After more than 250 years, what are William Penn’s enduring contributions?  How did Penn’s Quaker values inform his understanding?  Where did the Holy Experiment succeed and where did it fall short?  What would Penn make of Philadelphia, his “Greene Country Towne,” today? 

We gather at the historic Arch Street Friends Meeting House to delve into these questions with Penn scholars and historians. 

This program is part of the Religious Freedom: Then & Now initiative.

• 9:30 AM → Walking Series with the Monthly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia (MMFP)

  • Description: Members, attenders, and visitors will gather at Arch Street Meeting House at 9:30 AM and pair up for a 45-ish minute walk through Old City (each pair chooses their own route!) before returning for Meeting for Worship. This is a wonderful opportunity to strengthen our community, engage in meaningful conversation, and explore the neighborhood. You might just get to know someone in our Quaker community better as you stroll. 

    Complimentary coffee and cups will be provided by MMFP’s Outreach Committee.

• 10:30 AM → Meeting for Worship with the Monthly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia - held in ASMH’s historic West Room

• 11:30 AM → Luncheon (FREE, East Room)

• 1 PM → Interfaith Philadelphia Event Begins (West Room)

  • Query & Introduction by Hazele Goodridge, MMFP Clerk & ASMHPT Trustee 

  • Panel begins, with presentations by:

    1. David Unkovic

    2. Chris Mohr

    3. Dwight Dunston

    4. Liadhain Saoirse Reilly

• 2:15 PM → Brief closing worship

  • The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) at ASMH practices unprogrammed, silent worship. Following the panel, the audience will be invited to engage in a 2-minute moment of silent reflection and a Q&A.

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About the Interfaith Philadelphia Program Series 

Philadelphia’s unique historic setting provides an extraordinary backdrop for engaging contemporary understandings of and challenges to religious freedom, as we continue to uplift the dream of a just, compassionate society within our pluralistic democracy.

As we prepare to celebrate the Semiquincentennial, Interfaith Philadelphia seeks to further Philadelphia’s historic national role as a model for interfaith engagement and understanding by highlighting and connecting the origin stories of many of its earliest traditions and houses of worship for diverse groups of Philadelphians and visitors to explore.