The word Quaker is familiar to most people in Pennsylvania. William Penn, founder of the Commonwealth, was a Quaker, and is honored with a statue atop Philadelphia’s City Hall.
Pennsylvania is known as the Quaker State. But what do you know about present-day Quakers right here in Bucks County?
Quakers (or Friends) are a faith-based community, with 14 Meetings (churches) under the umbrella of Bucks Quarterly Meeting. Quakers have been a close and active community for over 300 years.
Founded on Christian principles but open to the teaching and wisdom of all religious faiths, Quakers believe that there is that of God in everyone and each person. Their understanding and experience of God’s truth is continuing and ongoing and is nurtured and enlarged by being in community with one another. Having a supportive and nurturing community that you feel connected with is so important these days when the news can be both divisive and disturbing.
All Quaker Meetings throughout Bucks Quarter offer a warm, inclusive community where individuals and families of all types can find a place where they feel welcome and accepted. Potlucks, game and movie nights, and book discussions are just a few of the ways that Quaker communities offer opportunities to have fun together.
Many offer children’s and adult education programs, with topics ranging from reducing gun violence, addressing climate change, and discussing issues surrounding racism and social justice.
Three meetings have schools under their care: Newtown Meeting with Newtown Friends School, Buckingham Meeting with Buckingham Friends School, and Wrightstown Friends with Wrightstown Friends Nursey School.
Interested in visiting a Quaker meeting some Sunday? You can visit their website at www.quakersbucks.org for more information about Quakers in general.
Or e-mail Wendy Kane, Bucks Quarter Coordinator at quakersbucks@gmail.com, or call her at 215-867-9557 for a more in-depth conversation about local Quakers.