Join us for Meeting for Worship
Sundays at 11 am
133 Popham Road, Scarsdale, New York 10583-4327
Contact (914) 472-1807
Send us an Email

Scarsdale Friends Meeting

The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

 

Quaker Quotations

If we better studied and understood God’s creation, this would do a great deal to caution and direct us in our use of it. For how could we find the impudence to abuse the world if we were seeing the great Creator stare us in the face through each and every part of it?  - William Penn

Login for Members

Members Online

None

Translate Our Site
FAQs PDF Print E-mail

Do I need to do anything prior to attending a Friends Meeting?

What is a Quaker Worship service like?

What is your First Day (Sunday) School program like?

Which is correct, Friends or Quakers?

Do Friends wear special clothes or speak in a special way?

Do all Quakers believe in God or in the divinity of Jesus?

Are there different kinds of Quakers? What kind of meeting is Scarsdale Friends Meeting?

Does Scarsdale Friends Meeting welcome all including those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered?

Would a divorced person or an unmarried couple be comfortable at Scarsdale Friends Meeting?

How can I learn more about Quakerism?

 

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.
 
Quaker Terminology PDF Print E-mail

Birthright Friend
a historical term for those Friends born into families that are members of a Friends Meeting. (This term is not always officially recognized by Friends.)

Clearness
a process undergone to discern the true leading of the Spirit of God, especially in ambiguous or complicated situations. Friends often work with clearness committees when struggling with a difficult issue.

Clerk
the only officer of most meetings (as there are no clergy); the person charged with making and keeping the records of the meeting (including the records of births, marriages, and deaths). The clerk's role is to serve—as an honoured servant of the meeting—and, whilst revered, is not an authoritarian position.

Concern
Friends believe that anyone may feel called by God. Friends consider carrying out a concern to be a form of ministry. Often there may be a meeting for clearness to test the concern after which the meeting may well support the person in their concern. Many well-known organisations, such as the American Friends Service Committee, Don't Make a Wave Committee (the predecessor organisation to Greenpeace), Oxfam and Amnesty International, have been founded by Friends "acting under concern".

Convinced Friend
a historical term for those Friends who were not born into Quaker families, but who came to Friends because of the Truth of Quaker teaching and practice. The process of deciding to become a Friend is known as "convincement."
Gathered Meeting
A meeting for worship, where those present feel that they were particularly in tune with the leadings of the Spirit.
Facing Benches
Older meetinghouses often have benches on a raised platform which face the rest of the congregation where Weighty Friends (see below) who might be expected to speak would sit. Historically (and in some meetings still) these would be the recorded ministers and elders.
Hold in the Light
To recognize concern in one's self for another person or situation. This is often considered to be synonymous with praying for someone.
Leading
a course of action, belief or conviction that a Friend feels is divinely inspired.
Ministry
the act of speaking during a meeting for worship. (Many Friends use the term more broadly to mean living their testimonies in everyday life). "Vocal" or "proclamational" refer to ministries that are verbal.

Notion
An unfounded, unspiritual position. (Used by George Fox, often to refer to teachings or doctrines that were expressed but not fully understood or experienced.)

Proceed as Way Opens
to undertake a service or course of action without prior clarity about all the details but with confidence that divine guidance will make these apparent and assure an appropriate outcome.

Recorded Minister
A person whose vocal ministry (spoken contribution in meeting)—or another spiritual gift—is recognised as helpful and probably faithful to Divine leading, by the body of Friends to which they belong and formally recorded by that body. Not all Friends' organisations record ministers. Other Friends have adopted a defined process prerequisite for "recording."

Right ordering
has to do with proper conduct of a meeting for business. The term is often used in the negative, that is, if someone senses that something about the conduct of the meeting is not proper, they may object that "this meeting is not in right ordering."

Speaks to my condition or Friend speaks my mind
Commonly used during meetings for business to express that another Friend has spoken what is in the mind of the speaker; used to help add weight to the statements of others.

That of God in everyone
the belief in the presence of God within all people. Also referred to as the Inner Light.

Weighty Friend
a Friend, respected for their experience and ability over their history of participation with Friends, whose opinion or ministry is especially valued.

These terms and descriptions are from the Wikipedia entry on the Religious Society of Friends
 
Joomla 1.5 Templates by Joomlashack