Who we are
We are the Winnipeg Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Winnipeg Quakers meet for worship, which is always open to visitors, at 11:00 AM every Sunday in the multi-purpose room of the Old Grace Housing Cooperative, a physically accessible space at 200 Arlington Street. Join us as you are.
Our Meeting space is located in Winnipeg, which lies at the confluence of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers, a focal point of routes travelled by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. Winnipeg is within Treaty No. 1 territory, traditional lands of the Anishinabe, Anisininew, Cree, and Dakota, and the heart of the Metis Nation’s Manitoba Metis Community. Our water comes from Treaty 3 area, from the shores of Shoal Lake First Nations 39 and 40. The electricity powering our Meeting space comes from generating stations on rivers in Treaty Areas 1, 3 and 5. Terms of the Northern Flood Agreement with five Indigenous communities in northern Manitoba remain unfulfilled.
Winnipeg Quakers endeavour to welcome everyone with absolute equality and without condition. We recognize that true welcome requires more than welcoming words. There are Quakers of all abilities, ages, appearances, backgrounds, classes, communities, ethnicities, gender identities, kinship structures, origins, and sexual orientations.
Our Meeting space is located in Winnipeg, which lies at the confluence of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers, a focal point of routes travelled by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. Winnipeg is within Treaty No. 1 territory, traditional lands of the Anishinabe, Anisininew, Cree, and Dakota, and the heart of the Metis Nation’s Manitoba Metis Community. Our water comes from Treaty 3 area, from the shores of Shoal Lake First Nations 39 and 40. The electricity powering our Meeting space comes from generating stations on rivers in Treaty Areas 1, 3 and 5. Terms of the Northern Flood Agreement with five Indigenous communities in northern Manitoba remain unfulfilled.
Winnipeg Quakers endeavour to welcome everyone with absolute equality and without condition. We recognize that true welcome requires more than welcoming words. There are Quakers of all abilities, ages, appearances, backgrounds, classes, communities, ethnicities, gender identities, kinship structures, origins, and sexual orientations.
What to expect
If you have never been to a Quaker Meeting before, this information may be helpful.
What are “Quakers”?
Quakers are members of the Religious Society of Friends, a faith that emerged as a new Christian denomination in England during a period of religious turmoil in the mid-1600s and is practised today in a variety of forms around the world. To most members and attenders, the words “Quaker” and “Friend” mean the same thing.
Quakers have no dogmas or creeds. Participants seek to experience and learn about the religious life together. We have the conviction that each person has a direct relationship with God and that there is something of God in everyone. Here in Winnipeg our worship style is consistent with the unprogrammed branch of Quakerism which also means that there are no paid ministers. While most of the practising Quakers in the world today participate in programmed worship (which is often led by a pastor and includes songs, scripture, and a sermon) The dominant worship style in Canada at the moment is unprogrammed.
Winnipeg Quakers are an active faith-based community living in the modern world. Our faith and our worship together leads us to pursue the testimonies of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship, which we interpret and express in a variety of ways. We seek a transformed world freed from war and violence, including the violence of ableism, capitalism, colonialism, consumerism, ecological destruction, homophobia, incarceration, poverty, racism, sexism and transphobia.
Quaker Worship at Winnipeg Monthly Meeting
Known as Meeting for Worship, our Meeting begins when everyone in the room has come to a quiet place and conversation has stopped. You will find no fixed structure to the meeting. While the meeting welcomes donations, there is no formal collection. There is no minister in charge and no formal service.
Our worship is rooted in contemplative silence; it is a silence of waiting in expectancy in which we seek to come nearer to each other and to God as we share the stillness of the meeting. Participants are not expected to say or do anything other than join in this seeking. Do not be concerned if the silence seems strange at first. We rarely experience silence in everyday life, so it is not unusual to be distracted by outside noise or roving thoughts.
It is possible for a meeting to pass with no words spoken. If someone feels compelled by the Spirit to speak, pray or read, they will speak out of the silence. Such ministry seeks to enrich the gathered worship. Meeting for Worship is not a debate, and it is agreed that it is inappropriate to respond directly to spoken ministry, which should be respected to have its own purpose and meaning. In the last 10-15 minutes of worship, we are invited to “worship sharing” where those gathered should feel free to offer their joys, sorrows, prayer requests and other such sharing.
Each week a different set of prompts known as “Advices and Queries” are posted on our welcome table. They are intended for use in Quaker meetings for private devotion and reflection. Friends and visitors are welcome to use them or not use them as they see fit.
They may provide you with a structure for your thoughts and meditation during the meeting. The worship meeting will close after an hour with a greeting and welcome followed by a brief time of sharing and announcements before refreshments.
What are “Quakers”?
Quakers are members of the Religious Society of Friends, a faith that emerged as a new Christian denomination in England during a period of religious turmoil in the mid-1600s and is practised today in a variety of forms around the world. To most members and attenders, the words “Quaker” and “Friend” mean the same thing.
Quakers have no dogmas or creeds. Participants seek to experience and learn about the religious life together. We have the conviction that each person has a direct relationship with God and that there is something of God in everyone. Here in Winnipeg our worship style is consistent with the unprogrammed branch of Quakerism which also means that there are no paid ministers. While most of the practising Quakers in the world today participate in programmed worship (which is often led by a pastor and includes songs, scripture, and a sermon) The dominant worship style in Canada at the moment is unprogrammed.
Winnipeg Quakers are an active faith-based community living in the modern world. Our faith and our worship together leads us to pursue the testimonies of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship, which we interpret and express in a variety of ways. We seek a transformed world freed from war and violence, including the violence of ableism, capitalism, colonialism, consumerism, ecological destruction, homophobia, incarceration, poverty, racism, sexism and transphobia.
Quaker Worship at Winnipeg Monthly Meeting
Known as Meeting for Worship, our Meeting begins when everyone in the room has come to a quiet place and conversation has stopped. You will find no fixed structure to the meeting. While the meeting welcomes donations, there is no formal collection. There is no minister in charge and no formal service.
Our worship is rooted in contemplative silence; it is a silence of waiting in expectancy in which we seek to come nearer to each other and to God as we share the stillness of the meeting. Participants are not expected to say or do anything other than join in this seeking. Do not be concerned if the silence seems strange at first. We rarely experience silence in everyday life, so it is not unusual to be distracted by outside noise or roving thoughts.
It is possible for a meeting to pass with no words spoken. If someone feels compelled by the Spirit to speak, pray or read, they will speak out of the silence. Such ministry seeks to enrich the gathered worship. Meeting for Worship is not a debate, and it is agreed that it is inappropriate to respond directly to spoken ministry, which should be respected to have its own purpose and meaning. In the last 10-15 minutes of worship, we are invited to “worship sharing” where those gathered should feel free to offer their joys, sorrows, prayer requests and other such sharing.
Each week a different set of prompts known as “Advices and Queries” are posted on our welcome table. They are intended for use in Quaker meetings for private devotion and reflection. Friends and visitors are welcome to use them or not use them as they see fit.
They may provide you with a structure for your thoughts and meditation during the meeting. The worship meeting will close after an hour with a greeting and welcome followed by a brief time of sharing and announcements before refreshments.
