The Charleston Meeting of the Religious
Society of Friends is a congregation of Quakers.
We believe that each person has the capacity to know
directly the will of God - what we call the Inner Light - without requiring
a liturgy, ritual, or creed. Instead of relying on a pastor, we all minister
and guide each other. Quakers reach for life in the spirit of love, truth,
and peace, seeking "that of God" in ourselves and others. The
Quaker way bears witness to that spirit in the world by stressing integrity,
simplicity, peace, equality, community, and stewardship.
Our Meeting is non-pastoral, for we do not have
a designated minister, and unprogrammed, with no set plan of
devotional activities. Our weekly silent Meeting for Worship is an unstructured
hour gathered together in spiritual seeking. The silence may be broken
when someone feels led to share a message.
Visitors and Seekers are welcome. Here is what
you can expect:
If you arrive early, we will have a chance to chat. Do not be
concerned if you arrive a little late, just quietly take a chair with
us and we will introduce ourselves after Meeting for Worship. Ours is
a small Meeting, and you might be surprised at our informality. In the
tradition of Plain Dress, we meet in casual attire, typically jeans or
shorts.
After Meeting for Worship, we catch up socially over
coffee and tea. We almost always have some sort of planned discussion
after that, what we call Second Hour - the schedule is here.
Some of us meet bi-weekly for informal Bible study that features comparisons
of different translations of Scripture and exchanges from our individual
perspectives and spiritual leadings. Every couple of months, Friends gather
with other friends for supper and an evening of talk as a Book Group.
The Charleston Friends Meeting is not affiliated with a yearly meeting.
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