About Us
We are a faith community deeply rooted in the experience and principles of the Religious Society of Friends, the Quakers, originating in mid seventeenth-century England. We believe that all people have within them the Inner Light of the Divine, can experience it, be guided by it in daily life and into action to mend the world, and gain deeper insight into ourselves and situations. Our worship is based in silence, without minister, ritual, scripture reading, waiting expectantly Spirit’s leading anyone to give a brief message or the group into gathered deepening stillness. We are therefore open to everyone.
Quaker services are called “meetings,” and our meeting is what is known as an “unprogrammed meeting” which means that on Sunday, we do not have a minister leading a service. Rather, because we recognize that all people have access to divine wisdom, we have no identified clergy or schedule of sermons, readings or music. Instead, we gather to wait in expectant silence for ministry arising from the “still small voice” (I Kings 19:12) within and from any who may be prayerfully led to speak.
We continue to have deep silence and meaningful vocal ministry in First Day (Sunday) worship. Our numbers are growing, and our First Day School is growing along with it. We continue to deepen the practice and understanding of Quaker business procedure and knowledge of our faith and practice.
FAQs
If you wish to know more about Quakers and Quakerism, our history, theology, structure, methods of conducting business, etc., here is a link to a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) and their answers.
History
Swannanoa Valley Friends Meeting had its beginnings in a conversation between to Quaker couples walking together on Second Street in Black Mountain who shared interest in having a local Quaker Meeting. They instituted a mid-week worship group at Highland Farms Retirement Center in November 1994. It began meeting on First Days at the Black Mountain Public Library, and later at 137 Center Avenue, Black Mountain, in 1996, where its first monthly meetings with attention to business initiated in April of that year. While the small, nascent religious community would change worship and business locations a few more times, the SVFM settled at its current location, 137 Center Avenue, in the autumn of 2003. However the property was destroyed beyond repair in September 2024 from the effects of Hurricane Helene. SVFM since then is meeting in a temporary location.
The faith and practice of the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, have evolved over 365 years of experience and testing. It is not a faith of creeds or set doctrines, and is not governed by a hierarchy of ordained priests or bishops. Since Friends believe that the Spirit is actively present among them as teacher, they have trusted in that Inner Teacher, or Christ Within, to reveal the truth to individuals open to receive it.
While Friends do strive to uphold certain time-tested principles, called testimonies, they do not require strict adherence to a set of rules as a condition of membership. Friends’ faith and practice have traditionally been grounded in religious experience rather than doctrine. Friends speak of the “Inner Light” and “That of God in every person” to identify the Spirit that leads them. Friends hold to the testimonies of simplicity, peace, and integrity, and believe in the power of love to call out the inherent worth of others. Loving care of our Earth sprouts from our testimony of simplicity. A sense of supportive community springs from our vision of the Divine nested within all people.
On adjoining pages, you can find more information about Quaker history and practices in conducting worship, business, and accepting new members. You can also explore an archive of some of the Meeting’s public minutes on deep social concerns
Meeting for Worship
To worship rightly is to love each other,
Each smile a hymn, each kindly deed a prayer.
~ John Greenleaf Whittier, 1807-1892
In Meeting for Worship we gather in silence for about an hour, without minister or liturgy, in expectant waiting for experience of stillness, a sense of divine presence, guidance of the Holy Spirit, and/or a felt unity with fellow worshipers, others, earth creatures, and the cosmos.
We “center down” into an inward stillness, letting go of thinking, planning, worries and problem-solving, to listen to the mysterious depths of being within, we call by many metaphoric names: Spirit, Light, Seed, Truth, Inward Teacher, and the eternal Christ.
Worship may continue in silence throughout the hour or a Friend may feel a deep urge, a “leading of the Spirit,” to rise to give a brief message arising from the spiritual depth of his or her life. Each message is followed with a period of silence, allowing the words and spirit in which they were spoken to deepen in our hearts.
Silence and speaking are both ministry. If what is shared does not “speak to your condition,” let the message go and continue in the silence. When vocal and silent ministry speaks to the condition of many of those present, deepening us in the Truth, we are experiencing what we call a “gathered meeting,” a sense of spiritual community that freshens and delights. Messages in a gathered meeting intertwine in unanticipated ways and carry us deeper into the inward silence.
Meeting for worship ends with attenders greeting each other with handshakes. The children, who left the gathered worship to attend First Day School separately, are asked to return. Guests may introduce themselves and sign our guest book, then expressions of joys and/or concerns are requested. The children are asked to share their morning learning experience. After announcements are made, we break for tea and coffee, often followed by a Forum exploring various aspects of Quaker life and social justice issues. The first Sunday of the month, instead of a Forum, we reconvene for our Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business, followed by a potluck lunch.
Here are some observations on Quaker worship, from the QuakerSpeak service on YouTube:
First Day School
School age children are welcome to join us during meetings for worship any time. We hold a first day school during worship on the second Sunday of the month. Children join the adults for the first 15 minutes and then go with a teacher and other young friends for a lesson for the duration of the meeting for worship.
Meeting for Business
The Monthly Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business reflects our faith that the Light of God, if followed, may draw all into agreement. Decisions are made, not by majority vote, compromise, or consensus, but by prayerful, patient discernment of a corporate “sense of the meeting.” We seek that Truth that transcends individual differences.
Friends’ Business Meetings begin in a period of worshipful silence, often started with a reading or query. The clerk of the Meeting then suggests an agenda, arising from member and attender recommendations, but the agenda may be modified by those present. Each item is discussed in a worshipful atmosphere, with an endeavor to avoid trivial, irrelevant, or impulsive comments.
When it appears to the clerk that unity has been reached, a tentative minute is formulated to express that sense of the meeting.