Unami Meeting approved the following minute of support at a called meeting.
[Read more…] about Minute of Support for Philadelphia Yearly Meeting from Unami Monthly Meeting
Social Justice
Key Points on the Quaker Suit Against the Department of Homeland Security
Below is essential information about the lawsuit. This may be helpful to Friends in PYM for their own understanding and for discussing the case with others, including local media.
[Read more…] about Key Points on the Quaker Suit Against the Department of Homeland Security
Selden Smith’s Call to Serve as Rising Clerk
Selden Smith has been a part of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting community for his whole life, bringing care, humor, and dedication to his work among Friends. Selden shared his reflections on his journey with Quakerism, his unexpected call to serve as Rising Clerk, and his hopes for the future of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. He highlights the importance of recognizing the gifts and talents within our community—both in ourselves and in others—and how these contributions sustain and strengthen the work we share as Friends.
[Read more…] about Selden Smith’s Call to Serve as Rising Clerk
PYM Supports FCNL’s Award-Winning Peace Efforts
PYM Friends joined with Friends from different yearly meetings, schools, and organizations across the country for Friends Committee on National Legislation’s (FCNL) 2024 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., with opportunities to participate online as well. Friends visited congressional offices to lobby for blocking the sale of offensive weapons to Israel. These efforts reflected a collective spirit and dedication to creating meaningful change through lobbying.
[Read more…] about PYM Supports FCNL’s Award-Winning Peace Efforts
Partnership with Church World Service
In October, PYM announced a new partnership with Church World Service (CWS) as a covenant member. During the recent Joint Council meeting, Clerk Nikki Mosgrove led a discussion on PYM’s new relationship with CWS, a national faith-based organization focused on just and sustainable responses to hunger, poverty, displacement, and disaster. This partnership allows PYM to nominate board members and collaborate closely on CWS’s work, although it holds no voting rights. CWS extended this invitation to deepen the connection, reflecting their commitment to building impactful relationships. The council plans to review this partnership at a future session to assess its impact.
[Read more…] about Partnership with Church World Service
October 2024 | Joint Council Update
On Saturday, October 12th, the three councils that support Philadelphia Yearly Meeting—Quaker Life Council, Administrative Council, and Nominating Council—held their first meeting in a new joint format. In this structure, all three councils meet together as one Joint Council to worship, discern, and conduct business collaboratively. A key feature in the joint format is the approval of minutes during the meeting. This allows the Joint Council to share the minutes in a news story with the PYM community in the week following the meeting.
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
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
Too Queer to Be Quaker: The Limits of Liberal Quaker Inclusion of Lesbian and Gay People during the Cold War and Today
October 7, 2024, 7:30pm-9pm Eastern Time (US & Canada) on campus and via Zoom: A First Monday Lecture with Brian Blackmore
Before the gay rights movement gained momentum in the early 1960s, a few very small assemblies of Quakers publicly supported lesbian and gay people ahead of all other religious groups. Most Quakers in the mid-twentieth century, however, did not accept gay and lesbian sexuality, support same-sex partnerships, or attempt to create a sense of belonging for gay and lesbian people in their meetings. This lecture will describe the harm done by Friends in the 1950s towards gay and lesbian people, highlighting the Cold War era attitudes which reinforced the marginalization of gay and lesbian people in the Quaker world. We will also examine the limits of Quaker inclusion today and speculate about the transformation that is needed in the Religious Society of Friends to be more welcoming of the widest possible spectrum of human experience with gender and sexuality.
Leader
Brian Blackmore is the Director of Quaker Engagement at the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), where he works to build enduring relationships between AFSC and Quaker faith communities, Friends schools, and Quaker organizations worldwide. Before coming to AFSC, Brian was the Religious Studies Department Chair and Quaker Worship and Spiritual Life Coordinator at Westtown School. He holds a PhD in Religious Studies from Temple University with a research focus on the role that Quakers played in the advancement of gay rights during the mid-twentieth century. Brian is a member of Gainesville Monthly Meeting (Southeastern Yearly Meeting).
Media Meeting’s Courageous Conversation About Restorative Justice.
Media Meeting’s Courageous Conversation About Restorative Justice.
Media Meeting’s Quaker Religious Education Committee is sponsoring a series of ‘Courageous Conversations’ on the topic of Restorative Justice in May.
The Conversation will be held in three, one hour zoom meetings on May 8th, May 15th, and May 22nd from 7:00pm to 8:00pm. Each hour will be a separate conversation. All are welcome to join in any or all conversations. The format is intentional to allow those gathered to reflect on each conversation but not too long to lose anything as our busy lives reclaim us.
- May 8th’s topic will be, Relationships: You and Your Community.
- May 15th’s topic will be, Deep Listening.
- May 22nd’s topic will be, Building a Culture of Reparations.
The Zoom link that will be sent to you after registering will remain the same for all three conversations. The facilitators for these courageous conversations will be Guinevere Janes and Ken Park who are both members of the Rise up for Reparations Campaign Community of Practice, a campaign to bring in 100 white majority congregations to engage meaningfully with reparations. The campaign began at the Philadelphia Mayor’s Commission for Faith-based and Interfaith Affairs conference in January 0f 2023. A number of PYM members were there representing their meetings.
Guinevere Janes is a PYM member at large and a member of Media Meeting. She is also currently serving PYM on the Quaker Life Council and two separate granting groups. Ken Park is a member of Providence Friends Meeting and a member of the meeting’s recently formed Reparations Committee. He has served PYM in the past in various volunteer positions.
Please consider spending time with us for these courageous conversations. The facilitators have arranged at least two Elders per session to be present to hold us in our work. If participants need support, breakout spaces will be provided.
A list of supporting resources will be sent out after you register. You will also receive information at the conclusion of the conversations
