THE FRIDAY BEE                                                         March 7, 2025

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 9

🕘 REMEMBER – SET YOUR CLOCKS FORWARD 1 HOUR — DAYLIGHT SAVINGS BEGINS! 🕘

9:30am

Meeting for Business

Hybrid –

In Committee Room, and use same Zoom link as for worship: Click here

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

Anna Burke & TJ Rafferty

11:40am

Refreshments

First Day School, Kelley White, John Hickey

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:

• Masks are optional. Feel free to wear one if you wish. We have a supply if you’ve forgotten yours.
• If you have a fever or are feeling unwell, please stay home and join our worship on Zoom.

MEETING FOR WORSHIP WITH A CONCERN FOR BUSINESS

Germantown Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends

March 9, 2024, 9:00 - 10:15am

Hybrid: On Zoom & in-person. Please use the Meeting for Worship zoom link.

AGENDA

• Query – Faye Steacy
• Opening worship
• Review of agenda – Karen Lightner
• Corrections to the Minutes from the February 2025 Business Meeting
• Care and Visiting – Peter Samuel
• Treasurer’s Report – Jim Pifer
• Quarterly Meeting Report – Kelley White
• Property Committee – TJ Rafferty
• Announcements
• Closing Worship

(Attenders are welcome to attend business meeting. Please notify the clerk in advance if you wish to attend.)

MEETING NEWS

REGISTER NOW FOR THE GMM RETREAT – Happening May 2 - 4 at Camp Dark Waters in nearby Medford, NJ.

Join us for a time of spiritual nourishment and community bonding. We will enjoy shared meals, worship, and fun activities for all ages including canoeing, a ropes course, nature walks, and fireside singing. We’re committed to making the retreat accessible for all.

Visit our site to register and for more information regarding costs, financial assistance, boarding (camp cabins or a nearby hotel) and transportation (driving, public transit, or car share). We can’t wait to see you there!

• Click the link above or go to https://bit.ly/GMM-retreat to learn more and register.

Retreat Committee: David Mettler, Sam Angell, Pamela Williams, Dorothy Cary, Jim Fiorile, Adrienne McDonnell, Caroline Rhoads

UPCOMING GMM YOUNG FRIENDS GATHERING

When?  Sunday, March 16, 4:00pm

Where?  Meeting Cottage

There will be dinner and discussion. Come hungry and bring a friend!

Questions? Contact Lois Volta

ASSISTANCE DRIVE CONTINUES DURING MARCH at GMM!

OK…We got off to a slow start, but let’s make March even more generous!

Please bring critical, basic supplies to Meeting to support the Germantown Community!

When?  Throughout March… bring something to share whenever you come to Meeting!

This is an easy ask – please bring soap, shampoo, TP, etc. (see list below) to Meeting during March.

We are supporting the work of Germantown Avenue Crisis Ministry - to support neighbors in need. Show some love!

Items most needed: 

• Unopened soap, toothpaste & toothbrushes, deodorant, shampoo, body lotion, shaving cream, feminine hygiene products, toilet paper, laundry detergent, dish detergent, band-aids, vitamins, gloves, new socks, scarves, hats and shopping bags.

Where to bring items?  Marked boxes in the Meeting Social/Committee Rooms 

ANY INTEREST IN SEEING “THE RETURN OF BENJAMIN LAY” IN MAY?

“In the silence of a Quaker Meetinghouse: Benjamin Lay – shepherd, sailor, revolutionary, and the British Empire’s first revolutionary abolitionist – returns from the grave almost 300 years after his death, as feisty and unpredictable as ever. The 4ft. ‘David’ confronts the ‘Goliath’ of slavery as he demands once again to be readmitted into the Quaker community that disowned him for ideas considered to be dangerous and disruptive. How far will he go to share his prophetic vision knowing the cost of protest?”  Read more here

Where? Sedgwick Theater (Mt. Airy)

When?  May 1 - 18

The Fellowship Committee wants to gauge interest from GMM Members & Attenders, and will explore the possibility of group rate tickets, if 10+ folks would like to attend a performance (likely a matinee?) in May.

