THE FRIDAY BEE                              🌷  March 20, 2026  🌷

 SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 22 

10:20am

Greeter

Ted Spaeth and Victoria Spaeth Nyce

10:30am

Child Care

Starts in kindergarten building across the driveway

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

Karen Lightner

11:35am

Zoom Social Time

Zoom attendees, please stay online to join in a Zoom social time after Meeting for Worship!

11:40am

Refreshments

Ted Spaeth & Victoria Spaeth Nyce

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. Masks are optional in the meetinghouse. 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 NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

GMM ADULT CLASS –
Happy with Congress Now? What Should the Dems Do When They Take Power in November?

When?  This Sunday, March 22, 9:00 - 10:15am

Where? Meetinghouse Committee Room

Help us identify and describe Germantown Meeting's top five priorities for legislative action in the next session of Congress!  Due to FCNL by April 17. Bill Cozzens, our meeting's rep to FCNL, assisted by members of the Adult Class Committee, will be leading this exercise.  

Homework: Recommended, but not required reading: FCNL's The World We Seek 

Every two years the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), our Quaker lobby in Washington, DC, sets its priorities for action during the next session of Congress. FCNL asks Quaker meetings, churches and other Friends organizations across the country to  provide our input on what issues, programs and policies the FCNL lobbyists and volunteers should tackle. The FCNL Policy Committee weighs our input and that of all these Quaker groups to discern what Friends want from Congress in its next session. This priority document goes to the FCNL General Committee for further discernment, possible modification and approval at FCNL's annual meeting in November.

WORSHIP NEXT WEEK IN THE SOCIAL ROOM

When?  Next Sunday, March 29

Next Sunday (the Sunday before Easter) we will gather for Meeting for Worship in the Social Room – with a separate Zoom worship (meaning it will not be hybrid).

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR REFRESHMENTS NEXT SUNDAY!

We currently have no volunteers for Refreshments next week (March 29) – might that be you?

Our weekly coffee, tea & yummy snacks don’t happen by magic.

We need to recruit volunteers from amongst members/attenders to make them happen!

PYM YOUNG FRIENDS AT GMM MEETINGHOUSE THIS WEEKEND

When? Saturday, March 21 - Sunday March 22

Where? Germantown Friends Meetinghouse

Young Friends from across Philadelphia Yearly Meeting will be gathering at our Meetinghouse for an intergenerational art and storytelling event. (This will include a mural painting project and sharing stories with older Friends. The story sharing will be videotaped for use on the Quaker Aging Resources (QAR) website.) The event will be followed by dinner and a Young Friends overnight, and they will join us for worship on Sunday morning.

Young Friends gatherings are opportunities to get to know other teenagers from around the Yearly Meeting, to learn more about being a young Quaker, and to build community and have fun together.

REGISTER NOW FOR THE GMM RETREAT 🌲🛶

Happening May 1-3, 2026 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.

HOST A SMALL GATHERING FOR GMM’RS

Volunteers needed to host small get-togethers in their homes (8-10 folks?) from our Meeting (GMM). These popular events are fun, casual gatherings, and a fantastic way for us to get to know each other better.

What might these look like?

The options are limitless! A dinner (some of you might remember the old “Friendly 8’s dinners”); an afternoon tea; a wine & cheese gathering; a weekend brunch; a picnic; anything, really!

These are typically potluck, last for a couple of hours, and can be as casual (or fancy!), as thematic, as family-oriented (or even pet-friendly!), as each host prefers.

Interested in volunteering to host? 

STORYTELLER LEGACY SERIES INTERVIEW WITH ED STIVENDER

When & Where? Thursday, March 26, 7:00pm, on Zoom

Storytelling Resource Place in Jonesborough will kick off their Storyteller Legacy Series with an interview with our longtime attender Ed Stivender, review of his 40+ years of performances as a storyteller!

SIGN UP FOR SPRING NIGHT CLASSES AT GFS!

GMM is invited to sign up for a course at GFS to explore cross-disciplinary ideas – from history to literature to art –  and learn and connect across generations. Classes are pay-what-you-can. Deadline April 8.

  • See link below in the “Germantown Friends School News” section 

QUAKER NEWS & EVENTS

EXTENDED MEETING FOR WORSHIP

When?  Tomorrow, Saturday, March 21, 2:00 - 5:30pm

Where? Arch Street Meetinghouse (320 Arch Street)

Extended worship is a period of sitting with and in the divine spirit in the manner of Early Friends. We gather for a prolonged period of silent reflection and inward searching usually remaining in waiting worship for about three hours with time at the conclusion for afterthoughts and sharing.

