Buckingham Friends Meeting

05/25/2026

As a peace church, how to Quakers observe ? The answer depends upon the person. Some Friends take time on Memorial Day to reflect on the physical and emotional trauma that happens to all people affected by war. Some Friends teach or learn about Conscientious Objector status, perhaps by supporting young people in building their personal case file against war. Some Friends resist war by refusing to pay taxes, and some Friends look for ways to continue paying health care to veterans while resisting other war taxes.

As a Quaker, how do you intend to observe Memorial Day? Reflections are welcome in the chat.

This week's Vitality newsletter offered some food for thought. You can read it here:
fgcquaker.org/memorial-day

And, to learn about Conscientious Objector tips from Friends in New York, see their website:
nyym.org/content/conscientious-objection-war

05/04/2026

Gary Kurtz, producer of the Star Wars movies “A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back”, has been called the “father of the Force.” Over the course of many late-night conversations with George Lucas, the two determined that in Star Wars, the Force would be an all-encompassing, metaphysical energy that emanates from people and binds the galaxy together. Does that sound a bit like the Inner Light to my Quaker Friends? Well, Kurtz was a Quaker!

Kurtz was raised in a Quaker family and enlisted as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. He served in the Marines as a combat cameraman and refused to carry a weapon.

Star Wars fans, what do you think? Are there similarities between the Force and the Inner Light? Is there anything else that’s Quaker about the Star Wars movies? May the fourth be with you!

04/18/2026

The Quaker community is excited to announce screenings of Becoming Benjamin Lay, a documentary, in the Philly suburbs. Benjamin Lay was the Quaker “prophet against slavery” who, in the 1700s, pressed Quakers to the forefront of the anti-slavery movement.

Screenings are free and open to everyone of all ages:

- Abington Meetinghouse, 520 Meetinghouse Rd, Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, at 7pm on Friday 29 May.

Radnor Friends Meetinghouse, 610 Conestoga Rd, Villanova, Pennsylvania, on Saturday 30 May at 2-3pm.

Newtown Friends Meetinghouse, 219 Court St, Newtown, at 9:45-11am on Sunday 31 May.

Friends can learn more at the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting website.

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Photo of historian/playwright Marcus Rediker and filmmaker Tony Buba. Credit: Darin DiNapoli.

03/15/2026

Check out this upcoming presentation at the Doylestown Borough Hall about Quakers and the American Revolution. The use of the Plumstead meetinghouse as a hospital after the battle of Germantown, will receive special attention. Sunday, April 19, 2-4pm.

03/01/2026

There's a new film - released internationally this week - about the Shaker movement, and some people are mixing us up.

Centring the life of a millworker from Manchester, it tells the story of the ‘Shaking Quakers’, also known as Shakers.

As the name suggests - and as the film makes clear - the Shaker movement shares some insights with Quakers, including the importance of inward experience, a preference for simplicity and a commitment to peace.

A central theme of the film is women’s speaking and ministry. This belief in gender equality was likely shaped by the Quaker origins of Jane Wardley and her husband who founded the Shakers.

However there are key differences: While Quaker forms of worship vary around the world, in Britain where the film begins Quakers worship in contemplative silence rather than with ecstatic movement.

Quakers also don't forbid s*x, and in fact are quite affirming on the subject.

Today there are around 400,000 Quakers in 100+ countries. We are definitely not nearly extinct.

02/16/2026

Did you know? This meeting house was built specifically for a US president!

Founded in 1930 in Washington, D.C., Friends Meeting of Washington (FMW) was established in part to provide a regular place of worship for President Herbert Hoover and his wife, Lou Henry Hoover, the first Quaker elected President of the United States. They attended the first Meeting for Worship in the new building on January 4, 1931, shortly after its completion.

Herbert Hoover grew up in a Quaker family in Iowa, in the unprogrammed tradition, which he later described as “strong training in patience” that stayed with him throughout his public service career.

Today, FMW remains a vibrant part of the Quaker community in the capital. Multiple meetings for worship are held throughout the week, with three on Sundays. All are welcome!
https://qkrs.org/FMWashington

06/28/2025

We know one of these people! The event is July 1.

https://secure.qgiv.com/for/PYMEvents/event/fibsummer2025/ Quaker Voices, Digital Paths

Join us for this free virtual event to hear from two PYM Friends, Gloria Sullivan, who has over 600,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram, and Griffin Macaulay, content creator for Dungeons and Dragons, on how they built thriving online careers and how Quakerism has influenced their success and....

06/20/2025

We appreciate this article in the BC Herald and everyone’s accomplishments and contributions to the BFS story last year (and during the years before)

06/06/2025

Always a full Meeting House during graduation for Congratulations to the class of 2025!!

04/08/2025

Limited Run Through May 18

10/06/2024

Happy World Quaker Day 2024!