New to Quaker Worship?
What Are Quakers?
What Is "Meeting for Worship"?
What Is "Meeting for Worship"?
"The Quakers’ simple realization that there is ‘that of God in every person’ led them to leave the established church and worship together in silence without ministers and prearranged prayers..." (HFS website)
What Is "Meeting for Worship"?
What Is "Meeting for Worship"?
What Is "Meeting for Worship"?
If this is your first experience at an unprogrammed Quaker meeting, you will immediately notice that worship is very different from other religious services: We worship in silence.
Quaker Videos for Newcomers
What Do Quakers Believe?
What to Expect in Quaker Meeting for Worship
How Quakers Turn Hierarchy on its Head
... and other videos
The Basics
How Is the Haddonfield Meeting Linked to the School?
In 1786, a school was established by members of the Haddonfield Friends Meeting to educate Quaker and non-Quaker children, alike. It was the only "public" school in the borough for 25 years.
The "Quaker SPICES" of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality and stewardship are integral to a Friends school education.
Who Are Quakers (or "Friends")?
Quakers, also known as Friends, believe that there is "that of God in every person." Friends believe every person can establish a direct experience with a higher power, whether it be called an Inner Light, God or an unnamed presence.
This led Friends to worship together in silence in an attempt to have a direct experience with a higher power -- a "meeting for worship" -- without ministers, clergy or prearranged prayers.
What Is a "Friends Meeting"?
A Friends meeting is a group of Quakers that regularly worship together; This is not to be confused with the meetinghouse, which is where Friends regularly worship together.
What Is "Meeting for Worship"?
If this is your first experience at an unprogrammed Quaker meeting, you will immediately notice that worship is very different from other religious services: We worship in silence.
We offer silent, unprogrammed meeting for worship every Sunday (or "First Day") from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
What Are "First Days"?
Historically, Quakers referred to days of the week and months as "First Days" (Sundays) or "Third Month," etc. Modern Quakers use the common names for days, months, etc., but put "First Days" in parenthesis to honor our Quaker traditions.
A "Monthly Meeting" that Meets Weekly? (Hint: Tracking the Business Schedule)
Although we meet weekly, the Haddonfield Friends Meeting is formally known as the Haddonfield Monthly Meeting.
The "monthly" designation simply indicates how often we hold special business meetings to conduct our affairs. Since we don't have clergy, meeting members and attenders complete much of our work in committees and make key decisions at these monthly business meetings.
Monthly meetings are part of a larger "quarterly meeting" to combine resources, share ideas, plan and conduct business affairs four times a year. The Haddonfield Monthly Meeting is a part of the Haddonfield Quarterly Meeting, which comprises of monthly meetings from Camden to Atlantic City, New Jersey.
An annual or "yearly meeting" is an even larger assembly of meetings to set priorities for the year ahead. Haddonfield belongs to the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM).