Vitality: Revitalizing Friends
Written by Shannon Isaacs, this reflection was part of the Vitality newsletter sent on September 18, 2026. To sign up for Vitality, click here.
Shannon Isaacs was a former Director at Pendle Hill and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. She currently serves at the Executive Director at Montco Anti-Hunger Network and is a member of Community Friends Meeting in Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting. She will be a plenary presenter at the 2026 Outreach Conference.
I think it is not widely known how very successful Quakers have been in the revitalizing the Society of Friends, through faithful listening to Spirit. There are now so many examples of meetings diversifying in age, growing in size, deepening in spiritual practice, and sharing the powerful process of Quaker worship with others: we can now see patterns of things that are working. I have been collecting case studies of many successful initiatives, and it has been very energizing to see the growth and successes.
Growing in Numbers
For example: Mountain View Friends in Denver have had a recent influx of young adults. Providence Friends Meeting in Rhode Island has a high degree of age diversification and deep worship. 15th Street Friends Meeting in New York City had a program several years ago led by Emily Provance that dramatically increased young adult attendance and membership. These represent just a few of many meetings who are seeing revitalization patterns. I also think this is a time for real, truth-based hope in terms of the ability of the Society of Friends to revitalize.
I think if we look at the data from collected case studies, and we look at what other friends around the country are achieving, we will see that Quakers can revitalize – if we listen to spirit and learn from each other to do it. Three meetings – Cropwell Friends Meeting in New Jersey, Community Friends Meeting in Ohio, and Dover Friends Meeting in New Hampshire – have all seen growth overall. In some cases, meetings that had no children or very few children attracted families. In time, their First Day School programs grew to include 10 children at some meetings, or as many as 30 children at others.
Supporting Young Adults
I also think about meetings who began with just a few young adults who, through various social events and growing social connections, developed thriving young adult programs. 15th Street Friends Meeting in New York and a few other friends meetings developed programs like this. In thinking about these and other initiatives I realized that revitalization is truly possible. We can reinvent parts of Quakerism, by centering more fully on who we truly are as Friends, to make Quakerism a viable faith tradition for younger generations (under the age of 55).
I also think that Gathered Worship and Spiritual Listening is at the core of revitalization. When I see a meeting greatly deepen worship, it makes me feel encouraged that others meetings can do the same.
I want people to have that radical, truth-based hope, that spiritual revitalization of the Society of Friends is possible — the evidence that this is true surrounds us. I believe it is through that hope, listening to Spirit, and taking action, that we can create a future for our faith.
I hope you will join me at the 2026 Outreach Conference, coming up on September 25-27, to learn more about Quaker revitalization and new possibilities!