At the Grass Valley Friends Meeting, Quakers from Nevada City, Grass Valley, Penn Valley, and other areas gather in worship, to seek and share spiritual nourishment, care for one another, and do service to the wider world. In a simple building nestled in the foothills of Northern California, we sit in silent worship.

An Invitation to Join Us in Worship

We gather in communion with no outward ceremony, each of us seeking to sense the presence of the divine. In active, reverent stillness, we open to the love, wisdom, and will of that which many call God.

Anyone who is moved to share an inspiration or insight rising spontaneously from personal experience may do so. One person's words are often of help to others. This kind of meeting is always a venture of faith. 

Where We Meet We meet in a simple building in a quiet country setting on the campus of Sierra Friends Center outside of both Nevada City and Grass Valley, California, located at the end of Woolman Lane off Jones Bar Road outside Nevada City. Click on our Directions page for instructions on how to find us.	When We Meet First Day (Sundays) 9 a.m. Singing (in the Meeting House) 9:45 a.m. Meeting for Worship (in the Meeting House) Children's Program and child care (all ages welcome) in the SFC Administration Building Classroom. (Children join adults for the first 15 minutes of worship.)
Special Activities We have friendly gatherings: potlucks, discussions, book reviews, early breakfast worship groups, work parties, an annual campout, and public presentations. For details, please ask for a newsletter or consult our bulletin board at Meeting.    Lois, Peg, Kathy and Fosten (L to R) at Lois Wadell Bailey's book signing: "Sing Hurray and Hurrah, Poems and 'Pomes'"	Will, Russ, Mary and Gordon relaxing at the  Friends 4th of July 2006 celebration.
	Current clerk, Sharon Davisson, and Eve Hall, finding something to be delightful.
Who Are We? We have about 80 members and attenders. We are part of the worldwide Religious Society of Friends, which began over 300 years ago in England. We meet together to seek and share spiritual nourishment, care for one another, and do service to the wider world. The membership total worldwide is about 200,000.	What Do We Believe? Friends believe that there is something of the divine in each human being and that each individual is capable of having direct communion with the divine without need of clergy or doctrine. We wait with hearts and minds open to the inner spirit. We refrain from fixing our faith in a formal set of words because we feel that experience and knowledge of the divine lie beyond words.
How Do We Worship? Being part of a Friends Meeting is more like being a member of an orchestra than of an audience. Since we have no professional clergy, each person present is responsible for the quality of the Meeting for Worship. We begin our search together in silence, centering ourselves to be wholly attentive to the inner voice. Like poetry, vocal ministry is often a truth spoken in heightened language, such as prayer, song or personal insight.	How Do We Live? We strive to show in our lives and interactions with others our belief in peace, simplicity, and equality. We encourage sincerity in our common aspiration toward spirit-filled living. We believe our worship strengthens us in our daily lives and that our lives, well-lived, are worshipful.
How Do We Govern Ourselves? We hold monthly meetings to do business. Friends do not vote. On any issue we aim to take time to hear and respect each person's perception of truth. Inviting Spirit into our proceedings, we strive for unity, not consensus. Trusting that the way will open from this corporate search, we often wait in prayerful and expectant silence for divine leading.    Grass Valley Friends Meetinghouse	What Are Our Wider Concerns? Individuals in the Meeting are active in many humanitarian, political, social service, and educational fields. Some of these are endorsed or actively supported by the Meeting. Anyone who feels a concern about a social need may bring it to the attention of the group for prayerful consideration and possible action. Peace and cooperation among all nations, races, and classes has been a goal of Quakers since their beginning.
	Eileen, Mary and Nancy at the Peace March in San Francisco, 2002

Grass Valley Friends Meeting. Located at the Sierra Friends Center outside Nevada City and Grass Valley. Woolman Lane off Jones Bar Road, Nevada City, CA
for more information, call 530.265.6287. Clerk: Sharon Davisson
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grassvalleyquakers.org