Coming ’Round Right: Returning to the Great Meetinghouse for Our 350th Birthday

Have you ever wondered about that very large and simply shingled historic Quaker Meetinghouse in Newport?

Have you ever wondered what it looks like inside?

Have you ever wondered just how many Quakers that immense structure was meant to accommodate and what it must have been like to worship together in that beautiful place centuries ago?

  Great Meetinghouse Flyer, with the information below for printing and posting.

THIS YEAR… on Friday August 5th in the afternoon, is your chance to find out! The Great Meetinghouse in Newport will open its doors once again to NEYM Annual Sessions!

Join in celebration of Friends of New England in this 350th anniversary year by traveling to Newport to spend the day at the Great Meetinghouse, located at 21 Farewell St, Newport, RI 02840. Learn about the history and influence of Friends in New England from the 17th century up to our present day—powerful way to look both backward and forward to where Quakers have been and where the Religious Society of Friends in New England is going. We will gather for an afternoon of community service, peace testimony, worship and song, eating and intergenerational fellowship from 1:00 p.m. until 7:30pm on the Friday before we begin our annual gathering at Bryant the following day. Friday afternoon is planned to be joyful and meaningful for children and adults. This is a come-one-come-all, bring-yourself-the family-the-picnic-basket-and-blanket-and-your-camera, event!

As a preview, the Great Friends Meetinghouse was built in 1699. It is the oldest surviving house of worship in Rhode Island and was, upon its construction, the largest structure of any kind in the colonies between Boston and New York. It served as host to the annual gathering of the New England Yearly Meeting of Friends until 1905. The size of this meetinghouse was a reflection of the great number of Friends within the Newport community and beyond. Friends of today are preparing some historical displays for our visit to the Meeting.

The Schedule:

• 1:00 - 4:00pm  Service project at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center. The Center is right next to the Great Meetinghouse. We can use all the help we can get! The Center staff have lots of work for us to do. They are looking forward to our help with the following jobs.

  • Food Pantry: Distribution of Friday food to community members, clean up and stocking.

  • Grounds Clean up: Bring your work gloves and some energy.

  • Carpentry: If you have carpentry experience, please bring your tools.

  • Painting: Bring your painting clothes! We want to finish at least one exterior wall of the Center. We will be using white exterior latex paint. Do you have some drop clothes? A favorite trim brush? Label them and bring them along!

When you arrive we’ll sign you up for one or more of these projects. You are likely to be working outside, so be sure to bring sunscreen, hats and extra drinking water. Bring umbrellas and rain gear in case of rain.

• 4:15 - 5:00pm  Friends will hold a silent peace vigil around the Great Meeting House.
• 5:00 - 6:00pm  Loaves and fishes! Bring your picnic supper and something to share. We’re asking larger groups coming from the same Meeting to bring some specific extra food to share (drinks, salads, fruit, etc.)
• 6:00 - 7:30pm  Worship, song and history in the Meetinghouse. There will be historical exhibits and discussion, and segments of a dramatic choral presentation, The Fire and the Hammer, about the life of George Fox and the history of early Friends, with NEYM singers led by John Sheldon of Warwick Meeting in England.
• 7:30pm  We will close with worship. After our final clean-up, carpools will return to Bryant University for registration check in, which will be in Hall 16 until 10 pm as usual.

Carpools
Earthcare Ministries Committee is advising us in planning and prioritizing carpools. Friends may wish to get to Bryant on Friday morning by 11:30am to carpool to Newport around noon with others to lessen their carbon footprint. Meet at the Hall 16 parking lot.

Friday Overnight at Bryant University
Friends are also invited to stay over Friday night at Bryant University. The fee ($60/adult $40/child) for Friday night lodging at Bryant includes Saturday breakfast and lunch in the campus Dining Hall.

Directions
The Great Meetinghouse is located at 21 Farewell St, Newport, RI 02840. 

Members of the Sessions Committee working group planning the event: Neil Blanchard, Rebecca Leuchak, Ben Guaraldi, Christopher McCandless, Karen Sargent, Carolyn Stone, Lynn Taber, Lise Wagner, and Jonathan Vogel-Borne, welcome your questions. Contact Rebecca Leuchak at: rleuchak@rwu.edu or contact the NEYM Office at neym@neym.org

See you in August!