Welcome...
to Durham Friends Meeting

We at Durham Friends Meeting are eager to welcome visitors, newcomers, or those who may be exploring where they might best fit.  We welcome you to attend our Meetings for Worship (on Sundays at 10:00 AM), to call or email us with any questions, or after being with us for a short while to consider joining one of our committees that may interest you.  Consistent with the historic Quaker testimony of equality, we are a welcoming community eager to welcome you wherever you may be in your life journey.

Quakers in Durham

The Durham Friends Meeting is a congregation of members and attenders who seek to be active in our spiritual lives and in lives of service.  The Religious Society of Friends (the official name for Quakers) has a long history of spiritually based activism involving our historic testimonies of equality, peace, integrity, simplicity, and community. The Durham Meeting has standing committees that support work in these areas both through corporate activities and by individuals.

The Durham Meeting was founded in 1937 and has grown from a few families to over 300 members and attenders.  We have a full program for children and youth which includes a First Day School (Sunday School) activities and classes.  Since we have no ministerial staff, all of our activities are organized and conducted by volunteers.

For first-time attenders...

If you attend a meeting for worship on Sunday at 10:00, here is what you can expect...

Upon entering the room, you may sit anywhere you like.  Both chldren and adults wait in silence preparing ourselves for worship which begins upon the hour. At about 15 minutes past the hour, most children will leave to attend First Day School lessons and activities. Often a parent of a younger child will go out with the child to be sure that he or she is settled, and then return to Meeting for Worship.

Our worship is based on a 350-year old practice of waiting quietly with the expectation that we may experience the presence and power of the Holy Spirit among us. We try to “settle in” quietly and calmly, mindful, but not distracted by movements around us. If someone feels deeply that they have an inspired message to share, she or he may stand and speak that truth clearly for all to hear. Others, upon hearing the message, do not comment or respond but process the words in the context of their own meditation.

When the hour is over, an appointed Friend will break the meeting by shaking hands with those nearby, as then will everyone else in the room. Afterwards, there will be some sharing, introductions, and announcements followed by time to socialize and get to know one another.