pym today - spring 2013

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends

A Journal of Our Quaker Fai th and Pract ice

PYMToday Spring 2013

ANNUAL SESSIONS 2013

Gathering Together Our Past, Our Presence, and Our Future

Preparing for SessionsLong Range PlanningStewardship and Charity

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PYM TODAY • SPRING 2013

Contents SPRING 2013

2 Vital and GrowingBeing in CommunityA Message From the ClerkLong Range Planning

4 Preparing for Annual SessionsThe First QueryThe Second QueryOne Meeting’s Response

6 Annual SessionsGathering Together our Past, Our

Presence, and Our FutureSpiritual Growth and AwakeningWorship at Annual SessionsChildren and Youth ProgramsAll Together NowWhat is Children’s Sessions to MeYoung Adult Friends

Being in Community

VITAL AND GROWING

It is in community that we are cared for and where we have the opportunity to care for others.

We have experienced the blessing of being gathered in community in our local meetings. There is a sense of con-nectedness and oneness. There is a sense of spiritual immediacy and vi-brancy. There is a sense of richness and collective power. Imagine the power and depth of these experiences in the presence of our larger, yearly meet-ing community at Annual Sessions!

But for commu-nity to happen each of us must partici-pate in the work of it. There is no one to do it other than ourselves. Each of

us who takes something from the expe-rience of community has a responsibil-ity to do the work - the work of show-ing up. It is the work of staying in touch, of reaching out, of volunteering to do the jobs that are necessary for community to happen. It is the work of taking leadership, of taking risks, of being real and authentic and of having the courage to step into our fear and to

say “community matters to me and I will do whatever I can to make it happen.”

Community begins with showing up. I invite you to show up at Annual Sessions on July 24. It will be a spiritually rich and meaningful opportu-nity for all of us.

Arthur M. LarrabeeGeneral SecretaryPhiladelphia Yearly Meeting

Arthur is a member of Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting.

Our yearly meeting’s Annual Ses-sions begin this year on

Wednesday, July 24. These are the once a year gathering of our faith community and I would like to sug-gest that not one of us can afford to miss this opportunity to join in spiri-tual fellowship with one another.

I say this because community is central to our Quaker spirituality. We may think of being in community as a spiritual practice. It is in commu-nity that our understanding and ex-perience of God is nurtured and en-larged. It is in community that each of us brings our own unique manifes-tation and experience of God to each other. It is in the diversity of com-munity that we know God more fully.

Annual Sessions 2013:

Gathering TogetherOur Past, Our Presence,

and Our FutureJuly 24-28

Muhlenberg College Allentown, PA

PLEASE REGISTER by June 20, 2013 atwww.pym.org/

annual-sessions-2013

Contact 215/241-7238 or email [email protected]

Workshops at Annual SessionsKeynote SpeakersLogistics and Fees

15 Annual FundSome Thoughts on Stewardship

and Charity

16 Caring for Our CommunityQuakers & Mental HealthNominating Committee

17 Spiritual Growth and RenewalPreparing Hearts and Mind

for Worship

19 Witnessing Our FaithA Quaker Freedom MemorialAfterword


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sary to sit as a community with some universal con-cerns such as “How do we witness corporately with

integrity?” and “What and why do we ask for minutes of witness, ministry, or action?”

I ask Friends to join me in preparing ourselves completely. Ses-sions Planning Group is ensuring that we have all the travel, childcare, and other needed logistical information. We will post submitted pre-Sessions business items on our website to inform our minds so we can prayerfully con-sider them. But the preparation of our

A Message from the Clerk

This year our Worship with the At-tention to Business will again have

an open agenda - business that will be addressed as the Spirit so leads us, al-lowing us to be faithful to the needs of the body, responsive to how we are being led and respectful of the time and effort needed to bring forth well-sea-soned business. This year all of our business will be in the morning and afternoon, allowing us the time neces-

Jada JacksonClerk, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

VITAL AND GROWING

I recall sitting on a bench in the Arch Street Meeting House in more than

one session over long past decades where the subject of long range plan-ning for our yearly meeting came to the floor. I was among those for whom it seemed unnecessary. Wouldn’t the future of our yearly meeting evolve with continuing revelation? Through Friends moved to share their leadings and light-ing passion in other Friends? Through emerging leadership?

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) is a religious community of over 9,500 Quakers in 103 local meetings spread across a large territory in four states. PYM is also a non-profit organization from which members, seekers, grant recipients and others receive support or services from a staff of 20 and many members who serve on committees, working groups and granting groups.

If Friends want our yearly meeting to be a meaningful, relevant community of seekers as times change and re-sources grow scarce, we need to be intentional about our adaptations. Being intentional is the heart of strategic planning. This feels to me fully compat-ible with our religious practice as Friends. While continuing revelation may alter my own leadings quite quick-ly, course changes for our yearly meeting involve longer timeframes and wider discernment on how ways forward may open for us.

The Long Range Planning Group (LRPG) was established two years ago by yearly meeting in session. Our group’s task is to facilitate our yearly meeting’s discernment of a community path forward. Through spiritual dis-cernment and input from many mem-

bers over the past two years, through listening sessions and conferences, we are preparing recommendations about possible goals for our faith community, goals that are faith-driven, man-ageable and achievable.

For each goal we are working to identify implementation steps, indi-cators of accomplishment and clarity about who may be responsible for each goal. A most important lesson we have learned is that our work is not about the production of a Philadelphia Yearly Meeting organizational plan – it is about facilitating the development of strategic thinking among members as a means to decide together what we can and will take on in the future! As we work together to develop our ability to be intentional as a religious community and as an organization, more concrete

Long Range Planning as Continuing RevelationSuzanne DayWestfield Monthly Meeting

heart and souls, dear Friends - only we can do this work. As we move towards Sessions I ask you to give special at-tention to your personal grounding practices: mid-week worship, daily medita-tion, mindfulness practices,

prayer and spiritual readings. When we gather as grounded individuals we move with the full strength of a ground-ed people. I hope you, as I, are excited to see what Sessions will bring. n

Jada is a member of Trenton Monthly Meeting.

Continued on page 18

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PYM TODAY • SPRING 2013PREPARING FOR ANNUAL SESSIONS

One Meeting’s ResponseWorship & Ministry CommitteeLondon Grove Monthly Meeting

Meeting for Worship is one of our igreatest treasures. Although the

underlying tone may vary from week to week, month to month or year to year ranging from an excited festive feel at Christmas time to a deep-felt sadness when one of our cherished members has passed, or a feeling of shock as a result of global news or global weather, there is consistently a gathered experi-

ence – a gathering of a faith community with each other and with the Divine spirit. The silence is rich, welcom-ing and soothing with a deep sense of peace that is needed in the hectic lives we live.

The combination of our wonderful meeting houses, the many people that have come before us, as well as each one of us who is here today helps to create the opportunity to open our-selves to each other and to the Divine presence. There is often a strong sense of a liv-ing silence and a sense of sacred space. At times the Divine presence is made known through messages we share with each other - some-times someone speaks our mind and sometimes mes-sages have a similar thread. We are blessed to have access to this opportunity to be in the heart of God.

