Meet the New Clerk of NYYM, Gloria Thompson

Adapted, with permission, from an article by Amy Solis & interview by Renelda Walker, Poughkeepsie Meeting

At the end of Summer Sessions 2023 Gloria Thompson, Manhattan Monthly Meeting, became the new clerk for New York Yearly Meeting. Gloria grew up Quaker and remembers first joining with Quakers in 1959 at Top Moro Friends Meeting in Rowlandsfield, Jamaica.  She attended Happy Grove High School, a Quaker school in Portland on the isle of Jamaica that recently celebrated its 125th year. Gloria is a retired educator with many years' experience in Quaker service and leadership.

When asked, “What does being a Quaker mean to you?” Gloria responded, “It is a deep, intimate relationship with God, knowing that my beliefs can help change the world.  Every person is a child/product of God. We are our brother’s keeper, our earth’s keeper. What’s important is our connection to both the seen and the unseen. We love diversity, and equity; and wherever, whoever we are, we are the human race. We are all someone’s child.”

She added, “My joy working with the Quaker community is the belief that the human condition is serviceable: Alternatives to Violence (AVP), Prison Ministry, Earthcare, education, and advocacies. I believe it a gift to ‘give back’.”