MEETING FOR WORSHIP WITH A CONCERN FOR BUSINESS

Germantown Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends

Sunday, February 8, 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
• Approval of the Minutes from the January 2026 Business Meeting
• Care and Visiting – Peter Samuel
• Nominating Committee - David Mettler
• Fundraising Committee - Jonathan Rhoads
• Spiritual State of the Meeting Report - Karen Lightner
• Office and Records - Moira Duggan
• Racial and Social Justice - Ed Nakawatase
• Peace Committee - Alfie Hanssen
• Outreach Committee - Jonathan Busser
• FCNL Priorities - Bill Cozzens
• Announcements
• Closing Worship

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

MEETING NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

ANTI-RACISM DISCUSSION GROUP NEXT MEETING

When?  Monday, February 9, 7:00pm on Zoom

We will discuss the last section of the Eyes on the Prize series, and actions being taken by local resistance groups, including Quaker groups, in regards to ICE. This will include the recording of the meeting on how to react to ICE actions. Interested? Contact John Colgan-Davis

GMM CHILI LUNCH – NEW DATE! 

When? Sunday, March 1, after worship

We will try yet again… and barring any further weather madness, let’s gather over a cozy bowl of chili!

All are welcome!

• We can always use help! Please contact Anne in the Meeting Office (gmm@germantownfriends.org)

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO PROVIDE REFRESHMENTS THIS WINTER! ☕ 🍪

We all appreciate a cup of coffee/tea and snacks after worship.

These yummy refreshments rely on volunteers to make that possible every week.

Please volunteer to provide refreshments this winter!

• Make it a family activity   ◆   Partner up with a friend
• Make it a Committee activity, while promoting your committee's work?

We need volunteers on these dates:

• March 15  -  29
• April 12 - 19 - 26

Please contact Becky Johnson. THANK YOU!

Thanks to all who provided refreshments over the past year!

Note: Refreshments expenses are reimbursable or can be credited as in-kind donations to GMM.

QUAKER NEWS & EVENTS

APPLY FOR QUAKER VOLUNTARY SERVICE (QVS)!

Do you know a young adult who might be interested in living at the intersection of transformational spirituality and activism? Tell them about Quaker Voluntary Service… an 11-month program where Fellows work full-time in professional positions at community based organizations addressing a wide range of issues, while living in a cooperative house and worshiping with, and being mentored by, local Quakers.

• More information about Quaker Voluntary Service
• Application information here  ◆  Deadline is March 1, 2026

LET US STAND WITH JESUS AGAINST VIOLENT POWER

A Micro-Conference on Responding to the Crisis of Mainstream Christianity - Convened in the Spirit of Friends

When? Sunday, February 22, 1:00 - 4:00pm

Where?   15th Street Friends Meeting in Manhattan (15 Rutherford Pl, NYC)

This gathering is rooted in the Quaker testimony of peace and seeks to address the widening gap between the radical, nonviolent teachings of Jesus and the complicity of dominant Christian institutions in violence, nationalism, and state power. Together, we will reflect, listen, and discern how Friends and allies are called to respond faithfully in this moment of moral crisis.

• More information & sign up here

P.S. (per PYM) Manhattan is a significant drive for many PYM Friends. If there are folks interested in attending the conference and visit a meeting for worship that morning, check out the Quaker Finder - Friends General Conference for this, or whenever Friends/seekers are traveling!

PYM 6-WEEK ONLINE COURSE: WHY PALESTINE MATTERS - The Struggle to End Colonialism

When?  Thursdays, 7:00 - 8:30pm; February 12, 19, 26, March 12, 19, 26

Where? On Zoom

The Palestine/Israeli relationship can often appear to be so complex and intractable that we don’t know how we can ever understand enough to work on justice. Gain perspectives and histories to put news headlines in greater context, discover where to learn more, and advocate for justice. Course developed by the Israel Palestine Mission Network of the  Presbyterian Church (USA).

• Register & read more about it here : Why Palestine Matters Course 
• Questions? Contact Sandy Rea. Please put WPM in the subject line.

NEW QUAKER CHECKLIST TIP #47 –

Find out how your local meeting is supported and who does the supporting – spiritually, physically, and financially.

Following the effort of Friends General Conference (FGC), supporting newcomers as well as offering a refresher for oldtimers, each week there will be a tip from FGC’s New Quaker Checklist – “steps to take to deepen your faith and connect to other Friends in North America.” Try one, or try them all!

• Tip #47: Find out how your local meeting is supported and who does the supporting – spiritually, physically, and financially.
• It takes people with many gifts to make a cohesive community. Who is praying for the meeting? Who is moving benches and bringing potluck dishes? Who is donating money that supports the work of the meeting? As you attend a Quaker community, pay attention for who shows up and how. This can give you a great sense for how generosity flows within the meeting.

PHILADELPHIA YEARLY MEETING (PYM)

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

GERMANTOWN FRIENDS SCHOOL (GFS) NEWS & EVENTS

MID-YEAR REFLECTIONS FROM OUR HEAD OF SCHOOL

Listen in on conversations between GFS Head of School Dana Weeks and students and faculty about some of the achievements and learning opportunities the school community experienced during the fall semester.

