These notes cover information provided during PYM’s March 24th Zoom call. The “What If” artwork above is by Julie Paschkis. Thank you Julie!
WHAT IF … we all had to stay home to be safe?
As our community grows into Zoom and life-at-a-distance we notice the need to connect in other ways. Here are some helpful resources and a list of challenges we’ve been naming as we deal with covid-enforced change.
Resources
Post your virtual events on PYM’s website: Use our Event Calendar to publicize zoom events. If you are having virtual gatherings such as worship or Friendly 8’s (using Zoom or otherwise) please consider posting it to the PYM website. Go to pym.org, scroll down to the Community Calendar, and then Click on the yellow button that reads, “Post Your Event.”
Zoom Meeting Support: Monthly and Quarterly Meetings can request Zoom meetings for their communities by filling out an online form at this location on the PYM Website: https://www.pym.org/how-to-guides/communications-to-membership/zoom-calls/
Zoom advice: Some meetings are still considering the appropriate Zoom account or other type of video conferencing service to purchase. For help and to be guided through initial steps please email Zachary Dutton, Associate Secretary for Program and Religious Life.
Helpful Covid-19 updates: responses to the Covid-19 outbreak can be found on the PYM Website https://www.pym.org/covid19/
Connecting to staff: Staff are all working from home. There is a staff list on our website. Email is best, but voicemail is being checked.
Challenges We shared in naming these challenges
Inclusion of children and families as we gather in virtual settings: For resources and consultation Friends are invited to contact Melinda Wenner Bradley, our Youth Religious Life Coordinator. Friends can also check out the Quaker Religious Education Collaborative at quakers4re.org.
Video Conference/Worship/online decision-making how to? Some Zoom support resources for this were mentioned:
- Spiritual facilitation online: this link
- Virtual clerking on YouTube: this link
- Zoom tutorials that are COVID-19 related: this link
- Eileen Flanagan virtual facilitation workshop: this link
- Emily Provance Virtual Clerking facilitation blog post : this link
Awareness & support for those who do not have access to technology or who do not know how to use it. Some ideas for responding to these needs were:
- Zoom has the option to join just with a phone using a number and an access code
- If people can’t figure how to use the number and access code, then someone else can call them and just put them on speaker phone during the call
- Share tutorials on how to use the technology
- Tutorials can include recommendations for simple and inexpensive technology, along with ways to pay for them
- Philadelphia Yearly Meeting may be able to offer limited funding for those without an ability to pay for the purchase of simple, inexpensive tech
Concerns for community members not in alignment with the shelter in place directives
There are Friends who continue to meet in person outside meeting houses or continue to express disagreement about the decision to cease meeting in person at meetings. We emphasize that it is not advisable to be meeting in person, even if it is outdoors. Maintaining a distance of at least six feet between yourself and others is not effective on its own unless most people remain at home and only leave for essential tasks such as grocery shopping or obtaining medical attention.
Likewise, we noted that a few Friends are skeptical as to the usefulness of online settings to gather for worship. It was suggested that these friend could be 1) connected with by phone and supported with learning the technology, or 2) simply connected through a phone call to someone who shares on-line audio.
There are also people in our community who will face financial challenges moving forward as the economy is affected by the impact of shelter in place. Some solutions to this in the way of grants have been forwarded previously, but at this meeting the issue was simply named and held.
There are people with disabilities such as blindness who also may need some attention in the work of ensuring that all can participate in virtual gatherings.
State of the Meeting Reports
Our yearly Meeting’s Ministry & Care Committee is under the weight of the importance of the spiritual self-assessment in meetings and the resulting state of the meeting reports will be collected by May, 2020. More information on this will be made available soon.
With thanks to PYM staff and Linda Lotz of Haddonfield Quarterly Meeting for their note taking.
