Victoria Friends Meeting
Victoria Friends Meeting House*
Unprogrammed worship on Sundays at 10:30 a.m.
1831 Fern Street, Victoria, BC, Canada V8R 4K4
Visitors welcome!
Welcome to Victoria Friends Meeting. We are part of Vancouver Island Monthly Meeting (VIMM) which is part of Canadian Yearly Meeting, The Religious Society of Friends.
Worship style: As with all of Vancouver Island Monthly Meeting’s worshipping groups, Victoria Friends Meeting is un-programmed - an expectant ‘waiting upon the Spirit within the gathered Silence’ which all attenders participate in. Attenders are greeted as they enter the Meetinghouse, and the greeter is available to answer questions about Quaker worship: pamphlets for ‘first time at Quaker Meeting for Worship’ are also available. The close of a VFM Meeting for Worship is marked by the shaking of hands by a designated member who will initiate the shaking of hands. When all worshipers have noticed and shaken hands, the person designated for that day will greet Friends and lead the group in announcements and introductions. After meeting, all are invited to stay for tea and cookies. This is a good opportunity for new comers to ask questions and pick up a pamphlet or two about Quakerism. We invite visitors to leave their name, phone number, and email address if they wish more information about Victoria Friends.
"Community reminds us that we are called to love, for community is a product of love in action and not of simple self-interest. Community can break our egos open to the experience of a God who cannot be contained by our perceptions. Community will teach us that our grip on truth is fragile and incomplete, that we need many ears to hear the fullness of God's world for our lives. And the disappointments of community life can be transformed by our discovery that the only dependable power for life lies beyond all human structures and relationships." (3.28)
Worship and Children: At Victoria Friends Meeting, parents have options with respect to their children. Unfortunately, due to smaller families, we are no longer able to provide a regular First Day school program, and occasionally a child-centred Meeting for Worship is arranged for them. Otherwise, children may usually sit with their parents for the first 15 minutes of worship, after which they may be taken upstairs for child care; they may go to child care for the entire hour; or they may sit through worship if they are able to behave appropriately. Note: according to a Canadian Yearly Meeting decision, all child-care attendants must go through a criminal records check. Latecomers enter worship at the same time that the children leave for child care. All children rejoin their parents when worship ends and stay for the socializing between worship and Adult Education events /First Day School (first day school happens during M4W or not at all) or business meeting.
Meeting for Worship for Business: Victoria Friends Meeting conducts its own business in the manner of Friends. VFM Business includes both various local, national and global concerns initiated by its Peace, Earth and Social Action committee, and preparation for the collective decisions made at the VIMM Meeting for Worship for Business. New attenders are welcomed to participate in these business Meetings.
"It is good to be reminded that even trying to discern works for us as it brings our spirit closer to god. I don't think of God as something with personal attributes, so I don't feel forgiven by God when I make mistakes, but I can feel the spirit of God working in others when they forgive me for making mistakes." (1.64)
Victoria Friends Meetinghouse: Our beloved Meetinghouse was built in 1913 and has now been designated a Heritage Building. Its Quaker simplicity has been retained as a reminder that it is a sacred space. It is available for rent at a modest fee, and continues to be a favourite meeting place for other groups who share some of our social concerns. Please contact the Resident Friends at (250) 595-3697 if you are interested in renting the Meetinghouse for an event.
Past & Present: Victoria Friends became a Monthly Meeting in 1907. Over time, smaller worshipping groups developed up-island, and recently the collective community of Friends on the island was renamed Vancouver Island Monthly Meeting. Victoria Friends Meeting itself remains a small Meeting, with between 30 and 40 active members and attenders. Our meetings and activities are always open to visitors. We rent our meeting house to groups whose goals are compatible with Quakers. If you would like to receive the Vancouver Island Friends newsletter, there is a sign-up sheet for it on the table near the door.
Victoria Friends Meet for Worship 10:30 a.m., Sunday, at Fern Street Meeting House, 1831 Fern Street (cross streets Begbie or Fort), Victoria, BC. Child care is provided during Meeting. Park on Fern Street or on cross-streets Fort or Begbie Street. Phone: (250) 595-3697 to contact the Resident Friends for information about Victoria Friends Meeting.
*The sketch of the Meeting House above is copyright by and used with the permission of Barry King. He can be contacted through the following website: http://www.northumberlandstudiotour.com/king.htm.