What is Sessions?

Annual Sessions is one of the oldest Quaker traditions! Today, all over the world, yearly meetings gather once a year to bring together members and attenders from their local meetings. We call them “Sessions” because meeting for worship with attention to business of the Yearly Meeting is central to these times together. Continuing Sessions are our one-day events on the second Saturday of November and March, where we attend to the continuing business of the Yearly Meeting and enjoy fellowship across generations. During all these times we ask: What is God’s big idea for PYM Friends?

We are Called to Healing– healing ourselves, our local communities, and our world. At Spring Continuing Sessions, we will begin a year-long exploration of what healing means to us as Friends. March 8-10 we will attend to the continuing business of the yearly meeting and enjoy fellowship across generations. Go to the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting website to register or click this link.

Schedule:

• Spring Continuing Sessions will be ONLINE Friday and Sunday.
• Saturday we will have hybrid, onsite, and online options.

Friday, March 8: Online

7:00pm-8:30pm: Opening program “Called to Healing” with a panel of Friends sharing about their ministries of healing, including personal, community, global, and environmental pathways.

Saturday, March 9: Onsite, Online, and Hybrid

8:30am: Arrivals

9:00am-9:30am: Meeting for Worship

9:30am-12:30pm: Meeting for Business

Agenda items:

• Update on Lobbying policy
• Invitation to April Threshing session
• Implementation Plan: How Meetings can integrate our 5 strategic directions- Connecting, Belonging, Witnessing, Communicating and Functioning
• 2024 Sessions: Updates and What Friends Need to Know
• Arch Street Meetinghouse Preservation Trust

Clerks will be at Arch Street Meeting House. Regional locations will welcome Friends in the morning to participate in a hybrid format with Friends gathered in local meetings joining the clerks at Arch Street. 

12:30pm: Break

1:00pm: Lunch!

*Online lunchtime fellowship on Zoom OR brownbag/potluck lunch at regional locations listed below

2:00pm-4:00pm: Called to Healing interactive programs (all ages)

The afternoon program will be onsite or online. This means you may join in person at a regional location, or with Friends online (not hybrid).

Saturday regional locations and on Zoom:

• Arch Street Meeting House
• Camden (DE) Meeting
• Lancaster Meeting
• Millville Meeting
• Princeton Meeting
• PYM Zoom for online participants

Sunday, March 10: Online

10:00-11:00am: Join online intergenerational All Together Worship from home or your local meeting

1:00-2:30pm: Meeting for Business (online only)

Agenda items:

• Report from Nominating Committee
• Program on the Climate Playbook- Quaker Life Council
• Property Thread Gathering Report- Administrative Council and Staff