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39-539: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting is one of the oldest Yearly Meetings in the Religious Society of Friends . It traces its origins to 1682 when a monthly meeting of Friends in Philadelphia was established at the now-demolished Bank Street Meeting House. By 1707, it had published its own "book of discipline", the standards and practices by which Friends worship, conduct business, and relate to one another and to

78-551: A Yearly Meeting usually includes the words "of the Religious Society of Friends" (e.g., New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends ) although some do not (e.g., Northern Yearly Meeting ). Junior Yearly Meeting ( JYM ) is a gathering for young Quakers . There are various JYM groups worldwide, which cover the same geographical boundaries as their respective Yearly Meeting. Most countries have one Yearly Meeting which corresponds to national borders, but in

117-503: A connected device, allowing wider participation in the Yearly Meeting's spiritual, social, governance, and affinity communities throughout the four states and beyond. The governance of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting occurs through its three councils. The Administrative Council addresses matters of business, finance, and personnel. It serves as the Yearly Meeting's board of trustees with the same fiduciary responsibilities as those of

156-713: A few other countries the three main groups of Friends are Friends General Conference , Friends United Meeting , and Evangelical Friends International . A broader group that crosses theological, organizational, and national lines and encourages communication and cooperation of the different groups is Friends World Committee for Consultation . See also Quakers in Latin America See also Quakers in Europe Pink Dandelion, B. (2007). An Introduction to Quakerism . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Westtown School Westtown School

195-444: A full day's carriage ride from Philadelphia —where they could provide a "guarded education in a healthy environment" away from the secular influences of the city. For many years, Westtown was nearly self-sufficient, with the campus providing raw materials used in the construction of its buildings and food for the people who lived and worked at the school . Westtown is the oldest continuously operating co-educational boarding school in

234-580: A monthly meeting. Several monthly meetings form a Quartely Meeting. Quartely meetings form a Yearly Meeting. Some yearly meetings in Kenya scrapped off Quartely Meetings. Like many aspects of Quakerism, the organization into Yearly Meetings arose gradually. English Friends began to meet shortly after their beginning in a large group starting in the 1650s. The oldest Yearly Meeting in Britain, Britain Yearly Meeting (originally London Yearly Meeting), considers

273-446: A more recreational or hobby like focus exist as well. Flag football club, chess club , ski club , Dungeons and Dragons club, and Model UN are all popular clubs at Westtown School. Students also partake in weekend trips to places like Philadelphia , King of Prussia Mall , and West Chester . The 2018 documentary, We Town , is about the 2016-2017 Upper School Basketball Team, featuring Mo Bamba and Cam Reddish . It chronicles

312-430: A number of Worship Groups (and equivalent congregations with other designations). Depending on the Yearly Meeting organization, there may also be Quarterly Meetings, Half-Yearly Meetings, or Regional Meetings, where a number of local Monthly Meetings come together within a Yearly Meeting. There are also parallel Yearly Meetings for young Quakers, Junior Yearly Meetings. Yearly Meeting gatherings are times for Friends from

351-458: A position she assumed in 2008. Philadelphia Yearly Meeting regularly reaffirms its commitment to the practices of diversity, equity, and inclusion in its relations with Friends and with society. Presently, the PYM is involved with 7 collaborative initiatives. Each initiative is made up of a committee of like-minded Friends to evaluate and address issues. Westtown School , which was founded before

390-530: A strategic thought partner to the General Secretary. They remain informed and knowledgeable about concerns before and the work of the governing councils." The Yearly Meeting is overseen by a General Secretary . Christie Duncan-Tessmer is the current general secretary and has been since the retirement of the previous general secretary, Arthur M. Larrabee, on August 25, 2014. She was previously the associate secretary for program and religious life for PYM,

429-438: A wide geographical area to come together to worship and to seek God's guidance on decisions and on issues facing Friends in that region. Yearly Meetings publish guiding principles, organizational processes, and collected expressions of faith of the constituent Friends. These publications are called Faith and Practice , and/or Books of Discipline. In Kenya, local meetings are called Village Meetings. Several village meetings form

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468-520: A wide range of topical workshops. In the United States, JYM gatherings take place either alongside the annual Yearly Meeting gathering, as a separate annual gathering, as in Britain, or as more frequent gatherings. Baltimore Yearly Meeting , also has a JYM that composed of Young Friends (YF), who are 14–18, and Junior Young Friends (JYF) who are 11–13. BYM YFs are self-governed, choosing two clerks annually, and they conduct conferences throughout

507-412: A yearly meeting, Friends write an epistle to communicate to other Friends world-wide. It is the custom to read out selections from epistles the Yearly Meeting has received from other Quaker bodies during yearly meeting sessions. All Friends who are members of a constituent Meeting are members of the corresponding Yearly Meeting and may attend and participate on an equal basis—there is no hierarchy within

