Welcome to
Solebury Friends Meeting
Visitors from all faith traditions, as well as those looking for a faith community for the first time, are welcome here. We invite Seekers of all backgrounds, identities, and personal attributes.
We have an active First Day (Sunday) School and child care at 10 a.m.for our youngest members and attenders in our Little Building.
We practice an unprogrammed Quaker Meeting, worshiping together in silence, expectantly waiting on the Spirit. No clergy leads us, no formal prayers are said, no religious symbols are displayed.
Vocal ministry is welcome from anyone who is so moved during Meeting for Worship. By standing and sharing these messages we deepen our spirituality and our community.
The Foundational beliefs of Solebury Friends Meeting include that:
Ours is an experiential spirituality grounded in 350 years of practice, historic yet uniquely dynamic and contemporary.
REFLECTION
SIMPLICITY
CONNECTION
COMMUNITY
care for one another. When a group is united in purpose a synergy is created that is greater than any single individual.
PEACE
PEACE
Focuses on seeking justice for all people. While conflict is inevitable, Quakers believe that war and violence do not solve disagreements.
EQUALITY
EQUALITY
SPIRITUAL
‘Do unto others as you would have others do unto you’.
INTEGRITY
Means saying what you mean and meaning what you say. It calls for truth in all of your words, honesty in all of your interactions, and responsibly acting on what you believe./div>
Events & Worship
Community
Worship
The Quaker Way
The Light Within
The essential experience of Friends is that of a direct, unmediated relationship with the Divine. Friends have used many terms or phrases to refer to the inner certainty of our faith: the Light Within, the Inner Light, the Christ Within, the Inward Teacher, the Divine Presence, Spirit, the Great Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, that of God in every person, and the Seed. In his journal, George Fox referred to “that Inward Light, Spirit, and Grace by which all might know their salvation” and to “that Divine Spirit which would lead them into all truth.” Today Friends continue to use these terms and have added others out of a sense of ongoing revelation. For some Friends, “spiritual energy” best describes their personal experience of that which enlivens and empowers them in seeking truth for themselves and in community. In contrast with early Friends, not all Friends today consider themselves to be Christians or even theists. Friends come from very diverse religious backgrounds and experiences and apply their different perspectives as they encounter the Light Within. Regardless of the journey that brings individuals to explore the Quaker way, the invitation to enter into an unmediated, inward relationship with the Divine continues to be at the heart of Quaker experience.
Through this relationship, each person encounters the Spirit, active in the world, and providing guidance for everyday living. The reality of this spiritual relationship within each worshipper brings the Friends meeting together as a community of faith. Friends understand that faithfulness to Spirit can produce a spiritual energy within their faith community that encourages them to support each other within that community, and most of all, to live in harmony with the Divine.
Friends also understand that the experience of God continues to unfold and that the record of God’s presence in human lives continues to be written.
-PYM Faith and Practice
News & Stories
SFM Partners with Light the Minds to Support a Ukrainian Student
SFM is living our Quaker Peace Testimony with support of young Ukrainian man through Light the Minds, a nonprofit that supports and empowers students from areas impacted by war.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
STEWARDSHIP
we own and use. Not only our personal possessions, but taking good care of the earth by using only our fair share of the earth’s resources.