Friends Center’s newest tenant, In-Advance, will hold their Spadework training here May 8-9, 2025.
Spadework is a program to build organizing rigor and a movement culture that sustains organizing for the long haul.
Learn more: https://spadework.community.
You too can have your nonprofit training, workshop, all-staff meeting, or community gathering at Friends Center!
See the Event Space section of our website.
New yard signs from the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) just dropped:
“Quakers welcome migrants with dignity.”
We posted our sign next to the statue of Mary Dyer, Quaker witness for religious freedom, by our front entry.
One of AFSC’s four strategic goals is just responses to forced displacement and migration.
As covered in our last newsletter, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends (PYM) and other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security for changing policy to allow ICE to detain or arrest people in houses of worship. (See PYM below.) After a court injunction, the Race Street Quaker Meetinghouse here and all the others in PYM’s four-state footprint are again off limits.
Several immigrant-serving organizations reached out to PYM and to Friends Center and asked us to cohost a community meeting on immigrant rights and concerns in the Meetinghouse. Given the urgency of the situation, we quickly planned this meeting. It will include updates from faith organizations, city officials (invited), and nonprofit partners.
» Click for more info and to register.
» Download this flyer to share.
Now, more than ever, we need the power of community to stay resilient and to do the work we’re meant to do. So, as always: Thank you for being part of the amazing Friends Center community!
—Chris Mohr, Executive Director
This month we welcomed our newest tenant, InAdvance. InAdvance is a movement center for organizing to advance racial and economic justice in a globalized world. They invest time and resources in the people that do the hard work of improving conditions for the displaced and attacked for who they are. They nurture strategic campaigns and projects that build unlikely alliances and cut new ways of doing the work. They make sure that the lived experience of regular folks who live in disinvested communities, whether they’ve been there for generations or just arrived from making the dangerous trek across borders, guide the strategies and policies we fight for.
» Learn more: https://www.in-advance.org.
Brill has published Brian Blackmore’s new book, To Hear and to Respond: The Quakers’ Groundbreaking Push for Gay Liberation, 1946-1973. The book is based on his extensive academic research. Brian currently serves as AFSC’s Director of Quaker Engagement. Congratulations, Brian!
» Learn more: https://brill.com/display/title/72061
Many Quaker groups recently announced they were leaving the former Twitter. Friends Center stopped being active there some time ago.
Now there is a robust Quaker presence on BlueSky. If you’re on BlueSky, please follow us at @friendsctr.bsky.social. Oh, and we’re also on LinkedIn, too. We’d be happy to follow you back on both platforms!
Thanks to Philadelphia Youth Sports Collaborative’s Dontae Privette and Friends Center’s Carla Gamble and Shakirah Holloway for organizing a fabulous tenant tailgate before the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory. We look forward to planning another tenant gathering this spring.
Friends Center continues to provide a great value, with robust facilities, a convenient Center City location, and our friendly and staff. Please let your colleagues, peers, and friends know about our meeting spaces. Remember, we always have a nonprofit discount! Thank you.
» Link to share: https://friendscentercorp.org/event-space
In the last week of February, the U.S. District Court of Maryland temporarily blocked ICE from conducting immigration raids in the places of worship of PYM and the other plaintiffs. However, the judge did not extend that decision to all religions and the decision is temporary, so we still have some road to travel. Per the judge’s order, a list of meetings’ addresses was forwarded to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last week to ensure they comply with the order.
» See PYM’s regular updates about the lawsuit on this page.
Mike Merryman-Lotze, AFSC’s Just Peace Global Policy Director, recently had an essay on Common Dreams calling for real cuts to U.S. military spending, and to direct those funds elsewhere:
“Money saved by such a reduction could easily be reinvested in conflict prevention, development, and poverty reduction abroad as well as green jobs, scientific research, environmental protection, medical research, health care, education, and other needs that benefit all of us.”
» Read the full essay here.
Recently the Quaker meeting that has worshipped in the Race Street Quaker Meetinghouse since 1856 decided to change its name. They are now Central Philadelphia Friends Meeting, or CPFM. You’re welcome to experience CPFM’s Quaker meeting for worship for yourself. It is on Sundays from 11 am to 12 noon.
Dontae Privette, PYSC’s Director of Engagement, was recognized by KYW as a Game Changer in Philly! His dedication to empowering youth through sports is making a lasting impact in our communities.
Not only that, but it was his idea to have the Tenant Tailgate before the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory. Congratulations, Dontae!!
