THE FRIDAY BEE                                                  May 8, 2026  

 SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY, MAY 10   

🌷 HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!  🌷

9:00am

Meeting for Business

Hybrid –

In Committee Room, and use same Zoom link as for worship. Child Care available in kindergarten.

10:20am

Greeter

TBD

10:30am

Child Care

Starts in kindergarten building across the driveway

10:30am

Meeting for Worship

In the meetinghouse or on Zoom for hybrid worship

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

Caroline Rhoads

11:35am

Zoom Social Time

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

11:40am

Refreshments

TBD

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 FOR WORSHIP WITH A CONCERN FOR BUSINESS

Germantown Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends

Sunday, May 10, 9:00 - 10:15am

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

AGENDA

  • Query 6 – Faye Steacy
  • Opening worship
  • Review of agenda – Karen Lightner
  • Approval of the Minutes from the April 2026 Business Meetings
  • Care and Visiting – Peter Samuel
  • Standing Nominating Committee – David Mettler
  • Racial and Social Justice Committee – Ed Nakawatase
  • Treasurer’s Report – Jim Pifer
  • Fundraising Report – Jack Rhoads
  • Announcements
  • Closing Worship

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

MEETING NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

GMM ADULT CLASS EVENING PRESENTATION

When?  Tuesday, May 12, 7:30pm

Where? GMM Social Room

Sean Connolly, the Executive Director of Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust, will be visiting us to present on "A New Era in Teaching Quaker History at Arch Street Meeting House." Arch Street Meeting House is a National Historic Landmark, museum, burial ground and was called the “Westminster Abbey of the Quaker faith” in the 19th Century. The building is visited by over 70,000 tourists a year who come to learn about Quaker history. For the past three years Arch Street has been planning a complete overhaul of its museum exhibits, the first overhaul since the Bicentennial in 1976. Learn about this important upgrade and what extraordinary stories of Quaker history will be shared with visitors in 2026 and beyond.

SAVE THE DATE: ANNUAL GMM PORCH POTLUCK PICNIC!! ☀️

When? Sunday, June 7, at the rise of worship

Where? Our meetinghouse porch!

Always a favorite event – join together for a picnic lunch following worship. Mark your calendars now, and start planning to bring your favorite picnic dishes to share with a crowd.

VOLUNTEERS ALWAYS NEEDED FOR REFRESHMENTS!!  ☕🍪

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

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

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).

LET’S GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER BETTER!

Sign up to join in one of several small group gatherings! Still some spots open!

  • 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)

QUAKER NEWS & EVENTS

QUAKER HOSPITALITY 1: THE ABC’s OF HOSPITALITY & WELCOMING NEW FRIENDS  

When & Where? Tuesday, May 12, 7:00 - 8:30pm, on Zoom

Welcoming new folks to our meeting is the responsibility of all of us. Radical hospitality is rooted in the Quaker understanding there is “that of God in everyone.” Discover why authentic hospitality requires intentionality, meeting-wide participation, reflection, planning & reliable follow-up processes.

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 Meetinghouse (in NY Yearly Meeting):  

  • Brooklyn Meeting (110 Schermerhorn Street Brooklyn, NY 11201): Monday, May 11, 6:00-8:00 pm 

Register here to attend any of these sessions.

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 are welcome.

PHILADELPHIA YEARLY MEETING (PYM)

GERMANTOWN FRIENDS SCHOOL (GFS) NEWS & EVENTS

MINI PRINT MEETUP

When? Tomorrow, Saturday, May 9,

Where? Friends Free Library (at GFS)

We're hosting our first-ever mini print meetup, and we'd love for you to stop by!

Mini treats, games, swap tables, mini linocut workshop - the works!

If you haven't caught the mini print collector bug yet, here are some websites to check out:

If you do collect, bring your dupes to trade. If you don't collect (yet), stop by to see what all the fuss is about!

