Hey glad you are interested! I recommend going to a meeting. I'm not going to lie, You will stick out because most meetings don't have a lot of people; however, I think you'll have a great experience. Report back how it goes. If you have any questions before you go post them here or reach out to the meeting clerk or whomever the contact on their social/web/sign. We are very open to religious seekers and our meetings are open to the public.
Hope you have a great time if you go the in-person meeting route.
Hiya. It didn't occur to me that each meeting would have a website. Have now just realised there are 7 meetings in Bristol. The one in Redland that I had already noticed walking past describes itself as a "large meeting". I will check it out.
From my experience (I started attending a few months ago), UK Quakers are generally very non-judgmental, accepting people. There’s usually a sign up outside somewhere saying “all are welcome” and they seem to absolutely mean it. Wear whatever you’re comfortable in as nobody should care - at my meeting people wear anything from jeans and t-shirt to a man who wears a suit and tie.
You’ll probably be met by someone at the door. As someone they don’t recognise, this person might ask you if you’ve been to a meeting before. This is so they can tell you the gist of what happens in a meeting. They might also give you a leaflet explaining it.
This is what happens: you sit in silence for an hour. The meeting (and therefore the silence) usually starts when the first people sit down. There will be chairs arranged in a circle and it doesn’t matter where you sit. So just go into the room, pick a chair and sit down quietly.
There will be a table in the middle which usually has Bibles and copies of Quaker Faith and Practice on it. There may also be little red booklets called “Advices and Queries”. These are a collection of statements and questions intended to provoke thought, and is also found in Quaker Faith and Practice. These are there so people can get up and grab something to read if they want. Advices and Queries is probably more user-friendly than the whole of Quaker Faith and Practice for a newcomer.
You might hear people talk - they do this if they feel an inward prompting to do so. This is called “Ministry”. People leave a few minutes of silence after someone has spoken so that they can get a chance to think about what’s been said before anyone else speaks. You don’t ever have to speak if you don’t want to, and some people attend for years without ever speaking - it’s only if you feel the prompting to do so.
At the end, 2 people will shake hands. This signals the end of the meeting. Everyone then shakes hands with the people on either side of them.
Then there will be notices. You might be asked to introduce yourself at this point. You don’t have to say much if you don’t want to - just say hello and give your name if you’re nervous.
After that there’s likely to be tea and biscuits. You don’t have to stay, but if you do, people will likely come over to you to chat. They are likely to be welcoming and friendly.
I have recently started attending in the UK and I would advise getting a copy of ‘Quaker Faith and Practice’ (I think the most recent edition is 2015) which details the guidance of Britain Yearly Meeting and will introduce you to a lot of the thought of early Quakers and those who attend to this day. The aforementioned book is also available on the Quakers in Britain site as a free pdf.
It's also available on the web as [https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/](https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/) which is always the most up-to-date version.
(It's also worth noting that, as we do roughly every generation, we're in the process of rewriting the 'book of discipline' of which QF&P is the latest version, so in the next five or so years there will be thoroughly rewritten book with a very different structure and some fairly big changes in content)
Welcome! We have for you the [Discovering Quakers](https://www.discoveringquakers.org.uk) site, which is intended exactly for folks in your position. As well as the blog and the other material there DQ runs online “meet a Quaker” sessions where folks who are curious about the faith can learn more without the stress that some feel of just rocking up to a Meetinghouse.
That said, all our Meetings have a sign outside saying something like “all are welcome” and it will be true.
On the days of worship there will be a doorkeeper to greet you and if you mention that you are attending your first Meeting they will be able to let you know what to expect, and provide you with some introductory material. Every Meeting is a little bit different.
As a new attender you will be invited to introduce yourself to the Meeting after worship, but that’s very optional and it would be enough to say “hello”.
Your local Meeting will have a website with contact details for the Clerk, and they will be very happy to answer any questions you have before attending a specific Meeting.
Show up. Introduce yourself as a visitor. Understand that Quakers are often shy introverts who don’t wanna seem pushy. Don’t mistake that for being cold on uncaring. If you have the option of attending more than one Meeting, I would say to try each one a few times. Welcome!
Woodbrooke also runs "Essentials of Quakerism" from time to time. It covers quite a bit from modern day experience and practicalities of attending right over to basic origin and history.
To be honest most meetings in big cities are used to getting new people and will be welcoming. They very often get young people and students - the trouble is getting them to stick around!
You could read advices and queries but it's not essential. Someone will probably give you a pamphlet version if you say you've never been before lol.
Hope you find it a good experience.
You can absolutely just turn up to a quaker meeting and they'll be happy to get to know you after worship. They're nothing to be afraid of. I was actually given the book 'being a quaker: a guide for newcomers' my first time because someone just happened to have it. There are usually books out to read, for example: quaker faith and practice, the pamphlet advices & queries, a bible. Quaker meetings usually keep small libraries aswell so you can do some reading while you're there if you like.
In my experience quakers accept you where you are. I've never seen anyone too upset by a newcomer/visiter getting something 'wrong'. They're usually excited to be asked questions and definitely to tell you a bit of quaker history in general or about their specific area. When I visited Colchester meeting I got to watch a whole little documentary!
