Issue 54, November 2019
Friends Center Tenant Newsletter
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S NOTE
Recently we had a tenant reception specifically scheduled at a time when students and faculty from the Tri-College Philly Program could attend. It was a rich and rewarding opportunity for all present to learn about all the organizations here at Friends Center and the good work they do. And not only did some of the students connect with some of the equity partners and tenant groups about their work, some of the partners and tenants got to know each other, too!
To that end, I encourage you to browse the directory of organizations here. We strive to keep the page updated with everyone’s current website, so if your information is out of date, please let me know.
And if you don’t know what a group does, please click through page to learn more, and maybe even contact them directly. We always love to hear when you all find ways to collaborate with each other!
– Chris Mohr, Executive Director
AROUND FRIENDS CENTER
Spread the word! Beginning January 1, 2020 Friends Center will be increasing its rental rates for event and conference room use.
Encourage your comrades to book their 2020 event, in 2019 to maximize savings!
EQUITY PARTNER NEWS
AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE (AFSC)
Border Patrol denies delivery of flu vaccines to detained migrants
Three children have died in recent months at Border Patrol’s detention facilities because of influenza. Border Patrol officials have complained that they lack resources to provide adequate medical care, even to children. Meanwhile, this week Customs and Border Protection (CBP) purchased 33 million rounds of ammunition for its new handguns, and it has $300 million available for more bullets to purchase by 2025. Read more here
PHILADELPHIA YEARLY MEETING (PYM)
Continuing Sessions reporting is broken into two reports. This web story on the activities of the morning, and the full minutes of Meeting for Business, taken by Recording Clerk, Kri Burkander, with accompanying reports, all in PDF format.
Quaker Meeting Portrait Project
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting is encouraging its 100+ individual local Quaker meetings & other groups to take part in activities showing who they are: Take a selfie, write a poem, tell a story… whatever way they want to express themselves! Early group selfies include Green Street Meeting in Philadelphia, Appoquinimink Worship Group, and Southampton Meeting in Bucks County. See more Quaker Self Portraits here.
CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA MONTHLY MEETING (CPMM)
How we win
How do people concerned with peace and justice operate in times of intense polarization? According to Quaker author and activist George Lakey in this recent QuakerSpeak video, now is a moment of tremendous opportunity—click to watch and learn How We Win!
TENANT NEWS
Holiday Concert–Philadelphia, An Immigrant City
With Singing City Choir, The Philadelphia Brass, and Teen Voices of the City Ensemble (T-VOCE)
Sunday, December 15, 3 p.m.
Old First Reformed Church of Christ, 151 N. 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia is made up of people from around the world. This concert will feature seasonal works that are a reflection of the City’s diverse population and includes pieces by Zachary Moore, Paul Halley, Glen Burleigh, Mark Sirett, and more. Repertoire from Ireland, Poland, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Latin America, along with music for Chanukah and African American traditions.
Phoenicia Wallace becomes only second executive director of Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity
Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity (PLSE) announced that Phoenicia D.W. Wallace is its new executive director. She is the second to hold the post, following Mike Lee, one of PLSE’s founders, who left to become interim director of legislation and public affairs for District Attorney Larry Krasner.
Wallace was most recently a deputy attorney general for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, serving in the Bureau of Consumer Protection. A lifelong Philadelphian, currently a resident of Germantown, she took part in the entrepreneurship program at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, the Peace Corps in Kenya, the district office of State Senator Anthony H. Williams and the legislative office of City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson. She also served four years as a staff attorney and law clerk within the Philadelphia Court System. For two years, Wallace hosted “Universally Speaking” on WURD, and she speaks Swahili and Spanish. Welcome, Phoenicia!
New from New Century Trust:
Check out New Century Trust’s new quarterly newsletter!
OF INTEREST OUTSIDE FRIENDS CENTER
Friends Journal’s 7th Annual
Student Voices Project
2019–2020 Theme: Creating Change
Positive change in a community is dependent upon individuals speaking up, coming together around a shared goal, and making a plan for action. Quakers have a long history of organizing for change in response to various social, economic, racial, and environmental injustices; most often this change begins with community members working together at the local level. See examples below of Quakers who have helped create change, including a curated list of QuakerSpeak videos about activism. Read more here