Report: Raising Money for Homeless

Committee Name: Raising Money for the Homeless
Monthly Meeting Name: March Sessions of the Yearly Meeting
Number of participants: lots
Amount of money spent on materials for this committee: $0

This is what we did to create peace: We brainstormed ideas for Meetings, Middle School and Young Friends and children’s program planners to use to raise money.
We feel: excited about all the good ideas that came up to raise money for homelessness. (these ideas will be included in the handbook that will be sent to Monthly Meetings and will be downloadable from the web after April 15).

Report: Peace Play

Committee Name: Peace Play
Monthly Meeting Name: March Sessions of the Yearly Meeting
Number of participants: 5
Amount of money spent on materials for this committee: $0

This is what we did to create peace: We wrote an outline for a script about peace for Meetings to use to raise money, based on the dilemma for 2 donkeys. Meeting members can present their own stories of peaceful resolutions to conflict within families, communities and Meeting and in the world!
We feel: showing our connectedness through this play can be an important vehicle for peace!

Report: Postcard Lobbying and Party Planning

~Committee Name: Postcard Lobbying & Party Planning
~Monthly Meeting Name: March Sessions of the Yearly Meeting
~Number of participants: 3
~Amount of money spent on materials for this committee: $3.00, plus postage

This is what we did to create peace: We wrote about civil liberties, earth stewardship and peace and we planned fun.

We feel: excited about fun ideas!

*See this committee’s plan for postcard writing party to be published as part of the Committee Handbook on the PYM Children's RE webpage (after April 15, 2007)

Report: Images of Peace Committee

~Committee Name: Images of Peace (Drawing upon our images of peace, love, war and hate)
~Monthly Meeting Name: March Sessions of the Yearly Meeting
~Number of participants: 11
~Amount of money spent on materials for this committee: $0 (we will spend money when we convert the drawn pictures into cards)

This is what we did to create peace: Share and listen to each other and put our images on paper to be turned into cards

We think: visual images can crystallize our visions of peace. Sitting together at a table and doing something creative together makes us feel more at peace.

Report: Trash Collectors

~Committee Name: Trash Collectors
~Monthly Meeting Name: March Sessions of the Yearly Meeting
~Number of participants: 12
~Amount of money spent on materials for this committee: $0

This is what we did to create peace: We picked up trash around Arch Street Meetinghouse’s grounds.

We feel: We feel like doing this again. We feel more connected to this community. It was fun and we made the world around the Meetinghouse more beautiful. It made us glad to do something so that someone else did not have to do it. We felt appreciated by the neighbors. The walking and the talking produced one more peaceful link.

Report: Be Nice!

~Committee Name: Be Nice!
~Monthly Meeting Name: March Sessions of the Yearly Meeting
~Number of participants: 14
~Amount of money spent on materials for this committee: $0

This is what we did to create peace: We created connection by writing good things about each other and making them into a chain. We breathed together with a partner and were inspired.

We feel: Being nice feels nice. Other people being nice feels nice.

Report: Peace Songs

~Committee Name: Peace Songs
~Monthly Meeting Name: March Sessions of the Yearly Meeting
~Number of participants: 11
~Amount of money spent on materials for this committee: $0


This is what we did to create peace: We engendered fellowship and peace among ourselves and discussed how to reverberate this to the larger community. (see the list of songs sung below!)

We feel: Invigorated; happy!

Songs we sang:
Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream
Peace Like a River
Study War No More
Dear Friends
The Cruel War
Hymnol of the Russian Earth
Peace, Peace, Peace
May There Always Be Sunshine
Amazing Grace
Gretchen’s Peace in our Tin
Ship Titanic
Song of Peace

Report: Peace Witness Committee at Sessions

~Committee Name: Peace Witness
~Monthly Meeting Name: March Sessions of the Yearly Meeting
~Number of participants: around 20
~Amount of money spent on materials for this committee: $50

This is what we did to create peace: Made signs and took them out to the corner of 4th & Arch Street and then the corner of 4th and Market for a peace vigil. We are taking the signs home for our yards.

We feel: Good!

Report: Worship for Peace Committee at Sessions

A committee convened at March Sessions of Yearly Meeting to worship with an intention for Peace, this is the committee report:


~ Committee Name: Worship for Peace
~ Monthly Meeting Name: March Sessions of the Yearly Meeting
~ Number of participants: 6-8
~ Amount of money spent on materials for this committee: 0
~ Complete these sentences:
This is what we did to create peace: Worshiped in the manner of Friends with an attention to Peace

Discernment Day:What are Quaker Kids Called to do about Peace???

The kids (preschool-5th grade) of Philly Yearly Meeting asked this question and here's what came out of it:

Some Important Ideas:

• You have to start with yourself if you want Peace in the world.


• The focus was always close to home: take action in your own community.


• Don't just send money or letters - you have to be friends with people and you have to be nice!

Some of the Actions they are called to:

• Worship


• Make the enviornment beautiful - pick up litter


• raise money for ending homelessness


• Be friends with homeless people


• share images of Peace that you want along with the images of violence you want to avoid.


• Make peace yard signs; participate in vigils


• Sing peace songs


• Be nice to each other!


• Smile at people and create a peaceful space around you.

There are more that are going to be all put together in a resource book and sent out to all the kids and all the Monthly Meetings in PYM.

Posted by Christie Duncan-Tessmer,

March 28, 2007

Learning about Discernment

The kids attending Children's Sessions of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting learned about the process Quakers use to make decisions, called discernment. The discernment process uses these steps:

1. Center into worship
2. Ask the big question
3. Listen with your heart
4. Share what you heard
5. Listen to what others heard
6. Find God's Big Idea
7. Plan action steps

This is how they learned the process: We all heard stories from four different storytellers. Each story was about discernment and included most of the Quaker discernment steps. We heard stories about George Fox, Moses, a Quaker who shared how discernment was part of her life and animals who were generous (this one was a fairytale). Each of the steps of the discernment process were highlighted in each of the stories. Our Storytellers were Gretchen Castle (recent past clerk of Philly Yearly Meeting), Lucy Duncan (professional storyteller and Associate General Secretary of FGC), Eileen Flanagan (see her book: Listen with your Heart: Seeking the Sacred in Romantic Love) and Christie Duncan-Tessmer (Children's Religious Education Coordinator for Philly Yearly Meeting).

posted by Christie Duncan-Tessmer
March 25, 2007

Creating this Blog

The older elementary age children of "Philly Yearly Meeting" designed this blog on the first night of March Sessions. We are going to be learning about discernment process this weekend and then we will discern what the kids of the Yearly Meeting are called to do for peace. Quaker Kidz Bring the Peace will be the spot for sharing the work that comes out of their discernment.

Posted by Max, Georgia, Rachel, Claire and Christie, March 23, 2007