We come together in the spirit of community. There is a gladness as we greet each other, as we light up when we see each other.

We recognize our charge of oversee-ing and nurturing Meeting for Worship and the spiritual life of our meeting. Our committee has recently lost long-time members and has acquired several new members. We are currently working to deepen the spiritual life and connec-tions of our committee members, as we also look to accomplish simi-larly within our meeting at large. We agree that we need to take care of ourselves spiritually, as well as each other, that

The Second Query:

Meeting for Business

• Is our meeting for business held in the spirit of a meeting for worship in which we seek divine guidance?

• Are we careful to keep in the spirit of worship each of the concerns that emerge, whether of nurture, of Spirit, of social concerns, of property, or of finance?

• Are Meeting decisions directed by prayerful consideration of all aspects of an issue and are difficult problems considered carefully with patient

• Are our meetings for worship held in stilled, ex-pectant waiting upon God?

• As we worship is there a living silence in which we are drawn together by the power of God in our midst?

• Is the spirit of our worship together one that nur-tures all worshipers?

• How does our Meeting respond when the vocal ministry seems inappropriate, or when the meet-ing for worship is consistently not gathered?

• Do I faithfully attend meeting with heart and mind prepared for worship, clear of any predeter-mination to speak or not to speak, and expecting that worship will be a source of strength and guidance?

• Does worship deepen my relationship with God, increase my faithfulness, and refresh and renew my daily life, both inwardly and in my relation-ship with others?

• Have I experienced in worship that direct leading to listen or to speak, and have I been faithful to my own experience?

we can learn to be spiritual friends, find ways to share our spiritual journeys, that everyone of us is on a journey and is growing, and that it is helpful for us to check in with each other.

The Worship & Ministry Committee has a desire as well as an intention to hold the sacred space for our larger com-munity, to teach by example, to be a resource - for meeting members to know that we are here with a very deep caring,

with a love. We aspire to manifest God’s love for everyone as we go about our daily lives, and nur-ture the oneness that is so apparent during Meeting for Worship. n

The First Query: Meeting for Worship


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But sometimes it is hard. Sometimes we speak out of personal desire or need. We are called upon to pause and con-sider whether we are a conduit through which the Divine spirit may speak or simply expressing our individual hu-man desires. It is difficult to give up our human desire for power and to have our own way but in the mystery of the Divine it is possible for us to submit ourselves to a greater truth if we are consciously willing to forego our per-sonal desires and agendas in the interest of true corporate spiritual discernment.

We truly seek that state in which some of our most powerful spiritual experiences may occur in Meeting for Worship for Business and in our com-mittee meetings. It has been said that Meeting for Worship for Business works best when all are fully present in Friend-ly worship, each person seeking to dis-cern the will of the divine and being open to the possibility of a changed heart - for, after all, of what good is continuing revelation if we never change our minds?

It is a big gift and affirmation to be carrying this task with us on our indi-vidual spiritual journeys. It brings us closer to our questions and closer to our dear Friends here at meeting, including our clerk. There is an affirmation here about the true integrity and inspiration that may be with us if we are open to it, and how we bring our light to each other. It is well to consider that sort of affirmation. It is part of our wholeness and an affirmation about Friends who seek the light.

We asked questions of each other in the Committee of Clerks as we consid-ered this Query, and some questions have the power to take us deeper into exploring how we are doing in our PRACTICE, such as:

• Are we aware that we speak through our inaction as well as by our action? Are we offering ways for newer mem-bers to learn what discernment is, while reviewing for each of us the practices and gifts contained in discernment?

• For a thorny issue, do we supply abundant patience? If an issue re-quires weeks or months, do we allow the issue to be held among us rather than dropped or neglected? And generally, do we supply a full measure of time to hear all voices?

• What do we do with dissention that appears to come from mysterious places? Are we able and willing to hear difficult truths even though we wish not to hear them?

• Let us recognize that Divine mystery is indeed present when two opposing points of view show up and each seems to hold some truth. In our Meetings for Business do we create a safe place and offer love and respect for each voice?

Let us go deeper into these queries and continue to develop a loving space for all. May each Friend continue to hold and nurture our Meeting for Busi-ness as a container for the Divine. Let us continue to ask if, in our business in committees and in our monthly meet-ings and yearly meeting, do we create full, safe places and offer love and re-spect for each voice? This is the path toward whole spiritual openness as we nurture the blessed meeting community that we are. n

PREPARING FOR ANNUAL SESSIONS

One Meeting’s ResponseMartin Committee of ClerksLondon Grove Monthly Meeting

Friends may be gifted with some of our most profound spiritual

experiences while seated in our Meet-ings for Business. Meeting for Business is where we have opportunities to prac-tice our PRACTICE of mutual spiritual discernment.

Meeting for Business is the place where change happens, especially corpo-rate changes for us as a Meeting. Meet-ing for Business is where we are chal-lenged most profoundly to work on spiritual discernment with each other. Generally, it seems we do conduct Meet-ings for Business in the divine Spirit, seeking to ensure all voices are heard, and seeking for the sense of the meeting.

search for truth, unhurried by the pressures of time?

• How do we respond if we notice the meeting has lost an understanding of the presence of God?

• Do we recognize that we speak through our inaction as well as our action?

• Do I regularly attend meeting for business and in a spirit of love and unity? If unable to attend, how do I attend to my responsibility?

• Do I consider prayerfully the many concerns that are lifted up on any issue, acknowledging that the search for truth in unity involves what God requires, being open to personal transformation as the community arrives at the sense of the meeting?

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buds and branches that continually reach to the light.

Please join the many people of our yearly meeting community in our expe-rience at a new residential setting. Muhlenberg College is a beautiful, tree-lined community. The facilities are un-like any we have experienced before. All age Friends will be in contact constantly throughout our time there. Is there a better way to build community? n

ANNUAL SESSIONS

Gathering Together Our Past, Our Presence, and Our FutureKen ParkClerk, Sessions Planning GroupProvidence Monthly Meeting

hood had lost in a recent hurricane. I would like to use the metaphor of a tree to explain our vision for this year’s Annual Sessions.

I see our Quaker “presence” as a complete tree. A tree grows upwards from the tips of its branches, downward from its roots and outward slowly from its trunk. The roots and the center of the tree - the heartwood - represent our history and provides the strength to withstand time. As the trunk widens slowly and the roots continue to grow downward, we get stronger. We are nourished by Spirit that provides the energy to make our roots and buds continually grow. Our future is the PYM

Children’s Ses-sions that year and my need for a break was readily and happily met. I was moved by the fact that we were asked to help the children pre-pare an Epistle to be shared with the yearly meeting and it was a joy to be part of their sharing. When I was not with Children’s Sessions I was able to attend my first-ever Meeting for Wor-ship with Attention to Business; while it was unlike anything I had experienced before and admittedly a challenge, I knew that I wanted to envelop myself in

time in 2007. At the time, I felt re-moved from our community and my faith because I was no longer able to regularly attend my own monthly meet-ing. I felt disconnected from something that I held dear - and way opened in the summer of 2007 for me to reconnect.

