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Do I
need to do anything prior to attending a Friends Meeting?
No, you can
simply arrive at the appointed time At Scarsdale Friends Meeting this
is at 11:00. Arriving
a few minutes early will allow you time to enter the room and find a seat
before the start of the meeting for worship. A greeter from the meeting
will shake your hand and answer any questions you may have prior to entering.
In addition there are numerous pamphlets available outside of the meeting
room. Please sign our guest book before or after the meeting for worship.
What is a Quaker Worship service like?
Scarsdale Friends Meeting uses what is known as
unprogrammed worship There is no minister or other leader and no order
of service. Those at the meeting sit in silence unless they feel moved
to share a spoken message. At some meetings for worship there may be no
messages and at others there will several. There is always a period of
silence following a message. The meeting ends after about one hour with
shaking of hands usually started by the greeter. An Invitation
to Worship gives a more detailed description.
What is
your First Day (Sunday) School program like?
Children are
asked to join their parents for the first fifteen minutes of Meeting for
Worship, and are welcome to stay longer if they wish. After this period,
the children accompany the first day school teachers to their classrooms.
These are divided into broad age groups.
The First Day
School curriculum generally consists of age-appropriate approaches to
topics such as Quaker beliefs, Quaker history, the Old and New Testaments,
Quaker testimonies, service and conflict resolution. The classes often
use curricular materials developed by the Friends General Conference.
Which is
correct, Friends or Quakers?
In the early
days, Friends called themselves "Friends of the Truth" which
later was shortened to Friends in common usage. Those who opposed them
sometimes called them Quakers because they quaked with the fervor of their
beliefs. Over the years, Friends have come to embrace the term Quaker.
Do Friends
wear special clothes or speak in a special way?
No. The best
known representation of Friends may be the picture on the Quaker Oats
box, but today almost no Friends anywhere dress in this manner. Although
in the past Friends were known for the use of "thee" and "thou"
rather than the more formal "you" this is no longer widely practiced.
Are there
different kinds of Quakers? What kind of meeting is Scarsdale Friends
Meeting?
There are several different branches of Quakerism
in the United States. Scarsdale Friends Meeting is part of the group that
practices unprogrammed worship; this means that there is no minister and
no planned topic for a meeting for worship. Scarsdale Friends Meeting
is affiliated with the Purchase Quarter, the New York Yearly Meeting,
the Friends General Conference and Friends United Meeting.
The Purchase Quarter consists of a group of meetings
in Westchester and Dutchess Counties in New York and several meetings
in southern Connecticut. These meetings come together four times a year
to discuss topics of common concern.
The Purchase Quarter is part of the New York Yearly
Meeting which meets once a year, bringing together meetings from across
the tri-state area..
Does Scarsdale
Friends Meeting welcome all including those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual
or transgendered?
Scarsdale Friends Meeting welcomes all, and our
meeting includes gay and lesbian singles and families.
Do all
Quakers believe in God or in the divinity of Jesus?
Quakerism is
a religion without a creed. Founded as a Christian religion, throughout
its history, Quakerism has included people with a variety of beliefs.
Seekers of all kinds are welcome at Scarsdale Friends Meeting. Worshipers
come from many religious backgrounds.
Would a
divorced person or an unmarried couple be comfortable at Scarsdale Friends
Meeting?
Yes, all are welcome. There are people with many
different famiiy and living situations who are active in the meeting.
How can I learn more about Quakerism?
There are many
good sources of information about Quakerism. Quakerbooks.org
sells numerous books from the Friends General Conference. Quaker.org
has links to many other Quaker sites. British
Yearly Meeting has a very informative web site. Powell House and
Pendle Hill are study centers which offer a variety of programs to those
interested in studying aspects of Quakerism in more depth.
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