Quaker Meetings. In a Quaker Meeting there are no hymns, readings or set prayers.  As people arrive, they sit in silence, each free to reflect and pray in their own way, but in the company of others.  Out of the gathered silence someone may stand and speak to the meeting as a whole, sharing an insight, prayer or experience.  The meeting ends after about an hour.   Everyone is welcome to visit a Quaker meeting on a Sunday morning.  

Organisation: Harrow  meeting is known as a Local meeting and holds a Meeting for Worship every Sunday. It is part of West London Area Meeting. Once a month Harrow holds a business meeting, normally on the Sunday before the monthly meeting takes place. Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) is the national Quaker organisation. It is based in Friends House, close to Euston stations.

The testimonies: The testimonies express our beliefs and are about the way Quakers try to lead their lives. They attempt to put our faith into practice and arise from an understanding of the values and principles which are central to the Quaker faith.

The testimonies arise out of a deep, inner conviction and challenge our normal ways of living. They do not exist in any rigid, written form; nor are they imposed in any way. All Quakers have to search for the ways in which the testimonies can become true for themselves.

The Peace Testimony is probably the best-known testimony, both within and outside the Religious Society of Friends. It derives from our conviction that love is at the heart of existence. Again, there is no set form of words, but Friends are deeply attached to the Declaration made to Charles 11 in 1660, which begins: "We utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fighting with outward weapons, for any end or under any pretence whatsoever." It has been the Quaker experience over the centuries "to live in the life and power which takes away the occasion of all wars"

The testimonies reflect the society we live in and have changed over time. Early Quakers had testimonies against outward symbols, taking oaths and the payment of tithes, and about peace, temperance, moderation and forms of address. Later testimonies evolved with regard to slavery, integrity in business dealings, capital punishment and prison reform, nonviolence and conscientious objection to military service. Our most recent testimony is regarding the environment and our concern regarding the threat of global warning.