EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S NOTE

Today I am excited to announce that Friends Center has entered into an agreement with Friends Select School to buy and renovate the 1520 Race Street, the building on the west side of our courtyard.

Check here for details and updates: https://friendscentercorp.org/1520-race-street/ 

– Chris Mohr, Executive Director

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AROUND FRIENDS CENTER

E-WASTE RECYCLING DAY: MARCH 4

Did you get new computers or electronic during the pandemic? Do you have old and obsolete items to dispose of? Come on down and recycle your e-waste!

We will collect items March 1–3 in the loading zone, for pickup some time on March 4.

• Acceptable: Computers, laptops, monitors, printers, mainframe computers or servers, fax machines, copiers, projectors, wire and cables, modems, phones, computer components and parts, computer peripherals, televisions, radios, UPS equipment, network equipment, video equipment, and batteries.
• Not acceptable: White goods, kitchen appliances, machinery, old media or software.

Stay tuned for a shredding day soon, too!

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EQUITY PARTNER NEWS

PHILADELPHIA YEARLY MEETING (PYM)

Quaker Traditions Series: Part I – Spiritual Practice

The Quaker Traditions Series is a set of articles on the Quaker faith. In his role as Associate Secretary for Religious Life,  Zachary Dutton has listened deeply to Friends in the community. Working with the PYM staff community engagement team he has provided answers to framing questions for this four-part series. The answers are reflective as opposed to definitive.

                The gift of the Quaker faith is that it is one of continuing revelation, so the article speaks to the ‘here and now’ of our faith even as it is tied to, and reflects, our history and tradition. If you have thoughts on these questions, please share them with Zachary – his email is at the end of this article. He is always looking for new ways to be in relationship with our wider Quaker community. Enjoy article here.

AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE (AFSC)

Biden’s changes to the immigration system explained

Soon after taking office, President Joe Biden began making big changes, including to U.S. immigration policy. These actions work to undo some of the most harmful policies passed by the Trump administration—and lay the groundwork for a more just and humane immigration system.

                We welcome these much-needed changes and the Biden administration’s swift action on these issues. Now we need to keep the momentum up to ensure that the administration continues to support immigrant communities and enact policies that respect the rights and dignity of all people. 

            Here’s where you can find some of the positive changes that Biden has already made and what this means for immigrant communities.

CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA MONTHLY MEETING (CPMM)

About Our Meeting (Church)

Central Philadelphia Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends is a large, urban Quaker meeting, diverse in many ways, and we welcome visitors.

• We worship by gathering and silently waiting for the Spirit to guide us. Learn more about Quaker worship here.
• We celebrate diversity and welcome people from all walks of life. We are a welcoming and affirming congregation for LGBTQ people.
• We are also involved in various activities to further peace and social justice.
• For more information about our meeting, click About in the menu above.
• What’s happening: See the Google calendar to the right for meeting activities and click Events in the menu above for highlighted events.

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TENANT NEWS

ACE Mentor Program

What can we say? 2020 was…quite the year! We’re happy to report that ACE has come out of it perhaps stronger than ever thanks to an amazing board of directors, staff, and 4,000+ incredible volunteers around the country. Even in the face of a global pandemic, ACE’s strongest resource – our mentors – rallied to ensure that deserving students still had access to the best career guidance program in the country!

Community Ventures

Green Building United recently spoke with Patrick Isaac—a newly elected Board Member of GBU—about his career path, experience in the industry, and interest in sustainability. This is what he had to say!

Gender Justice Fund

From Generocity, 1/20/2021:

Nonprofit leaders, mayor react to executive actions that will be issued by President Biden

We reached out to seven local leaders for a quick comment….

        Farrah Parkes, the executive director of the Gender Justice Fund, said that she was “heartened by the speed with which the Biden administration is moving to address the most pressing issues facing the country and reverse some of the most egregious actions of the former President — particularly those related to immigration.”

        “We are well overdue for a coordinated federal response to the pandemic which has claimed over 400,000 lives in the United States,” Parkes added. “It is also gratifying to see swift action on addressing systemic racism and workplace discrimination as well as climate change.”

Read More »

CAIR welcomes President Biden’s Termination of the Muslim Ban

CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director Jacob Bender said in a press release: “We commend President Biden for immediately moving to repeal the Muslim and African Bans, which is an important first step toward undoing the anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant policies of the previous administration. It is an important fulfilment of a campaign pledge to the Muslim community and its allies.”

Read the full statement here »

Scattergood Foundation:

Want to build skills to tell the story of your organization’s impact? Join the RISE Partnership’s Readiness component.

Read Scattergood’s piece in Generocity here »  

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BLACK HISTORY IS AMERICAN HISTORY:

Remembering Bayard Rustin 1912-1987

Bayard Rustin was a black Civil Rights activist, a close associate of Martin Luther King, and an advocate of gay and lesbian rights, and a Quaker.

                Rustin was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania and was brought up by his grandmother, who had been raised as a Quaker.  He himself became a Quaker in 1936, shortly before moving to New York where he lived most of his adult life.  He was a pacifist and a primary influence in bringing non-violent resistance into the American Civil Rights Movement, much inspired by Gandhi’s approach in India.

                In 1941, he joined the pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation.  He protested against segregation within the armed forces, and worked with the American Friends Service Committee to protect the property of interned Japanese Americans.

                Despite his membership of the Society of Friends (one of the so-called ‘Historic Peace Churches’), Rustin was jailed in 1944 for his conscientious objection to cooperating with the draft.  While in jail, he organised protests against segregated seating in the dining hall.  In a letter to the prison warden, he wrote:

Both morally and practically, segregation is to me a basic injustice. Since I believe it to be so, I must attempt to remove it. There are three ways in which one can deal with an injustice. (a) One can accept it without protest. (b) One can seek to avoid it. (c) One can resist the injustice non-violently. To accept it is to perpetuate it.

Source: Quakers in the World