The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
in the Niagara Region

Worship with friends in the simplicity of the quiet Quaker Meeting. We find that a healing and creative power can be found in silent group worship. The Meeting is unprogrammed; that is, there is no formal service and no clergy.
We meet in silence to be open as a group and as individuals to the "leading of the spirit".
Anyone is free to speak, pray or read, as they are moved by the spirit.

We seek that of God, within each person. While the Religious Society of Friends adheres to its Christian roots, Quakers are open to the idea that other philosophies and spiritual leadings may complement a spiritual search. There is no creed. As a result, Friends are a diverse group with a membership from a variety of backgrounds and beliefs.

Meeting for Worship is always welcoming to new attenders and people may arrive without prior arrangement.

History of Quakers in the Niagara Area

Quakers have a long history in the Niagara Peninsula. They began meeting in the Short Hills/Pelham area in the centre of the Niagara Peninsula in the early 1790s. In 1799, Pelham Executive Meeting was established by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. An historic Quaker cemetery at the intersection of Effingham and Welland Roads marks the site of a Meeting House built in the 1790s which was replaced by newer structures in 1807 and 1875.

Quaker Beginnings

The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) came into being in the mid 17th century as a Christian religion in England as a protest against the organized religions of the day. They rejected both a professional priesthood and a sacred book as the supreme authority for belief and conduct.

Quakers and Social Justice

• Spirituality can be grounded in inward experience and linked with social action. A constant theme in our beliefs and history is that daily conduct, social and political activities and religious practice are all expressions of spiritual experience.
• We value a lifestyle based on simplicity and right use of economic resources. Many of us are actively involved in projects designed to promote peace and equality, justice for refugees and First Nations people, prison reform, restorative justice, environmental and ecological concerns.
• The Peace Testimony of the Religious Society of Friends speaks of war as an institution that is fundamentally inconsistent with the belief that there is that of God in every person.