I remember attending Young Friends’ Gatherings while in high school and feeling spiritually and emotionally re-newed and I was hoping to find a simi-lar renewal at Annual Sessions. I was in the midst of recovering from a serious illness and was hoping for an experi-ence that would allow me to step away from that, if only for a few hours each day.

I had the pleasure of working with

Spiritual Growth and Awakening: What Annual Sessions Has Meant to MeLane Taylor Plumstead Monthly Meeting

Iihave shared with many Friends that iSessions always feels like a special

experience and as a result I am drawn back year after year. I have yet to find another community gathering which provides the kind of experience that Philadelphia Yearly Meeting gathered together in Annual Sessions provides for me. It is here where I have learned how to minister to others in our community and the world, and it is here that I have gained confidence as a minister and leader.

I chose to attend Sessions for the first

Sessions Planning Group spent many hours in discernment of this year’s

theme for Annual Sessions. We wanted to move our yearly meeting forward and share a vision of building the yearly meeting community with the inclusion of all Friends. After much hard work, we sensed unity in expressing the need to celebrate who we are, the importance of our past and future while looking at the presence we hold to each other and the world.

A recent conversation with a close Friend gave me a way of expressing the concept of our theme. She was sharing about the number of trees her neighbor-


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ANNUAL SESSIONS

our process and become a contributing part of it.

I have returned to Sessions every summer since 2007. Each year I have felt more and more a part of our com-munity. In 2008 I was acknowledged by the Clerk during a plenary session and it was there that I shared ministry for the first time - nervously and with deep emotion. Prior to that experience, I would “sit on Quakes” and not ac-knowledge the voice of the Spirit within me. But the Clerk’s acknowledgement allowed me to be faithful in the minis-try I receive and I gradually became more confidant and comfortable rising to speak.

Sessions also connected me with the Young Adult Friend (YAF) Com-munity, whose phenomenal coordi-nator brought me into a nurturing community that would more deep-ly foster my spiritual growth. Sadie Forsythe and the YAF Working Group reached out and encouraged me to offer a workshop at Annual Sessions. I was anxious and reluc-tant to do so but with their encourage-ment I offered my leading for pastoral care through a Meeting for Worship with Attention to Healing in 2011. It was a transformational experience; not only was the presence of the Spirit strong among us but Friends who at-tended humbled me by sharing what my workshop had meant to them.

This kind of encouragement from Friends was not new to me. It is thanks to the loving words of Friends that I have been able to fearlessly share my leadings and ministry, and it is thanks to them that I have the confidence to actively participate in committee work. I found this love and encouragement first at Annual Sessions. n

Lane Serves as Assistant Clerk, Sessions Planning Group.

Worship at Annual Sessions Ken Park Clerk, Sessions Planning Group Providence Monthly Meeting

Community worship is an essential part of our annual gathering, and

an essential part of being a Friend. There will be many worship opportuni-ties during our time together during Annual Sessions:

Daily worship will be held before breakfast, Thursday through Sunday

mornings.Worship Shar-

ing will be held before morning Meeting for Wor-ship for Business. We began this prac-tice last year and it was greatly received by attending Friends. This shar-ing helps prepare

Friends for the following Meeting for Worship for Business, with queries pre-sented for guidance. This year we will be blessed to have Young Friends deeply involved with our Worship Sharing.

“We see worship sharing as an op-portunity to raise awareness of the need for spiritual renewal. We do this by offering powerful queries concerning the state of Friends’ practice, the main-tenance of love among us, and the quality of our worship.”

“For me, our small group worship sharing is among my most powerful leadings for things to which I absolutely had to surrender. My awareness of this experience has added a powerful new dimension to my experience of God.”

John Ellsworth, Gwynedd Monthly Meeting

They will help write the queries and co-facilitate some of the groups. Friends will be assigned to worship groups as part of the registration process.

Vespers. This year we are adding evening Vesper Services, Wednesday through Saturday nights. This will join all of us together to end our day in wor-ship and prepare for the next day. n

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All Together NowLane Taylor Plumstead Monthly Meeting

Sessions Planning Group is pas-sionate about creating a fulfilling

spiritual experience for every Friend who attends Annual Sessions. We have heard a call and a discerned leading from Friends who are aching to connect with one another in a very real, spiritual and philosophical context. Youth Epistles have repeat-edly called for inclusion and multi-generational connections; and older Friends have not been silent about their desire to hear and learn from younger Friends.

ANNUAL SESSIONS

Don’t miss the fun in store for all ages at this year’s Annual Sessions!

Children and Youth gather during an-nual sessions for fun, fellowship, wor-ship, and to discern God’s Big Idea – what is the work that the young people of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting are called to do?

Children’s Sessions and Middle School Friends: Infants through middle school age children will meet in age-based groups each morning and eve-ning. The afternoons will be free-play for all ages - art, music, recreation and conversation – in addition to time to be together as a community in the All To-gether Now program. In the evenings community continues in the Family Neighborhood - families will be housed together centered around a lounge - a place to hang out, play with friends, and (for parents!) keep the conversa-tion going after bedtime.

Children and Youth ProgramsYoung Friends (high school): The Young Friends Program will be a round-the-clock, residential program that is open to anyone who would attend a Young Friends gathering or anyone in high school whose family is attending

This desire for connection draws me to Sessions each year and is the basis for something a bit more ambitious in this year’s program that we are calling, “All Together Now.”

All Together Now will be a daily event that will provide an opportunity for everyone in attendance, regardless of age or reason for being present, to gather with one another to engage in a topic that is relevant. The focus of All Togeth-er Now will be multigenerational pro-gramming for Friends of all ages and levels of experience including children and youth (childcare will be available for our very youngest Friends).

Friends have discerned a number of topics including “Sharing Our Experi-

ence with God,” “Embracing Our Multigenerational Experience,” and “Living into the Future.” Together we will ask ourselves and each other, “How do we experience our faith,” “How do we share our faith,” “How are we present with all of our genera-tions,” and “How do we care for our-selves and our community?” All To-gether Now will provide space to examine the unique aspects of our faith, to share our experiences with others and to connect with each other on common ground through rich ministry that will flow through all of our generations. n

Annual Sessions. While we will join the larger yearly

meeting community for many activities (worship sharing, All Together Now, Business Meeting items of interest, most workshops, speakers, and vespers),


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much of the time we will be engaged in workshops and other programs specific to Young Friends (similar to our Young Friends weekend gatherings). Highlights include a day hike, time in the pool, and seeing the Muhlenberg College production of Jesus Christ Superstar! Young Friends will sleep in our own dormitory wing.

Scholarships are available to help Young Friends defray the cost of attending sessions. Please check the Young Friends page on the PYM website for more details about the Young Friends program as we ap-proach the date for Annual Sessions (www.pym.org/annual- sessions-2013/childrens-and-youth-programs/young-friends)

All of the youth programs will be led by gifted, enthusiastic adults who will follow each child’s age-defined group throughout Sessions. Volunteers are always needed to provide a fun and grounding way to connect with our young people. We will explore this year’s theme – Gath-ering Together Our Past, Our Presence, and Our Future - in our own pro-grams and together with the whole community during our All Together Now gatherings. We have many great plans in the works to encourage children to share their Quaker faith, grow spiritually and have fun at the same time. Residential and program spaces at Muhlenberg College are close to each other, surrounding an open space for outdoor play. Noth-ing grows community like time and adventures together!