• Please let us know of your interest –  complete this short form
• Questions? Contact Anne Stassen or Moira Duggan.

CHILDCARE POSITION OPEN – AT GERMANTOWN MEETING

Do you know any responsible, caring person(s) who are available to join our Child Care team to care for our members’ and attenders’ children during weekly Meeting for Worship and monthly Meeting for Business? Coverage required weekly for Meeting for Worship. Periodic coverage required for Meeting for Business. Child care clearances required.

Please contact our member Lois Volta for details.

HELP NEEDED FOR REFRESHMENTS - April & May ☕🍪🍎

Thanks to all who have already provided delicious Refreshments! We hope everyone will volunteer for this throughout the year. To sign up, please contact Becky Johnson. Many thanks!

Also consider these available dates:

•  April 27 - May 4 - May 11 - May 18 - May 25

2025 MOTTO CALENDARS ARE HERE! – $1

These handy, inspirational calendars are available while supplies last. Cost: $1

They will be in a box on the back counter of the Committee Room during Refreshments on Sundays. Please put $1 in the small wooden donation box on the wall leading to the Social Room. Enjoy!

From January: The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it. - Amanda Gorman

QUAKER NEWS & EVENTS

RSVP - AUTHOR EVENT: PETER BEINART DISCUSSES HIS NEW BOOK -

Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza - A Reckoning

When?  Monday March 17, 7 - 9:00pm - SAVE THE DATE - Register now; space is limited

Where?  Mishkan Shalom, 4101 Freeland Avenue & on Zoom

Mishkan Shalom, our neighboring Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, invites us members of our three area Friends Meetings to attend this interesting talk by Peter Beinert, an American liberal columnist, journalist and political commentator, about his new book. You can attend either in person at Mishkan Shalom or virtually.

• Registration is required – click here

“SUMUD” QUAKER STUDY IN PALESTINIAN SELF-DETERMINATION: Registration Open!

When & Where? Tuesday evenings at 7:00pm ET in April & May – on Zoom

In these times of war, let us sow seeds of peace and justice. In this “Sumud” Quaker study, we will learn together about the history of the struggle for Palestinian self-determination. We will also gather strategies on how to work toward a brighter future.

• Register and get more information at: quakersumud.org

GUIDANCE FROM GMM’s ANTI-RACISM DISCUSSION GROUP

For Friends who feel that their ministry calls for them to be more actively involved in responding to the current political situation, The Anti-Racism Discussion Group has a couple of possible ways to do so:

Supporting and taking action with some organizations devoted to social justice issues and concerns:

• Friends Committee on National Legislation: https://www.fcnl.org
• Southern Poverty Law Center: https://www.splcenter.org
• Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society: https://hias.org
• American Civil Liberties Union: https://www.aclu.org
• 5 Calls   https://5calls.org (from their site): “5 Calls makes it easy for you to reach your members of Congress and make your voice heard. We research issues, write scripts that clearly articulate a progressive position, figure out the most influential decision-makers, and collect phone numbers for their offices. All you have to do is call.”

PYM SPIRITUAL FORMATION COLLABORATIVE SPRING RETREAT

When & Where?  April 4 - 6, at Pendle Hill

The Spiritual Formation Collaborative of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting invites you to spend a weekend of spiritual deepening, nurturing your Spiritual center, and sharing the peace and hope that lies within each of us. Register here

PHILADELPHIA YEARLY MEETING (PYM)

• PYM Events Calendar: Check out upcoming and ongoing programs promoted by PYM

GERMANTOWN FRIENDS SCHOOL (GFS) NEWS & EVENTS

BUILDING A COMMUNITY SEED LIBRARY!

The Friends Free Library at GFS is excited to start a community seed library, and they are reaching out for seed donations.

If you have extra seeds from a previous year's garden or, better yet, seeds you’ve saved from your own harvests, they would love to include them in the collection to be shared.

