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We are the Lubbock Friends Meeting, a
monthly meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly called Quakers. We gather each week in worship, seeking God's
will for our individual and corporate life in careful, listening silence and through the vocal minstry we are sometimes inspired
to share with those assembled. We are affiliated with South Central Yearly Meeting (SCYM). Ours is an independent, unprogrammed
Meeting, comprised of conservative and liberal Friends. We meet each Sunday from 2 - 3 pm at Grace Presbyterian Church.
We invite you to join us.
What do Quakers Believe?
George Fox (1624-1691), principal
founder of the denomination, experienced a period of disillusionment and despair with regard to the established religion of
his day as a young man. When he had given up all hope and come to the conclusion that there was no earthly authority to help
overcome his crisis of faith, the awareness came to him that "There is one, even Christ Jesus" that could speak
to him in his lost condition, and he understood why there was none upon the earth that could, so "... that Jesus Christ
might have the pre-eminence, who enlightens, and gives grace, and faith, and power." 350 years later, modern Friends attend in worship and everyday life to the same principle that comforted
and challenged Fox and inspired him to preach, teach and witness. The primary source of our inspiration and our central belief
is that every person is endowed with a respondent spark, sometimes called the 'Inner Light' or 'that of God'
which, properly tended, can enable them to know and understand God's will in their lives without clergy, creed or doctrine.
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First time at a Quaker Meeting?
Newcomers to
Quaker worship find it a different experience from traditional church services. We have no priest or pastor, and there is
no formal program of events. We are what is called an "unprogrammed" meeting.
Instead of a program, we sit, mostly in silence, in chairs formed in an open circle.
Attenders enter, find a seat and settle in to worship. For the first 15 minutes or so, children join their parents. At the
quarter hour (2:15) children are dismissed to a nearby classroom in the care of a volunteer for the remainder of the hour.
After worship ends at 3:00, we share quietly our afterthoughts from worship, and our joys and concerns.
On the first Sunday of each month, there is a meeting for
business after the regularly scheduled meeting for worship. One Sunday each month Friends plan time after worship to explore
together some aspect of our faith and practice more deeply through discussion of pertinent readings.
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