THE FRIDAY BEE                                  May 1, 2026  

 SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY, MAY 3 

10:20am

Greeter

Jonathan Busser

10:30am

Child Care

Starts in kindergarten building across the driveway

10:30am

Meeting for Worship

This week there will not be a hybrid worship.

In-person at the meetinghouse, and separately on Zoom.

10:50am

First Day School

This week (due to the Meeting Retreat) there will not be any First Day School at the meetinghouse. Any older children may attend Meeting for Worship with their families until 10:50 am, and someone will then lead them over to the kindergarten building where the Child Care takes place.

Note: Children of any age are always welcome to join their families in Meeting for Worship.

11:30am

Introductions & Announcements

Wendy Wells

11:35am

Zoom Social Time

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

11:40am

Refreshments

Moira Duggan

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

THIS WEEK – NO HYBRID WORSHIP & NO FIRST DAY SCHOOL AT THE MEETINGHOUSE

Because many of our GMM regulars will be at the Meeting Retreat this weekend –  

  • worship will not be hybrid – but rather in-person at the meetinghouse or separately on Zoom.
  • there will be no First Day School at the Meetinghouse

Child Care will be available, as always, in the kindergarten across from the meetinghouse.

Any older children may attend worship with their families, and at 10:50 someone will stand and lead them over to the kindergarten space.

We will all be back together for the normal schedule next week!

VISITORS ATTENDING GMM FROM FRIENDS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

When? Sunday, May 3, 10:30am for worship in our meetinghouse

This Sunday we will welcome visitors with us for worship in the meetinghouse from Friends Historical Association prior to their Spring group event – touring Stenton, and learning about the ongoing project, “Wrestling with Justice: Quakers and Northern Slavery.” Read more about this program below in the “Quaker News & Events” section.

LET’S GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER BETTER!

Sign up to join in one of several small group gatherings!

  • Picnic in front of the meetinghouse
  • Dog Walk in the Wissahickon
  • Two small potluck dinners at GMMrs’ homes
  • Softball & hoagie lunch at Vernon Park after meeting (later in May, or June)

Sign up sheets are available during Refreshments following Sunday Worship.

Or contact the Meeting Office if you are interested (gmm@germantownfriends.org)

HAVE ANY BOARD GAMES YOU’D LIKE TO DONATE TO GMM?

The Fellowship Committee is building a board game collection to use for our occasional and ever-popular GMM Game Nights (and possibly for events like the Retreat, etc.). If you have games in good shape, with all their pieces, that need a new home, please contact Anne Stassen in the Meeting Office to discuss (gmm@germantownfriends.org).

VOLUNTEERS ALWAYS NEEDED FOR REFRESHMENTS!!  ☕🍪

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

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

QUAKER NEWS & EVENTS

FRIENDS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION SPRING EVENT AT THE STENTON HOUSE

When?  Sunday, May 3, 1:00pm

Where? Stenton, The Logan Family Home (4601 North 18th Street)

The Friends Historical Association (FHA), a group devoted to the study, preservation and publication of material relating to the history of the Religious Society of Friends, is hosting a tour of Stenton, and hearing from their curator about Stenton’s ongoing, Pew-funded research initiative, “Wrestling with Justice: Quakers and Northern Slavery.” This project reinterprets the site by challenging the misconceptions that slavery existed solely in the American South and that Quakers were universally abolitionists.

Program participants may also join worship beforehand with us at Germantown Monthly Meeting.

NEW DRAFT LAW PASSED: PEOPLE OF CONSCIENCE GET READY

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed at the end of last year will make federal Selective Service draft registration automatic for all men aged 18-25 starting in December 2026. Quaker author Curt Torell will explain recent legal changes in draft registration and outline steps for conscientious objectors to war to respond. In the sessions, we’ll consider together questions such as: What is conscience? Is your conscience troubled? How do you act on conscience? Who is a conscientious objector? 

Then the group will self-organize next steps for mutual support and counsel. Everyone is welcome.

Join in-person or on Zoom at the following Meetinghouses (in NY Yearly Meeting):

  • Old Chatham Meeting (539 Co Rd 13, Old Chatham, NY 12136): May 3, 1:00 - 3:00 pm 
  • Brooklyn Meeting (110 Schermerhorn Street Brooklyn, NY 11201): May 11, 6:00 - 8:00 pm 

Register here to attend any of these sessions.

