About the Venue
Washington's Friends Meeting House in History
Of interest, a ground floor room now used as an office has a beamed ceiling of timbers that originally had been built into the White House in 1814, part of the repair after the British burned Washington. The beams were removed during another repair episode and later used by the Quakers.
Most of the exterior of the Meeting House is faced with Foxcroft stone, a very unusual, if not unique, facing stone on Washington area buildings. It has a lively grey coloring and a satin-like texture. The Foxcroft stone came from a quarry in Pennsylvania and is no longer available.
The grounds were landscaped by the well-known landscape architect, Rose Greeley. The landscaping and the placing of the building were intended to create a miniature park.
A special feature of the terrace is a sun dial with the names of Fox, Penn and Woolman cut in stone and the inscription, “I mind the Light, dost Thou?” George Fox was the founder of the Society of Friends in 17th century England; William Penn established the “holy experiment” in Pennsylvania; John Woolman of New Jersey crusaded relentlessly against slavery in the 18th century.
Inside, the building is simple and functional. The Meeting Room with benches, about half of them facing each other, is used primarily for Meetings for Worship on Sundays, for weddings, memorial services, business meetings, lecture and other public gatherings. Visitors will note the absence of the usual features of church interiors: altar, pulpit or lectern, organ, choir space, stained glass, ornamentation, memorial tables and so on. None are necessary for worship after the manner of Friends-there is no minister, creed, sacrament, music, nor prescribed ritual. Silence is the basis for worship, although anyone who feels moved to do so may speak.
A library located on the same floor as the Meeting Room where refreshments will be available today contains an extensive selection of books, pamphlets and periodicals of historical and current interest on the Society of Friends and Quaker social concerns. The Policy Studies Organization is the owner and publisher of the journal World Affairs, founded by Quakers in 1837 and the oldest continuous journal on international issues in the world.