She was curious how these experiences, both big and small, have kept our minds and hearts open, and how we can cultivate gratitude and resilience in the face of challenges and changes.

• Watch here as Head of School, Dana Weeks talks with students and faculty across campus to discuss highlights from the last semester.

A CAPPELLA FEST HAPPENS THIS WEEKEND at GFS

When? Tonight, Friday, February 6 & Saturday, February 7 at 7:00pm

Where? Taulane Auditorium inLoeb Performing Arts Center

Nothing warms up a cold February night like the audience energy at one of the most popular GFS music events, A Cappella Fest!

Enjoy two different nights of LIVE a cappella music, performed by top-notch high school and college groups with professional lighting and sound.

• Click here to purchase tickets and see line-up of performing groups

ATTEND GFS MEETING FOR WORSHIP DURING THE WEEK

GFS welcomes GMM to attend Meeting for Worship during the school year.

• Middle School Worship: Monday, 2/9, 10:20 - 11:00am
• Upper School Worship: Thursday, 2/12  10:10 - 11:00am        

TAKE ACTION!

POWER INTERFAITH - LEADERSHIP TRAINING @ FEBRUARY NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING

When?  Tuesday, February 10, 6:00-8:00pm

Where?  Germantown Friends Meetinghouse

POWER is launching a citywide affordability story collection drive with a goal of gathering 2,000 stories by March 1. These stories will accompany the affordability report and make clear what these decisions mean for real families and communities.

Join this neighborhood meeting to train leaders on how to build teams and collect stories effectively.

• Please register in advance here 

IMMIGRANT SOLIDARITY / BYSTANDER TRAINING

When? Saturday, February 21, 3:00-5:30pm

Where? Unitarian Society of Germantown (6511 Lincoln Drive)

Join the movement. Know your rights. Protect your neighbors. Stand up to ICE.

• Registration required here

10 RULES OF RESISTANCE – WAGING NON VIOLENCE FOR #ICEOut

Nonviolent movements succeed by strategically pressuring the pillars of support for an injustice to withhold or withdraw things like information, cooperation, funding, labor and more. These 10 Rules of Resistance for #ICEOut offers ways to deny immigration agencies the key resources they need to function effectively.  

• Read more about it here

TRYING TO FIND SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENTS?

Mobilize is a central posting site that has opportunities concerning local actions for protest and in support of social justice.

• See more here, and bookmark their site!

➤ LIST OF ONGOING/WEEKLY SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENTS

CLICK HERE for a list of ongoing, weekly/regularly scheduled vigils & protests supporting immigrants, Palestine, peace, Constitutional rights, etc.

• Includes standing events such as — Fridays @ Fettermans, Mondays @ McCormicks, We the People Wednesdays, etc.

(These used to be listed every week in the Friday Bee, but we are consolidating them into their own linked document.)

Have more ongoing protests and vigils to include? Send them to the GMM Office (gmm@germantownfriends.org)

GERMANTOWN & NEARBY

"BLACK RESISTANCE TO QUAKER ENSLAVERS IN COLONIAL PENNSYLVANIA"

When & Where? Tuesday, February 10, 7:00pm, on Zoom

Presentation by Jim Fussell, Scholar in Residence at Pendle Hill

This talk highlights how enslaved Black people in Pennsylvania challenged colonial-era Quaker enslavers through escape, arson, confrontation, and self-advocacy. Their actions, spanning 1725 to 1781, reshaped Quaker and Pennsylvania history from the ground up. Centering Stenton as a site of lived struggle, the presentation invites participants to reconsider familiar narratives about Quakers.

This program is part of Stenton's Wrestling With Justice: Quakers and Northern Slavery Project

• Register here for this free program

OUR HISTORY POETRY NIGHT

When? Saturday, February 7, 7:00pm

Where? Allens Lane Art Center (601 W Allens Lane)

In partnership with The Colored Girls Museum, listen to poetry and bring your own writing, all responding to the prompt, “What does Our History mean to you?” The history of the United States is steeped in stories of both great achievements and great failures' erasure. Now, possibly more than ever, the voices of our communities need to be front and center if we are to move forward.

• More info and purchase tickets here ($20 in advance; $25 at door)

QUAKER RESOURCES

OTHER (VIRTUAL) WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

• Pendle Hill – Daily Zoom meeting for worship online from 8:30-9:10 am
• Friends Council on National Legislation (FCNL) Witness Wednesdays: Weekly worship at 5:15pm (ET)
• Friends General Conference’s (FGC) has many options for worship & discussion, including Newcomers & Seekers, Friends of Color Monthly worship, BIPOC Womxn’s space, White Friends Confronting Racism, Gen X Friends (new), Neurodivergent Friends (new). The offerings keep growing! Click here for the calendar
• Quaker Voluntary Service (QVS) Worship with Attention to Gaza/Palestine: Tuesdays, 12:00noon (ET) 

FOR QUAKER NEWCOMERS: Friends General Conference New Quaker Hub

QUAKER ORGANIZATIONS

Stay connected with news, work and resources of various Friends groups. Bookmark them for easy reference

Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting (PQM)

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM)

Friends General Conference (FGC)

Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)

Friends Council on Education (FCE)

American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)