The Meeting House is located at:
12 Southdown Road.
Harpenden
Herts
AL5 1PD
The Meeting House is near the A1081 and may be reached from the south by turning right at a mini-roundabout into Bull Road; from the north by turning left at the same roundabout just after reaching the common; five minutes' walk from the railway station and from the bus stop in the High Street.
click here for a map
| For further information about Harpenden Quaker Meeting you should contact the Clerk, Gillian Robertson (01582) 761686. |
| For information about booking rooms at the Meeting House you should contact the resident caretaker, Katherine Buxton on (01582) 764593 |
Regular Activities
Meetings for worship are held on Sundays at 11am and on Thursdays at 10.45am. The elders of the meeting are responsible for ensuring that meetings for worship are held in the right spirit but anyone attending may contribute spoken ministry. Meetings are not programmed in advance and there are no special services to mark the events in the Christian calendar.
A children’s meeting is held at 11am on Sundays during which the children engage in activities that help them to develop their spiritual beliefs.
The elders of the meeting also organise study groups to help members develop their spiritual beliefs and apply them to the problems of the world.
The meeting is a member of Churches Together in Harpenden and members participate in many joint activities, especially those concerned with issues of peace and justice.
Occasional Activities
Quakers sometimes wish to make public expression of their beliefs and testimonies especially on issues relating to peace and justice. For this reason members have been active in organising the annual Peace Service and, at times of concern about international conflict, peace vigils have been held in the town centre.
Services to Members
Concern for the well being of others is an important Christian and Quaker principle and this is expressed by a network of oversight which involves all members and attenders at our meeting. Although it is not usual to hold special services to mark particular occasions there are two events in the lives of members that are marked in a distinctively Quaker way:
- Weddings are celebrated in a typically simple Quaker ceremony in which the couple make their promises to each other in the presence of their friends and families and the marriage is registered by our own Registering Officer. As usual in a Quaker meeting, anyone present may offer spoken ministry and all are invited to sign the special marriage certificate.
- A Quaker funeral is a Meeting for Worship, often held in a crematorium, during which anyone may share thoughts and prayers for the deceased. It may be arranged for some favourite music to be played or poetry to be read. Sometimes a longer memorial Meeting for Worship will be held in the meeting house which allows those who knew the deceased a better opportunity to reflect on and celebrate his/her life.
In order to give expression to the Quaker testimonies to truth, simplicity, equality, justice and peace, Quakers are often involved in organisations that provide services to those who are less fortunate than ourselves, in the local or wider community.
At a national level there are Quaker organisations involved in providing services in areas of deprivation in the UK and in developing countries, which are supported by financial contributions from individual members.
At a local level many of our members participate in local voluntary organisations and we are pleased to make our meeting house available for use by such organisations and other groups.
We are happy to receive visits from school groups or to provide information for use in schools.