in its park-like setting.
Friends who attended one or both Death Café sessions were grateful for the opportunity to learn and share with other members and attenders about this important topic. MMFP hopes to make this effort every few years and encourages other monthly meetings to do so. If your monthly meeting would like a copy of our planning document, or would like to know more about how we organized our two-part series, please be in touch.
Submitted by Sandra Williams, Clerk of Care committee, MMFP and Mike Kachur, Clerk of Funerals and Interments, MMFP
