Issue 82, October 2022
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S NOTE
Congratulations to Friends Child Care Center on moving into their new space! The staff, board, and families of FCCC celebrated with a ribbon-cutting event on October 6. Thank you to the FCCC families, board, and staff, especially Executive Director Raechel O’Neal Coats, for partnering with Friends Center on this project, which will maintain Friends Center as a truly multigenerational community for decades to come.
With FCCC’s move, Friends Center’s event and conference rooms are back in service. See below for ways you can reserve them.
Finally, as shown on the right, we have expanded our weekday open hours to be from 7 am to 7 pm.
—Chris Mohr, Executive Director
AROUND FRIENDS CENTER
Friends Center’s Shared Event and Meeting Spaces Are Available Once Again!
- List of rooms: Click here
Check availability and make reservations with Shakirah Holloway, our Events and
- Administrative Manager, sholloway@friendscentercorp.org or (215) 241-7098.
- If you like, you can also use our online Room Reservation Form.
- Read our Conference and Meeting Room Policy: Click here.
EQUITY PARTNER NEWS
Fall Continuing Sessions
November 4th – 6th, 2022
Join Friends of all ages from across Philadelphia Yearly Meeting in our first fully hybrid (online & in-person) Sessions! Our Sessions theme “Living communally with our neighbors, seeking to build beloved community,” calls us to come together in the joyful work of reweaving our connections. This is Both an In-Person and an Online Event
Friends can actively participate on Saturday either by attending in person or by joining via Zoom. Friday and Sunday programs are online only. In celebration of our return to in-person gatherings, PYM is providing a special evening experience! We’ll provide a community dinner, music and most importantly, fellowship with Friends!
Proof of vaccination and a rapid test done with 24 hours before the event will be required to attend.
AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE (AFSC)
Nominate the next Presiding Clerk of the AFSC Corporation and Board
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Quaker organization that promotes a world free of violence, inequality and oppression as a practical expression of faith in action. Drawing on continuing spiritual insights and working with people of many backgrounds, we nurture the seeds of change and respect for human life that transform social relations and systems.
AFSC seeks nominees qualified to serve as the next presiding clerk of the AFSC Corporation and Board of Directors. Nominations of individuals who are people of color, women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, and people with diverse class backgrounds, ages and life experience are most encouraged, as are candidates from the Global South. The term of the new clerk of the AFSC Board will begin with the annual meeting of the Corporation in April 2023 and run three years. The clerk may serve two consecutive three-year terms, for a total of six years. Please review the AFSC clerk position description or nominate a qualified individual here.
CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA MONTHLY MEETING (CPMM)
David Gray, Principal of Brummana High School in Lebanon, to Present
Tuesday, October 18, 2022 – 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s Middle East Collaborative and CPMM’s Peace and Social Concerns are helping to organize a special opportunity for all of us.
David Gray, principal of Brummana High School, the Quaker school in the hills east of Beirut, Lebanon will be in the Delaware Valley in mid October.
We invite you to hear him present on the current challenges in Lebanon—social, political, economic—and what effect it has all had on the school. David Gray’s presentation will be online/virtual via Zoom.
Advance registration is required so that Philadelphia Yearly Meeting may send you the zoom url.
TENANT NEWS
Singing City Presents:
We Dream a World
Nate Zullinger, conductor
Sunday, November 6, 2022, 3p.m.
Old First Reformed UCC, 4th & Race Streets, Phila, PA 19106
This concert will feature contributions to the choral art from women, all within the last 75 years. A highlight will be the premiere of The Canticle of Hannah, a new work by Philadelphia composer Melissa Dunphy, commissioned by Singing City.
Prisoner Visitation and Support (PVS):
Power of Visiting: Helping the Incarcerated Prepare for Reentry
10/26/2022, 7 pm
BEYOND FRIENDS CENTER
Virtual Worship for White Friends Confronting Racism – Friday
Friday, October 14th 2022, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
The Ministry on Racism is hosting a bi-weekly virtual Meeting for Worship for white Friends/Friends of European descent confronting racism and white supremacy. This worship seeks to nourish white Friends’ communal anti-racism commitment and provide a space for the work we have to do together. It will be held every Thursday at 8PM EST and Friday at 12 PM ET. It is in the care of a rotating team of volunteers.
To view past and recent queries from Virtual Worship for White Friends Confronting Racism click here.
If you are white/of European descent and would like to join our worship, please complete the form below:
Philadelphia Historical Commission:
Cultural Preservation Town Hall: Thurs. 10/13
Information gathering session and discussion
about Philadelphia history and culture
The city is full of stories and history. The Philadelphia Register of Historic Places only captures some of them. To understand what is missing, the Philadelphia Historical Commission will host a town hall event on Thursday, October 13. You’re invited!
Location: Center For Business & Industry
Community College of Philadelphia
1723 Callowhill Street, Philadelphia, PA 19130
The Cultural Resources Survey Plan and Pilot Project explores how to recognize Philadelphia’s vibrant histories. The goal is to design and test a more inclusive preservation process. The Philadelphia Historical Commission has partnered with The ROZ Group, Little Giant Creative, and Partners for Sacred Spaces to develop a plan and pilot project.
RSVP: https://culturalresourcessurveytownhall.splashthat.com/
Please share this event with your neighbors and community.