This past December 2023, the yearly meeting’s Friends in Business group gathered for the 25th year at Arch Street Meeting House for its annual fall event. Forty-five Friends and staff attended, enjoying fellowship before and during dinner, and then a post-meal program.
Yearly Meeting News
The Gathering Changed My Life Too!
“Why do you want to be a doctor?” asked the medical school interviewer. I gave what must be the common answer: “I want to help people. I want to be of service, and I like the intellectual challenge of solving a problem.” [Read more…] about The Gathering Changed My Life Too!
Spring Continuing Sessions REWIND
Continuing Sessions Rewind
Last weekend, Friends from across the four states of our PYM footprint came together for Spring Continuing Sessions. We learned, listened and felt the joyous presence of Spirit in community while we explored the 2024 Sessions theme, “Called to Healing.” Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business was held on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon, and minutes from business sessions will be on the website in coming days. Because the Annual Sessions schedule is shorter this summer (July 6-7), our times for business at Continuing Sessions weekends are being extended. [Read more…] about Spring Continuing Sessions REWIND
Fostering Equality in Everyday Home Life
Lois Volta, Germantown Meeting, wants you to clean your house. Not just for the aesthetic reasons, but for the spiritual and feminist reasons. As she writes, “There will always be something waiting for you to clean up. It’s better to make peace with this concept than to fight it. Let contentment and peace be just as never-ending as the laundry.” [Read more…] about Fostering Equality in Everyday Home Life
Friends Join Pilgrimage for Peace Walk
From the PYM statement in response to the crisis in Palestine in October:
These are not problems that can be addressed with one approach or with attention to one side or one truth or one thread of history. We are required by our faith to work for justice and peace. We must do this together with our neighbors. Resolution won’t be immediate, but participation in the resolution must start now. [Read more…] about Friends Join Pilgrimage for Peace Walk
A Casual Connection Leads Atlantic City Area Friends Meeting to Join MLK March
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
PYM Young Friends Launches Brand-New Program for 8th-12th Graders
Why Join Young Friends?
Hey teens! This is Tara and Clare, the co-facilitators for the super awesome, brand-new program for 8th-12th graders. We know spring is a busy season and you might be wondering whether this program is something you really want to make time for. So let us tell you a little bit more about the program and about us! [Read more…] about PYM Young Friends Launches Brand-New Program for 8th-12th Graders
Why I go to Friends General Conference (FGC) Gathering
In 2000 I attended my first FGC Gathering in Rochester, NY. My daughter had been campaigning to go, and it was the last year she could be in the High School Program (which got rave reviews from her PYM friends), AND I had grown up in the Rochester Friends Meeting. I took a workshop on spiritual growth where we had prayer partners and shared deeply with each other. I felt so nurtured that I was able to take a big step in my personal life. We planned to go back the following year. [Read more…] about Why I go to Friends General Conference (FGC) Gathering
EVENT REWIND-Swarthmore Friends Meeting Hosts Recent Forum on Estate Planning
…to turn all the treasures we possess into the channel of universal love becomes the business of our lives.
— John Woolman, 1763
This past Sunday, February 4, PYM’s Director of Development, Merri Brown, joined Mimi Blackwell, Director of Philanthropic Services at Friends Fiduciary, Rob Vosburgh, Executive Director of Planned Giving for Penn Medicine and member of West Chester Friends Meeting at Swarthmore Friends Meeting to discuss estate planning matters important to Friends. [Read more…] about EVENT REWIND-Swarthmore Friends Meeting Hosts Recent Forum on Estate Planning
Thread Gathering Rewind: Burial grounds, old meetinghouses, property issues, oh my!
Burial grounds, old meetinghouses, property issues, oh my!
Quakers know a thing or two about the joys and challenges of caring for our sacred spaces. The Governance and Stewardship Thread Gathering this past Saturday gave Friends from local meetings an opportunity to connect, share resources and learn from each other. The morning panel and afternoon workshops offered many resources and tools. [Read more…] about Thread Gathering Rewind: Burial grounds, old meetinghouses, property issues, oh my!