COMMUNITY FOOD DRIVE – DROP OFF FOOD

When? Tuesday, May 12, 8:00-8:30am & 3:00-3:30pm (arrival & dismissal times)

Where? Meetinghouse porch

Please join GFS in donating non-perishable food items to support the food distribution programs of three local missions: St. Luke’s Food Pantry, the food pantry at Holsey Temple, and the Whosoever Gospel Mission for homeless men. Donations may be dropped off at the Meetinghouse Porch during arrival and dismissal.

ABIGAIL R. COHEN ’91 ART LECTURE 🎨 

When? Friday, May 15, 10:15-11 am

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

This talk will feature director and co-founder of Monument Lab Paul Farber ’01 and writer and visual artist Carmen Winant ’01. Read more about Paul and Carmen.

ATTEND GFS MEETING FOR WORSHIP DURING THE WEEK

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

  • Middle School Worship: Monday, 5/11, 10:20 - 11:00am
  • Upper School Worship: Thursday, 5/14, 10:10 - 11:00am
ALL-SCHOOL MEETING FOR WORSHIP ON THE COMMON

All-School Meeting for Worship, when the entire school gathers on The Common to sit in silence together, anchored Unity Day on Friday, May 1. Students shared messages of friendship, empathy, and inclusivity, and ended by singing “Go in Peace." Unity Day served as a powerful reminder that—as one student said while sharing a message—“At GFS, we all have each others’ backs.”

TAKE ACTION!

CARPENTERS WOODS VOLUNTEER SERVICE DAY

When? Saturday, May 16, 9:00am - 12:00noon

Where? Meeting at Wayne Avenue Trailhead (W Sedgwick Street & Wayne Avenue)

Take part in keeping Wissahickon Valley Park beautiful and sustainable! This relatively small section of the Wissahickon, while frequented by West Mt. Airy neighbors, is not widely-known to many regular visitors of the Park. We’ll be completing a variety of stewardship tasks in the area. (A partnership between Friends of the Wissahickon and Friends of Carpenter’s Woods). All are welcome to attend, and no experience is needed.

RECLAIM PHILADELPHIA – GET INVOLVED WITH YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD!

Reclaim Philadelphia builds community power to win change, reclaim government for the people, and advance economic, racial, and gender justice. Neighborhood Chapters are our community hubs, organized by volunteer leader teams. These hyper local organizing groups focus on building community within Reclaim’s base and connecting with community groups and neighbors.

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

SECOND SATURDAYS IN GERMANTOWN

When? Saturday, May 9

Every second Saturday thru November will have free tours, activities, events happening at various sites throughout Germantown and vicinity. Read more here to see the many options - including a plant sale and free tours!

NEIGHBORHOOD SHRED & E-CYCLE EVENT

When? Saturday, May 9, 10:00am

Where? Martin Luther King High School Parking Lot (6100 Stenton Ave)

State Representative Andre D. Carroll and State Senator Art Haywood are teaming up once again for a shredding and e-cycling event this Saturday! A free and secure way for community members to dispose of sensitive documents, outdated electronics, and expired medication.

SPRING ART MARKET

When? Saturday, May 9, 12:00 - 5:00pm

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

On the hunt for something unique and handmade? Perhaps a Mothers' Day present? Be sure to check out the selection of beautiful handmade pottery, unique gifts, plants, and vibrant artwork at the Spring Art Market!

Admission is free. Read more here

REPRESENTATIVE DARISHA PARKER’S CONVERSATIONAL CAFÉ

When? Saturday, May 14, 6:00 - 8:00pm (doors open at 5:00)

Where? Philippian Baptist Church (5801 N Broad Street)

Representative Carroll is partnering with Representative Darisha Parker for her recurring Conversational Café series. This session will bring together experts from organizations including Highmark Wholecare, the Department of Revenue, and the Register of Wills to discuss important topics such as wills and estate planning, power of attorney, deeds, and more. Stop by to get your questions answered, connect with local resources, and gain valuable information for planning your future. Light refreshments will be provided.

  • RSVP by calling Rep. Parker’s Office – 215-849-6426

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)