Monthly meeting
Encyclopedia
Monthly Meetings are, traditionally, the basic unit of administration in the Religious Society of Friends
(Quakers).
For some Friends (Quakers) a Monthly Meeting is a single Meeting (church), while for others it is a grouping of Meetings (churches) which come together for administrative purposes. Membership in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) is with a Monthly Meeting. Monthly Meetings are charged with the bulk of administrative and sometimes also the pastoral care of their associated congregants.
Friends' (Quaker) organizational structure is complicated and varies from place to place, but in many cases, Monthly Meetings are grouped for various purposes into Quarterly Meetings, which themselves are grouped into Yearly Meeting
s. In places where Quakers are few, there may be no Quarterly meeting. In some places, e.g. Korea
, the largest administrative unit is the Monthly Meeting which encompasses several other Meetings around the country.
In Britain Yearly Meeting
, Monthly Meetings are in the process re-naming themselves as "Area Meetings". This is because British Meetings for Church Affairs seldom gather twelve times a year and the name "Monthly Meeting" does not convey much meaning to outsiders. The process hopes, among other things to reduce "Quakerspeak" jargon. However, among Friends (Quakers) the term "Monthly Meeting" will continue to be used for that administrative Meeting for some considerable time, as it has been for the past 350 years. From 2007, an Area Quaker Meeting is primarily a business meeting for a particular geographic area, and contains a number of local meetings which hold regular Meetings for Worship.
A noteworthy practice of Friends is that all administrative and business decisions must be made in a Meeting for Worship (church services). Thus Monthly Meetings, Area Meetings, Quarterly Meetings, Yearly Meetings and larger gatherings of Friends are all Meetings for Worship. Decisions are made prayerfully. Decisions are made by unanimity. Friends' unanimity should not be confused with a secular consensus. Friends' unanimity is spirit based and the finding of unanimity emerges from Friends worshiping together (see also Quaker decision-making).
The term Monthly Meeting comes from the practice of holding a monthly Meeting for Business, separate from the Meeting for Worship held once a week on Sunday (often called "First Day" for reasons discussed in the Testimony of Simplicity
.) Similarly "Quarterly Meeting" refers to the fact that members of a Quarterly Meeting gather four times a year. In some areas, including parts of the USA, Canada, Africa, Korea, Britain
and Ireland
, there are local (Preparative) Meetings, which fall under the care of the larger Monthly Meetings. Monthly Meeting is most often used by Quakers in the "unprogrammed" tradition; Friends who attend programmed services, particularly Evangelical Friends
may often refer to their group instead as a church. However, Friends in most traditions commonly use the term Yearly Meeting.
A Monthly Meeting is usually associated with a particular place of worship; in many cases, the associated Meetinghouse has a distinctive style of architecture, reflecting the Testimony of Equality
(benches are arranged in a roughly circular or three-quarter-square configuration, with no "privileged" place) and the Testimony of Simplicity (the interior of the Meetinghouse is usually kept simply and unadorned.) Some Meetinghouses in the United States
are among the earliest remaining religious structures in the country, particularly in the Philadelphia area, but also in the Mid-Atlantic states and the Midwest generally.
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
(Quakers).
For some Friends (Quakers) a Monthly Meeting is a single Meeting (church), while for others it is a grouping of Meetings (churches) which come together for administrative purposes. Membership in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) is with a Monthly Meeting. Monthly Meetings are charged with the bulk of administrative and sometimes also the pastoral care of their associated congregants.
Friends' (Quaker) organizational structure is complicated and varies from place to place, but in many cases, Monthly Meetings are grouped for various purposes into Quarterly Meetings, which themselves are grouped into Yearly Meeting
Yearly Meeting
Yearly Meeting is a term used by members of the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, to refer to an organization composed of a collection of smaller, more frequent constituent meetings within a geographical area. These constituent meetings go by various names such as Quarterly Meetings, which...
s. In places where Quakers are few, there may be no Quarterly meeting. In some places, e.g. Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, the largest administrative unit is the Monthly Meeting which encompasses several other Meetings around the country.
In Britain Yearly Meeting
Britain Yearly Meeting
The Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain, also known as Britain Yearly Meeting , is a religious organisation in England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, often defined as a denomination of Christianity.It is a part of the international religious...
, Monthly Meetings are in the process re-naming themselves as "Area Meetings". This is because British Meetings for Church Affairs seldom gather twelve times a year and the name "Monthly Meeting" does not convey much meaning to outsiders. The process hopes, among other things to reduce "Quakerspeak" jargon. However, among Friends (Quakers) the term "Monthly Meeting" will continue to be used for that administrative Meeting for some considerable time, as it has been for the past 350 years. From 2007, an Area Quaker Meeting is primarily a business meeting for a particular geographic area, and contains a number of local meetings which hold regular Meetings for Worship.
A noteworthy practice of Friends is that all administrative and business decisions must be made in a Meeting for Worship (church services). Thus Monthly Meetings, Area Meetings, Quarterly Meetings, Yearly Meetings and larger gatherings of Friends are all Meetings for Worship. Decisions are made prayerfully. Decisions are made by unanimity. Friends' unanimity should not be confused with a secular consensus. Friends' unanimity is spirit based and the finding of unanimity emerges from Friends worshiping together (see also Quaker decision-making).
The term Monthly Meeting comes from the practice of holding a monthly Meeting for Business, separate from the Meeting for Worship held once a week on Sunday (often called "First Day" for reasons discussed in the Testimony of Simplicity
Testimony of Simplicity
Testimony of Simplicity is a shorthand description of the actions generally taken by members of the Religious Society of Friends to testify or bear witness to their beliefs that a person ought to live his or her life simply in order to focus on what is most important and ignore or play down what...
.) Similarly "Quarterly Meeting" refers to the fact that members of a Quarterly Meeting gather four times a year. In some areas, including parts of the USA, Canada, Africa, Korea, Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, there are local (Preparative) Meetings, which fall under the care of the larger Monthly Meetings. Monthly Meeting is most often used by Quakers in the "unprogrammed" tradition; Friends who attend programmed services, particularly Evangelical Friends
Evangelical Friends International
Evangelical Friends Church International is a branch of Quaker yearly meetings around the world that profess evangelical Christian beliefs.- History :...
may often refer to their group instead as a church. However, Friends in most traditions commonly use the term Yearly Meeting.
A Monthly Meeting is usually associated with a particular place of worship; in many cases, the associated Meetinghouse has a distinctive style of architecture, reflecting the Testimony of Equality
Testimony of Equality
Testimony of equality is a shorthand description of the action generally taken by members of the Religious Society of Friends towards equality, arising from Friends' belief that all people are created equal in the eyes of God. The word testimony describes the way that Friends testify or bear...
(benches are arranged in a roughly circular or three-quarter-square configuration, with no "privileged" place) and the Testimony of Simplicity (the interior of the Meetinghouse is usually kept simply and unadorned.) Some Meetinghouses in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
are among the earliest remaining religious structures in the country, particularly in the Philadelphia area, but also in the Mid-Atlantic states and the Midwest generally.
External links
- QuakerMaps: a resource for finding monthly meetings from across the spectrum of Quakerism, powered by Google Maps.
- Quakerfinder: a resource for finding FGCFriends General ConferenceFriends General Conference is a North American Quaker organization primarily serving the Quaker yearly and monthly meetings in the United States and Canada that choose to be members...
monthly meetings in the United States. - Find a Quaker Meeting in England, Wales or Scotland.