For more info, contact Gracie Coscia, Children’s Sessions Coordinator at [email protected] or 215-241-7526; Matt Sanderson, Middle School

ANNUAL SESSIONS

What is Children’s Sessions to Me?




Muhlenberg College Allentown, PA




Friends Coordinator at [email protected] or 215 241-7171; or Hannah Mayer, Young Friends Coor-dinator at youngfriends @pym.org or 215 241-7222. n

Julia Carrigan Mickleton Monthly Meeting

H ello PYM! My name is Julia Carrigan. I am in 5th grade.

This year I’m moving into Middle School Friends, and I have been a part of Children’s Sessions since I was 5 years old.

Children’s Sessions has been a fun-filled experience, from playing tag outside the Arch Street Meeting House to the Ice Cream Social at Annual Sessions. I will miss Children’s Session’s summits, field trips, and most importantly the friendships I have made there. I am

looking forward to having just as much fun in the Middle School Friends programs!

The Summit is a big meeting where all of Chil-dren’s Sessions members get to-gether to discuss

“God’s Big Idea” and what we can do to make it happen. Recently we decided that we needed to help people who did not have enough food. In 2013, Children’s sessions will once again meet to decide what God needs us to do now; maybe it will have to do with animals, maybe it will be about someplace on the other side of the world. It depends what happens in the Summit.

Children’s Sessions to me is about making memories, memories of friend-ship, memories of laughs, memories of what it means to be Quaker. No matter who you ask, they will agree, Children’s Sessions is unquestionably fun! n

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PYM TODAY • SPRING 2013ANNUAL SESSIONS

Young Adult Friends at SessionsElizabeth Piersol SchmidtYAF Communications Coordinator

Young Adult Friends (YAFs, ages 18-35) participate in all aspects of

Annual Sessions, facilitating workshops, participating in business sessions and

providing leadership for youth programs. Young Adult Friends will have our own dorm area where we will host late-evening program & fellowship, often including discussion, worship sharing, board games, and checking in about the day! YAFs also find ways to have additional infor-mal time as a peer group, including shared meals, amidst the myriad of offer-ings during Sessions!

At the Young Adult Friends Winter Retreat in January, we began to envision an intergenerational mentorship pro-gram potentially incorporating peer, YAF - high school, and older Friend - Young Adult mentoring relationships. The Young Adult Friends Working Group will host a listening session dur-ing Sessions to gather input and ideas for such a program. For more informa-tion, please contact Elizabeth Piersol Schmidt, YAF Communications Coordi-nator, at [email protected] or 215-241-7075, or visit our website at www.pym.org/young-adult-friends. n

Elizabeth is a member of Swarthmore Monthly Meeting.

Wednesday, July 24 Thursday, July 25 Friday, July 26 Saturday, July 27 Sunday, July 28

7:00 Welcome to PYM

Ann ual Sessions 2013 Gathering Together Our Past, Our Presence, and Our Future

Early Morning Worship

Breakfast 7-8:15

8:30

Worship Sharing 8:30-9:15

Youth Programs 8:15-12:15






Youth Programs 8:15-11:45 9:30 Meeting for

Worship for Business 9:30

Meeting for Worship for Business 9:30



All Ages- 12:15 -12:30 All Ages Worship and Epistles 11:45-12:30

12:30 Lunch Recreation

Conversation Tents 12:30-2:30

Lunch Clean Up Pack Up 12:30-2:30

2:30 Registration Opens All Together Now – 3:00-4:00 p.m.

“The place of prayer is a precious habitation; I saw this habitation to be safe, to be inwardly quiet, when there was great stirrings and commotions in the world.”

John Woolman, 1770

Peaceful Travels! And please save the date:

PYM Annual Sessions

July 23 -27, 2014

4:00 Opening Worship 4:00-5:00p.m.

Meeting for Worship for Business 4:00-5:30






5:30 Dinner and Registration Dinner and ReCreation 5:30-7

7:00 Gathering Celebration 7:00-8:30

Opening Keynote:

Jennifer Karsten The Spiraling Journey: Lessons from

the perpetual return to Quaker Community

Workshops 7:00-8:30


Workshops 7:00-8:30


Keynote Speakers: 7:00-8:30 Lucy Duncan & Niyonu Spann Truth, Heart, Healing: Working with Spirit Transforms!


8:40 Vespers 8:40-9:00

Late Evening Programs 9:15

Welcome to PYMAnnual Sessions 2013

Gathering TogetherOur Past,Our Presence,and Our Future

“The place of prayer is a precious habitation; I saw this habitation to be safe, to be inwardly quiet, when there was great stirrings and commotions in the world.”

John Woolman, 1770Peaceful Travels! And

please save the date:

PYM Annual SessionsJuly 23-27, 2014


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ANNUAL SESSIONS

Workshops at Annual SessionsAnnual Sessions Workshops are

scheduled for Thursday, July 25 and Friday, July 26, 7:00-8:30 p.m. on the Muhlenberg Campus. This year’s workshops will address the theme, Gathering Together Our Past, Our Pres-ence, and Our Future and other ways that help strengthen our faith and commit-ment as a community of Friends. You may sign up for workshops during on-line registration or on-site at Sessions. For a complete description of each workshop please see our website at www.pym.org/annual-sessions-2013/programs

THURSDAY EVENING WORKSHOPS

Releasing Friends LeadingsViv Hawkins, Central Philadelphia Monthly

Meeting with members of the Support and

Outreach and Peace and Concerns Standing

Committees.

Conscious ConsumerismColleen Warmingham, Unami Monthly Meeting

Healing from the Hurts of RacismVictoria Green, Green Street Friends Meeting;

Kathy Miller, Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting

Reimagining U.S. Foreign Policy: What Can Friends Say?Michael Shank, FCNL Foreign Policy Director;

Lucy Duncan, Goshen Monthly Meeting and

AFSC Friends Liaison

Moving Into MindfulnessAmy Ward Brimmer, Fallsington Monthly Meeting

Fundraising Strategies for Monthly Meetings and Other Non-Profit OrganizationsJennie Sheeks, Central Philadelphia Monthly

Meeting and PYM Director of Development;

Ralph Henninger, Plymouth Monthly Meeting

Meeting,; Howard Cell, Germantown Monthly

Meeting

FRIDAY EVENING WORKSHOPS

Friendly Fabric: Weaving Threads of our Past and our Future into our Presence as Covenant CommunityTherese Miller, Lewisburg Monthly Meeting;

Margaret Wood, Towanda Monthly Meeting; Erik

Pedersen, Schuylkill Monthly Meeting; Karen

Dillon, Haddonfield Monthly Meeting

Moving Away from Economic Inequality (and Toward Connection and Access)Tucker Taylor, Providence Monthly Meeting;

David George, Germantown Monthly Meeting;

