Westfield Friends Meeting

Religious Society of Friends

Welcome

We offer hybrid Meetings for Worship in-person and on Zoom.

Sundays @ 10 am followed by Fellowship @ 11am. Childcare & Children's First Day School 10-11am.

Quakers celebrate unprogrammed worship.

We emphasize the authority of the Divine Inward Light as revealed to us through patient discernment of the divine Spirit in corporate worship.

You are welcome here.

When we say that all are welcome here, we mean it.

We are a small but friendly group of accepting people who love it when new visitors join us for quiet time in worship.

As members of the Religious Society of Friends, we believe God is present in every person. As we gather in silent communal worship, we wait on the Spirit of God to move us.

There is no formal creed, ritual, dogma, or liturgy. We trust the Divine guidance to help us trust, love, and work toward finding equal rights and peace for all. Although we have no sacraments, we believe in the sacramental value of our actions and our relations with others in everyday life.

Anytime you feel called to do so, please accept this invitation to join us for worship.

What To Expect At Silent Meeting For Worship

Go in as soon as you are ready -- there is no pre-arranged seating. - The silent meeting for worship provides each participant the opportunity to seek that inner stillness where divine truth may be experienced. Each person who enters the meeting room contributes to the spiritual seeking which is the purpose of our waiting in silence.

From time to time, people may give spoken testimony, as moved by the spirit. They may stand or remain seated. After a person has spoken, we observe an interval of silence to fully experience the message. Meeting is a time apart from conversation. It may be that no one will speak, but that the silence itself becomes eloquent of our gathering together in spiritual unity. Quakers speak of such times as experiencing a “gathered Meeting”.

While the Religious Society of Friends has no creed as such, we believe there is that of God in every person and that each of us can sense the Inner Light directly. Although we have

no sacraments, we believe in the sacramental value of our actions and our relations with others in everyday life.

Meeting for Worship will typically last about forty-five minutes, although we are not bound by the clock. Someone will say “Good morning, Friends” to break Meeting, and we will greet one another with a handshake. Often there will then be an opportunity for “joys and sorrows” or “afterthoughts” that have not risen to expression during the silence, followed by announcements. Finally, we gather in the social room for refreshments and fellowship.

Please note that we take public health very seriously. While we do enjoy some traditional practices, like the handshake or gathering in the social room, this may be altered at times when necessary. Our inclusive worship community follows all New Jersey Department of Health guidelines and recommendations.