Philadelphia Yearly Meeting celebrates Simone Gellizeau, who has served as Director of Programs and Religious Life since January (pictured left), and welcomes David Park as the incoming Chief Financial Officer (pictured right). We appreciate the expertise, knowledge, and care they bring to their roles and anticipate their continued contributions within Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
Ujima Friends Meeting
Honoring Black Quaker Legacies: A Celebration through Collage & Remembrance
On February 19th, PYM staff gathered in the Rufus Jones Room for a Meeting for Learning, with a focus on Black Quaker contributions. While Black History Month provides a moment to center these contributions, we recognize that the legacies of Black Quakers are essential to the ongoing story of Quakerism and deserve continuous reflection. After an initial discussion, we broke into small groups to create collages that highlighted the lives and impacts of individual Black Quakers, showcasing their enduring influence on both the Society of Friends and society at large.
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A Conversation with Arch Street Friends Meeting about Africans Enslaved by Quakers
Quaker Avis Wanda McClinton founded the 339 Manumissions and Beyond
Project to find out what happened to the people promised manumission
(freedom) from slavery by enslavers from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
There are 339 manumission documents signed by Quaker enslavers in the
Quaker and Special Collections at the Haverford College Library, some of
which were signed by members of Arch Street Meeting.
Avis Wanda will be presenting about this spirit-led reparative genealogical
project with members of her team that includes people descended from
both the enslaved and the enslavers. Donations to our project are managed
by the Friends Fiduciary Corporation, through a donor advised fund.
Howard University is the coordinating sponsor and repository for the
findings of the project.
We invite you to join us to talk about how we can move forward with our
project, whose goal is to research the genealogy of the 413 enslaved
people named in the 339 manumission documents at the Haverford
College Library so that their descendants, many of whom must still live in
the Philadelphia area, can have access to their family history.
Ujima Friends Sewing for Africa
Since 2019, members of the Ujima Friends Peace Center have partnered with Sankofa Artisan Guild to make reusable, environmentally friendly menstrual pads, pouches, and under garments for African girls’ whose educations are compromised due to “period poverty.” The group, now known as the PanAfrican Sisterhood Health Initiative (PASHI), is led by a group of Black Women elders most of who are community workers, keepers of the culture, educators, activists, counselors and lovers of the arts. The Friends Foundation on Aging supports funding for the project. [Read more…] about Ujima Friends Sewing for Africa
Ujima Friends Peace Center Is a Ministry of Ujima Friends Meeting
Ujima Friends Meeting announced in June 2021 that: “In an act of declaration and commitment, we, a people of African descent, our families and friends, respond to the movement of the Spirit among us to form Ujima Friends Meeting within the Religious Society of Friends. Ujima Friends Meeting is a community of faith without borders, dedicated to bearing witness to peace, justice, and love.”What follows is republished From Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting’s January Newsletter.
[Read more…] about Ujima Friends Peace Center Is a Ministry of Ujima Friends Meeting
