Issue 56, January 2020

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S NOTE

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Greetings and best wishes for the new year! May 2020 be a year in which your work is enhanced and amplified.

That said, I can’t ignore the tense world situation. And with Friends Center being the Quaker hub for peace and justice, you may see events, rallies, and flyers for peace over the coming weeks and months. (See “5 things to know about Iran,” below.)

Here is some context for you. As a historic peace church, the Religious Society of Friends—better known as the Quakers—have long had a testimony against war and for peace. See this article on Wikipedia for background. The best-known statement of the Quaker stance was in a 1660 letter to England’s King Charles II:

All bloody principles and practices we do utterly deny, with all outward wars, and strife, and fightings with outward weapons, for any end, or under any pretense whatsoever, and this is our testimony to the whole world.

In 1947 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to “the Quakers.” On behalf of all Friends, the American Friends Service Committee—one of Friends Center’s equity partners—and the Friends Service Committee in Britain accepted it. A replica of the award certificate is on display in AFSC’s headquarters here.

International peacebuilding remains a key issue for AFSC today. They advocate for a US policy framework of shared security that “recognizes the interconnectedness of all people.”

May Friends Center be a place where we sense and live that interconnection.

– Chris Mohr, Executive Director

AROUND FRIENDS CENTER

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2020 Holiday Schedule – This link is always present in the sidebar of our monthly newsletter and the information within is always accessible via our website.

GRAND OPENING!

Brand New, Gender-Neutral, Handicapped-Accessible Restroom

The new restroom on the first floor of the 1501 Cherry Street building is now open!

Thank you to the LGBTQ Staff Group of AFSC, who made the original proposal to build an all-gender restroom; other tenants who supported the idea; MJ Settelen, the general contractor; and the PYM Quaker Buildings and Programs Granting Group for financial support. We’d also like to thank our tenants—especially the ones located in the 1501 building—for so graciously handling the noise that this much-needed project came with.

EQUITY PARTNER NEWS

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AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE (AFSC)

AFSC’s 5 things to know about Iran:

1. U.S. aggression toward Iran has brought us to the edge of war.
2. These recent developments are just the latest in a long line of provocations between Iran and the U.S.
3. Congress has the power to say “NO” to war with Iran but has so far refused to do so.
4. The calls for war with Iran echo the misguided calls for war with Iraq.
5. War with Iran—or any country—is never the answer.

» Details available here

PHILADELPHIA YEARLY MEETING (PYM)

Young Adult Friends Support 2020 Poor People’s Campaign

At a retreat in early January, Young Adult Friends of PYM united in support of the 2020 Poor People’s Campaign: a National Call for Moral Revival. The minute they approved says, in part:

“We agree and recognize that everyone has the right to live a life not in economic and environmental turmoil, but in equitable communities. We are in the spirit of realizing the Peaceable Kingdom is here on Earth, and by supporting the PPC, we keep the choice to stand in solidarity with communities and to keep our morals.”

(The Campaign was co-founded by Rev. Dr. William Barber II of North Carolina, who has spoken here in the Race Street Meetinghouse twice in the last few years. The Campaign will organize a national march on Washington in June 2020. Stay tuned for details!)

CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA MONTHLY MEETING (CPMM)

CPMM Author Event:

Greg Barnes reads from his newest book, Living into the Faith: A Quaker Diary

Sunday, February 2, 12:45 PM.

Lucretia Mott Room, Friends Center

The Diary reveals the broad range of activities in modern unprogrammed Quakerism and the Quaker principles , or “testimonies,” that animate them. The setting is Philadelphia and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, the heart of American Quakerism as brought here from England by William Penn.

                “This is a diary and not a history. It follows one man through his Quaker and Quaker-related activities for roughly 8 years. The reader should understand it as reflecting my attempt, made out of gratitude to give back to Quakerism and to my Quaker community…”

Greg has also written an award-winning collection of short stories based on his experiences in West Africa with the Peace Corps.