» Read more about Dontae as a Game Changer here.
Community Ventures and Old First Congregational Church recently held a community meeting about the soon-to-open Old First House. This new development at the corner of 4th and Arch Streets will offer 34 permanent supportive homes for formerly homeless individuals.
There will be a community open house on April 23 and then an official ribbon-cutting, likely in May. Stay tuned!
Friends Select School now hosts a community pantry on the 1600 block of Race Street. It is open to anyone in the community 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Please help spread the word!
If your organization is interested in hosting a drive for pantry items and would like to schedule a drop-off time, please contact Margaret Smith (margarets@friends-select.org).
World Café Live, 3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia
March 26, 2025
Doors: 6:30 pm | Showtime: 8:00 pm
In celebration of Women’s History Month, Carla Gamble has curated an outstanding local lineup of ladies in our city’s vibrant R&B and soul scene. Enjoy performances from musicians Jada Lee, Natalie Imani, Tata Sherise, poetic soul queen Evita Colon, Queen of the Pen (Valerie McNear), Naima the Poet, DJ Queen Yaszy, and a special performance by Carol Riddick.
» Tickets available here: https://worldcafelive.org/event/voices-of-philly-soul-ladies-edition/
On 3/22/25, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends (Quakers) holds a Thread Gathering on Quaker climate witness here at Friends Center. It will also be their first time doing a hybrid version of a thread gathering.
Register here: Climate Witness: Let Our Actions Speak.
The gathering starts at 9 am with worship. Programs run from 9:30 am to 4 pm.
Friends Center is located at 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102. Directions.
Friends Center’s executive director will participate in a workshop on Greening Friends’ Buildings, speaking about Friends Center’s sustainability measures.
In the midst of the tumult in the larger world, we had a “tailgate” for our tenants today, with a few snacks & some Eagles merch.
It was a great opportunity for marvelous nonprofit office tenants to meet one another and learn about each others’ work, as well as to show some team spirit.
Go Birds! Fly Eagles, fly!
Two views from our nonprofit office building in Center City Philadelphia today.
Thanks to Green Philly for pointing out it’s Winter Salt Week! Let’s keep freshwater fresh by using less salt on our streets & sidewalks to reduce ice & snow.
Learn more: https://wintersaltweek.org/
Green Philly also highlighted this page by the Stroud Water Research Center, which includes 5 ways you can cut the salt: Road salt is polluting fresh water.
Friends Center is a partnership of three Quaker organizations. You can see their names behind the front desk in the lobby. In this issue, we highlight some of their responses to the current situation.
May these snippets help center and ground you in your work here at Friends Center. Please know that you are part of a larger community working in a multitude of ways for a better city, nation, and world. Thank you for who you are as well as what you do.
—Chris Mohr, Executive Director
Note: If any colleagues didn’t get this newsletter but would like to, please let me know! They need to opt-in to the Google Group.
Friends Center strives to be prepared for emergencies, beyond our occasional fire drills. Recently, our full-time staff members were trained in First Aid and CPR, thanks to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
Thank you to the dozen tenants came to our emergency preparedness briefing on 1/7/2025. We’ve never had such a high turnout before! Please mark your calendars for the next emergency preparedness briefing on Thursday, March 13, 10:30 am.
We also purchased and installed two Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs).
 |  |
If you have questions or need a refresher on emergency protocols, please contact Erick Emerick, eemerick@friendscentercorp.org.
On the night of November 21, supporters of Covenant House slept out in the Friends Center courtyard in solidarity with the homeless youth and young adults Covenant House serves, and to raise fund for their programs.
After holding the line through the pandemic, Friends Center increased its event rental prices as of January 1, 2025. We continue to provide a great value, with robust facilities, a convenient Center City location, and our friendly and staff.
Please let your colleagues, peers, and friends know about our meeting spaces, and be sure to tell them we always have a nonprofit discount! Thank you.
The suit challenges an immigration enforcement decision that interferes with and could significantly impact freedom of religion.
Read PYM’s announcement: https://www.pym.org/pym-involvement-in-dhs-lawsuit/
Inquirer: Quaker groups, including in Philadelphia, sue to keep ICE out of religious sites
The lawsuit says “the very threat” of ICE enforcement deters congregants from attending services, violating First Amendment rights of religious liberty.
The suit appears to be the first from a faith-based organization challenging the change in court.
