The Peaceable Kingdom by Edward Hicks, 1834
Poughkeepsie Quakers
Continuing Over 300 Years of Quaker Worship in the Hudson Valley
I made a career out of words but what speaks to me here is the Silence.
~ Dick Hathaway, Poughkeepsie Quakers
Every Sunday morning at 10am, you’re welcome to center yourself in silence and join us as Poughkeespie Quaker Friends settle onto benches set up in the traditional Quaker “open square” arrangement in the lovely, light-filled meeting room at Oakwood Friends School.
There is no pastor or preset program.
We simply and faithfully come seeking the inner stillness that reveals the Light that is Divine Love we gather to experience individually and together as a community.
Not religious? Just Spiritual? Just curious? Member of another faith community? Perfect! There is always a place for you next to Friends and seekers at a Quaker Meeting.
The openness of people really drew me. Silent worship is deeply nourishing. — Brook
I’ve been a Quaker all of my life and I remember fondly as a young child sitting in silence.—Lynne
It’s nice to finally acknowledge the reality of our human oneness.— Enoch
No formulas. No intermediary. A connection between a human being and the Divine…it appealed to me. —Rosario
“…wherever two or more are gathered…”
We Quakers have been quietly practicing our faith in Dutchess County since the late 17th Century, arriving in Poughkeepsie in 1811.
Our meeting in the Hudson Valley is part of Nine Partners Quarterly Meeting, a gathering of the local meetings that, in turn, is a member of the New York Yearly Meeting composed of all of the meetings in NY, 2 in CT., and several in NJ. There are more than 60 in New York state alone, each one autonomous and Spirit driven.
Poughkeespie Quaker Meeting is many things. It is a faith community first and foremost, a community that gathers for worship, to conduct business, share fellowship and manifest Quaker leadings in the world by ministering to each other and working for justice, equality and peace according to our spiritual beliefs and common values.
Oakwood Friends School has been an integral part of Quaker history in Dutchess County since 1858 when it was founded as Friends Academy at Union Springs which in 1920 moved to Poughkeepsie as Oakwood Friends School. Today, the Oakwood campus and meeting room are home to the Poughkeepsie Quaker Meeting.
Affiliations