  • From Liadhain Reilly, Young Adult Friends of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting; Earlham College alum
QUAKER TRANS DAY OF VISIBILITY (in-person & online)

When? Sunday, March 29, 9:30am - 5:30pm

Where? Swarthmore Friends Meeting & Swarthmore College (& online)

Hosted by Swarthmore Friends Meeting and Swarthmore College, this free hybrid event invites participants in person or online for worship, reflection, and conversation centered on transgender, nonbinary, and intersex Quaker lives. Trans moderators and authors from the Friends Journal special issue will help guide dialogue rooted in testimony, care, and community together.

CELEBRATING THE LEGACY OF ANNA T. JEANES: STORIES OF STEWARDSHIP AND GENEROSITY

When? Saturday, April 11, 10:30am - 2:00pm

Where? Stapeley Hall (6300 Greene Street)

Join in at the historic Stapeley Hall to celebrate Anna T. Jeanes' Birthday and how this Philadelphia Friend's faith and generosity continue to shape our world today. Please consider joining this free event! You'll hear inspiring stories of stewardship and generosity, while learning how you can follow in Anna's footsteps and build your own legacy of impact. 

PHILADELPHIA YEARLY MEETING (PYM)

GERMANTOWN FRIENDS SCHOOL (GFS) NEWS & EVENTS

ESSENTIALLY GFS: SPRING NIGHT CLASSES – Sign up by April 8!

When? Wednesdays, April 15 - May 6, 6:30 - 8:30 pm

Where? GFS All School Commons

GMM is invited to sign up for a course at GFS to explore cross-disciplinary ideas – from history to literature to art –  and learn and connect across generations. Classes are pay-what-you-can.

ATTEND GFS MEETING FOR WORSHIP DURING THE WEEK

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

No worship while GFS is on Spring Break – 3/23 - 4/3. Worship will resume on Monday, 4/6

TAKE ACTION!

PROTEST TO END THE U.S WAR ON IRAN

When? This Saturday, March 21, 1:00 - 2:30pm

Where?

1 pm: Starts in two locations in Center City, Philadelphia –

  • Sen. McCormick’s office, 2000 Market Street
  • Sen. Fetterman’s office, 200 Chestnut Street

2 pm: March across Market Street and converge at City Hall

2:30 pm: Rally at City Hall to end the widening war on Iran

From Primary sponsor - Peace, Justice & Sustainability Now (PJSN) –

Two protests, One Goal, One Destination

Senator’s McCormick & Fetterman both voted for war on the Iranian people. 

Americans are clear-eyed and united: We do not want another war in the Middle East. Congress should immediately vote to cut funding for this new “forever war.”

NO KINGS PROTEST  

When? Next Saturday, March 28, 12:00 - 3:00pm

Where? Starting at City Hall, then march down the Ben Franklin Parkway

What began in 2025 as a single day of defiance has become a sustained national resistance to tyranny, spreading from small towns to city centers and across every community determined to defend democracy. Our peaceful movement is bigger than ever.

GUIDE TO ICE WATCH HOTLINES AND IMMIGRATION RESOURCES

Provided by GMM member John Colgan Davis; also available at the resource table at GMM on Sundays. 

A list of resources and organizations with guidance on immigration support.

Many of these on-the-ground organizations have been working with immigrant communities for years.

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.

➤ 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

WELLNESS WALKS IN AWBURY ARBORETUM – TWICE A WEEK!

When & Where?  Mondays & Thursdays, 7:00 - 8:00am, The Farm at Awbury (6336 Ardleigh St)

Join in to start your day with a Wellness Walk through Awbury’s 56 acres, led by Wellness Director, Megan Do Nascimento. “Immerse yourself in nature as we take a moderately paced stroll through gardens, woodlands, roam around the farm, and our ponds and meadows.”  Questions? Contact the Wellness Coordinator at wellness@awbury.org 

CELEBRATE SPRING EQUINOX IN THE WISSAHICKON

When? Saturday, March 21, 10:00 - 11:30am

Where? Starts at Houston Playground (900 Grakyn Lane)

Join Friends of the Wissahickon for a guided hike through Houston Meadow, as we welcome the turning of the seasons from winter to spring. The spring equinox officially arrives the day before our hike, so we will celebrate the first full day of spring. We’ll walk the trails, taking in the first hints of spring—budding trees, birdsong, and the warm scent of change in the air. Along the way, we’ll share facts and lore about the equinox and its significance across cultures.

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)