Pamela Haines, Central Philadelphia Monthly

Meeting

The Meeting, the Community, Navigating Assumptions, Building TrustJoan Broadfield, Chester Monthly Meeting

Young Adult Quakers, Nones, and the Future of Friends: How Earlham School of Religion is Observing and Adapting to Changes in American Religious LifeMatt Hisrich, Earlham School of Religion

Communicating with Members of the Yearly MeetingMartin Reber, London Grove Monthly Meeting

and PYM Director of Communications; Naman

Hampton, PYM Web Manager

The Renewal We SeekChris Stern, Middletown Monthly Meeting and

other Middletown Friends

Saving our Future and Honoring our Past: Native Americans and Quakers - “Idle No More” TodayKate DeRiel, Haverford Monthly Meeting with

Members of the PYM Indian Committee

Peer Listening- A Tool for Trauma HealingPamela Haines, Central Philadelphia Monthly

Meeting with members of Friends Peace Teams

Understanding Our Story Styles and Our Conflict StylesWarren Heydenberk and Robin Heydenberk,

Richland Monthly Meeting

A Quaker Behind the Dream: Charlie Walker and the Civil Rights MovementBrenda Beadenkopf, Concord Monthly Meeting

Quaker Voluntary Service: Supporting the Future of QuakerismRoss Hennesy, Germantown Monthly Meeting;

Bruce Birchard, Central Philadelphia Monthly Continued on next page

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Change the Story, Change the World: Building a Culture of Peace with AFSCScilla Wahrhaftig, Pittsburgh Monthly Meeting,

AFSC Program Director PA Program; Lucy

Duncan, Goshen Monthly Meeting, AFSC Friends

Liaison

There is a Spirit ... FCNL’s Call for Constructive DialogueMary Lou Hatcher, Lehigh Valley Monthly

Meeting; Margaret Mansfield, Mount Holly

Monthly Meeting

Exploring Vocal MinistryBenjamin Lloyd, Haverford Monthly Meeting

Call and Response - Exploring the Music inside UsTim Simmons, Old Haverford Monthly Meeting

Quaker Quest: Joyfully Embracing the Present and FutureTrudy Rogers, Chester River Monthly Meeting;

and Gita Larson

Understanding Bullying-From Risk to ResilienceWarren Heydenberk and Robin Heydenberk,

Richland Monthly Meeting

Spiritual Nurture/ Direction: A Rich Resource for FriendsWade Wright, Millville Monthly Meeting; Nancy

Bieber, Lancaster Monthly Meeting; Jane Keller,

Pennsdale Monthly Meeting

The Future of Friends: Growing into ParadoxTom Gates, Lancaster Monthly Meeting

Making Ourselves Known: The Expanded Grants Presence on the PYM WebsiteCarol Walz, Mount Holly Monthly Meeting,

PYM Director of Grant Making n

Keynote SpeakersAnnual Sessions 2013 will open on

Wednesday, July 24 with dinner, followed by a gathering celebration at 7:00 pm. This year we are delighted to have three keynote speakers, all of whom are members of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting! Please join us for this year’s keynote presentations on Wednesday and Saturday evenings.

Wednesday, July 24, 7:00-8:30 Opening Keynote: Jennifer Karsten: The Spiraling Journey: Lessons from the Perpetual Return to Quaker Community

Jen is Execu-tive Director of Pendle Hill, the Quaker center in Wallingford, PA. In childhood, Jen was a member of Doylestown Monthly Meeting. In her adult years, she returned to the region and reconnected with Friends. Being shaped by time with and also away

from Quaker settings has given her a heightened sense of belonging as a Friend and wider perspective of the world. Her path also encountered dis-comfort – all of which has been trans-formative. In her presentation this evening she hopes to be helpful to Friends by sharing how trials may be great teachers and how bringing our lessons back home can enhance com-munity among us. Jen and her family are members of Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting.

Saturday, July 27, 7:00-8:30 Keynote Speakers:Lucy Duncan & Niyonu Spann: Truth, Heart, Healing: Working with Spirit Transforms!

Lucy is Friends’ Liaison for the American Friends Service Committee. She sees gardening as a meta-phor for how God might be calling Quakers as a community. She says, “We can’t do it alone, we need to remember that tilling and planting the soil of

transformation can only bear fruit if we do it in collaboration, that we need each other and God to grow anything nourishing.” Lucy is a member of Gos-hen Friends Meeting.

Niyonu is a musician, com-munity activist and consultant to non-profit organizations. She is the found-er of Beyond Diversity, co-founder of Co-Creating Effective and Inclusive Organizations and

director of the singing group Tribe. She taught Quakerism at two Quaker schools and has served on the boards of FGC and Training for Change. Niyonu is a member of Chester Monthly Meeting. n


13

ANNUAL SESSIONS

LocationPhiladelphia Yearly

Meeting Annual Sessions 2013 will be held at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylva-nia. Meetings for Busi-ness, Children’s Sessions, meals and other activi-ties will be housed com-fortably in one building. Dorms and additional program spaces are clus-tered nearby with shady outdoor spaces between.

PYM Sessions Plan-ning Group researched many possible sites for Annual Sessions and chose the Muhlenberg College campus based on the suitability of the campus for our programs for all ages, and with appre-ciation for Muhlenberg’s commitments to diversity and sustainability. Our Group also made note of the availabil-ity of the good food and the friendly staff at Muhlenberg College!

HousingStaying together on a single campus

means plenty of opportunity for fellow-ship during Annual Sessions. Housing and meals are available at affordable prices (see Fees and Financial Aid be-low). All of the dormitories are close to the Seegers Union building where Meeting for Worship for Business, Chil-dren’s Programs, meals and more activi-ties will be held.

Housing options include:• The Family Neighborhood where

families with children can stay together in one hallway with a common lounge

• Air conditioned and non-air-condi-tioned dorm rooms

• Young Friends will be together in a single dorm area with staff and Friendly Adult Presences

• Young Adult Friends have the oppor-tunity to stay with other young adults in a designated dorm area

Directions By Car

The Muhlenberg College campus is eas-ily accessed from the East or West via I-78, and from the North or South via I-476 or US 309, connecting with the PA turnpike. De-tailed directions are available on our website at www.pym.org/annual-ses-sions-2013 or the Muhlenberg College website at www.muhlenberg.edu.

By Public TransportationGreyhound and Carl Bieber Bus lines

serve two locations near the Muhlen-berg campus – the Allentown bus termi-nal and Wescosville. Susquehanna- Trailways also serves the Allentown bus terminal.

Parking Plenty of free parking is avail-

able in designated lots on cam-pus. Maps will be available for registrants. If you need access to a handicapped-designated park-ing space, please indicate this when you register for Annual Sessions.

MealsMeals will be served in the

Wood Dining Commons in the Seegers Union building. Vegetar-ian, vegan, and gluten-free op-tions will be available.

Our first meal together will be dinner on Wednesday July 24. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday breakfast, lunch and dinner will be available; on Sunday, breakfast and lunch will be served. Note that dorm rooms are not equipped with refrigerators or micro-waves, although some have shared mini-kitchens.

