DOWNINGTOWN

We at Downingtown Friends Meeting are part of a spiritually-led, socially conscious, vibrant, and welcoming faith community known as the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers. While our spiritual tradition has Christian roots, we have a specific set of values and practices that set us apart from other denominations.

 

Friends believe that all people can have direct communion with God without the assistance of ritual, dogma, or ordained clergy; this means that all worshipers have equal opportunity to give testimony from God. As an extension of this idea, Friends believe in the “Inner Light” which is the idea that all people hold “the Light of God” in them and therefore not only know God’s will, but also are interconnected with all other humans.

 

Furthermore, Friends believe in the concept of “Continuing Revelation,” which is the idea that spiritual Truth evolves over time rather than being set in stone by a creed or biblical text.

 

Friends express our faith by upholding values known colloquially as “SPICES”: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship. Given the universality of these values, we invite people of all faiths, backgrounds, and lifestyles to worship with us in seeking their spiritual path.

 

Downingtown Friends are guided by “Faith and Practice,” a manual for Quakers published by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting that helps guide our procedures and practices.