Welcome to the A–Z guide to Nottingham Quakers — a plain-English companion to the people, practices, spaces and quirks of life at the Meeting House. This is meant to help everyone feel at home, whether you're attending for the first time, hiring a room, or already feel like part of the furniture.
A
- Access & Mobility: Our Meeting House is step-free from the front entrance, with accessible toilets on both floors. Please note there is no lift between floors.
- Accidents: First Aid boxes are in the kitchen, office, and lower kitchenette. Please record any incidents in the office accident book and alert the Warden.
- Advertising: External event promotion must clearly state the event is not run by Quakers.
- Advices & Queries: A small red book of spiritual prompts and questions used for reflection and to guide worship.
- Alcohol, Drugs & Gambling: We are a dry, drug-free, and gambling-free site. Smoking, recreational drugs, alcohol, and games of chance (like raffles) are not permitted anywhere on the premises.
- All-Age Worship: A special gathering where children and adults worship together for the full hour, often featuring music or shared activities.
- Approaches for the Future: The current national strategy (2026–2030) for British Quakers, focusing on faith, inclusion, and growth.
- Area Meeting: Our regional administrative body. Nottingham is part of the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Area Meeting.
- Attender: A regular worshipper who is not yet a formal member. You can remain an attender for as long as you wish.
B
- Booking Rooms: Managed by Mindful Business Services (MBS) via warden@nottinghamquakers.org.uk.
- Burial Ground: Our garden contains a historic burial ground. Sections are currently open for the interment or scattering of ashes.
C
- Candles: Naked flames are prohibited. Battery-powered candles are a safe alternative.
- Centred: A state where the Meeting feels deeply "settled" and in touch with a sense of peace or the divine.
- Children: Children are always welcome. We provide supervised sessions twice a month (see our Children’s Page).
- Clearness: A private Meeting for Clearness can be requested to help an individual gain clarity on a major life decision.
- Clerk: The person who facilitates our business meetings, listening for the "sense of the meeting" rather than acting as a traditional chairperson.
- Committees: We are volunteer-run. From the Library to Pastoral care, we welcome your help—just ask.
- Concern: A spiritual "leading" to take action on a specific issue, often related to social justice or peace.
- Convincement: The process of discovering that the Quaker way is the right path for you.
D
- Data Protection: We are fully UK GDPR compliant. Your details are secure and only used for agreed purposes.
- Discernment: The spiritual process of seeking the "right" way forward together. We do not vote; we seek unity.
- Donations: Worship is free. If you feel moved to give, a donation box is in the Social Room.
E
- Elders: Friends appointed to nurture the spiritual life of the Meeting and "hold" the silence during worship.
- Emergencies: Call 999 for life-threatening issues. For building emergencies (e.g., leaks), call 0115 706 0996.
- Environment & Sustainability: We ask everyone to recycle, switch off lights, and keep doors closed to conserve heat.
- Epistle: A formal letter sent from a Quaker gathering to "Friends everywhere," sharing their spiritual insights.
F
- Fire Safety: Check exit plans on arrival. In an alarm, gather in the car park of 23 Clarendon Street.
- Friend: Our formal name is the Religious Society of Friends. We call each other "Friend" as a sign of equality.
- Friends House: The central headquarters of Quakers in Britain, located in London.
- Friendship Lunch: A monthly "bring-and-share" lunch held after Sunday worship. All are welcome.
G
- Gathered Meeting: A worship session where the silence feels particularly deep, unified, and powerful—as if the group is pulled together by a shared spiritual presence.
- Gardening Group: An informal group that meets regularly to tend to the grounds around the Meeting House. They are always looking for new recruits so please ask if you are interested.
- George Fox: One of the main founders of the Quaker movement, who began his ministry in the Nottingham area in 1648.
- Gift Aid: A UK government scheme that allows us to claim an extra 25p for every £1 you donate, at no extra cost to you, if you are a UK taxpayer.
- God: While some Quakers use this word daily, others prefer terms like "the Divine," "the Light," or "the Spirit" to reflect their personal spiritual journey.
- Good Ordering: The established way Quakers conduct business and worship, found through centuries of experience to help us find unity and spiritual depth.
H
- Holding in the Light: A Quaker form of prayer where we "lift up" a person or situation into God’s love.
I
- In the Manner of Friends: A phrase describing Quaker etiquette, such as speaking only once during worship.
J
- Journal: A core tradition in Quaker spiritual life. Many famous Friends, most notably George Fox and John Woolman, kept detailed journals to record their spiritual journeys and "leadings". Writing a journal is still a common practice for personal reflection today.
- Junior Yearly Meeting (JYM): A national annual gathering for young Quakers (typically aged 15–18) to explore their faith, conduct business, and build community together.
K
- Keyholders: A small group of trusted volunteers who hold keys to the Meeting House. If you are a regular volunteer or room hirer, you may need to coordinate with a keyholder or the Warden to access the building.