Annual Sessions is one of the most important events we can participate in, a time and place where all who embrace our faith community – members and seekers alike - may gather to share worship, fellowship and the work we are called to do to bring the light of God’s spirit to the world.

AccessibilitySeegers Union, Moyer Hall and the

Life Sports Center/Field House are fully accessible buildings, as are most of the dormitories we will use. Paved walk-ways connect all the buildings and the longest distance between buildings we will use is about one city block. If you require a wheelchair-accessible room (or any other assistance) please indicate your needs when you register for An-nual Sessions.

Speech-to-text transcription will be

Logistics and Fees

14


provided during each Plenary Session.If you have any other special need

please contact our Sessions Coordinator at 215 241-7238.

Fees There are no program fees for atten-

dance at Annual Sessions this year! The PYM General Fund is covering the loca-tion, logistic and program costs of An-nual Sessions. Participants only need to pay for their own food, housing and personal expenses. We invite Friends to make voluntary contributions to help offset the costs of Annual Sessions and reduce our reliance on the General Fund.

Fees for Housing and MealsAdultsFull time registration

$300 – all meals plus housing in airconditioned room$220 – all meals plus housing in aNON air conditioned room

Day registration$30/day – all meals (per day)$45/night – housing with air condtioning$25/night – housing without airconditioning

Children (Infant-Middle School)Full time registration

$88 – full time registration includingall meals and housing. Note: thehousing charge is $0 (subsidized) ifthe children are in a double roomwith parents

Day registration$22/day – all meals (per day)

Financial Aid

Adults: Work Grants and Scholarships help defray the cost of housing and food at Annual Sessions. Work grants are based on the number of hours worked. Both types of aid are subject to availability, so apply early!

Over 60: The PYM Aging Granting Group has generously provided fund-ing for scholarships to help cover the cost of housing and food for Friends over the age of 60. During registration, just let us know you would like to obtain this support.

Young Friends: Scholarships are available from the Sergei Thomas and Haley Yarmark Memorial Scholarship Fund. Young Friends may apply for this aid when you register for Annual Sessions.

Children: Middle School: This year, housing is subsidized by the PYM General Fund for all children aged infants through middle school. There is no need to apply for this subsidy.

Individual assistance from your Meeting: Monthly and Quarterly Meetings are encouraged to support their member’s participation in Annual Sessions. Please contact your local meeting for more information.

Young FriendsFull time registration

$209 – includes all meals, housing ina double room in the Young Friendsarea and one ticket to see Jesus ChristSuperstar!

Day registration$28.50/day – all meals (per day)$20/night – housing in a doubleroom in the Young Friends area

How to registerVisit www.pym.org/annual-ses-

sions-2013 to register for this year’s program. Friends who do not have ac-cess to a computer may register by phone at 215-241-7238.

This year’s registration deadline is June 20, 2013. We highly recommend that you register as early as possible.

It is possible to register onsite during Annual Sessions however no housing and only a limited number of meal tickets will be available. n

We Are Called to Support Annual Sessions

Financial Contributions. There are many costs associated with rent-ing a facility and providing all the logistical support for our Annual Ses-sions. We encourage Friends to make voluntary financial contributions to help offset the costs of Annual Sessions and reduce our reliance on the General Fund. Please consider making a monetary gift when you register, or while you are onsite during Annual Sessions.

Time and Talent Contributions. Volunteering is a great way to get to know others at Annual Sessions and be involved in our yearly meeting community. Sessions works because of the support of many volunteers who assist with programs, registration, information, youth activities and more! Please consider volunteering your time, talent and energy during registration, or stop by the volunteer desk on-site during Annual Sessions.


15

ANNUAL FUND

about 1% of my income: $10 a week. The next year it was $20 a week. And it grew from there for one simple reason: the more I gave, the more I seemed to have. I never once suffered lack because of my charitable giving. I started to recognize that “my” money was not really mine, but a resource granted me by the Divine to handle with love and responsibility.

Over the years I expanded my giving to include gifts that are not tax deduct-ible. For instance, I know a Quaker healer who lives on donations and I am privileged to help support his work. I get to have the vicarious experience of providing a healing presence in the world. On the other hand, I sometimes encounter folks who are in need and, having this mindset that half of my giving is not tax deductible, opens my mind to stepping in when I see a need. It may be a person at the supermarket struggling with food stamps and $5 short of what they need.

I have been richly blessed. I found that even when I lost my career to ill-ness that there was still “enough” to go around. It still seems that the more I give, the more I have. I invite you to consider your giving: to your monthly meeting, to the PYM Annual Fund and to the larger community. Does the amount you give reflect your values? Is it appropriate in your eyes, and in the eyes of the Divine? n

As I attend our monthly Meeting for Worship with a concern for Busi-

ness, I hear repeated concerns about the financial state of our giving, both to our monthly meeting and to PYM Annual Fund. As I consider our call to give beyond ourselves, I am re-minded of my own journey of learning about the bless-ing of giving.

During my late incarna-tion as an Episcopalian, I was tapped to serve on the Stewardship Committee. I thought that this was to be simply a fundraising activity but I was mistaken. As a com-mittee we explored our individual expe-riences, ideas, hopes and concerns about supporting the financial needs of our worship community. In time, we undertook a program of “proportionate giving” and each of us delivered a ser-mon that fall, sharing our experience about the issue of supporting the church. It was a powerful witness to the power of Spirit and community to transform our resentment and fear about giving from what we perceived as

our limited means. Our program of proportionate giving

invited us to examine our individual decisions about charitable giving in-cluding giving to our faith community. We were asked to calculate what portion of our income we were giving away and what portion of our charitable giving

was going to the church. There were no guidelines provided about what these pro-portions should be. We were simply asked to do the math and then ask ourselves if this proportion seemed right.

At the time I was giving about $5 a week in the basket, being reluctant to pledge a given amount. My reluctance was grounded in a belief that others wanted “my” money and whenever others asked for “my” money my emo-tional response was resentment and defensiveness. I needed to protect “my” money. As I recall, when I did the math it turned out that this $5 represented about .5% of my income. That is one half of one percent. That was a revela-tion. I had thought it was a lot of mon-ey. (This was in the early 1980’s). That year I pledged $520 a year, which was

Nurture Quaker faith and practice with a gift to the Annual FundPhiladelphia Yearly Meeting is a community of Quaker meetings, mem-

bers and attenders who support and strengthen each other in Quaker com-munity, faith, practice and witness.

Please help nurture the work of your yearly meeting by making a gift online at www.pym.org/nurture or call 215/241-7115.

“Use your capabilities and your possessions not as ends in themselves but as God’s gifts entrusted to you. Share them with others; use them with humility, cour-tesy and affection.” (Faith & Practice, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 2002, p. 83)

Some Thoughts on Stewardship and Charity

Maia SimonTrenton Monthly Meeting

16


aspect of our work as an organizationTwenty-five years ago we were a com-

mittee of 40 to 50 people. We met face-to-face ten times each year. We staffed a myriad of committees and working groups. We attended Quarterly Meeting because it was the only way to find people to serve the committees. It was a way for newer Friends to find their way into the yearly meeting structure.

