As a result of the corona virus pandemic, Canterbury Local Meeting is currently in an extended transition phase. UK government restrictions in response to the ongoing corona virus outbreak initially required the suspension of in-person Quaker Meetings for Worship. Since then, highly restricted in-person Quaker Meetings for Worship have been held (see below).

Instead, online Meetings for Worship have been taking place. These Meetings for Worship are intended primarily for the Quaker community across East Kent in particular, and Kent in general. If you are a Friend, including from another Area Meeting, and wish to attend an online East Kent Area Meeting (EKAM) Meeting for Worship, you are encouraged to contact the EKAM Web Manager for an invitation. Online Meetings for Worship take place at 10:45 on Sundays, at 08:20 on Tuesdays, at 21:00 on Wednesdays and at 12:30 on Thursdays. 

If, as a member of the general public, you would like to learn more about Quakers, you would be very welcome to attend an online Meeting for Enquirers. Woodbrooke Study Centre hosts 11 online Meetings for Worship each week. Members of the public are encouraged to visit the relevant page of the Woodbrooke Study Centre website for details about how to attend. Should you find that our way of worship suits you, then attending a local online Meeting for Enquirers may be an excellent route to greater involvement and participation.

Much work has been put into preparing for the return of on-site, in-person Meetings for Worship. ‘By invitation only’ Meetings for Worship are currently taking place in Canterbury Friends Meeting House twice every week: on Wednesday lunchtimes and on Sunday mornings. Attendance at these Meetings for Worship is strictly limited in order to maintain physical distancing between Friends, and strict bio-security measures are in place.

While the corona virus continues to rage, re-opening Canterbury Friends Meeting House for Meetings for Worship has been far from easy, and has involved several Friends working very hard to understand complex documents, and translate them into practical action. Please find here, links to several formal documents relating both to risk assessments that have been carried out, and procedures, to ensure that such Meetings for Worship are as risk-free as achievable.

Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends issued this notice:
Click here for the notice from Britain Yearly Meeting.

With changing advice from the UK government, it may still be many months before Meetings for Worship held in the Meeting Hall of the Meeting House return to anything like normal.

When Meetings for Worship resume fully:

Accessibility

Other Information