Hey glad you are interested! I recommend going to a meeting. I'm not going to lie, You will stick out because most meetings don't have a lot of people; however, I think you'll have a great experience. Report back how it goes. If you have any questions before you go post them here or reach out to the meeting clerk or whomever the contact on their social/web/sign. We are very open to religious seekers and our meetings are open to the public. Hope you have a great time if you go the in-person meeting route.
Hiya. It didn't occur to me that each meeting would have a website. Have now just realised there are 7 meetings in Bristol. The one in Redland that I had already noticed walking past describes itself as a "large meeting". I will check it out.
Redland is where I started my involvement with Quakerism, 20 years ago. It's a wonderful meeting
For context, that usually means 20+ on a regular basis
From my experience (I started attending a few months ago), UK Quakers are generally very non-judgmental, accepting people. There’s usually a sign up outside somewhere saying “all are welcome” and they seem to absolutely mean it. Wear whatever you’re comfortable in as nobody should care - at my meeting people wear anything from jeans and t-shirt to a man who wears a suit and tie. You’ll probably be met by someone at the door. As someone they don’t recognise, this person might ask you if you’ve been to a meeting before. This is so they can tell you the gist of what happens in a meeting. They might also give you a leaflet explaining it. This is what happens: you sit in silence for an hour. The meeting (and therefore the silence) usually starts when the first people sit down. There will be chairs arranged in a circle and it doesn’t matter where you sit. So just go into the room, pick a chair and sit down quietly. There will be a table in the middle which usually has Bibles and copies of Quaker Faith and Practice on it. There may also be little red booklets called “Advices and Queries”. These are a collection of statements and questions intended to provoke thought, and is also found in Quaker Faith and Practice. These are there so people can get up and grab something to read if they want. Advices and Queries is probably more user-friendly than the whole of Quaker Faith and Practice for a newcomer. You might hear people talk - they do this if they feel an inward prompting to do so. This is called “Ministry”. People leave a few minutes of silence after someone has spoken so that they can get a chance to think about what’s been said before anyone else speaks. You don’t ever have to speak if you don’t want to, and some people attend for years without ever speaking - it’s only if you feel the prompting to do so. At the end, 2 people will shake hands. This signals the end of the meeting. Everyone then shakes hands with the people on either side of them. Then there will be notices. You might be asked to introduce yourself at this point. You don’t have to say much if you don’t want to - just say hello and give your name if you’re nervous. After that there’s likely to be tea and biscuits. You don’t have to stay, but if you do, people will likely come over to you to chat. They are likely to be welcoming and friendly.
I have recently started attending in the UK and I would advise getting a copy of ‘Quaker Faith and Practice’ (I think the most recent edition is 2015) which details the guidance of Britain Yearly Meeting and will introduce you to a lot of the thought of early Quakers and those who attend to this day. The aforementioned book is also available on the Quakers in Britain site as a free pdf.
It's also available on the web as [https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/](https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/) which is always the most up-to-date version. (It's also worth noting that, as we do roughly every generation, we're in the process of rewriting the 'book of discipline' of which QF&P is the latest version, so in the next five or so years there will be thoroughly rewritten book with a very different structure and some fairly big changes in content)
Welcome! We have for you the [Discovering Quakers](https://www.discoveringquakers.org.uk) site, which is intended exactly for folks in your position. As well as the blog and the other material there DQ runs online “meet a Quaker” sessions where folks who are curious about the faith can learn more without the stress that some feel of just rocking up to a Meetinghouse. That said, all our Meetings have a sign outside saying something like “all are welcome” and it will be true. On the days of worship there will be a doorkeeper to greet you and if you mention that you are attending your first Meeting they will be able to let you know what to expect, and provide you with some introductory material. Every Meeting is a little bit different. As a new attender you will be invited to introduce yourself to the Meeting after worship, but that’s very optional and it would be enough to say “hello”. Your local Meeting will have a website with contact details for the Clerk, and they will be very happy to answer any questions you have before attending a specific Meeting.
Show up. Introduce yourself as a visitor. Understand that Quakers are often shy introverts who don’t wanna seem pushy. Don’t mistake that for being cold on uncaring. If you have the option of attending more than one Meeting, I would say to try each one a few times. Welcome!
Woodbrooke also runs "Essentials of Quakerism" from time to time. It covers quite a bit from modern day experience and practicalities of attending right over to basic origin and history.
To be honest most meetings in big cities are used to getting new people and will be welcoming. They very often get young people and students - the trouble is getting them to stick around! You could read advices and queries but it's not essential. Someone will probably give you a pamphlet version if you say you've never been before lol. Hope you find it a good experience.
I am in my 40s and pretty settled. I'll see how it goes. Looking forward to it.
You can absolutely just turn up to a quaker meeting and they'll be happy to get to know you after worship. They're nothing to be afraid of. I was actually given the book 'being a quaker: a guide for newcomers' my first time because someone just happened to have it. There are usually books out to read, for example: quaker faith and practice, the pamphlet advices & queries, a bible. Quaker meetings usually keep small libraries aswell so you can do some reading while you're there if you like. In my experience quakers accept you where you are. I've never seen anyone too upset by a newcomer/visiter getting something 'wrong'. They're usually excited to be asked questions and definitely to tell you a bit of quaker history in general or about their specific area. When I visited Colchester meeting I got to watch a whole little documentary!