We are a Quaker community of African descent, rooted in Africanity, welcoming F/friends and family of all backgrounds and ethnicities. We have a steady group of Friends who meet weekly at the Ujima Friends Peace Center in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but we also have a wide community of members who worship with us and respond to the movement of the Spirit online. We therefore consider ourselves to be a hybrid—in-person and online—community of faith, one that is without borders.
In 2016, the meeting began with members of Ujima Friends Peace Center who participated in weekly worship. In May 2021, Ujima Friends Monthly Meeting became a separate legal entity from Ujima Friends Peace Center, though we are still very much connected to the peace center. In a way, this meeting has been centuries in the making. We can feel the presence of our ancestors who sat on back benches in segregated Quaker meetings many years ago, and who lie in unmarked graves in Friends burial grounds, rejoicing with us in this historic moment.
Ujima Friends Meeting is a monthly meeting and is not requesting membership in any existing yearly meeting or organization. We, however, are happy to be in fellowship with any Quaker entity that recognizes and welcomes us as a members of the Religious Society of Friends. In addition, please know that Ujima Friends Peace Center continues to exist as a distinct Quaker service organization.