PENDLE HILL FIRST MONDAY LECTURE –
“Bands of Humble Prophets”: Radically Faithful Quakers During the Early Cold War

When?  Monday, May 4, 7:30 - 9:00pm

Where? Hybrid - at Pendle Hill (338 Plush Mill Road) and on Zoom

In the tense first decade after World War II, small clusters of Friends responded with what Thomas Kelly called “holy obedience.” They refused conscription and war taxes. They risked their livelihoods rather than sign loyalty oaths. They stayed above ground during atomic drills and defied segregation laws.

This free presentation, with Jim Fussell, invites listeners to consider how small communities, grounded in spiritual conviction rather than ideology, can help reshape public life with courage and clarity. All welcome.

REGISTER FOR THIS SUMMER’S FRIENDS GENERAL CONFERENCE GATHERING

When?  July 7 - 12 (deadline for financial aid applications - May 1)

Where? Burlington, Vermont

Friends come together from across North America (and sometimes further) to deepen connection to one another and the Spirit. Open to everyone: Friends, their families, and newcomers! In structure, it’s part conference and part family camp. In content, it provides an abundance of opportunities to learn about Quakerism, foster spiritual life, and to have fun.

Deadline for Financial Aid is May 1. Also additional support for Young Adult Friends (18-35) in PYM.

EPISTLE FROM QUAKER TRANS DAY OF VISIBILITY GATHERING  

75 Friends from 14 yearly meetings across the USA, Britain, Canada, Costa Rica, Ireland, Kenya, gathered in person and online, younger and elder, of many genders, for a day of worship, witness, and discernment centered on transgender, nonbinary, and intersex Quaker lives.

The Quaker Trans Day of Visibility, recently cohosted at Swarthmore College with Pendle Hill produced this powerful reminder to see the Light of God in every person. This truth calls us to live authentically, to see one another wholly, and to resist all that denies the Divine within.

PENDLE HILL MAY READING GROUP  

When?  Wednesday, May 13, 7:00 - 8:30pm

Where? Online

This month we will read Eileen Flanagan’s book “Common Ground: How the Crisis of the Earth is Saving Us from Our Illusion of Separation.” As we witness the 250th anniversary of our nation, Eileen’s stories outline how people can use their power in the face of politicians and multinational companies. All welcome.

PHILADELPHIA YEARLY MEETING (PYM)

GERMANTOWN FRIENDS SCHOOL (GFS) NEWS & EVENTS

ALL SCHOOL BAND & ORCHESTRA CONCERT

When? Thursday, May 7, 7:00 - 8:30 pm

Where? Taulane Auditorium, Barbara & David Loeb Performing Arts Center 

Come celebrate the musical talents of our Lower, Middle, and Upper School ensembles. This performance is open to all—no tickets required!

ATTEND GFS MEETING FOR WORSHIP DURING THE WEEK

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

  • Middle School Worship: Monday, 5/4, 10:20 - 11:00am
  • Lower School Worship: Thursday, 5/7, 9:00 - 9:30am
  • Upper School Worship: Thursday, 5/7, 10:10 - 11:00am

TAKE ACTION!

MAY DAY: NO WAR, NO ICE, FREE PALESTINE

When? This afternoon, Friday, May 1, 4:00 - 7:00pm

Where? Philadelphia City Hall (1400 John F Kennedy Blvd)

Also known as “International Workers’ Day,” this is a holiday celebrating workers and the history of labor organizing. Communities across the country are preparing for “No work, no school, and no shopping.” Workers, students, families will be marching, rallying, training, walking out and taking action together to demand: Tax the rich so our families, not their fortunes, come first. No ICE. No War. No private army serving authoritarian power. Expand democracy. Hands off our vote.

VOTER REGISTRATION

This Monday, May 4, 2026 is the deadline to register to vote in the 2026 primary election!

Do you or someone you know still need to register?

Have questions about your polling place, or voting rights, or information about candidates & issues?

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

MT AIRY DAY  

When?  Saturday, May 2, 11:00am - 5:00pm

Where? Germantown Avenue from Johnson Street to Upsal Street

A festival of music, food, vendors, & fun, bringing neighbors together for 50 + years. All are welcome!

CHESTNUT HILL HOME & GARDEN FESTIVAL

When? Sunday, May 3, 11:00am - 5:00pm

Where? 8100 - 8600 blocks of Germantown Avenue

The annual Home + Garden Festival transforms historic Germantown Avenue into a vibrant marketplace featuring over 300 vendors showcasing everything from garden décor and heirloom plants to handcrafted furniture and artisan goods. Whether you're a gardening enthusiast, home decorator, or simply looking for unique handcrafted items, the festival offers an incredible variety of products and services. Stroll along the tree-lined avenue, discover local artisans, enjoy live music, and savor delicious food from numerous vendors throughout the day.

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)