L
- Leading: A prompting from the Spirit to take a particular action or speak a certain truth.
- Library: Located in the Social Room, featuring Quaker texts and general reading available for loan.
- Light (The): Often called "the Inner Light," this refers to the divine presence or goodness we believe lives within every person.
- Local Business Meeting (LBM): Also known as Meeting for Worship for Business, it is the method used by Quakers to make decisions for church affairs. It is held in a similar way to Meetings for Worship where we seek guidance from The Light to find a way forward.
M
- Mindful Business Services (MBS): A Quaker Finance and Management Service used by the Meeting.
- Meeting for Clearness: A committee uses prayerful listening and open-ended questions to help an individual discern the right path for a major life decision. It is used for personal guidance as opposed to communal conflict.
- Meeting for Learning & Exploration: These are meetings we hold every month where we discuss different aspects of our faith. Anyone can lead a Meeting for Learning or you can ask the meeting to make one on a subject you would like to know more about.
- Meeting for Worship: Our main gathering, usually an hour of "expectant silence." Anyone may speak if they feel spiritually moved.
- Meeting for Worship for Business: Also known as Local Business Meeting (LBM), it is the method used by Quakers to make decisions for church affairs. It is held in a similar way to Meetings for Worship where we seek guidance from The Light to find a way forward.
- Membership: A formal commitment to the Religious Society of Friends. After attending for a while, you can apply to join.
- Minute: A written record of a decision made and agreed upon during a Business Meeting.
N
- Newsletter: Our community publication featuring news and reflections. Available in the Social Room or via email.
O
- Opening: A sudden spiritual insight or a moment of clarity where a "way opens" to understand a problem or a direction in life.
- Outreach: The work we do to let the wider Nottingham community know who we are and that our doors are open to everyone.
- Overseers: The traditional name for the Friends who look after the pastoral care and well-being of the community. At Nottingham, we now largely refer to them as Pastoral Friends or the Pastoral Care Group.
P
- Parking: Pay-and-display on Clarendon Street. Limited mobility spaces for Sundays can be reserved via the Meeting in advance.
- Pastoral Friends: (Formerly Overseers) Volunteers who support the well-being of our community.
Q
- QPSW (Quaker Peace & Social Witness): The central department of Quakers in Britain that translates our faith into social action.
- Quaker Faith & Practice: Our primary book of wisdom—an anthology of Quaker experiences from 1648 to today.
- Quiet Spaces: If you need a low-sensory space for stillness, please let us know.
R
- Right Ordering: Following established Quaker processes to ensure we act with integrity.
S
- Safeguarding: We are a safe space. Contact details for our Safeguarding Friends are in the foyer.
- Sense of the Meeting: The collective spiritual unity that a Clerk seeks to capture in a minute.
- Singing Group: An informal gathering before Sunday worship once a month. All voices welcome.
T
- Testimonies: Our shared values: Equality, Peace, Simplicity, Truth, and Sustainability.
- "That Friend Speaks My Mind": A phrase used in meetings to show agreement with a previous speaker.
- Threshing Meeting: A meeting used to discuss controversial issues by separating "the grain of truth" from "the chaff" of personal opinion. It is usually used for communal conflict as opposed to personal guidance.
- Toilets: Gender-neutral, accessible toilets with baby-changing facilities are available on both floors.
U
- Universalist: Friends who find spiritual Truth in many different faiths and traditions.
V
- Values: Often used interchangeably with Testimonies. They are the core principles—Peace, Equality, Simplicity, Truth, and Sustainability—that guide how we live our lives.
- Visitors: We love having visitors! Whether you are a Quaker from another city or have never stepped foot in a Meeting House before, you are a welcome guest.
W
- Warden: The Warden manages the building daily. If you are hiring a room, they will meet you on arrival.
- "The Way Will Open": A phrase meaning that if a course of action is right, the path will eventually become clear.
- Weighty Friend: An informal term for a Friend whose experience and spiritual depth are highly respected.
- Wi-Fi: Free Wi-Fi is available. Large-scale streaming must be agreed upon in advance.
- Woodbrooke: The Quaker study and learning centre in Birmingham, now a hub for online spiritual growth.
Y
- Yearly Meeting (YM): The annual national gathering of all Quakers in Britain. It is the final decision-making body for our national community and a time for worship, celebration, and shared discernment on social issues.
- Yielding: A spiritual term used during worship or business meetings. It means letting go of one’s own personal agenda or "rightness" to allow a deeper, collective truth to emerge from the silence.
- Young Friends General Meeting (YFGM): A vibrant national community for Quakers aged 18–35. They meet three times a year across the UK to build community and explore faith in a way that speaks to young adults.
- Young and Young at Heart: At Nottingham, we value the presence of all generations. Whether you are a small child in our children’s sessions or a senior member with decades of experience, your contribution to our community is equally cherished.
If you'd like to suggest an addition to this list, or spot something we’ve missed, let us know via warden@nottinghamquakers.org.uk.