A couple of quick guidelines:

• Seed Condition: Please make sure seeds are clean, dry, and securely packaged.
• Seed Types: Avoid donating F1 seeds (from the first generation of cross-pollinated plants)

When you drop off seeds, you will fill out a short form to track donations. Once the seed library is up and running, please come back and take some seeds for your own gardening projects.

• More information about donations and about this project, contact Raina Goldberg.

ATTEND GFS MEETING FOR WORSHIP DURING THE WEEK

GFS welcomes GMM to attend Meeting for Worship during the school year. Schedule for upcoming week:                

• Middle School Worship: Monday, 3/10, 10:20 - 11:00am
• Upper School Worship: Thursday, 3/13, 10:10 - 11:00am

TAKE ACTION!

FREE MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING PROGRAM

Register now – space is limited to 30, and fills quickly!

When? Thursday March 27, 9am-5pm.

Crossroads Women’s Center is hosting a free Mental Health First Aid training program that's normally very expensive. It is from Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among adults. Certificates will be awarded.

Passed along from our f/Friends over at Green Street Meeting – 

• If you want to attend, please email the instructor Dr. Willie J. Keaton Jr. at DrWillieJ.KeatonJr@merakey.org
• Once you have filled out the online registration form that Dr Keaton will send you, and get an enrollment confirmation email, then you will get a second email with a link to the Mental Health First Aid Connect dashboard. When you log in to that dashboard, you will need to do a pre-evaluation to see what you know before the class starts.

ALTERNATIVES TO VIOLENCE PROJECT – MONTHLY TRAININGS

The Quaker-founded Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) is “an association of community, school and prison-based groups offering experiential workshops in personal growth, community development and creative conflict management.” Greater Delaware Valley council of the is a group of dedicated facilitators who have collaborated with a grass roots recovery community in north Philadelphia – New Jerusalem Now.

AVP offers monthly training workshops for those who would like to be involved in this important work.

• Interested? Call Kaki Sjogren (215-870-5621) or Sr. Barbara Brigham (267-319-4656)

ANGRY AT WHAT’S GOING ON IN DC: WRITE OR CALL YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS!

“An old-fashioned printed or hand-written letter, stamped and mailed to the Senator or Congressperson’s office is the most effective way to express your opinion,” as member Bill Cozzens reminds us.

• Bill compiled a handy list with contact information for our US Senators & Representatives – Click here
• Check out “5 Calls” here – A site & app that facilitates communicating with our members of congress – providing contact information, as well as sample scripts on a variety of current event issues.

TECHNOLOGY DISCUSSION GROUP

When?   Monthly – next meeting is Saturday, March 15 at 3 pm

Where?  Seth Dunoff’s apartment on Greene St in Germantown.

What?    GMM attender Seth Dunoff will host the March meeting of a monthly reading / discussion group on the subject of technology.

The purpose of the discussion group meetings is to begin to formalize an anti-technology political movement.

The reading for this meeting is pages 35 to 52 (parts of chapters 2 and 3) of science journalist Moises Velasquez-Manoff’s 2012 book An Epidemic of Absence: A New Way of Understanding Allergies and Autoimmune Diseases. This passage presents a brief history of the relationship between hygiene and public health in modern times, and investigates the connection between malaria eradication and multiple sclerosis on the Italian island of Sardinia.

Please email Seth if you would like a copy of the passage, are interested in participating, or have any questions about the project.

JOIN THE VIGIL with FRIDAYS AT FETTERMAN’S

When?  Every Friday from 11:15 – 12:15pm

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.

GERMANTOWN & NEARBY

WEAVERS WAY EVENT:  Gentle Chair Yoga (on Zoom)

When & Where?  Monday, March 10, 6:30 - 7:30pm – on Zoom (continues on 3/17 & 3/24)

Practitioners of this 3-week online Chair Yoga class will learn introductory yoga philosophy, practice gentle exercises promoting core activation, relaxation, optimal breathing, and flexibility. Instructor Mira Mcewan is passionate about making yoga fun and accessible to people of all ages and abilities. You will receive a zoom link to attend these sessions after you register to attend the series.

• Register here