Oak Park Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
Friends (Quakers) are rooted in Christianity. The earliest Friends (in 17th century England) believed that there is an inward Light in each person that is from God. Gathering together regularly in silent worship, they waited expectantly for the Spirit of God to come among them. They believed that this could happen in many ways, including through vocal ministries. They endeavored to live in the Spirit of faith in God and love for God and others exemplified by Jesus Christ. In place of doctrines, Friends valued Testimonies such as integrity, equality, peace and simplicity. Meeting for Worship is the center of any community of Friends. We continue to gather together in silent worship, as did the earliest Friends, to wait expectantly for the Spirit of God to come among us. We have no minister beyond ourselves nor any formal liturgy beyond our simple worship format. Instead, we try to be open to God’s leadings in whatever way they come to us.
In March, 1941, a small group of concerned Friends and friends of Friends began to meet in Oak Park, Illinois. Several were members of the 57th Street Meeting in Chicago. Early records indicate that Oak Park Meeting was officially recognized as an independent meeting in 1942. As the membership remained small, in 1953 the members asked to become a preparatory meeting to 57th Street Meeting. Oak Park Meeting achieved independent status again in 1971.
Oak Park Friends Meeting has met at various locations in Oak Park over the years, including individual homes, the Nineteenth Century Women’s Club, the YMCA, Hephzibah House (a child care agency), and most recently, the Art League (an art gallery and studio).
Small size has periodically been a problem for the Meeting, but in spite of smallness, there has always been a warmth for each other. One member, Maurice Crew, served as clerk (Meeting facilitator) for 25 years. His vision and commitment kept the Meeting going. He attended first on Pearl Harbor day. Many First Days he was the only attender. Often only one or two others were present. Today, Friends continue to gather strength from the Meeting for Worship. Most of the members are “convinced Friends” (Quakers through conversion), thus the religious backgrounds are varied. Despite these differences, the attractiveness of Friends’ Testimonies drew them to the Oak Park Meeting.
There is and always has been a strong unity for social concerns at Oak Park Friends Meeting. Though small in number, Oak Park Friends have been active in social service and peace activities, both individually and as a Meeting. During the early years of the Meeting, the Flitcraft home was a welcome refuge for immigrants who had fled from Europe, and for Japanese-Americans who came from the detention centers. One room was set aside as a sewing room where women gathered weekly to sort, mend and sew clothing which was shipped to the American Friends Service Committee in Philadelphia. In later years Friends contributed money for draft counseling and financial aid to draft resisters. Friends have also contributed time, money and energy to hunger programs such as the PADS homeless shelter.
Currently, Oak Park Friends Meeting continues to grow and flourish in size, in spirit and through action. A typical Meeting for Worship has 20-25 worshipers, and there are usually about 5 children present in the First Day School.
Sources
“Welcome to Oak Park Meeting of Friends (Quakers)” flyer
“Illinois Yearly Meeting Centennial Sampler, 1875-1975”
“A Description of Oak Park Meeting” by Anna Alexa and Alice Flitcraft, from “Meeting Histories in the Area of Chicago General Meeting”
Oak Park Friends Meeting State of Society Reports
In March, 1941, a small group of concerned Friends and friends of Friends began to meet in Oak Park, Illinois. Several were members of the 57th Street Meeting in Chicago. Early records indicate that Oak Park Meeting was officially recognized as an independent meeting in 1942. As the membership remained small, in 1953 the members asked to become a preparatory meeting to 57th Street Meeting. Oak Park Meeting achieved independent status again in 1971.
Oak Park Friends Meeting has met at various locations in Oak Park over the years, including individual homes, the Nineteenth Century Women’s Club, the YMCA, Hephzibah House (a child care agency), and most recently, the Art League (an art gallery and studio).
Small size has periodically been a problem for the Meeting, but in spite of smallness, there has always been a warmth for each other. One member, Maurice Crew, served as clerk (Meeting facilitator) for 25 years. His vision and commitment kept the Meeting going. He attended first on Pearl Harbor day. Many First Days he was the only attender. Often only one or two others were present. Today, Friends continue to gather strength from the Meeting for Worship. Most of the members are “convinced Friends” (Quakers through conversion), thus the religious backgrounds are varied. Despite these differences, the attractiveness of Friends’ Testimonies drew them to the Oak Park Meeting.
There is and always has been a strong unity for social concerns at Oak Park Friends Meeting. Though small in number, Oak Park Friends have been active in social service and peace activities, both individually and as a Meeting. During the early years of the Meeting, the Flitcraft home was a welcome refuge for immigrants who had fled from Europe, and for Japanese-Americans who came from the detention centers. One room was set aside as a sewing room where women gathered weekly to sort, mend and sew clothing which was shipped to the American Friends Service Committee in Philadelphia. In later years Friends contributed money for draft counseling and financial aid to draft resisters. Friends have also contributed time, money and energy to hunger programs such as the PADS homeless shelter.
