About Us
Worship
The Atlanta Friends Meeting practices unprogrammed silent worship, without paid clergy or prepared ministry of any kind. We wait together silently in faith that divine spirit may visit us at any time. If a leading comes, we speak the message into the silence. Thus, our Meeting for Worship may be an hour of worshipful silence or may contain several messages spoken out of the silence by Friends. To better understand the language associated with worship at Atlanta Friends Meeting, please see our clarifications of Quaker terms, abbreviations and acronyms.
For more reading on Quaker silent worship:
- Four Doors to Meeting for Worship by Bill Taber
- Contemporary Quaker Classics by Ronald Selleck
- Quaker Worship from the Quaker Information Center
Welcoming to All
Our Quaker principles are built upon Equality and Equity, thus we strive to invite diversity in all aspects of our community. Please visit our Welcome page to see how AFM continually works to realize this ideal.
History of the Atlanta Friends Meeting
Though there has been a Quaker presence in Georgia since the 1750s, the Atlanta Friends Meeting (AFM), as we know it today, traces its roots to a 6:00 supper and Meeting for Worship on February 7, 1943 at the Central YMCA in Atlanta. On September 29, 1951, the Atlanta Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends officially organized. From its inception, AFM has held concerns for, and continues to work towards, improving race relations and ending war and militarization. The Meeting was particularly involved in school desegregation during the Civil Rights Movement, draft counseling during the Vietnam War, and the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980s. Quaker House, in Northeast Atlanta, served as AFM's home until 1991 when the Meeting completed construction on its current Meetinghouse in Decatur.
As Way Opened: A History of Atlanta Friends, 1943-1997 by Janet Ferguson
- As Way Opened in downloadable PDF format
- To purchase a physical copy from Atlanta Friends Meeting for $20 + postage, contact: atlantaquakers@gmail.com
More information about Atlanta Friends Meeting
- AFM NEXT STEPS Guide for those who want to know more about us, get better acquainted, and find out who to ask if they have questions
- A Guide to Our Faith and Our Practice: Written and approved by Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting, of which the Atlanta Friends Meeting is a member, this Guide reflects our understanding of the spiritual basis for our practice as Quakers. To purchase a copy in book form, visit the lulu book store or contact the meetinghouse at atlantaquakers@gmail.com.
- AFM Membership Guide: The AFM Handbook section offering guidance and considerations for those interested in becoming active members of our community.
- AFM Marriage Guide: Guidelines and procedures for entering marriage under the care of meeting as approved in August, 2011. This is companion information to the SAYMA Marriage Guidelines provided in the SAYMA Faith & Practice guide above.
- Atlanta Friends Meeting Handbook: A nuts and bolts guide to how the Meeting runs - the roles of committees, guidelines for marriages and memorials, and other pertinent information.
- Atlanta Friends' Testimonies and Concerns
- Testimonies are not our creed, they are expressions of spirituality in action. These testimonies are rooted in the traditional Quaker belief that there is that of God in all people.
- Other concerns and witnesses of Atlanta Friends Meeting
Links to other Quaker sites
- The Atlanta Friends Meeting is affiliated with:
- Atlanta Area Quaker Links
- National Quaker Links
- Quaker Voluntary Service
- Discovering Quaker Spirituality
- The Quaker Information Center
- America Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
- Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)
- Friends World Committee on Consultation (FWCC)
- Quaker Earthcare Witness (QEW)
- Friends Journal
- Pendle Hill
- Right Sharing of World Resources
- Fellowship of Friends of African Descent (or visit their Facebook page)
- Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns