Friends Meeting at Cambridge maintains one of the largest Quaker meeting libraries in the United States. The Library Committee is charged with the selection, cataloguing, and circulation of the Meeting’s books, periodicals, and other media. It is also encouraged to seek ways to encourage more people use the library for the enrichment of the life of the Meeting. The library collection is in three locations:
-
- The circulating library with titles for all ages is located on the first floor of the Friends Center in the parlor and library. There are approximately 2500 titles.
- The non-circulating library with older or special titles is available mostly for scholars of Quakerism to read on the premises. These books are located in the Selleck Room on the second floor of the Friends Center.
- We also own a set of very rare books, passed along to the Meeting from Ebenezer Pope, an 18th century Quaker. These books are kept in a climate controlled area of the Harvard Divinity School.
Worship Centered Discussion (On-Site / Zoom)
Sundays, 9:15 to 10:15am, September through June
Forums are informal devotional discussions, usually with a leader and about a particular topic. They are hybrid events: you can participate either in at FMC or on Zoom. Except as noted forums are held in the Friends Room. Forums are designed to help those who atten prepare for meeting for worship. All are welcome; forums provide good opportunities for new members, attenders, and visitors to learn more about our Meeting and what issues are of concern to the Meeting, and to get to know other individuals in the Meeting.
To view the forum topics for the current month, please refer to the Weekly Calendar on the front page.
AFTERTHOUGHTS
Sundays 12:00-12:30pm (Hybrid)
Afterthoughts is a small group gathering that meets immediately following meeting for worship which offers the opportunity for anyone to ask questions or discuss their experiences in meeting for worship. It meets most Sundays after Meeting for Worship, with approximately 10-20 people attending this half-hour gathering, and it is generally a mix of new and seasoned Friends.
Afterthoughts has a myriad of purposes. For attenders, it can be helpful to attend if you’re new and have questions, have lingering thoughts from worship that you want to share or explore, or are interested in joining this meeting and want to know about the process. For members and those steeped in Quakerism, it can be helpful to attend when challenging questions arise for you in Meeting or when you have a deeply moving experience in Meeting and want to explore this further with others. Afterthoughts is under the care of FMC’s Ministry and Counsel group. Contact: ministry@fmcquaker.org.
Science Fiction and Fantasy Read Aloud Book Group.
Did you know … some Quakers love science fiction and fantasy?
Did you know reading aloud is fun for adults?
We’d love to hear your voice! Join us as we gather to experience stories together, out loud and in real time. You don’t have to be a Quaker, you don’t have to have a beautiful reading voice: as many will read as choose to, and as time allows. Bring an old favorite or a new discovery to share, or just come and listen …
Please bring science fiction or fantasy short stories rather than novels — we have one novel going at a time and it’s a group choice — but don’t worry about how short: if it’s too long for one sitting, we want you to come back again and continue!
We generally meet 2nd and 4th Saturdays from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. See you there!
Here is an annotated list of some of the books we have read as promised in our Forum on November 28, 2021, – “The Spirit in Speculative Fiction”.
For more information and/or to be added to the group email list, contact scififantasy@fmcquaker.org.