Our History
Swarthmore Friends Meeting was established in 1893. Our home is a beautiful old Meetinghouse at the edge of the Swarthmore College campus. A later addition, Whittier House, is used for First Day School and other activities.
Quakerism was founded in 17 th century England by George Fox, whose revelation
was that God speaks directly to each person who will listen. This meant that there were no
professional preachers, and that any worshipper could stand and give the message they
had received from God. Today there are about 400,000 Quakers in the world, with major
concentrations in East Africa, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East.
Our Worship
Our worship is similar to that of the original 17th century Quakers. We have no paid
minister. Rather, we sit for an hour in prayerful silence, broken only when someone feels
inspired by the Spirit to speak. Our form of worship is called unprogrammed. There are
several branches of Quakerism, some of which have paid ministers and a more structured
form of worship than we do.
Our Sense of Community
When you visit, you will feel the warmth and strong caring among us. We support each other in times of need and enjoy many forms of fellowship, including a weekly fellowship hour, monthly potluck lunches, and Friendly Gatherings at people’s homes.
Spiritual Deepening
In addition to Sunday worship, we deepen our spirituality in many other ways. These have
included retreats on Arts and Spirituality, a year-long Spiritual Formation Program, and
weekly study of passages from Faith and Practice, a guide to discovering ways to express
our faith in in our daily lives. Small groups of members meet twice a month to worship
together and share our responses to spiritual readings. These retreats and small group
meetings enrich our Sunday morning worship in many ways.
Relationship with Swarthmore College
Although the Meeting enjoys an excellent relationship with the College, we are an independent organization and most of us have no college affiliation.