Now we have only one or two people from most Quarters - 15 loyal and ex-cellent members. Expanding on the traditional role of finding willing Friends for PYM committees, we have

CARING FOR OUR COMMUNITY

Quakers & Mental HealthThe Friends Counseling Service of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

emotional challenges. At the time it was ground breaking in its ingenuity. The Retreat inspired other

progressive facilities including the American Brattleboro Retreat, the Hart-ford Retreat, and, in 1813, Friends Hos-pital right here in Philadelphia. The Friends Counseling Service continues to emphasize this professional treatment of emotional concerns.

Friends Counseling Service was founded in 1940 by Dr. Lovett Dewees, a member of Philadelphia Yearly Meet-ing who recognized the need for a counseling service staffed by mental health professionals who were also Friends and active in the life of their meetings. Since that time, meetings have continued to support the Friends Counseling Service as a program essen-tial to members and attenders. The Service is staffed by experienced, li-

censed psychologists, clinical social workers and professional counselors. The intent continues to be to provide professional therapy at rates that are affordable to all, and a very significant subsidy is available for those who qualify.

Research has shown that millions of Americans have mental health con-cerns. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that over 18% of the United States population has some type of anxiety disorder; and a 2004 Nation-al Institutes of Mental Health study

Nominating CommitteePaula CellGermantown Monthly Meeting

Why Nominating Committee? Is that your view? Well yes, because

you know our work is never done. And yes, because you know it is sometimes difficult to find the right people to fill positions. Consider who we are:

• representatives that you have chosen to do this job

• indispensible to the functioning of our yearly meeting which depends on volunteer committees for every

recommended changes in terms of ser-vice, defined new roles, staffed major short-term project committees, and run a leadership training program for cur-rent and potential activists in the yearly meeting.

We see our role as crucial to helping our yearly meeting organization func-tion creatively and effectively within a new reality. Our dream is that members of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting will yearn for vitality in our monthly meet-ings; that we will express passion for peace and justice in our society with such Friends organizations as AFSC and FCNL; and that youth and young adults

Of the many things that attract me to Quakerism, the biggest factor

has always been the passionate willing-ness of Friends to take clear, firm initia-tives about some of the deepest ques-tions of living. Quakers demonstrate that through opposition to war and violence; through the empathic care of prisoners; through aiding a bold con-frontation of slavery in America; through excellence in progressive education; and more. Quaker initia-tives on mental health have been no less profound.

Quakers have long been pioneers in the field of mental health. As early as 1796 Quakers took initiative in England with the opening of The Retreat (or York Retreat) to support Friends facing

Individuals, couples, families or groups interested in obtaining assistance from the Friends Counseling Service may contact Kenneth Brick, Coordinator at [email protected] or by call-ing 215-241-7019. All contacts are held in strict confidence.

Kenneth BrickCoordinator, Friends Counseling Service


17

in our midst will participate more fully in the life of meetings and worship groups, and in the work of the yearly meeting be-cause they know the weight of our message. Nominating Com-mittee will find and nurture the leaders who are eager to partici-pate actively in our yearly meet-ing and provide them with skills they need to participate and lead fully. n

Paula serves as clerk of the PYM Nomination Committee.

Preparing Hearts and Mind for Worship

SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND RENEWAL

Faith and Practice encourages us to come to meeting for worship with our hearts

and minds prepared. There are many stories of our community which lift up the efforts Friends have taken to prepare themselves and their meetings for worship. Here are stories from 4 meetings where the worship has deepened in a clear and powerful way .

Wilmington Monthly Meeting was surprised by a serendipitous experience which deepened their community and their worship.

The meeting decided it wanted to offer religious education for adults. They created an ad hoc committee which offered a class once each month before meeting for wor-ship. The class format and content was very simple. They used the 2011 One Book One Yearly Meeting book selection, Leading from Within: Poetry that Sustains the Courage to Lead. Each month, a different member of the committee would choose a poem for the group to read. During the class the fa-cilitator would read the poem and talk about the imagery or metaphor that had meaning for him or her; other Friends in the group would share their own responses. Over time a strong sense of community grew in the group as the sharing became personal. In response to the poetry, Friends shared their own struggles, needs, joys and issues. Over the eight months of the class, the experience spilled into meeting for wor-ship: worship became more centered and the ministries that were offered became more powerful. In turn, this seemed to strengthen our meeting and we reveled in it.

The surprise was that deepening worship

per se wasn’t what the meeting was trying to do. Steve Dutton says of the experience, “We’re always having con-versations about how to deepen or enrich worship but this class is what did it. You could say that participants were preparing for worship in a way we hadn’t done before. I think the fact that this group got to know one another better and got to know personal needs and issues better meant that we grew as a community. Maybe this is one way to think about religious education – it’s about helping to prepare for worship, which is at the center of what we do. This was a spontaneous movement of the Spirit.”

About four years ago, Media Friends Meeting began extended meeting for worship on the third Sunday of each month. A handful of Friends gather one hour before regular worship time to begin a period of extended worship. Other friends join worship in progress during the extended hour or at the regu-lar worship time.

Since implementing this practice, Friends have noticed a dramatic differ-ence in worship on third Sundays; there is a deeper experience for most people and the messages that arise are experi-enced more profoundly. Friends have noticed that entering the meeting house where worship is already in progress has helped them to center more quickly and delve into a richer experience of wor-ship. Preparing our physical space, in conjunction with preparing our hearts and minds, has transformed our wor-ship and our experience of the Divine.

The Lower School at Friends Select held a concern for the quality of wor-ship and vocal ministry in their wor-

Christie Duncan-TessmerAssociate Secretary for Program & Religious Life

found 20 million Americans are subject to mood disorders. Only a small fraction of those needing treatment actually receive it, often because of the costs involved. And Quakers are not immune to having mental or emotional concerns.

Friends Counseling Service is available at preferential rates to help members and others facing a variety of challenges and difficul-ties including depression, anxiety couples conflicts, adolescent de-velopment issues, addictions and other concerns. All Friends Coun-seling Services staff are affiliated with medical psychiatry profes-sionals and the program is well equipped to help individuals with concerns ranging from personal counseling to crisis-oriented intervention. n

18


Long Range Planning, continued from page 3

ANNUAL SES-SIONS

SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND RENEWAL

ship. They addressed it in the manner of Friends … by forming a committee. The committee includes every 3rd and 4th grader who wants to participate and they meet during lunch and recess a few times each month. The classroom is packed with kids who choose to join the work. Clerked by a teacher, the kids discussed how to help their meeting for worship be one that everyone felt they could participate in. They implemented several ideas. Older children are care-fully charged with not just sitting next to their younger worship buddies but helping them understand what is going on and serving as a mentor to them. They check in about how this is going on a regular basis. The kids are respon-sible for developing the queries that are shared in worship once each month. The committee decided that the query should be read several times by differ-ent kids in different areas of the room so that it was well represented and ev-eryone could hear it. Over the 2 years that this practice has been in place they have heard increased ministry from more kids, including the youngest. Additionally, teachers share that they experience a deeper meeting for wor-ship. Another important result of this process is that care of worship is clearly important to the kids, evidenced by so many of them using their recess time to participate in the committee.

