Issue 81, September 2022
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S NOTE
On September 12th, 2022 Friends Select School held the ribbon-cutting for their new STEAM Building at 1520 Race Street! (STEAM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math.)
We closed on the sale just 13 months ago. With the interior almost completely rebuilt, the building opened last week, just in time for the new school year.
In his remarks, Head of School Michael Gary acknowledged the school’s partnerships with Friends Center and CPMM, which enabled the project to happen.
FSS plans a formal grand opening event later this fall.
Meanwhile, back here in 1501 Cherry Street, our general contractor has scheduled the final building inspection for Friends Child Care Center’s new space and expects to get the Certificate of Occupancy by the end of the week. Then the Health Department and DHS will do their own inspections over the next two weeks. The new facility should be in operation by 10/3. We will then clean the conference and meeting rooms and place back in service.
FCCC expects to have a grand opening this fall, too. Details will be shared once we have them. Thanks to the many Friends Center board and committee members who advised and assisted on one or both projects. And a huge thank you to our staff, who have done so much on the ground to smooth the way for both projects. Friends Center is blessed to have such a good team supporting these major changes. Thank you all!
—Chris Mohr, Executive Director
EQUITY PARTNER NEWS
PHILADELPHIA YEARLY MEETING (PYM)
Family Camping Weekend: Hosted by PYM Youth Programs
Youth Programs staff will host this weekend at a PA State Park Campground, and welcome family units of adult(s)+kid(s) and other camping-friendly Friends to join in intergenerational community.
Bonus: Sunday, Oct. 2 is World Quaker Day, which we will celebrate together!
- Cost: $10/child or youth and $15/adult, or $50 for a family of 4 or more. Scholarships are available.
- Registration Deadline: September 23
Register here.
AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE (AFSC)
Anti-Racist Youth Mixtape
Freedom School
This event will be about AFSC’s efforts at educate scholars to think critically about the history of race and racism in the United States as well as give them tools to address issues. The workshop will be an effort to respond to questions around youth’s role in movements of social justice. The facilitators of our workshop will be Realign (Dr. Elizabeth Eikmann, Dr. Tan Taylor, and Dr. Cindy Reed).
Date/Times:
Saturday, September 24th 9am-5pm
Sunday, September 25th 11:30am-5pm.
Location: St. Louis Friends Meetinghouse, 1001 Park Avenue., St. Louis, MO, 63104
Stipend: $200 Visa Debit Cards are available for completing the training
Note: There’s limited seating so please register today! This is a first come basis event.
More Info: Jonathan Pulphus Program Associate)
E: jpulphus@afsc.org T: 314-556-4633
REGISTER AT: tinyurl.com/youthmixtape.
CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA MONTHLY MEETING (CPMM)
FAREWELL AND THANK YOU TO DAN
In August, we bade farewell to our Meeting Secretary, Dan Zemaitis. Dan started with us in December, 2018, and did an excellent job keeping our Meeting organized, especially during the challenge of COVID19. We wish Dan well on his new journey.
HELLO AND WELCOME TO RACHEL
Our new Office Administrator, Rachel Ellis Adams, has come on board! Rachel has been active in the Religious Society of Friends for more than 25 years, including service in Cambridge, MA, as Clerk of Young Adult Friends and as a member of Ministry & Counsel, and in Minneapolis, MN, as a member of the Peace & Social Concerns and the Adult Education committee. Currently, she is attending Green Street Meeting. We are looking forward to celebrating Dan and welcoming Rachel in person, at our coffee hour on September 18, following Meeting for Worship.
TENANT NEWS
Jacob Bender of C.A.I.R Philadelphia Honored at ISNA Interfaith Banquet
C.A.I.R. Philadelphia is honored to announce that their former executive director and current creative director Jacob Bender received an award at the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) Annual Convention in Chicago to recognize his years of service to the American Muslim community and to CAIR. Jacob’s remarks can be read here.
Thank you, Jacob, for your ongoing service to our communities!
Getting Ready for New Home Repair and Housing Development Funding and Resources
Description: New money will soon be available in Pennsylvania for home repair, housing development, and preservation. Senators Vincent Hughes and Nikil Saval were our champions in making this new $375 million in funding a reality.
Join us on Friday, September 23rd at 10:00 am to talk about what we know so far about the new programs with a deeper dive into Whole Home Repairs.
This webinar will feature Senators Hughes and Saval, and we will profile Philadelphia’s Built to Last Program—administered by the Philadelphia Energy Authority—that served as one of the models for Whole Home Repairs. We will specifically address how Built to Last could be adapted for a community of any size and provide you with ideas for how to get your own local program started and ready for new funding.
When: Friday, September 23, 2022
10 AM – 11 AM. This is an online event. More information available here.
IN THE WIDER QUAKER WORLD
22nd Annual Bucks Quarter Peace Fair
The Peace Fair, dedicated to promoting harmony in the home, the community, the environment and the world, will be held on the grounds of Buckingham Friends Meeting and Buckingham Friends School on Saturday, September 17, from 10:30 am to 4:00 pm.
Highlights of the day will include information tables from organizations with peace-related messages and missions, non-competitive children’s games, family-friendly entertainment, crafts by local artisans and food for purchase.
World Quaker Day will take place on Sunday October 2nd, 2022 with the theme Becoming the Quakers the World Needs.
World Quaker Day is an annual event where we celebrate the diversity of Quakerism around the world and build connections to make our community stronger.
This year, every Friends Church and Quaker Meeting is encouraged to send or receive visitors to or from another Quaker group, to bring greetings, build relationships and share ideas.
You can see which Quaker groups in each Section are welcoming Friends here. (Please note the deadline to apply to be a host meeting for World Quaker Day 2022 has now passed.)
Also, you can download the World Quaker Day poster to display in your church or meeting house here. The posters are available to download in a number of different languages.
We welcome your participation in World Quaker Day. We are grateful for all you bring to the Quaker world.