546-634: Is a Quaker , coeducational , college preparatory day and boarding school for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, located in West Chester, Pennsylvania , United States, 20 miles west of Philadelphia . Founded in 1799 by the Religious Society of Friends . Westtown is a Quaker school affiliated with the Friends General Conference branch of the Religious Society of Friends. The school requires all students to attend Meeting for Worship together with adults in

585-549: Is a member of Friends General Conference , the main national organization of unprogrammed Quaker Meetings. The Yearly Meeting is also a member of the National Council of Churches . The yearly meeting’s more than 100 monthly meetings in the four-state area (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) associate with one another in regional groups meeting for worship and business every three months. These groupings are known as quarterly meetings . The quarters within

624-400: Is clear that there is agreement, the sense of the meeting is recorded in the minute. Some Friends at the meeting may have reservations about the matter but choose to defer to the others. Friends believe and hope that the minute is God's will on the matter. However, nothing is considered a permanent and inviolable law among Friends and every matter is open to future change. Before the close of

663-583: The Religious Society of Friends , or Quakers, within a geographical area. The constituent meetings are called Monthly Meetings in most of the world; in England, local congregations are now called Area Meetings, in Australia Monthly Meetings are called Regional Meetings. "Monthly" and "Yearly" refer to how often the body meets to make decisions. Monthly Meetings may be local congregations that hold regular Meetings for Worship, or may comprise

702-474: The Friends Schools in Britain (but not Northern Ireland) Quaker School also nominates two young people as representatives. The event is organised, clerked and facilitated by 16- to 18-year-olds in partnership with staff and adult volunteers (Over 20s). Participants reflect on the theme through a variety of activities, including main speaker sessions, base groups and small group sessions. There are also

741-559: The Friends who are gathered wait in silence, listening to the leading of God's spirit within them. Those who feel led to do so share their insights, while the others listen. Eventually a "sense of the meeting" begins to emerge. The clerk of the meeting (a type of facilitator) or the Recording Clerk (a person who writes the minutes) tries to formulate a minute that reflects the sense of the meeting. More input may follow. When it

780-553: The Philadelphia Yearly Meeting are: The administrative offices of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting are at 1501 Cherry Street in Philadelphia. The Yearly Meeting is one of the principal tenants of Friends Center, a LEED-certified building in the central part of Philadelphia. Since 2020, Friends throughout the Yearly Meeting have incorporated the use of hybrid technology into meetings for worship and business. Most Friends have personal access to or can obtain access to

819-469: The Religious Society of Friends grew and spread around the world, new Yearly Meetings were established. While often influenced by the activities of other Yearly Meetings, each of the Yearly Meetings is autonomous. A session of a Yearly Meeting, as with all Quaker business sessions, is considered a time of worship in dealing with matters of business. When a matter has been presented and explained,

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858-429: The Religious Society of Friends. Many specific issues of concern to Quakers are dealt with by committees appointed by Yearly Meetings. Yearly Meetings are named for where they meet: a nation (e.g., Canadian Yearly Meeting ), a region within a nation (e.g., New England Yearly Meeting ), a state (e.g. Indiana Yearly Meeting ), or a large city that serves as a hub (e.g., Philadelphia Yearly Meeting ). The entire name of

897-686: The United States there are Yearly Meetings on regional, state and city level, and this is reflected in their JYMs. The frequency and age range of gatherings varies between JYMs. In Britain , JYM is a residential annual gathering, held at a different time to the Britain Yearly Meeting all-age gathering, of about 140 16- to 18-year-olds from around the country and a few Friends from European Yearly Meetings. Each Monthly meeting within Britain Yearly Meeting nominates two young people to attend as representatives, and each of

936-441: The United States. Boys and girls had separate classes until about 1870. Boys learned useful skills such as woodshop , surveying, and bookkeeping, and girls had classes like sewing. However, Westtown eventually recognized that students of both genders should know basic academic subjects such as reading, penmanship, grammar, mathematics , geography , and science . The 1880s brought physical changes to Westtown. The main building

975-555: The Year and National Preps Head Coach of the Year in 2024, his final season of coaching. In 2023, the Westtown boys varsity soccer team won the FSL without conceding a single goal. Additionally, girls' varsity won every game they played, and both boys and girls JV won their leagues respectively, making it the most successful year for a Friends League school's soccer program in the history of

1014-449: The Yearly Meeting's website, gives this description: "[The Presiding Clerk's] primary responsibility is to be present, modeling spiritual grounding and discernment, joining with those gathered to remain in worship with an attention to business and clerk accordingly. The clerk is the primary clerk for Annual and Continuing Sessions, preparing the agenda and the people who will be presenting or reporting. The clerk provides support and serves as

