Our meeting has been
regularly considering its meeting patterns
during the pandemic. At the present time,
our in person meetings are only open to
those who have been vaccinated and observe
our masking and distancing practices, as we
seek to assure a safe gathering for
all. We also offer worship and other
gatherings on Zoom (see the Calendar on this
website for details). Our current First Day
schedule is:
9:00 a.m. Quaker
Thought and Life on Zoom
10:00
a.m. Meeting for Worship on Zoom
11:00
a.m. Meeting for Worship in Person
Quaker Thought & Life
Our Quaker Thought and Life
Planning Group has created an ongoing program,
starting in 2019. It is especially shaped to
help newcomers learn more about the Quaker
faith and about our meeting. This is in
addition to our continuing QTL sessions of
Advices and Queries on 1st Sundays, and Bible
Reading-Discussion on 3rd Sundays.
Every second Sunday
our Quaker Thought and Life session offers an
introduction to some aspect of Quaker life,
with opportunities for questions, sharing, and
exploration. We follow this
on fourth Sundays by viewing a QuakerSpeak
video, plus discussion related to the second
Sunday topic. Please
join us second and fourth Sundays from 9:00 to 9:55 a.m..
Chico
Friends Meeting of the Religious Society of
Friends, a Quaker Meeting, is an open and
affirming faith community. We welcome all who come
as religious seekers to share in worship and fully
participate in the activities of our common life.
The Religious Society of Friends cherishes a
greater than 360-year tradition of witnessing to
the spiritual belief in the equality of all
people.
We are led to honor
the gender identity and expression of each person,
as determined by that person. We affirm that
gender expression and identity may be fluid and
changeable. We recognize that when we embrace the
Light within the full spectrum of gender
identities in our Meeting, our worship deepens and
our community is enriched.
ABOUT
CHICO FRIENDS MEETING FOR WORSHIP
In
our Quaker tradition, waiting on God in silence
is at the center of our religious
practice. In our worship we may find
peace, strength and love to carry into the
world. Quakers in Chico hold meetings in
which there is no pastor or set order for our
hour of worship; we all share in the
responsibility for spoken ministry and shared
silence. The leader is the spirit of God
which is in and among us.
We make no distinction between the
"ordinary" and the "sacred," believing God is to
be found in every place and time. Our
meetinghouse is not a consecrated space, but
simply a convenient place to gather and worship
together. Sit anywhere you like, but it is
helpful to leave seats near the doors for
latecomers.
Individuals who feel prompted by God's
spirit may rise to speak, pray, or sing.
Such contributions come out of the silence, and
arise from that place where each of us meets
God. Anyone may speak in Meeting: young,
old, woman, man, first time visitor or
"experienced Friend." Friends speak
briefly and leave time between messages for
their meaning to reach deeply into us.
Since the purpose of our meetings is the worship
of God, spoken messages are offered in the
spirit of worship rather than as lectures or
discussion. Anyone who wishes to share
purely personal problems may find more help in a
small meeting for worship especially appointed
for seeking clarity and comfort.
A "clerk" is appointed to close the
Meeting at the appropriate time by shaking
hands. Afterwards, there is time for the
children (who join the adults for the last 10
minutes or so of worship) to share what they
have done in First Day School, for
introductions, and for announcements.
Please stay for refreshments and feel free to
talk to anyone. Members of Meeting will be
happy to answer your questions. Books,
pamphlets and Quaker periodicals may be borrowed
from the library, and a variety of leaflets are
freely available. Please let us know if
you would like to receive our monthly
newsletter.
We are glad to invite you here to worship
with us.