SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY, JANUARY 5 | ||
10:20am | Greeter | Dorothy Cary |
10:30am | Child Care | Starts in kindergarten building across the driveway from Meetinghouse |
10:30am | Meeting for Worship | (Hybrid: In-person & on Zoom) |
10:50am | First Day School | Older children attend Meeting for Worship with their families until 10:50 am, when their teachers will lead them to the Committee Room. Questions? Please contact Carla Childs. Note: Children of any age are always welcome to join their families in Meeting for Worship. |
11:30am | Introductions & Announcements | Peter Yeomans |
11:45am | Refreshments | Anna Burke, TJ Rafferty and kids |
PROTOCOL FOR MEETING FOR WORSHIP (Zoom, hybrid, in-person) Please maintain silence as you enter the Zoom meeting or the meetinghouse so Friends can center and settle into worship. Our current COVID-19 safety measures for the meetinghouse are as follows:
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MEETING NEWS & EVENTS |
The Meeting Office will not be staffed in person during the holidays, from 12/23/24 - 1/5/25. Email and voicemail will be checked periodically, and an abridged Friday Bee will go out on 12/27 & 1/3. If you have any pressing needs during that time, however, please feel welcome to contact the Clerk of Office & Records, Moira Clare Duggan by phone.
New Office Hours in the New Year!
Beginning January 6, 2025, the Meeting Office will be open during these hours, except on holidays:
Mondays: 10 am to 1 pm
Wednesdays: 10 am to 1 pm
Thursdays: 9 am to 4 pm
When? Saturday, January 11, 2:00pm
Where? Germantown Meetinghouse
Please join family & friends in remembering GMM member Jim Hart, who passed away on October 15, 2024.
The Funeral Arrangements Committee is deeply thankful for the extremely generous outpouring of cookies at Dick Taylor's MS this past December, when we were surprised by an unexpected turnout of nearly 400 --and we did not run out!. Jim's service will be much smaller--we think no more than 50. So please moderate that generosity: smaller portions perhaps.
Committee work is a wonderful way to feel and be connected within the Meeting community. But with around 20 committees, how do you decide which one is best for you?
The Standing Nominating Committee (SNC) has been brainstorming a way for members and attenders to explore or sample a committee before committing to a three-year term. This gives you the opportunity to participate in their work and see what it's like. Over the next few months, we will be featuring a committee in the Friday Bee.
Our first opportunity – Saturday, January 11th at 2:00 pm, the Funeral Arrangements Committee will be actively involved behind the scenes of the funeral of Jim Hart. They are excited to have those who might be interested participate in this incredible and moving experience.
Wednesday Worship Sharing will be on hiatus while being re-evaluated. Stay tuned for any updates.
A group is forming to talk about the novel “The House in the Cerulean Sea.” Good Reads describes it as “[a]n enchanting story, masterfully told . . . about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.“ The hope is to pair this book (which is an easy and lighthearted read) with a series of more serious articles like this, for example, that raise current and troubling issues about how we face, talk about, and support all members of our community.
Deadline: Monday, January 27, 2025
Germantown Monthly Meeting members who have children in Friends Schools may apply for tuition assistance from the Meeting for the 2025-2026 school year. Applications should be completed and returned to Faye Steacy, clerk of the Scholarship Committee, by Monday, January 27. Please send these to Faye through the U.S. Mail. Find her contact information in the Meeting Directory or through the Meeting Office at 215-951-2235 or gmm@germantownfriends.org.
To obtain the 2025-2026 application & guidelines packet, click here.
Thank you to all who have provided refreshments after worship so far this Fall! You have added so much to the fellowship of our community. We hope everyone will volunteer for this a couple of times a year.
Available dates needing Refreshments providers:
To sign up, please contact Becky Johnson. THANK YOU!!
Note: Refreshment expenses are reimbursable or can be credited as in-kind donations to GMM.
GERMANTOWN FRIENDS SCHOOL (GFS) NEWS & EVENTS |
TEACHING QUAKERISM AT GFS - Watch video with the teachers!
