Religious Education
Birmingham Friends feel a special responsibility to bring the children, youth and adults under their care into full participation in the life of the Meeting and into an understanding of the beliefs and practices of the Religious Society of Friends.

First-day school is organized by age into nursery school, elementary grades and middle and high school. Held each Sunday from September through June during meeting for worship, the First-day school program seeks to provide a religious education foundation that includes both Quakerism and teachings of the Old and New Testament. In addition to learning from a structured curriculum, the First-day school young people also participate in many service projects to benefit local and global organizations.

Holidays are also a time for celebration and joy by our young members. Each Christmas, the younger children join in a “Friendly Beasts” pageant celebrating the nativity. They also have the opportunity to participate in “Craft Day” to make a variety of hand-made objects to give as gifts to family and friends. On Easter, every size young Friend loves either to hide or to hunt eggs behind the meetinghouse!

Adult Religious Education –these programs take many forms and have included invited speakers, courses in Quakerism, topical discussions and reading of relevant books. As with all events at Birmingham, members, seekers, visitors, guests are welcome to participate in these programs

Youth Committee – the Youth Committee grew out of a desire by middle and high school Friends for a meeting for business of their own. Their activities have included raising money for charitable causes, discussing matters of concern such as the draft, reading scripture at the annual holiday Carol Sing, sending cookies to college students and their annual brunch at Pace One restaurant.

Fellowship

Birmingham sponsors numerous activities to nurture the fellowship of the Meeting community. These include monthly luncheons and weekly refreshments at the rise of Meeting. Members also work together to promote Birmingham in the local community, participating in events such as Chester County Day and the Chadds Ford Historical Society’s Candlelight Christmas. Birmingham hosts a “Carol Sing” for Meeting Friends and those in the local community who wish to participate in a celebration of song. In addition to these activities, Birmingham Friends also combine energies en masse twice a year to host a Chicken Barbecue each summer and Turkey Supper each fall. Each of these events is attended by an average of 400 people with the net proceeds used to support charitable causes.

Peace & Social Concerns

Service Projects – Community service at Birmingham Meeting is a practical expression of the faith of the Religious Society of Friends. As Quakers, committed to the principles of nonviolence and justice, Birmingham Friends work to transform conditions and relationships in the local and global community.

Pennies for Pumpkins – Each Halloween season, the First-day school students decorate pumpkins to raise money for UNICEF. These pumpkins are first displayed at the meetinghouse where individuals may donate funds to assist with the protection, healthcare, education and feeding of children in need worldwide. Afterwards, the pumpkins are taken to Barclay Friends, a local retirement home, as festive decorations for the residents.

The Giving Tree – each Christmas, the Youth Committee decorates a small tree with ornaments depicting the needs and wants of foster and homeless children residing at a shelter run by the Friends Association for the Care and Protection of Children.

Barclay Friends Garden – each year, the First-day school children and many of their parents visit a local retirement home to plant flowers, trees and bushes so the residents may enjoy moments of peace and beauty as they walk or sit among the flora.

Peace Center & Garden

The Peace Center at Birmingham is a cooperative effort of the nonsectarian Chester County Peace Movement and the Birmingham Friends Quaker Meeting. The historic 1819 Octagonal Schoolhouse, located on the grounds of the Birmingham Friends Meeting, is a gathering place for peace education and activism dedicated to informing visitors of the causes, consequences and futility of war and other forms of violent conflict and for encouraging peaceful alternatives.

This building contains an exhibit, literature display and multimedia facility, including an educational video presentation. The exhibit is portable so that it can be taken to schools, civic and church groups. The Center will also be used for small conferences, artistic performances and educational programs.

The Peace Garden, located in the burial ground behind the meetinghouse, surrounds the Common Graves of scores of British and American soldiers who fell at the Battle of the Brandywine. The Garden with its native plantings is a peaceful place for contemplation of the consequences of war, and for affirming the benefits of non-violent alternatives to deadly conflict while honoring those who lost their lives here.

The Garden contains granite Peace Stones with engraved quotations. These stones are being installed by private subscription; the names of the donors are kept in an archival record book maintained in the meetinghouse. The memorials show that peace awareness is not limited to any creed or culture or to any specific time in history.

Aggression affects all of us. The cost of armaments reduces opportunity and increases poverty. War further destroys human lives along with cities and towns, forests and fields. Together, we should demand an end to such senseless violence. Alternatives to war have been frequently demonstrated in the resolution of disputes between countries and groups. Several of these successes are described in the exhibit of the Birmingham Peace Center. Prophets of Peace are people who advance the cause of Peace through their actions and words. Some of their inspirational stories are located in the exhibit. There are millions of Prophets of Peace. We hope that this Peace Center will inspire you to be one of them.

Admission to visitors of all ages is FREE. The Peace Garden is open at all times. The schoolhouse is open by appointment only. Please contact the Peace Center at 610-793-1734 or visit online at www.peacecenterbirmingham.org