We are stronger than we think. As a Quaker organization, [AFSC’s] work for lasting peace with justice is guided by the belief that there is that of God in each of us. And we are not starting from scratch. History is full of people and movements who refused to accept the future people in power had charted for them. Led by the Spirit, today we draw inspiration and strength from those who came before us.
AFSC was founded in 1917, just weeks after the United States declared war on Germany. In the chaotic aftermath of President Wilson’s announcement, a small group of Quakers gathered in Philadelphia to grapple with how they might live into their pacifist values in a time of war. Their goal was not just to refuse to fight, but to create the infrastructure for conscientious objectors to serve humanity in a constructive way…. [T]hey touched the lives of millions, fed children, built houses, and revived and expanded a tradition of conscientious objection….
Of course, they did not end war, oppression, and exploitation. It is up to us to continue to transform the world through loving and courageous action.
More than a century later, we once again face global upheaval defined by both acute and structural violence. And we must double down on our efforts to protect one another, to refuse and resist injustice, and to build something new.
These three tenets – protect, resist, and build – can help guide us.
Read the full piece:https://afsc.org/newsroom/we-are-stronger-we-think
“Two nights after the election I was at the first New York City showing of the new documentary film Citizen George. I consistently tell crowds after the film showings my own, transformational view of what can be done in a time of big political polarization. Do we ever need it now! Once again I found that my surprising view opens people’s eyes and hearts to new possibilities.
“Here’s a concise version of that viewpoint:
https://wagingnonviolence.org/2018/03/how-build-progressive-movement-polarized-country
“If you’re a Quaker, you may find this version more useful:
The Fiery Forge of Polarization – Friends Journal
Please share these with others—sharing is not only supportive but also implicitly shows you care about them and want them to be “in there” with you as we do the vital work that may result in the biggest change we’ve made in our lifetimes! As my article asserts, the “gift” that polarization historically brings is the chance of more dramatic positive outcomes than can otherwise be gained.
ANNA’s winter concert on January 18 celebrated resilience, hope, and the relentless pursuit of justice through music, featuring uplifting and thought-provoking songs that speak to the ongoing fight for freedom and equality, including Beyoncé’s “Freedom,” Tracy Chapman’s “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution,” and Janelle Monáe’s “Hell You Talmbout.” The journey for change continues. We are all part of a vibrant, collective voice. It was a chance to reflect, rejoice, and unite through song! Together, we can weave a tapestry of resilience, hope, and revolutionary spirit.
Beth Devine, Executive Director of PYSC, was featured on the Be the Good podcast.
She discussed PYSC’s mission to empower Philadelphia’s youth through sports. You can catch the episode wherever podcasts are streamed or Click Here to Watch. 🎙️
Smaller nonprofits that help children across the city will be able to apply for additional funding through the Philadelphia Youth Sports Collaborative.
Via the Inquirer:
Friends Select School is now hosting a community pantry on the 1600 block of Race Street.
A year ago, they initiated a pantry pilot program for spring semester. The pilot was incredibly successful, and the school decided to formally continue the pantry, which is now open to anyone in the community 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Please help spread the word by sharing the following announcement:
Friends Select School Community Pantry
If your organization is interested in hosting a drive for pantry items and would like to schedule a drop-off time, please contact Margaret Smith (margarets@friends-select.org).
Saturday, March 1, 2025, 4 pm
Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church
625 Montgomery Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
With Singing City, Rollo A. Dilworth, Artistic & Music Director
Northeast High School Choir, Patricia Betcher, Director
Philadelphia Creative & Performing Arts High School Choir (CAPA), B. Lauren Thomas-Moyett, Director
Teen Voices of the City Ensemble (T-VOCE), Whitney Covalle, Director
Featuring the premiere of Yukayeke, a new work by Suzzette Ortiz, commissioned by Singing City. The program will include works by Brian Tate, Tara Mack, Brad Ellingboe and Karen Marrolli, among many others!
We were open today, but most of our nonprofit tenant organizations worked from home, so we closed at 4 pm today. Meanwhile, here are some photos of our campus with snow. Details in the alt text.
Friends Center closes at 6 pm 12/31/24 & stays closed on 1/1/2025.
Best wishes for a peaceful and centered 2025 to all!
Click for our full 2025 holiday schedule (PDF).
![Text in white on a green background: "Be at war with your vices, at Peace with your neighbors, and let every New Year find you a better [person]." —Benjamin Franklin. (Not a Quaker, but he knew many!)](https://friendscentercorp.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2025-best-wishes.jpg)