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Friends Meeting,
circa 1737, has played a vital role as one of the historic peace
churches in Christiana, PA, which William Penn originally called The
Servants' Land. As stewards of a portion of that legacy, we
envision a faithful presence of service to the area, in cooperation with
other Christiana faith communities.
Friends meet each First-Day in unprogrammed silence at 10:15 a.m., gathering in the Living Presence of Christ, offering testimony as the Holy Spirit moves us to speak. First-Day School / Adult Forum follows at 11:00 a.m.
In addition, the Meeting grounds consist of 17 partially-wooded acres that serve as a refreshing spiritual retreat for weary souls far and near. All are welcome! For more information, please contact (610) 466-0669. |
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| News from the Meeting: |
Sacred Harp Hymn-Sing Gathering: On Saturday, October 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., there will be a regional gathering of folks interested in a cappella hymns sung in four-part harmony from 19th-Century hymnals. Because the Meeting House is nestled among Amish farms in eastern Lancaster County, this hymn-sing will be dedicated to the healing of the community in the continued wake of the Amish tragedy of last autumn. A pot-luck luncheon will break up the day. Sunday, October 28, November 18 and December 16: Discussion of positive current events at 11:00 a.m., following Meeting for Worship at 10:15. It can be challenging to sift through the news to find evidence of the Spirit at work in this war-weary world, but the effort can be well worthwhile, renewing the hope demonstrated in the remarkable statement of I John 2:8: "...the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining." Our discussions are inclusive of a robust variety of religious viewpoints. Sunday, December 9: Pot-luck luncheon and carol-sing. All are welcome! Monday, December 24: Christmas Eve worship and carol-sing at 7 p.m. followed by treats. Yoga classes, Reiki healing sessions, and craft programs are also offered at the Meeting. Please call 610-466-0669 for more information. |
From "The Monthly Meeting of SADSBURY" pamphlet (Copyright © 2004 Sam Bradley):
William
Penn intended to "plant the seed of a nation." On the American land of
his province he intended a Holy Experiment, a blending of peoples who sought to
get away from European wars and poor economic conditions and religious and
political persecution. He journeyed into the interior of his province and made a
treaty with Indians at Gap in 1700. South of there, he located a tract of one
thousand acres, the William Penn tract which included an Indian village.
On
another one thousand and fifty acres, called the Servants' Land, Penn marked off
other land. On it, the town of
Other
Friends of this new meeting were Samuel Miller, who had petitioned with Andrew
Moore for its founding, James Moore, Nail Mooney, Anthony Shaw, Isaac Taylor,
James Clemson, Jane Jones and daughter, Sarah Metcalf, John Truman, Asahel
Walker and Calvin Cooper. Soon after them came various families such as the
Pownells, the Brintons, the Williams, the Whitsons, the Chamberlains, the
Slokoms, the Sprouls, the Guests, the Simmons and the Livingstons.
Two
decades passed and numbers of Friends increased. So, in 1747, a larger meeting
house was built: the present stone building. Its second story had, originally,
high galleries. During the Revolutionary War, the woodwork was burned; Joseph
Guest restored the meeting house, putting a ceiling where the galleries had
been.
Sadsbury
Monthly Meeting (organized in 1737) was of Chester Quarter until 1756, then of
Western Quarter until 1800, and thereafter of Caln Quarter. Early records tell
little enough of property or, for that matter, of Quakerism. Looking over some
ten years of the first records, Thaddeus Harry noted that records were concerned
with individuals, appointment of representatives, requests for marriage,
marriages outside the society, and even with swearing and drunkenness. Names
found often were, besides Andrew Moore and his sons James, David and William,
Martha Walton, Benjamin Miller, Samuel Miller, Joseph Pownell, Moses Brinton,
George Beyer and John Walter. One year the meeting collection was 15 shillings,
half of which went to Quarterly Meeting.
Cost
of the original tract granted by Thomas and Richard Penn, sons of William, in
1749, was eight pounds and a few shillings, and was some 56 acres to be held in
trust for the people called Quakers. Finding that the log meeting house was not
on this tract, meeting elders bought four acres from the Servants Tract; on this
four acres stands the present meeting house and once stood the old schoolhouse.
When the public road was straightened in 1907, the schoolhouse was torn down.
Sarah Guest was one of the early teachers. Friends also, in 1893-94, operated a
college preparatory school for about fifty scholars. Among its teachers were
Luella Passmore and Viola K. Eastburn.
Prior
to the Civil War, prominent Friends used their homes as stations on the
Underground Railroad: such men as Samuel Brinton, Thomas Whitson, Lindley
Coates, and Dr. Joseph Gibbons. The anti-slavery activity culminated in what is
known as the Christiana Riot, which occurred in 1851. Friends were active in the
Civil War as well.
A
"town" meeting house in Christiana was built in 1903, and to pay for
it part of the fifty-six acres granted by Penn's sons was sold. Aid was given by
the Samuel Jeans Fund. But at the new location the meeting did not prosper.
Eventually, the old meeting house, vacated in 1903, was claimed again by
Friends, and was remodeled under the leadership of the trustees: George Jackson,
chairman; Elizabeth Brinton, Wayne Webster, Clifford KreisI, Leigh Walton and
Mary Louise Maule. The clerk, Mary Joyce Walton, began holding meetings in the
remodeled building in 1974. In 1975, the meeting house is being rededicated.
The
meeting house in Christiana was bought by some of the Maple Grove Mennonites,
who much earlier, around 1900, had rented the now-being-rededicated Sadsbury
meeting house as a place to make their beginnings. Friends are proud of the
association.
As
Penn made bond with the Indians, so would we with all men. "We will be as
brethren, your people and my people, as children of one father." To each
other, "all the paths shall be open." When a wrong is righted,
"the wrong shall be forgotten." "We will transmit this league
between us to our children. It shall be made stronger and stronger, and be kept
bright and clean without spot or rust, between our children and our children's
children, while the creeks and the rivers run, and while the sun, moon, and
stars endure." And Penn added, "We will go along the broad pathway of
goodwill to each other together."
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