1053-556: The area. They may be governed by members of the Society of Friends, but they are structurally independent of the Monthly and Yearly Meetings. Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges have no formal relationship with the meeting. 39°57′21″N 75°09′54″W  /  39.95575°N 75.16498°W  / 39.95575; -75.16498 Yearly Meeting Yearly Meeting is an organization composed of constituent meetings or churches of

1092-486: The boards of other non-profit organizations. The Quaker Life Council addresses matters of spirituality, Quaker faith, and Quaker practice in the world. Its members serve as a board of elders for the Yearly Meeting. The Nominating Council seeks and names members of the Yearly Meeting to candidacy for roles on the three councils, offering the names for approval to Friends at its annual sessions and its semi-annual continuing sessions. Friends named to council positions serve for

1131-409: The community who voluntarily attend. Westtown uses the traditional Quaker practice of coming to unity in making some high-level decisions. Westtown has been coeducational since its 1799 founding. Westtown students come from 16 states and 13 countries. Westtown School opened on May 6, 1799. Philadelphia Quakers founded the school after raising money to build a boarding school and purchasing land

1170-406: The competition. Westtown is located on a campus in southern Pennsylvania. The campus is 600 acres, including a 14.5-acre lake, arboretum, frog pond, 14 playing fields, stadium tennis courts, organic farm, Lower School mini-farm, medicine wheel garden, wooded cross country course, and 21-element ropes course. Additionally, the campus has several dozen acres of farmland, and hosts "Farmer Jawn's",

1209-407: The people and history of the school. Westtown School boasts a wide variety of clubs and organizations, both faculty and student run. Many of these clubs are geared at creating change, such as SASH(Students Advocating for Student Health), JSU(Jewish Student Union), BSU(Black Student Union), ISO(International Student Organization), Green Coalition, Politics Club, and Rainbow Alliance. Other clubs with

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-494: The previous year, to deliberate on matters brought to them by the councils, and to hear news and reports from other Yearly Meetings. In addition, Friends meet at Arch Street Friends Meeting House in continuing sessions held in March and November for worship and business matters which cannot wait for annual sessions. The Presiding Clerk officiates at the business sessions of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. This role, as described by

1287-564: The quest of the team to win the State Championship. The Westtown Wrestling team, led by legendary coaches Jay Farrow '75 and Timothy Loose, has amassed 26 League Titles. The Wrestling team has the most FSL titles for any sport and team in the entire league's history. Jay Farrow coached the wrestling team for 44 years. Jay amassed 498 dual meet victories as a coach while also coaching 162 PAISWT Placewinners, including multiple National Prep All-Americans. He won PAISWT Head Coach of

1326-547: The schism, and Haverford College and Bryn Mawr College became the educational mainstays of the Orthodox yearly meeting. George School and Swarthmore College were founded to provide education for the Hicksite students. While Westtown and George Schools remain under the indirect supervision of the reunited Yearly Meeting, both are functionally and financially independent of the Yearly Meeting, as are other Friends Schools in

1365-454: The terms defined in the Yearly Meeting's governance handbook . Philadelphia Yearly Meeting holds annual sessions for business to which all Friends in the Philadelphia area are invited. These meetings, generally multi-day and residential, take place during the summer months at locations (usually college or universities with dormitories) within the four-state area. Annual sessions are an opportunity for Friends to hear about changes to PYM during

1404-613: The world. In 1827, it divided into two meetings in the Hicksite/Orthodox schism , each claiming the title of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. During this period, the two meetings were known by the location of their respective meetinghouses ( Race Street for the Hicksite Friends and Arch Street for the Orthodox Friends). In 1955, the schism was healed and the two meetings were reunited. The Yearly Meeting

1443-470: The year 1668 its official founding. New England Yearly Meeting dates its founding from 1661. In the early days the business of the meeting was to receive answers to the Yearly Meeting's queries to the Quarterly Meetings, to read epistles from traveling Friends, and to seek God's guidance on actions. They also proposed and planned the establishment of Quaker institutions, such as schools. As

1482-527: The year in addition to meeting at the BYM Annual Session. JYFs are not self-governing, but still conduct business meetings and hold conferences throughout the year. Most conferences are themed, and all include adult volunteers whose responsibilities usually consist of ensuring the YFs and JYFs safety rather than directing them. Many Yearly Meetings are members of larger groups. In the United States and

1521-447: Was replaced with a structure designed by architect Addison Hutton , completed in 1888, and still in use today. During the 20th century, the student body and curriculum became more diverse. For example, the school added visual and performing arts, and non-Quakers, African-American, and international students were eventually admitted. Westtown's Esther Duke Archives is a facility dedicated to collecting and maintaining materials relating to

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