Newcomers
You are Welcome to Join Us
We welcome all visitors and seekers. We are an inclusive community, honoring “that of God” in everyone. When you enter the Meetinghouse, you will be greeted by a member of our Care and Counsel Committee. They will welcome you, ask you to sign the guest book, and make a name tag. When you enter the worship room, please sit wherever you wish, according to COVID safety guidelines. There will be a person sitting on a pew on the opposite end of the entrance who will be holding the Meeting in the Light. The end of worship will be signaled by this person. Please take time then to greet your neighbors. Announcements follow. Friends will gather outside, weather permitting, to greet each other.
Worship Schedule
Sunday
9:30am Meeting for Worship (in person)
11:00am Meeting for Worship: This Meeting for Worship in-person and virtual at the Meetinghouse each Sunday. Click here for more information.
11:00am Meeting for Worship on 1st Sunday at The Clearing (March – October, weather permitting) .
Wednesday
7pm Virtual Meeting for Worship with Worship Sharing. Click here for more information.
What Happens in Quaker Worship
We sit in silence, awaiting an ever deepening awareness of the spirit. As the silence grows, our shared focus on the Light within nurtures gathered souls. Then, at times, may come thoughts and feelings so strong and clear that we are stirred into becoming aware that the inspired message is to be spoken aloud. Friends rise and speak such messages simply and briefly. Silence is allowed to expand after a message to foster full appreciation. We speak not to one another’s messages, but from individual leadings, yet themes often emerge. We value silent meetings as fully as those receiving vocal ministry. The sense of a gathered, satisfying meeting rests on the chosen spiritual joining of persons seeking the light within.
Welcoming Families to Our Meeting
We welcome families with children to Meeting. Although the noise and movement of small children seems magnified in the silence of our worship, it is a natural part of our rhythm of Meeting for Worship. Children grow into the silence and come to find peace in it.
Children remain in Meeting for the first fifteen minutes, then at 11:15am, they are led out for Religious Education (RE), to have more active worshipful experiences that might include stories, song, activities, and play. Additional information on the Religious Education program is available HERE.
Childcare, starting at 10:45 AM is provided during the Sunday Meeting for Worship.
How to Get Involved
Attenders are encouraged to become involved in the life of the Meeting. Activities include:
- Adult Spiritual Education forums (Virtual ) – Saturday 9:30 – 11:00 AM (Check monthly newsletter for schedule)
- Spiritual Formation – A program to provide spiritual exploration and develop a personal spiritual practice with groups meeting monthly from September through April
- Friendly 8s – Groups that meet monthly along a theme. They are often social and include groups such as: Old Friends, New Friends; Book Groups; Coffee Group; Walking; Cycling, etc
- Committees – Attenders and members are encouraged to join committees. As an all volunteer religious community, we depend on each other to do the work of the meeting, as we are led. It’s also a great way to make connections and build relationships. Click HERE for more information on Meeting Committees.
If you have any questions, please CONTACT US.
Meeting for Worship With Attention to Business
On each 3rd Sunday of the month, we gather at 11am for Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business. We make our decisions and conduct our business as a community. We seek to be led by spirit in our decision making. This Meeting is led by the clerk of the meeting, who will be sitting on the facing bench (facing the front doors) along with the recording clerk, who takes the minutes. There is still a Friend from Ministry & Worship who will hold the Meeting in the light and break the Meeting with a handshake at its conclusion. This meeting lasts until 12:30pm, but Friends may leave at noon if they have other plans or obligations.