Drawing on her experiences as a leader in the field of environmental justice, Yeampierre provides a unique perspective on how to promote meaningful engagement toward concrete, inclusive, community-based solutions to deal with the climate emergency we are facing as a community, a city, a nation, and world. In these times of political and environmental uncertainty, Yeampierre’s thoughts will leave an impression on audience members’ thoughts and actions regarding climate change and climate justice.
COMING SOON:
ALL-GENDER, ACCESSIBLE RESTROOM FOR 1501 CHERRY ST. BUILDING
At the request of one of our equity
partners, the American Friends Service Committee, we will be converting the
first floor shower room in the 1501 Cherry Street building into a fully accessible, all-gender restroom.
The Friends Center board of directors enthusiastically
endorsed the idea, as it will increase both our restroom capacity and provide
more equitable access for all people.
Construction starts in mid-October, and
will take a few weeks. The contractor plans to cordon off the work area so
people can still pass by to use the existing women’s room and access the first
floor office suite. Inevitably, there will be noise and disruption. We hope you
can live with it for a short while, knowing that a larger benefit is on the
way.
By the way, the existing shower room on
the second floor of 1501 will remain. It’s part of our green building practice,
for those who walk or bike to work.
Thank you in advance for your patience
with the construction phase of this project. Please let me know if you have any
questions.
– Chris Mohr, Executive Director
AROUND FRIENDS CENTER
World Quaker Day is Sunday, October 6!
Please see the last piece in this
newsletter for more information.
Mighty Writers hosts Anti-Violence Town
Hall here
On Friday, 9/27, in the Rufus Jones Room, Mighty Writers held an Anti-Violence Town Hall for Philadelphia youth impacted by violence, as part of their MightFest. Click here for coverage by NBC10 and WHYY
If you witness public instances of racist, anti-Black, anti-Muslim,
anti-Trans, or any other form of oppressive interpersonal violence and
harassment, use these tips on how to intervene while considering the safety of
everyone involved.
We’re excited to
invite PYM Families to our next Community Playdate for Apple and pumpkin
picking, autumnal FUN at Solebury Orchards in Bucks County.
The Community
Playdate is an opportunity for fellowship and learning with our PYM Family
community.
We’ll meet on Saturday,
October 12 at 9:00am at Solebury
Orchards in New Hope, PA.
Kimani Keaton, Children and Families Program Facilitator, will be there to
greet and gather our group, and then lead families on wagon rides to pick
apples and find the perfect pumpkin in the patch.
In case of inclement weather and cancellation, we’ll email those who have
registered (see below) and post on the PYM Families Facebook page. No
parking, entry or wagon ride fees; apples are $1.50/lb.
Join
us for worship at 11 AM every Sunday at Friends Center
Central
Philadelphia Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends is a large, urban
Quaker meeting, diverse in many ways. We welcome visitors throughout the year.
We worship by
gathering and silently waiting for the Spirit to guide us.
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.
TENANT NEWS
Singing City Fall Concert–The Road Less Traveled Singing City and Lyric Fest together in concert.
Saturday, October 5, 2019, 4 pm: Haddonfield United Methodist Church, 29 Warwick Rd., Haddonfield, NJ 08033
Sunday, October 6, 3 pm: Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, 23 S. 38th St., Phila., PA 19104
Songs of journey and diaspora, welcome and belonging, leaving home and finding home. A timely program exploring world-wide migration and America’s roots as an immigrant nation.
Bartol Foundation (@BartolFdn) Workshop: Introduction to Trauma-Informed Practice for Teaching
Tuesday, October 15, 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM at Friends Center
Recap of Living
Building Challenge
with Community Ventures
Green Building
United recently completed a “Living Building Challenge” for infill affordable
housing with our tenant, Community Ventures. Read about it here.
Across our churches, meetings,
countries and sections, we feel the power of God connecting us in to a faithful
family. We celebrate all expressions of Quaker worship!
This year’s theme is Sustainability: Planting Seeds of Renewal for the World We Love
FWCC invites you to join Quakers around the world for the 6th annual World Quaker Day.
Across our churches, meetings, countries and sections, we feel the power of God connecting us in to a faithful family. We celebrate all expressions of Quaker worship!
Visit the resources page for ideas on how to get involved.
On this episode of Friends on 15th we had the pleasure of interviewing Dena Herrin and Cherice Arrington of Girls Inc.! Take a listen and learn how girls get started learning to run the world!
