Welcome to the Manhattan Friends Meeting!

We are a meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers. Quakerism began in the 1600s with people seeking an alternative to what they saw as the overly formalized worship of Catholicism and the Protestant denominations. Quakers have no formal religious ceremonies, recognize no spiritual hierarchy among themselves, and seek communion with God as part of daily life. Quakers seek to live following what they call the "Inner Light" or the "Light Within," that of God which resides in every human being. The rich inward spiritual experience that characterizes Quaker meetings has also traditionally compelled them to an outward life of service and compassion. Quakers' collective spiritual experiences over the centuries have yielded four traditional testimonies: Simplicity, Integrity, Peace, and Equality.

The Manhattan Friends have been meeting continuously since 1955 and are affiliated with the Friends General Conference in Philadelphia, PA. For more information on our meeting or on Quakerism, please follow the links on the left, and be sure to visit our new blog!