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 welcoming and 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 practiced today in a variety of forms around the world. To members and attenders, the words “Quaker” and “Friend” mean the same thing.
Quakers have no dogmas or creeds and no paid ministers. Participants seek to experience and learn about the religious life for themselves. We have the conviction that each person has a direct relationship with God and that there is something of God in everyone.
Winnipeg Quakers are an active faith-based community living in the modern world. We continue our 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.
Traditional Quaker Worship
Known as Meeting for Worship, a Quaker meeting begins when the first person enters the room and takes a seat. You will find no fixed structure to the meeting. There are no creeds, hymns or set prayers. While the meeting welcomes donations, there is no formal collection. There is no minister in charge and no formal service.
A Quaker meeting is a form of worship 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.
Occasionally a meeting will 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, which has not been planned before worship begins, seeks to enrich the gathered worship. Meeting for Worship is not a debate so it is inappropriate to respond directly to spoken ministry, although it is not unusual for other ministry to build on what has been said before.
Each week offers a different set of themed questions known as “Advices and Queries” intended for use in Quaker meetings for private devotion and reflection. 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 practiced today in a variety of forms around the world. To members and attenders, the words “Quaker” and “Friend” mean the same thing.
Quakers have no dogmas or creeds and no paid ministers. Participants seek to experience and learn about the religious life for themselves. We have the conviction that each person has a direct relationship with God and that there is something of God in everyone.
Winnipeg Quakers are an active faith-based community living in the modern world. We continue our 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.
Traditional Quaker Worship
Known as Meeting for Worship, a Quaker meeting begins when the first person enters the room and takes a seat. You will find no fixed structure to the meeting. There are no creeds, hymns or set prayers. While the meeting welcomes donations, there is no formal collection. There is no minister in charge and no formal service.
A Quaker meeting is a form of worship 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.
Occasionally a meeting will 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, which has not been planned before worship begins, seeks to enrich the gathered worship. Meeting for Worship is not a debate so it is inappropriate to respond directly to spoken ministry, although it is not unusual for other ministry to build on what has been said before.
Each week offers a different set of themed questions known as “Advices and Queries” intended for use in Quaker meetings for private devotion and reflection. 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.