By continuing to evolve Quaker education at GFS, teachers and students are staying deeply engaged in a communal search for truth. Following a Quaker Self-Study concluded in 2022, Head of School Dana Weeks recently gathered with teachers to discuss how GFS is addressing the study findings, which illuminated focus areas for innovation. As we head into the winter break and this season of light, it was a good time to reflect and share. (GFS Family News)
Note: Includes GMM member Liliane Sharpless, and her beautiful, new children's book: Going to Meeting for Worship!
GFS welcomes GMM to attend Meeting for Worship during the school year.
QUAKER NEWS & EVENTS |
GMM Member Elissa Berardi is teaching a Tai Chi for Arthritis and Falls Prevention course at Center on the Hill in Chestnut Hill that may be of interest and help you meet your wellness goals for 2025.
Request from GMM Member Barbara Wybar for items for Bududa, Uganda:
I will be returning to Bududa in late January and I have been asked if I could bring: 1) second hand laptops, 2) second hand phones, 3) reading glasses 4) practical shoes in good condition for children and adults 5) second hand clothes in good condition. Contact Barbara Wybar for arranging a pick up.
When? Sunday, January 26, 2025
Where? Chestnut Hill Meeting – Hybrid event
Program: Quakerism Today & Tomorrow: A panel discussion featuring Philadelphia Friends about the contemporary state of Quakerism and how it can continue to thrive, evolve, and engage with the world in meaningful ways.
TAKE ACTION! |
Looking for a fun way to recycle your tree this holiday season? The Philly Goat Project is hosting a series of Tree-Cycle events on January 4, 11 (12-3pm) at Awbury Arboretum; January 18 (12-3pm) at Laurel Hill West Cemetery.
When? Monthly starting Saturday, January 18, 2025 at 2 pm
Where? Seth Dunoff’s apartment on Greene Street in Germantown
What? GMM attender Seth Dunoff will host the first meeting of a new monthly reading / discussion group on the subject of technology on January 18. The reading for the first meeting is farmer / author Gene Logsdon’s 1986 essay “Green Fields, Red Ink”, about the economics of American agriculture, from his book At Nature’s Pace.
The purpose of the project is to begin to formalize an anti-technology political movement.
When? Wednesday, January 8, 7:00pm
Where? St. Peter’s Episcopal Church of Glenside (654 N. Easton Rd. Glenside, PA 19038)
This stunning portrait project pays homage to the real, loved people lost to gun violence and dares us to build a safer world.
Souls Shot Project Executive Director, Laura Madeleine, will be available to discuss the project. Also hear directly from the families of those honored in the artwork, sharing their personal stories and reflections. Click here for more details
When? Every Friday from 11:15 – 12:15pm **
** Note new time; an hour earlier in 2025 to make it possible for Muslim allies to attend and still be able to attend Friday worship and prayer services in the early afternoon
Where? In front of Senator Fetterman’s office (230 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia)
What? Join together with people committed to a Middle East peace solution to urge Senator Fetterman to support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Fridays @ Fetterman’s is supported by the AFSC, Brandywine Peace Community, Granny Peace Brigade, IfNotNowPhilly, Prayers for Peace Alliance, the Simple Way and The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Phila. Branch.
When? Monday, February 17, 2025, 9:00am - 4:00pm,
Where? Congregation Rodeph Shalom, 615 N Broad Street, Philadelphia
They need veteran Climate Justice and Jobs member/leaders: your experience and knowledge are foundational. They ALSO need folks new to this work: you bring fresh perspectives and important questions. Everyone's insights and expertise are crucial as we build a strong and impactful strategy for the year ahead. They will take stock of who they are as a team in this political moment and set priorities for 2025. All are welcome!
GERMANTOWN & NEARBY |
COFFEE CHAT WITH FACE TO FACE GERMANTOWN
When? January 23, 10:30am
Where? 123 East Price Street, Philadelphia (Germantown)
Come hear an update about the exciting things happening at Face to Face from Executive Director, Mary Kay Meeks-Hank. Tours will be offered after the update. All are welcome. Feel free to bring a friend." To participate, RSVP/email Jeanne@facetofacegermantown.org
QUAKER RESOURCES |
Stay connected with news, work and resources of various Friends groups.
Click on the links below (only a partial list), and bookmark them for easy reference
Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting (PQM)
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM)
Friends General Conference (FGC)
Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)