Quaker Meeting for Worship

You are welcome to join CPMM for meeting for worship on Sundays at 11am followed by a coffee hour.

TENANT NEWS

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We are proud to announce that Joe Pyle, President of The Scattergood Foundation, is due to give a speech at the national conference for the National Council for Behavioral Health, which will be held from April 5^th-7^th. Details and registration here

Art-Reach

Cultural Accessibility Forum & Exchange (CAFE) is an initiative driven by Art-Reach to focus on cultural accessibility. These workshops gather cultural organizations, human service professionals, members of the disability community and national experts in the field to learn from one another. The next CAFÉ will be held on Wed, February 12, 2020 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM EST. Click here for more details

OF INTEREST OUTSIDE FRIENDS CENTER

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Climate Crisis and Environmental Justice Thread Gathering

PYM Eco-Justice Collaborative

Jan. 18, 10 am – 4 pm
Germantown Friends Meeting
47 W. Coulter Street, Phila. 19144

As people of faith, Friends are called to witness for a more just and livable world. This gathering will explore the intersections of our climate crisis, economic inequality and racism. We will share ideas on how, as individuals and as a faith community, we can address the climate crisis. We will explore whether to advance a minute establishing the Climate Crisis as a corporate witness.

» Register here

Playing in the Light:
Godly Play®/Faith & Play™ Training
Pendle Hill
338 Plush Mill Rd., Wallingford PA 19086

On three Saturdays, January 11, February 8, and March 21, Melinda Wenner Bradley (PYM’s Youth Religious Life Coordinator) will lead a series of three workshops in Playing in the Light– core training in Godly Play and Faith & Play. Godly Play is a Montessori-inspired resource that helps children find words and images for expressing their experiences of holy mystery and wonder in their lives. Inspired by the stories, materials, and methods in Godly Play, Quakers created Faith & Play Stories to add Quaker stories of faith, practice, and witness to the Bible stories in the Godly Play collection used by Friends. This powerful way of being with children can transform your First Day program for children and nurture your own spiritual life.

This is Playing in the Light training for commuters to be completed in three Saturday sessions. Participants are required to attend all three sessions to be trained as Godly Play/Faith & Play storytellers. Registration is for all three Saturdays (9:00 am to 5:30 pm).

» More details here

Issue 55, December 2019

Friends Center Tenant Newsletter

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S NOTE:
Happy Holidays!

The early Quakers did not recognize holidays, or “times and seasons” as they called them. Over time, that stance has softened. Still, I like to keep in mind a primary reason they had that position: Because every day is, or can be, a holy day.

       One thing I like about working at Friends Center is every day truly has that potential. Such as when you… train volunteers to advocate for a child in foster care… convene a meeting of behavioral health practitioners… train teaching artists in trauma-informed practice… match a mentor to a middle schooler… make sure children have a chance to learn and play, and girls have a chance to become leaders… And when you organize people against fracking, the death penalty, or war, and organize them for justice, peace, love, and life.

       Whatever it is that you do here—whether organizing or communications or development or admin—it means something. I’m grateful to be a part of helping this work happen. May we recognize and live that, this day and every day!

– Chris Mohr, Executive Director

AROUND FRIENDS CENTER

It has been our pleasure to watch our tenants grow stronger and closer to the communities they serve. We hope that you can also reflect back and smile at the progress you have made.

        As we prepare to say good-bye to 2019 and welcome 2020, we began to consider some memorable events that you’ve all held these past 12 months; and we could think of no better way to commemorate those fabulous events than by writing you a song! Yup, that’s right, a new twist on an old classic, Friends Center Style.

  And it goes a little something like this!
On the 12^th day of the holiday season,
Friends Center gave to me:

12 tiny bakers,
11 vegans shopping,
10 tenors singing,
99 meetings,
8 am orientation,
70 kids a camping,
6 ceremonies,
5 groups meditating!
4 keystone testings,
3 Quaker Colleges,
2 many trainings
And a meeting with Mayor Kenney.

