THE FRIDAY BEE July 31, 2026
SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 2
10:30am
Meeting for Worship
Germantown Friends Meetinghouse is closed during August.
Join us at Green Street Friends Meetinghouse (45 W School House Lane) –
- In-person at their meeting house,
- Or on Zoom
Worship in our meetinghouse (plus childcare & First Day School) will resume on Sunday, September 6th.
MEETING NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
GMM WORSHIPS AT GREEN STREET MEETING IN AUGUST – STARTING THIS SUNDAY – August 2!
Germantown Friends Meeting House will be closed for the month of August.
So where should we worship in August?
We will worship at Green Street Friends Meetinghouse (45 W School House Lane) every Sunday in August. To join remotely, look for the Green Street Meeting’s Zoom link.
Or, if you choose to worship elsewhere, please bring greetings from Germantown Monthly Meeting!
Our meetinghouse will re-open for worship, First Day School and child care on Sunday, September 6th.
CALLING ALL GARDENERS! 🌿
Do you love gardening, and want to make a difference at the meetinghouse?
We could use some ongoing and basic help with the lovely garden around the Meeting Office!
Whether you have a green thumb or just want to spend some quiet time outside, we would love to have your help.
Maybe we can call it a GMM Garden Club??
When? Starting ASAP!
- August will be a quiet month at GMM, since the meetinghouse will be closed. So the garden will need some basic TLC, especially if it is hot, dry and sunny.
- Ongoing – Weeding and watering can even be done while you’re at GMM during/after Refreshments on Sundays. Grab a friend, and head outside for 15 minutes of help – it can be a new form of Fellowship!
What?
- Basic weeding & watering. This isn’t meant to be a “heavy lift.”
- Hose, watering can, and trash bags accessible/available to all helpers.
Interested? Contact Moira Duggan
ART SHOW ON BARTRAM'S GARDEN BY ROB SMITH
When? Opening reception – next Saturday, August 8, 5pm - 7pm; Show runs until early October
Where? Studio 34 Art Gallery (4522 Baltimore Ave)
There will be a show of photographs by our member Rob Smith entitled "Bartram's Garden: The Seasons" at the Studio 34 Art Gallery (4522 Baltimore Ave), with an opening reception on Saturday, August 8, 5pm-7pm. The photographs will be available for purchase, with the proceeds going to Bartram's Garden. The gallery hours are Mondays - Fridays, 5-7:30pm, and during Studio 34's arts events. The exhibit will be up until early October, 2026.
- For more information, see https://events.humanitix.com/bartram-s-garden-the-seasons
QUAKER NEWS & EVENTS
QUAKER ACTION FOR MIGRATION JUSTICE NETWORK (QAMJN)
This new network (pronounced “Q-imagine”) connects Friends who are committed to making change in the face of growing threats to the rights and safety of immigrant communities. QAMJN is a tool to gather Friends, meetings, and other stakeholders to build community, share ideas, and take action.
FRIENDS FOR LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND QUEER CONCERNS EPISTLE
Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Concerns (FLGBTQC), co-clerked by GMM Member Karen Lightner, met during Friends General Conference Gathering, July 7-12, 2026 in Burlington, VT.
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION: IS THIS FOR YOU?
Discerning, Deciding, Documenting, and Defending a CO Claim with Selective Service
When? 3-part series: Monday, August 10; Thursday, August 13; Monday, August 17, 7:00 - 8:00pm
Where? Remotely, on Zoom
Join Friends for this comprehensive, interactive workshop for all teens and young adults, of any gender, as well as all interested adults or mentors, of any age. The 3-part workshop covers Selective Service legislation, definitions of conscientious objection, activities to discern one’s beliefs and articulate them, and finally some strategies to defend them. By the end of the 3 sessions, participants will have a better understanding of conscientious objection, a deeper grounding about the source of their convictions, and a “CO letter” articulating their beliefs.
SAVE THE DATE – HARAMBEE: A CELEBRATION OF BLACK QUAKER RESILIENCE
When? August 28 - 30
Where? Unity Friends Meetinghouse (4371 Waln Street)
Ujima Friends Peace Center is joining Unity Meeting in sponsoring Harambee: A Celebration of Black Quaker Resilience. This gathering will be a time of fellowship, remembrance, celebration, and shared witness as they honor the opening of the renovated 250-year old Unity Friends Meetinghouse. This historic gathering invites Black Quakers, our families, and our friends to celebrate our collective resilience. Together, we will reflect on the past, present, and future of Black Quaker life through worship, fellowship, remembrance, and community.
