Friends General Conference

Nurturing faith and Quaker practice

Resources and Materials

Meeting for Worship

Worship is at the heart of the Quaker way.  Below are resources to help introduce newcomers to this vital spiritual experience.

Meeting Resource
Welcoming Newcomers

Friends, as we live up to our name, want visitors to feel welcome. First, of course, it is necessary to know who is a newcomer. Various meetings have found other ways to identify and meet the needs of newcomers.  Below are some tools growing out of their experiences. 

Meeting Resource
Outreach and Publicity

Outreach and publicity are about sharing our spiritual search and insights with those who want to listen.

Meeting Resource
Getting Started

Quaker worship groups and meetings are dynamic faith communities.  It is wonderful that you are considering starting a worship group or meeting!  Below tools that will help you in this spiritual endeavor.

Meeting Resource
Companioning Workshop Leaders

Companion in the ministry

The companion in the ministry is sometimes referred to as a spiritual companion or an elder. We encourage all FGC Gathering workshop leaders to have a companion in the ministry, a Friend who has demonstrated spiritual maturity and

Service Resource
Letters to a Fellow Seeker: A Short Introduction to the Quaker Way
By Steve Chase
In seven letters to a fictional correspondent, Steve Chase describes his spiritual journey among Friends. The writer, a member of the Quaker Quest travel team, introduces the Quaker way to a newcomer in language that is personal and gentle, while offering powerful inspiration through stories. Written as an invitation to inquirers, "Letters to a Fellow Seeker" will stimulate discussion among longtime Friends about how we experience and remain true to our Quaker faith.
QuakerPress Publication
Philadelphia's Arch Street Meeting House: A Biography
Gregory A. Barnes
Greg Barnes has deeply researched Philadelphia's historic meeting house at the intersection of Fourth and Arch Streets in the Olde City district. Here Quaker history unfolded, Quaker characters wielded influence, and the story of William Penn's Holy Experiment unfolded from the early colonial days to the present. A delightful and informative book.
QuakerPress Publication
A Quaker Marriage of Philosophy and Art
Catharine Forbes with Catharine Birton Cary and Joan Brinton Erickson
This small book captures the character and wisdom of Howard Brinton and Ann Cox Brinton, who influenced a generation of Friends through their leadership as co-directors of Pendle Hill and through many publications. Anna Brinton's intricately drawn Christmas cards illustrate the story of their journey, interspersed with many quotations.
QuakerPress Publication
The Road That Teaches: Lessons in Transformation through Travel
Valerie Brown
Not your average travel guidebook, this book explores some of the world's great pilgrimages, destinations, and the author's reflections on the lessons she learned from them. Read this book to discover how travel can be transformational, how to be more mindful while traveling and every day, the adventures of traveling alone, the delights of encountering new people and places, ancient pilgrimage journeys and sacred travel worldwide. Written from the perspective of a Buddhist Quaker spiritual teacher who has a knack for capturing life's wonders in words.
QuakerPress Publication
Black Fire: African American Quakers on Spirituality and Human Rights
Edited by Hal Weaver, Paul Kriese, and Steve Angell
Black Fire: African American Quakers on Spirituality and Human Rights gathers together the voices of 18 remarkable individuals who spoke and wrote as African Americans from within the Quaker community. They testify about their viewpoints on racial justice - both within the Religious Society of Friends and society at large - and they speak of their life in the Spirit. As a collection, these selections exhibit the vitality and wisdom that three centuries of African American Quakers have contributed to and on behalf of Friends.

QuakerPress Publication