Several years ago, Lancaster Meet-

ing* was going through a time when meeting for worship seemed noticeably unsettled for a variety of reasons. In response, Worship and Ministry under-took a commitment that at least some members of the committee would be present in worship 15 minutes before the appointed 10 o’clock hour. Thus, when people began to enter the wor-ship room at 10:00, they found a core of people already deep in worship, providing, it was hoped, that critical mass of “kindled hearts.” Over time they noted that people no longer lin-gered in conversation just outside the door. Latecomers entered a still and centered meeting, so they knew that they were not only late by the clock but that they were missing something event-ful. As a consequence, tardiness de-creased. More importantly, worship seemed to gradually grow deeper and more settled, less distracted. Several years later, a few minutes before 10 o’clock you would find five or ten Friends in worship, preparing to wel-come fellow worshipers into a hushed and sacred space.

A second example from Lancaster Meeting is their engaging in the Spiri-tual Formation Program. In 1999, twelve Friends from Lancaster went through the first cycle of the PYM Spiri-tual Formation Program together. After the program ended they continued to meet and discuss readings on a regular

basis. With its willingness to regularly engage and discuss readings from our Quaker tradition, that small group came to have a ‘kindling effect” on the meetings for worship. The positive ex-perience of the group in turn led them to plan and finally implement their own local adaptation of the Spiritual Formation Program. Almost 50 people participated. One key component of the Spiritual Formation Program is the encouragement of a daily individual spiritual practice. Having that number of members participate in this program and in daily individual practice had a very notable and tangible effect on the quality of the meetings for worship.

Thanks to Lola George (Media Meet-ing), Friends Select Lower School, Steve Dutton (Wilmington Meeting) and Tom Gates (Lancaster Meeting) for sharing these stories. n

*The stories from Lancaster Meeting are reprinted with slight paraphrasing from the PYM pamphlet Worship: “The Gathered Meeting” Revisited by Tom Gates. The pam-phlet may be purchased from QuakerBooks of FGC or borrowed from the PYM Library.

Christie is a member of Chestnut Hill Monthly Meeting.

plans will emerge to help us take the initiative to respond to changing lead-ings and conditions.

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting may be the largest yearly meeting in the United States, but we are not the first to engage in organized planning. Since I joined Friends in my early 20’s, I have partici-pated actively in ten monthly meetings in four yearly meetings and observed

how change can be embraced - or feared.

The Friends appointed to develop and propose a plan for our yearly meet-ing’s near-term future are dedicated and energetic about their assignment and joyfully labor together. Our faith com-munity can be a vibrant, visionary, meaningful and powerfully helpful religious community making a differ-

ence in the world. However, we cannot do everything all at once, nor can we be all things to all people. Let us pray and prepare to exercise patience with our process. Planning is learning, Friends. And with divine assistance, we are good at that, aren’t we? n

Suzanne serves as clerk of the Long Range Planning Group.


19

WITNESSING OUR FAITH

A Quaker Freedom MemorialAvis Wanda McClinton Upper Dublin Monthly Meeting

I am the first African American mem-ber of Upper Dublin Monthly Meet-

ing. I would like to tell about the lead-ing that I have had to protect the earthly re-mains of the fugitives from slavery that have been buried in my meet-ing’s graveyard since before the Civil War. When you deal with

slavery it always leads to talk of racism, and nobody wants to hear it. But we must be stewards of our Quaker history of anti-slavery activities. “Love one another as I have loved you,” said Jesus. It is a little-known reality that the aboli-tion movement was the first time in our history that white and black people worked together for the common good.

My vision has been to create another

pants appeared so deeply moved by the occasion. Avis told me that as a black person, she, her family and other black people she knows have learned the survival skills of treading carefully and

saying what they think white people with power over them want to hear. But at this memo-rial service all participants seemed to feel safe and able to say what they wanted to say. Some spoke tearfully of never having known

that such a hallowed site was right here in their township. Some spoke of feel-ing the spirits of their ancestors when they walked in the graveyard.

As a white person, I do not feel it to be the spirits of my own ancestors bur-ied in the graveyard. As is the case for many white people my family can doc-ument its history back several hundred

AfterwordKitty Taylor Mizuno Haddonfield Monthly Meeting

I have been deeply moved and changed by working on the

Quaker Freedom Memorial project with Avis Wanda Mc-Clinton and others. It has made me more aware of the need for white people to listen to people of color in this country when they are able to share with us honestly about the realities of their history and their daily lives in our racially unjust society.

I was not able to be at either of the memorial services, but I did see the video footage of the second service. I was most impressed by the way partici-

opportunity for white and black to work together in my meeting to hold a memorial service in the Quaker manner to commemorate the lives and deeds of these fugitives from slavery. We joy-fully held two Friends’ memorial ser-vices during Black History Month. We came together in reverent silence as a multi-racial, multi-generational gather-ing to share what was in our hearts. We spoke. We cried. We sang. You could tell that the minds and hearts of every-one present were one with God. People are still telling me now, weeks later, that this spirit still resonates in their hearts. I was most astonished when a descen-dant of the Underground Railroad sta-tionmasters, Hannah and Thomas At-kinson, came to me and got on her knees and asked my forgiveness for the atrocities of slavery. I forgave her. God made a way for us to talk about race.

I am so grateful to announce that a company has donated a memorial stone

to commemorate these fugitives who have never before had a memorial grave marker. The meeting has also filed an application to the Pennsylvania Histori-cal Museum Commission for an histori-cal marker to honor these people.

After each memorial service, we qui-etly filed out of the meeting house and walked to the graveyard where the fugi-tives are buried and just stood there in silent prayer. n

Related publications:The Slaves’ War: The Civil War in the Words of Former Slaves, by Andrew Ward

Fleeing for Freedom: Stories of the Un-derground Railroad as Told by Levi Coffin and William Still, by Willene Hendrick & George Hendrick (Editors)

Slavery and the Making of America, by James Oliver Horton, Lois E. Horton

years, since before my ancestors immi-grated from Europe. I was humbled to be made aware of what a privilege it is to be able to take this knowledge for granted, when I heard black participants in the memorial service speak of the people buried there as their own ances-tors. The brutality of slavery has denied most of them the luxury of being able to trace their roots as I can.

It is incumbent upon us in our privi-leged position as whites in this country to listen humbly and work with others to make our society a place where all people have equal opportunity to grow and flourish. We can’t just talk about it. The color line is real in our world. Quakers have been abolitionists but we have also been slaveholders. We need to take action to eliminate racial injustice in our world in our time. n

PYMTodayPhiladelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends1515 Cherry StreetPhiladelphia PA 19102-1479




Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA




Annual Sessions 2013

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PYM Today is our journal of Quaker faith and practice, published by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, and distributed free to members.

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting1515 Cherry StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19102

Phone: 215-241-7211Fax: 215-241-7045Website: www.pym.org

Jada S. Jackson, ClerkArthur M. Larrabee, General SecretaryMartin D. Reber, Director of Communications

pym today - spring 2013

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