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
GFS ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT – TOM MYERS
GFS alumni are all over the world, doing a range of fascinating work! Here is another example.
Meet Tom Myers '76, a career sound engineer in film and television. He's worked for 35 years at the legendary Skywalker Ranch, and is credited on a range of films, from animated features like Cars and Toy Story to blockbusters such as Mission: Impossible and Star Wars Episode II.
And he gives a shout out to the influence of GMM member Joan Countryman!
TAKE ACTION!
CLIMATE CRISIS IS NOT NEUTRAL: RECLAIMING LAND, CULTURES & FUTURES
A Decolonial Climate Justice Community Training & Gathering 2026
When? Saturday, August 1, 9:30am - 6:00pm
Where? Taller Puertorriqueño (2600 N 5th Street)
Join us for a powerful day of Indigenous-led panels, workshops, storytelling, ceremony, and collective visioning. This gathering creates space to learn from one another, uplift Indigenous and Latine leadership, strengthen community connections, and co-create solutions rooted in reciprocity, resilience, and collective care.
THE PEOPLE’S GRADUATION
When? Sunday, August 2, 12:00 - 3:00pm
Where? Bok Building (821 Dudley Street, Room 310)
Come celebrate The People's Grad, to honor students in Gaza who were not able to celebrate degrees this year.
Bringing the community together to raise funds for the Healing Hands Fund's projects, including a curriculum building project with Palestinians on the ground, and enjoy one another's company. Shop an open market with food, art and fashion to help medical aid projects with the Healing Hands Fund (H2F).
Entry is free, but please RSVP here so organizers can ensure there’s enough space for everyone.
FRIDAY AT FETTERMANS – READING OF NAMES
When? Friday, August 7, 11:15am - 12:15pm
Where? Office of John Fetterman (200 Chestnut Street)
The first Friday of each month is the traditional Reading of Names. Friday at Fetterman’s organizers are asking for five people to read the names of around 200 from the tens of thousands of Palestinian children killed by Israel since October 2023. Sign up here
POWER NORTHWEST CLUSTER MEETING
When? Tuesday, August 11, 6:00 - 8:00pm
Where? Summit Presbyterian (6757 Greene Street)
At our August cluster meeting, we will recap our We Make Philly campaign launch and updates in our fall organizing plan. We will also have a training on how to organize and facilitate powerful meetings in our congregations/neighborhoods as we prepare to host gatherings to spread the word about our We Make Philly affordability agenda in the coming weeks.
There will be an option to join via Zoom. Dinner will be provided to folks joining us in person.
WRITE GET OUT THE VOTE POSTCARDS!
Sign up to write Get Out the Vote postcards to some key states for the November 3 midterm elections –
– Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio & Wisconsin.
These postcards are proven to boost Democratic turnout by up to 1.3%, which can be enough to tip the scales!
TRYING TO FIND SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENTS?
Mobilize is a central posting site with opportunities for 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
FAMILY FRIENDLY! BUGGIN’ OUT: MEET YOUR BACKYARD’S BEST BUG BUDDIES
When? August 4 - 6, 5:00 - 7:00pm
Where? Concord School House & Upper Burying Ground (6309 Germantown Avenue)
Bring the family along for an evening retreat where we’ll explore outside and meet some of these backyard bugs — like fireflies, butterflies, and other beneficial insects — in a safe way. Scavenger hunt, bug-themed BINGO, prizes. All are welcome!
RIVERSIDE BIKE RIDE WITH FRIENDS OF THE WISSAHICKON
When? Friday, August 7, 8:30 - 11:30am
Where? Meet at Regal UA Main Street, Manayunk (3720 Main Street)
Join Trail Ambassadors for a 2-wheeled cruise along the Schuylkill River! We’ll meet in Manayunk and then pedal across the Wissahickon Creek, down Kelly Drive past the art museum, along Schuylkill Banks and over the newest section – those cool cable-supported biker/walker bridges right in the river. The return will take us past the art museum and then on MLK Drive and over the Falls Bridge. Total distance: about 17 miles. We guarantee terrific views and river breezes the whole way! For more information contact Marisa Miller at miller@fow.org
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)