Minute of Reconciliation

Those gathered for the Discernment for Unity session on May 4, 2021 carefully considered the rewording of our minute and came to unity on the wording below. This minute of reconciliation was approved by Abington Friends Meeting on May 10, 2021:

After considerable reflection and discernment, Abington Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) believes that if we are to truly uphold our Testimony of Equality, Equity and Justice and honor the legacy of Quaker abolitionists and equal-rights activists such as Benjamin Lay and Lucretia Mott, we must also acknowledge and take active steps to redress the evils they fought against. We wish to engage in racial reconciliation and healing through acknowledging, apologizing, and atoning for wrongs our Meeting has committed in the past that influence the present. We acknowledge that the land our meetinghouse and school currently occupy was once home for the Lenni-Lenape. We also acknowledge that early members of our Meeting were members of the white settler population which benefited from the takeover of land and from the violence committed against Indigenous Peoples as a result of such actions as the Doctrine of Discovery, the Walking Purchase and Quaker Indian Boarding Schools. We acknowledge that some early members of our Meeting were enslavers and that the enslavement of Africans contributed to the accumulated wealth we have today. We apologize for these truths not being fully acknowledged by us sooner and because these actions have contributed to the physical and emotional trauma still being experienced today. We wish to atone for these past oppressions and injustices in the hope of bringing healing through retrospective justice to African Americans and Indigenous Peoples. To this end, we have set up the Bothwell Reparations Fund to which members and attenders may contribute. Also, we will continue with our deeper education to better understand and seek a renewed and ongoing right relationship.

Hello and welcome to our meeting. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
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Planning your Visit

New to Abington Friends Meeting?

The following information is provided for the benefit of those who might like to attend a Meeting for Worship at Abington Friends Meeting. All are invited and all are welcome. Please note that some of the information below will be temporarily changed due to the construction project to make our meetinghouse more accessible. Please check for updates under our Announcements tab.

Our official name is: Abington Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. We are called "monthly" because we meet once a month to attend to business, but we have meeting for worship every Sunday.

Indoor Meeting for Worship
10:00 AM until 11:00 AM
Year-round

First Day School (Adult Class)
Occasional Sundays, September – May
11:15 AM. All ages welcome.
First Day School consists of talks and activities that provide a Quaker perspective on the issues and challenges of everyday life.

First Day School (Children and Teens)
All Sundays, September - May
10:15 AM
Activities are offered for high schoolers, middle schoolers, and elementary school children. Click Here for additional details and to register.

Outdoor Meeting for Worship
Every Sunday, mid-June - Labor Day (weather permitting)
10:00 AM until 11:00 AM (happening at the same time as indoor Meeting for Worship)
In addition to our normal indoor Meeting for Worship, we hold optional outdoor Meetings behind the Meeting House during the summer.

Childcare
Childcare for children up to age six is available on the second floor of the Meeting House, at the end of the building and to your left.

Parking
Members and attenders park on the right side of the driveway leading up to the Meeting House (accessible from Greenwood Avenue) or in the parking lot on the west side of the Meeting House (accessible from Meetinghouse Road). Please note that our meetinghouse driveways are one-way, so vehicles must enter from Greenwood Avenue. Due to temporary Abington Township construction, you may have to ask the construction workers to let you through on the Greenwood Avenue Spur to the meetinghouse driveway, or enter our property with extreme caution from Meetinghouse Road.

Orientation
As you enter the Meetinghouse, which is what we call our place of worship, the room where the Meeting gathers will be the first door on your right. The John Barnes Room, which is where we meet for adult classes, special events, or business, will be the first door on your left.

Meeting Etiquette
Because Quakers worship in silence, please lower your voice when approaching the Meeting House before Meeting for Worship. Likewise, please silence your cellphone.

There is no pastor or minister. Instead, attenders rise and speak when the Spirit moves them, generally keep their comments brief and of a spiritual, heartfelt nature, and allow ample time for others to reflect on what has been said before rising to speak. Statements often have a common thread; however, this is not a requirement.