Providence Friends Meeting Celebrates 325th Anniversary
“Quaker Contributions to Freedom”
On Saturday, October 24, 2009, Providence Friends Meeting celebrated 325 years of Quaker presence in Media. This celebration, “Quaker Contributions to Freedom,” will focused on the impact this group has had and continues to have on issues of peace and social justice. (View the photos.)
Considered the oldest faith community in Media, Providence Meeting was noted in historical records in 1684. Quakers first met in the homes of settlers. The first meetinghouse, a log cabin, was built in the year 1700. The current structure was completed in 1815. First known as “Thomas Minshall’s Meeting,” the name was changed to Providence Meeting in 1700.
Today, Providence Meeting is a vital, growing faith community of over 200 people. Worshippers meet weekly on Sunday mornings in the unprogrammed Quaker tradition. The Meeting also has a vibrant religious education program and actively engages in local and global peace and social justice issues.
The festival included:
- A tour of the Providence Friends graveyard, where several historically important persons are buried
- Planting of a Penn Treaty elm, a direct descendant of the tree under which William Penn signed the first treaty with Native Americans
- Keynote talk by Dr. Samuel Lemon of Media
- Partial rendering of the original log cabin
- Presentations on current Friends peace witness
- Displays of historical mementoes and sites
- Guided tours of the Minshall House (across the street)
- Collection of artifacts for a time capsule to be opened in 25 years
- Lunch & refreshments
This event is open to the public. Residents of greater Media are especially welcome.