On this episode of “Friends On 15th” we were joined by Happi Grillon (Executive Director) & Yael Leiner (Programs Assistant Manager and CASA Volunteer) of CASA Philadelphia.Right to left (Chris Mohr, Happi Grillon, Yael Leiner, Shakirah Holloway (front) and Jennifer Lee)
Issue 52, September 2019Friends Center Tenant Newsletter
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S NOTE
I hope you had a
good summer! The fall is often a time of renewed vigor and commitment, as well
as cooler temperatures. When it’s nice out, please feel free to crack open the
windows. As a LEED Platinum green building, it’s designed to use natural air
conditioning.
Fall
also comes with an uptick in the use of Friends Center’s event spaces. Please
be sure to book your events well in advance!
Our
staff does their best to balance the needs among our many tenants as well as
the many outside groups that rent our facilities. Thank you for your patience
and flexibility as we do our best to accommodate your requests. I also want to say
how much I appreciate the good work of Shakirah Holloway, Erick Emerick,
Jennifer Williams, Ed Waters, and our evening/weekend staff, who together keep
the event facilities humming; thank you!
– Chris Mohr, Executive Director
AROUND FRIENDS CENTER
CONSTRUCTION ON RACE STREET
If you drive or bike down Race Street, be
aware that there is street construction this week, possibly for as long as a
month. The city is apparently replacing street light wiring on both sides of
the street.
Find Us On…
Are you and your organization following
Friends Center on social media? If not, we encourage and invite you to do so.
We like to feature the posts of our partners and tenants!
Also be sure to check out Friends on 15th , our new podcast. We will soon be getting it listed on many of the podcast directories. Meanwhile, check out the podcast page on our website.
The American Friends Service Committee was one of several groups protesting the conditions and treatment of children at the Homestead facility and organizer Mariana Martinez declared victory.
“Hello, my name is Joshua Ponter. I am a member of Haddonfield Monthly Meeting in South Jersey’s Philadelphia area. I have embarked on a year-long mission to travel around the country collecting stories about the founding of different meetings and looking at the way we practice Quakerism today. I will be blogging about my travels on the PYM website. Find my latest entry here. Please email me at JPonter1@gmail.com if there is anyone from your meeting who would like to sit down with me and speak to some of your history—or if you would like more information on me or my project. Thank you!”
The weekend will
start on Friday, October 11, with a potluck and a dramatic reading of an
original play about Mary Fisher, an early English Friend who undertook a
dangerous journey alone to Turkey to tell the Grand Sultan about Quakerism.
Saturday will feature several workshops, including one on spiritual gifts offered by the Gifts and Leadings committee and a workshop led by Carolyn McCoy entitled “Opening to the Spirit.” After a catered lunch, families will enjoy a midday swim at Friends Select School as well as crafts and games. A highlight of the afternoon will be a tour of the “mysteries” of the building, including the secret safe and the windows and doors to nowhere. A talent show will follow a taco dinner, and will end with a fun overnight sleepover. Sunday morning before worship will feature a pancake breakfast.
TENANT NEWS
Singing City and Lyric Fest together
in concert
Fall Concert–The Road
Less Traveled
Saturday,
October 5, 2019, 4 p.m.
Haddonfield
United Methodist Church, 29 Warwick Road, Haddonfield, NJ 08033
Sunday,
October 6, 3 p.m.
Philadelphia
Episcopal Cathedral, 23 S. 38th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Songs
of journey and diaspora, welcome and belonging, leaving home and finding home.
A timely program exploring world-wide migration and America’s roots as an
immigrant nation.
The Alternative to
Violence Project Presents
AVP: Introductory
Workshops for Radical Peacemaking
Friends
Center
Choose
1 day: Fri. September 6th, or Sat. September 7th
9:30
am – 4:00 pm (Sign in at 9:30, workshop at 10:00 am)
Complimentary
lunch included. This event is free to attend, and registration is required
Peace Day Philly is the
Philadelphia region initiative for the International Day of Peace, September 21. We invite individuals,
communities, organizations and civic leaders to use this powerful global
platform to build peace on personal, local and global levels. Participate in a
way that’s meaningful for you and your organization! Learn more.
Friday, September
13, 2019 –
Monday, September 23, 2019
The
City of Philadelphia Office of Immigrant Affairs partners with more than 30
community organizations for 10 days to honor the city’s multiculturalism. The
week’s aim: Engage immigrant communities like Philly’s Latino neighbors and
neighborhoods, with a variety of to-be-announced events. Learn more.
