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Religious Society of
Friends - The Quakers
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Religious Society of
Friends - The Quakers
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Built between 1683 and 1692
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Roots of Quakerism Nearly 350 years ago in England, at the beginning of what some call the Quaker movement, George Fox wrote:
George Fox was looking for an authentic religious experience, a way to serve God and to do the work of the Divine in the world. He was especially troubled by the "hireling priests and steeplehouses" of his day and spoke out, railing against corrupt clergy and the outrageous material wealth being gathered by many English churches. Fox's vision was of a direct experience of the Divine open to all, without reliance on what he experienced as empty religious ritual. Many others who could not find God in the established churches of that time and place eagerly joined him in forming the community of seekers called the Society of Friends. That year - 1652 - was such a formative period in Quaker history that 350 years later modern Quakers from all over the world call the area around Pendle Hill "the 1652 country", and go on study tours there to explore the roots of Friends way. |
This vision marked the beginning of Fox's ministry and of the Society of Friends. In the world today, we can see a great many people still yearning for the peace and freedom found in God's love. We can see that Fox's work is unfinished. |
Burlington Quarter
The roots of Quakerism in Burlington Quarter are traced back also to England only 22 years later:
In 1677, Some 200 Quakers left England for the religious freedom of America. More than one third of those originally purchasing land in Burlington had been fined or imprisoned for their beliefs in England. Even as their ship, the Kent, sailed down the Thames River, King Charles II boarded it from his royal barge and wished them a safe voyage. As the King's own laws led to much of the abuse the Quakers received in England, today this is seen as a polite "good riddance". These Friends came to West Jersey, the southern half of what is today New Jersey, and founded the town of Burlington.
Those early Quakers begin Meetings for Worship after the manner of Friends, even as we in Burlington Quarter still do today. Five years later, in 1681, the first Yearly Meetings of Friends on the Delaware River began in Burlington. They were held there alternately with Philadelphia from 1685 to 1760. Burlington Quarterly Meeting was established in 1682, and in a few years came to include Friends in the area north and south from Trenton to Mount Holly even as it does today.
This page was last updated Ninth Month 12, 2007.
Comments and questions to BurlingtonQuaker@aol.com