It was a meeting 340 years in the making and it happened Sunday, October 2, 2022 at Middletown Friends Meeting in Langhorne as congregations from England and America worshipped together for the first time on World Quaker Day.
In 1682 members of Settle Friends Meeting in the north of England followed William Penn’s promise for religious freedom in Pennsylvania and emigrated across the Atlantic Ocean. The group landed in Philadelphia and by 1683 had founded Neshaminah Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, known as Quakers. Early Meetings for Worship were held at the home of Nicholas Waln and others.
Waln donated land for the construction of a Meetinghouse near Neshaminy Creek. The present-day Meetinghouse, built in 1793, stands on West Maple Avenue in Middletown Township. The name of the Meeting was changed from Neshaminah to Middletown in 1692 to reflect the actual location of the Meeting.
In 2018, Middletown Friends contemplated a celebration of its 335th anniversary and decided to search its roots in Settle, England. The youth had been challenged to create an artistic “Family Tree” of their Meeting for an exhibit at Pendle Hill Quaker Study Center. Their tree shows the roots representing the names of the families who sailed from Settle to Pennsylvania in 1682, and the trunk, branches and leaves bearing the names of subsequent families and individuals whose contributions have sustained Middletown Friends Meeting for more than 300 years.
An exchange of e-mails, letters and photographs between the two Meetings built a bridge from the past to the present that has helped Friends on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean understand the magnitude of the decision made by those first families from Settle who traveled to the new world. When an e-mail came from Settle inviting Middletown Friends to worship together electronically, Middletown Friends responded with an enthusiastic yes.
World Quaker Day was truly a global event for Friends in Settle, England, and Langhorne, Pennsylvania as the two congregations came together for Meeting for Worship electronically. The English folks adjusted their Meeting schedule to allow for the time difference and joined the Langhorne Friends via the internet to settle into worship. In addition to those gathered at the two Meetinghouses were individual Friends and families whose images appeared on a large screen.
Messages of joy, hope and care were shared during a deep Meeting for Worship, which was followed by an opportunity for every participant to introduce themselves and offer greetings. The geographical reach of this meeting included Friends in Pennsylvania, Alaska, Vermont, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Settle and Kendal, England, all with ties to either Settle or Middletown Friends Meetings.
The Meeting for Worship at Middletown was preceded by Coffee and Conversation that included a presentation of the historic connection between the two Meetings, and some photos and an introduction to modern Settle Friends Meeting.
In messages and greetings shared, the clear conclusion was that this first historic gathering is not the end. World Quaker Day 2022 has opened the door to a continued relationship and desire for both Meetings to come together in worship and dialogue as way opens.
