THE FRIDAY BEE                                                  May 22, 2026  

 SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY, MAY 24   

10:20am

Greeter

TBD

10:30am

Child Care

Starts in kindergarten building across the driveway

10:30am

Meeting for Worship

In the meetinghouse for hybrid worship, or 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

Bill Cozzens

11:35am

Zoom Social Time

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

11:40am

Refreshments

Vincent McCarthy & Beth Rafter

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

TENT SET-UP ON COMMONS — MAY 31 - JUNE 11

‘Tis GFS Commencement season! With that means the giant tent will be set up over the Commons, across from the meeting house. Therefore …

  • No parking on the Common during that time, including Sundays: 5/31/26 and 6/7/26.
  • The parking lot across Coulter Street will be open for us to use on those Sundays. 
  • And let’s keep the spots immediately behind and around the meetinghouse available to those of us who need them most.
ANNUAL GMM PORCH POTLUCK PICNIC!! ☀️

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

Where? Our meeting house 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.

  • Need ideas on what to bring? Click here for some classic potluck dishes.
HELP GMM REDUCE OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT!

Our Fundraising Committee recently reminded us that our Meeting has taken on a new campaign – to raise funds to facilitate reducing our carbon footprint… a challenge posed by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM), and heartily embraced by our Environmental Concerns Committee and Monthly Meeting.

  • This week we learned that PYM will contribute some funding. Thanks to Rob Smith and all who contributed to that PYM grant application!
  • In addition, donations of any size to this effort help unlock an additional $50,000 matching grant!

Be a part of reducing our carbon footprint. A gift to our meeting, and to our global environment.

HOW TO DONATE?

  • Send a check to Germantown Monthly Meeting (47 W. Coulter Street, Philadelphia, PA 19144)
  • Give online through Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s donation portal - Click here 
  • Put a contribution in the Donation Box on the wall between the Committee & Social Rooms

Gifts of all sizes make an impact. Really. We want everyone to participate!

Many thanks to those who have already contributed, and to all of you who plan to do so.

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!

QUAKER NEWS & EVENTS

A QUIET ROAR: THE UNPARALLELED LIVES OF BAYARD RUSTIN AND SARAH MAPPS DOUGLASS

When?  Saturday, May 23, 5:00pm

Where? Arch Street Meeting House (320 Arch St)

“A Quiet Roar” is an immersive theater performance that bridges the stories of two phenomenal Black Philadelphian Quakers who walked the halls of Arch Street Meeting House a century apart. Yet, in their respective times, both struggled with racial injustice, persevering through political activism and their experiences within the Quaker faith. This interpretive program brings their writings and experiences back to life, highlighting the often-overlooked intersections of race, faith, and freedom.

QUAKERS ENDING MASS INCARCERATION COLLABORATIVE (QEMIC) MEETING

When & Where?  Wednesday, May 27th, at 6:30 pm on Zoom

Mark your calendars! Agenda is still in the works.

What is this group? We seek to reduce mass incarceration, reduce its effects on people who are incarcerated and their families, and assist those recently released from incarceration in their transition back into society. We will engage in the education of Friends and community members regarding how the current carceral system operates, both systemically and at the individual level. 

QUAKER CALL TO ACTION – NATIONAL ZOOM CALL

Faithfully Protecting Democracy: A Conversation with Maria J. Stephan

When & Where?  Sunday, May 31, 7:00 - 8:30pm ET, on Zoom

Maria brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this discussion.  She is an author and organizer whose work has focused on the role of nonviolent movements world-wide advancing human rights, democracy, and peace. Maria emphasizes the centrality of faith in the struggle for democratic rights and human dignity.  She will be right at home among Quakers and other people of faith.

This zoom session will be run as a conversation offering you an opportunity to ask your questions of a deeply caring, knowledgeable, faith-based political scientist and nonviolence strategist. Please join us.

PHILADELPHIA YEARLY MEETING (PYM)

GERMANTOWN FRIENDS SCHOOL (GFS) NEWS & EVENTS

GFS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CLUB – PHILLY SERVICE AWARD

For this year's Philly Service Award competition, the GFS Community Engagement Club—together with GFS’s incredible Dining Services team – partnered with Whosoever Gospel Mission to provide cooking workshops to the men in their programs. Participants learned food industry tips on sourcing their groceries and preparing affordable, delicious meals at home. They were also equipped with all the equipment they needed to start their culinary journeys, from the pots and pans to utensils and spices. Members of the Community Engagement Club were recognized at the Impact Awards Ceremony on May 1. Congratulations to the students on their fantastic work in service of the local community! 

SPEAKING UP AND SHARING SILENCE: GFS UNITY DAY 2026

GFS Unity Day and Unity Week offer a series of programming organized by the DEI office to educate the community on issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. This year students in every division were challenged to use their voices to make changes they want to see in the world.

