Quakers came to the Seattle area in the early 1900's, and a group formed in the University community in the 1930's. That group eventually became the University Friends Meeting.
The silent hour is a time of seeking awareness of the Divine — dropping our usual patterns of thought, analysis and worry. We wait patiently for a kind of consciousness which Quakers have traditionally called the Light.
The Light may come as a new insight with regard to oneself, a deep sorrow for mistakes and wrong attitudes, an embrace of life and its joys, a new courage to face life, or power to obey the Light. This is the ministry of silence, of opening ourselves to feel the presence of the Divine Spirit with us and within all of us.
The Light may also lead on to feel he or she has an insight to share with the Meeting. This is vocal ministry, and is offered in the sense and hope that the worship of others may be deepened by this ministry. After such a message, the group should have ample time to truly listen and sink back into silent waiting before the silence is broken again, if at all, during the rest of the Meeting.
There is the ministry of listening, of listening behind the words that are spoken, of holding up those words to the Light, to hear that of God in the speaker.
Because we value the experience of worship so greatly, we want to share it with the children of the Meeting, who join us in the first ten minutes of worship.
At the end of the worship hour, someone will close Meeting with a handshake followed by introductions of newcomers.
Times and locations of Meetings for Worship
Time and place of Monthly Meeting for Business
When a person feels clear that membership is desired, he or she should write a letter to the Clerk of the Oversight Committee stating the desire for membership and why he or she is drawn toward membership. The Oversight Committee will then appoint a visiting committee to meet with the applicant and discuss membership. When the committee feels clear that the applicant understands the principles of the Society of Friends and is seeking to live by them, a recommendation that the applicant become a member will be made to the Monthly Meeting for Business, which will act on the request at the following Meeting.
Friends Center was the orginal Quaker outreach program to University of Washington students that led to the founding of University Friends Meeting in 1937. Its purpose is to build community, reach out to the community, and provide information and a Quaker presence. The Quaker House Committee extends this mission by offering hospitality to travelers.
Travelers are welcome to stay for visits of up to ten nights' duration in one of our two private guest rooms on the ground floor of Quaker House--a beautiful blue 3-story house built in 1904, located just north of the Meeting House--which also houses our QuEST program interns in an apartment on the two upper floors and the Quaker House Resident in a separate apartment on the ground floor. The Resident is available to provide hospitality and information for visitors and a comfortable meeting space for small groups and committees of the Meeting.
The Quaker House Resident is available to schedule travelers rooms or answer any questions at 206-632-9839 or send e-mail to the Resident. We offer two simple self-service accommodations rooms, one with two twin-size beds and one with one full-size bed. Bedding, towels and toiletries, and tea are provided. The rooms share a separate private entrance to the building. A shared bathroom, phone and answering machine, small fridge, microwave, and tea kettle, and are available to Friends and friends alike by reservation. A nominal donation is requested of those who receive our hospitality to help us maintain this service. Requested donations are $40/night for one person, and $50/night for two people sharing a room.
Friends Center offers a light lunch to the community following 11 a.m. worship on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. They also host picnics, newcomers' potlucks, Thanksgiving and other holiday dinners and a number of other activities to help people get involved in the life of the community.
Locating the Meetinghouse and Quaker House
Much of the business of the Meeting is carried on by committees. The Oversight Committee and the Committee on Worship and Ministry jointly carry out the pastoral work of the Meeting; membership in the Society of Friends is required in order to be a member of these committees. Both members and attenders are welcomed and needed on the Meeting's other committees.
Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting, along with Montana Quarterly Meeting and Willamette Quarterly Meeting (Oregon), make up North Pacific Yearly Meeting (NPYM). NPYM is not affilated with any national organization of yearly meetings. NPYM meets once a year, usually in July, for fellowship and business. For more information about these and other Quaker organizations see our Links page.
As a yearly meeting we also participate in several large Quaker organizations. These include:
Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC)
1506 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
814 NE 40th, Seattle, WA 98104
206-632-0500
Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)
245 Second Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
Faith and Practice, North Pacific
Yearly Meeting
Friends for 300 Years, Howard Brinton
The Story of Quakerism, Elfrida Vipont
The Journal of George Fox
The Amazing Fact of Quaker Worship, George
Forman
Barclay in Brief (pamphlet), Eleanor Mather
Beyond Majority Rule, Michael J. Sheeran
Quaker Spirituality
The Journal of John Woolman
You may also be interested in these publications:
Friends Journal
Western Friend
Gleamings, UFM Newsletter (to receive Gleamings and weekly bulletins via email please send a request to UFMeeting@gmail.com )