We hope that you have find this tidbit as entertaining as we do! Thanks for being the best tenants ever. Please have a safe and happy holiday and new year!

EQUITY PARTNER NEWS

AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE (AFSC)

You are invited to help change the narrative on youth and our collective power. We are not at risk; we are 3 billion strong.

The Campaign:

AFSC’s “We Are Not At-Risk” campaign is a youth-led narrative change movement that is transforming the stories media tell about young people. Throughout December and January, we will be collecting stories of youth and their allies, educating our audiences on the impacts of harmful narratives about youth, and sharing positive youth stories through social media. We will harness the power of art and collective action to enter into conversation with media outlets about who we are and the stories that we want to tell. We are #3BillionStrong, and will we make our truths heard.

The Ask:

We are calling on you, as young people and allies—as people who care about and love young people, and who see them in their full humanity—to join us in the Cherry Street room on Tuesday, December 17^th, from 11am-1pm to create art, share stories, and learn more about the campaign. Refreshments will be served.

PHILADELPHIA YEARLY MEETING (PYM)

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting has much to report on its news page: www.pym.org/news.

One story is even about one of our tenants, the Tri-College Consortium Philly Program!

Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges team up for Tri-Co City classes

This fall, about 35 students from Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges took courses at the Friends Center in Philadelphia as part of a new Tri-College Philly Program.

                Students present their projects to each other and Friends Center guests.

                The courses focused on the themes of sustainability and environmental justice, from different disciplines: math, environmental studies, political science, education and anthropology.
» Read the full article.

CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA MONTHLY MEETING (CPMM)

51^st Annual Messiah Sing-Along

The annual Messiah sing-along hosted by Ingrid & George Lakey will be Friday, Dec. 20th at 7pm, here in the Cherry Street Room. CPMM encourages all to bring a score, a friend who likes to sing (this is not a performance, but a sing-along), and also goodies to share during break.

Coming in January:

Climate Up Close:
Talk with a climate scientist face-to-face

Saturday, January 4th, 2:30 pm

Hosted by CPMM at Friends Center

Free and open to the public.

How do we know CO2 increases are human-caused?  What are climate scientists highly confident about? What will my children’s generation experience?

Meet a panel of climate scientists and put your questions to them yourself.

Climate Up Close is a group of climate scientists who believe Americans should reach their own judgments about climate science by seeing the evidence themselves and putting their questions directly to climate scientists.  Presenters include scientists from Princeton University, Harvard University and UC Berkeley.

www.climateupclose.org

TENANT NEWS

Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity

announced in its November newsletter that it has hired Taylor Pacheco and Sarah Coyle as staff attorneys:

According to the organization’s website, Pacheco “is a 2016 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School where she was senior editor of the Journal of Law and Social Change, an Edward V. Sparer Public Interest Summer Fellow, and a volunteer with the UPenn Criminal Records Expungement Clinic run in partnership with PLSE. She also interned with Community Legal Services in the Housing Unit and the Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office. Her career after law school included positions with the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender and the Support Center for Child Advocates.”

Coyle “joined PLSE in September 2019 from Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania (LASP), where she had been a staff attorney for over two years and ran the Media office. After receiving her JD in 2016 from Savannah Law School, she worked in a private firm concentrating in criminal defense before joining LASP, where she developed a program assisting victims of domestic/sexual violence under a program funded by the Victims Of Crime Act (VOCA).”

INTEREST OUTSIDE FRIENDS CENTER

QuakerBooks Pop-Up Store
@ Friends General Conference

1216 Arch St # 2B, Philadelphia

Dec 18 @ 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Pop-up bookstore with a selection of books and pamphlets of interest to Friends. Many newer publications, some hot off the press! Subjects include Quaker practice, spiritual deepening, anti-racism, environmentalism, and many children’s books. If you are looking for a particular book, it is recommended you call FGC (215) 561-1700 in advance.