Marlborough Friends Meeting

What are services like?
Marlborough practices silent, waiting worship. No minister, pastor or preacher organizes our service. We gather in silence. In the silence, we pray, meditate or privately contemplate spiritual matters. The ideal exercise is to “empty one’s self” and wait for a message from God. Silence is fertile ground for real seeking and we have been promised that those who seek, shall find. Rewards for waiting in the silence are in the form of peace, understanding or even words directly from God. The experience of worship does not end there. Those who hear words from God must be ready to share them. This means breaking the silence, standing and saying aloud what God has given. We call these messages “Vocal Ministry”. They are sometimes compared to sermons heard in other denominations, but they are not pre-prepared. They are immediate revelation.

What is the community like?
A small congregation, we are located in beautiful Chester County Pennsylvania, surrounded by legacy farms and developing suburban communities. We draw from our historic roots of the original Quaker Farmers who settled the area. We are fairly unique among local Quaker congregations in that we are "Christ-Centered" and find it Spiritually advantageous to worship in His name.

What if I'm not a Christian?
We have found that the Sprit will visit those who wait in silent worship, regardless of their relationship to organized Christian religions. It has been helpful to us to call that spirit Christ, but sincerely welcome all to share in our worship. If you do so, you may discover what George Fox (the founder of Quakerism) discovered that "There is one, even Christ Jesus that can speak to [your] condition".