Middletown Friends Meeting at Langhorne

09/14/2026

This event is especially for Friends who already feel a spark for outreach in their meeting and are looking for direction and practical tools to act on it, including Friends who are not part of a formal committee.

09/11/2026

09/09/2026

Today’s Daily Quaker Message. Subscribe for free: DailyQuaker.com/subscribe

Nothing, I believe, can really teach us the nature and meaning of inspiration but personal experience of it. That we may all have such experience if we will but attend to the divine influences in our own hearts, is the cardinal doctrine of Quakerism.

Citation: Caroline Stephen, 1890
Quaker philanthropist and author

09/09/2026

09/08/2026

This Labor Day, let's take a look at the history of Quakers and the labor movement.

The Quaker testimonies of Equality and Integrity led early Quakers, many of whom were farmers and artisans, to treat their employees well. Quakers in the 17th century had the idea to create local labor offices to help unemployed people find work, and imagined self-sufficient communities that would provide employment, education, health care, and a reasonable standard of living, which earned praise from Karl Marx centuries later. The Quaker belief in “that of God in everyone” that guided their attitude toward workers also eventually led Quakers to work for the abolition of slavery.

During the Industrial Revolution, many Quakers found success in business and manufacturing, and with some exceptions, developed reputations as generous employers. For example, the Cadburys, Quaker chocolate magnates, moved their factory to the countryside and provided hot meals, gardens, sports facilities, free medical care, education, affordable housing, and a pension for their employees. The Cadburys encouraged staff to join trade unions and worked with them to establish fair wages and resolve disputes.

During WWI, the Quakers of London Yearly Meeting were becoming uncomfortable with the inequality inherent in capitalism. They held the first Quaker Employer Conference in 1918 to try to imagine a more socialist model of doing business, and invited representatives of the Labor movement to speak.

Quaker employers responded by exploring industrial democracy: committees with elected representatives and equal representation for employers and employees. They supported cooperation and negotiation rather than simply expecting workers to accept the decisions of a “benevolent” employer.

Today, there are Quaker organizations working nationally and internationally to support fair labor standards and improve the lives of vulnerable workers. Many Quakers consider it important to be informed consumers, learning about the working conditions of the people who produce goods before making a purchase.