Our Quaker Community

“Our life is love, and peace, and tenderness; and bearing one with another, and forgiving one another, and not laying accusations one against another; but praying one for another, and helping one another up with a tender hand.”
– Isaac Penington, 1667

Since 1745 Quakers have gathered at or near the present site of Goose Creek Meeting near Purcellville, Virginia, to worship in the manner of Friends and to endeavor to live joyful and Spirit-filled lives of peace and integrity. Among the earliest founders of western Loudoun County, the Quakers of Goose Creek have maintained their belief in equality and that of God in all of creation by advocating for the abolition of slavery and the rights of women, and, more recently, for gay rights. Throughout conflicts in the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, Friends have maintained their testimony against war.

Since the first Quakers settled in the neighborhood of Lincoln, Quakerism has undergone many changes, in keeping with a changing world, but like those who worshiped here before us, we still strive to listen for and be guided by the still, small voice of God. We endeavor to live simply and lightly on our shared planet, and to extend the hand of fellowship and peace to all.

While a few descendants of the founders of Goose Creek still worship with us today, most of us are not “birthright” Quakers. Rather we are “convinced” Friends, having come to Quakerism from a wide variety of religious backgrounds, Christian and non-Christian, or from even from no religious background at all. Some of us were drawn to Quakerism because of its style of worship, some because of its long commitment to peace and social justice. Others are searching for a way to live simpler, deeper lives in our complex world.

We each bring with us our unique life experiences and different ways of expressing our spiritual journeys, but even as we celebrate our diversity, we have chosen together to walk the time-tested Quaker Way that moves beyond words to a direct, unmediated interaction with the Divine.

2021 Spiritual State of the Meeting