  • “There are a lot of things happening in the world …What do you do if the problems are huge, but you are only one little person?” – Visiting author and illustrator, Yuyi Morales
  • “The Unity Week and Unity Day programming served as a reminder that, as individuals, and especially as a collective, students of all ages have the power to speak up.” – Eric Aurelian, DEI Project Manager and Health Education Teacher.

Queries at All-School Meeting for Worship on Unity Day:

  • How do I speak up for others and show I care?
  • What do I care about enough to change?

Read more here 

ATTEND GFS MEETING FOR WORSHIP DURING THE WEEK

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

  • Middle School Worship: Tuesday, 5/26, 10:20 - 11:00am (note - switched from Monday for Memorial Day)
  • Upper School Worship: Thursday, 5/28, 10:10 - 11:00am

TAKE ACTION!

SUPPORT RANKED-CHOICE VOTING? SHOW CITY COUNCIL NEXT WEEK!

When?  Thursday, May 28, 10:00am

Where? Philadelphia City Hall

Join activism group March on Harrisburg at an important Philadelphia City Council meeting where they will vote on a resolution, introduced by Councilperson Nic O'Rourke, in support of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV).

This is an important step in pressuring the state legislature to take up action on allowing Ranked Choice Voting in Pennsylvania! After this, the work continues with other cities and counties to also press the state for RCV. But first, they need a big show of support when this resolution comes up for a vote in Philly. Bring ID to enter City Hall.

COME TO PROJECT RUMMAGE RUNWAY!

When? Saturday, May 30, 12:00noon

Where? Crossroads Women’s Center (5011 Wayne Avenue)

A slow-fashion show where local designers and models are coming together to showcase upcycled and sustainable designs from our Community Rummage & Thrift.

Through this event we're hoping to challenge the pervasiveness of the exploitative, polluting and wasteful fast fashion industry while promoting affordable fashion, creativity, community, and caring for people and the planet. Over the past month, we have hosted sewing and mending workshops, had an outdoor movie night and a "film and sew" event, took a trip to the Resource Exchange with the designers, and more.

We are so excited to see the final looks on the runway! And volunteer help is always needed!

TELL THE PA LEGISLATURE: TAKE ACTION TO END GUN VIOLENCE

Calling on the Pennsylvania House and Senate to pass a ban on untraceable ghost guns, a ban on deadly machine gun conversion devices, and require secure firearm storage.

On June 2nd (see below about End Gun Violence Advocacy Day), we'll deliver a coalition letter to the legislature, urging them to pass and send these critical life-saving laws to the governor's desk.

SIGN UP FOR END GUN VIOLENCE ADVOCACY DAY 2026

When?  Tuesday, June 2, 9:30am -  3:30pm

Where? Pennsylvania State Capitol (501 N 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA)

Gun violence is a slow moving massacre, taking the lives or injuring 4,600 Pennsylvanians every year, impacting every single community in the state. Join CeaseFirePA and partners in Harrisburg to lobby, rally, and send a powerful message to lawmakers: prioritize public safety and pass life-saving gun violence prevention laws.

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

CELEBRATION OF THE ROSES 🌹

When?  Saturday, May 23, 11:00am - 3:00pm, rain or shine

Where? Wyck Historic House, Garden, and Farm (6026 Germantown Avenue)

Celebrate Wyck's historic roses (which typically bloom mid-May to mid-June) with food trucks, a vendor marketplace, house tours, and special garden tours with Wyck’s horticulturist! Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild and other organizations will also be on-site all day for the festival. Free entry.

Read more here

HISTORIC COOKING & MODERN CONNECTION, A CELEBRATION OF FIRE, FLAVOR & HISTORY!

When?  Free Kick-Off: Sunday, May 24, 12:00 - 4:00pm

Where? Rittenhouse Town (208 Lincoln Drive)

Kicking off an immersive week of hearth cooking, living history, and shared meals. On Sunday, step back in time as talented historical demonstrators bring the past to life through traditional foodways and craftsmanship.

Whether you are a history enthusiast, a food lover, or simply looking for a unique way to spend Memorial Day weekend, this event offers something for everyone. Come celebrate community, culture, and craftsmanship!

FIREFLY HOURS AT EBENEZER - GARDEN TOURS, QI GONG, AND MORE!

When? Wednesday, May 27 - Friday, May 29, 5:00 - 7:00pm

Where? Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion (200 W Tulpehocken St)

Enjoy an evening garden tour and plant identification with horticulturalist Scott Travaline.

Listen and look at the beauty around you to create a piece of art.

Decompress from a long day with qi gong, a longstanding Chinese tradition that combines soft movement, deep breathing, and meditation. All levels are welcome.

Free candlelight tours of the mansion will also be offered each night.

  • No registration required! All are welcome.

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)