Currently, Oak Park Friends Meeting continues to grow and flourish in size, in spirit and through action. A typical Meeting for Worship has 20-25 worshipers, and there are usually about 5 children present in the First Day School.
Sources
“Welcome to Oak Park Meeting of Friends (Quakers)” flyer
“Illinois Yearly Meeting Centennial Sampler, 1875-1975”
“A Description of Oak Park Meeting” by Anna Alexa and Alice Flitcraft, from “Meeting Histories in the Area of Chicago General Meeting”
Oak Park Friends Meeting State of Society Reports
OPFM Historical Glimpses Location, Location, Location!
Oak Park Friends Meeting has met at various places over the years. According to reports, the Meeting first met in 1941 in the home of Clement and Luella Flitcraft, at 633 S. Maple Ave. in Oak Park. A 1943 issue of Friends Here and There, (a quarterly newsletter of Illinois and Indiana Yearly Meetings), wrote that, “Two years ago this coming March a small group of concerned Friends and friends of Friends met…to consider the possibility of forming a group to worship after the manner of Friends. Our aims were not certain nor did we want them set. Enough that benefit was experienced in each others’ fellowship. For eight months we met on the first Sunday of each month for worship, and on the following Saturday evening for business and social purposes. From November 1941 to April 1942 we met bi-monthly. Having met for one year we finally agreed on weekly meetings for unprogrammed worship…and discussions.”
In 1944, the Meeting began to meet in the Nineteenth Century Women’s Club. The 1945 State of Society Report states, “Punctually, we meet at eleven o’clock Sundays, in a corner of a large building at 178 Forest Avenue. You will see a simple sign hanging on the front door. Come on in. Come upstairs. Turn to your right. We will be in a circle welcoming you to the deep silence of The Eternal Father.”
By 1953 Oak Park Friends Meeting was meeting at the home of Dr. Beulah Nelson, located at 222 S. Grove Ave. in Oak Park. In addition to Beulah Nelson and the Flitcrafts, some of the early members were Maurice Crew, Carolyn Wills and Anna Alexa,
Our Meeting then met at the Oak Park YMCA for 20 years, beginning about 1956. That was where OPFM was located when Elinor Fallert and Burke Shipley began attending in the 1960s. They remember meeting first in a small room on the first floor of the “Y” with a long table in the middle. Friends sat around the table, and one family kept their rather noisy baby on top of the table. Later, they met in a larger room down the hall. The group met in each other’s homes for social occasions.
In 1976, our Meeting moved again, probably due to the YMCA’s need for the space. The 1976 SOS Report states, “Our new meeting place at Hephzibah House, 946 North Blvd., has a pleasant parlour for Meeting for Worship, a well equipped room for our small First Day Class and a dining room where we gather for coffee and discussions after Meeting.” The 1977 SOS Report gives some further information: “We have been meeting in the comfortable parlour of the Hephzibah House…for a little over a year now, and find that it is an ideal setting for worship. The additional space available to us for our first day school and periods of fellowship when we rise from meeting, meets our needs as well. Our attendance has grown nicely in this new setting, and that has made it possible for us to afford the higher monthly rental fee.” Although it would be tempting to think that there was a cause and effect relationship between a better setting and meeting growth, the 1979 SOS Report stated, “As the long, hard winter comes to an end, Oak Park Meeting finds itself smaller and quieter. Some of the people who met with us regularly a year ago no longer come. Attendance at First Day School is very small.” Another “pendulum swing” was reported in the 1987 SOS Report: “Oak Park Monthly Meeting has experienced another positive and productive year. Attendance continues to increase, and there has been a wider participation in spoken ministry. For the first time in several years we not only have child care but also a First Day School.”
In 1991, OPFM had to move again. The SOS Report for 1992 states, “In late November we learned that we had to leave Hephzibah House, since they were increasing the number of children cared for on a 24-hour basis from 10 to 30. Since we have met there for almost 15 years, this was very unsettling for us. And a new place was not easy to find. We are now meeting at the Oak Park Art League. We appreciate the light and creative atmosphere there, but it has been a challenge in terms of child care, as the space for First Day School is not as well designed as we have had in the past.” The 1998 SOS Report noted philosophically that, “The lack of a space of our own creates such challenges as noise, poor heating, time restrictions, and the inability to easily serve meals. We continue to explore alternatives, but make the best of our situation and remember that others gather in prayer under far worse circumstances.”
And in Conclusion…
Some thoughts on spaces for Meeting for Worship:
Many years ago, I read a story in the newspaper about a church in Oklahoma that decided to really follow Christ’s teachings. They sold their church building and gave all the money to the poor. Thereafter, they met in each other’s homes. I was very impressed, and thought they set a wonderful example.
Years later, I began to have conflicting emotions on this subject. A friend from this Meeting shared with me her dream of having our own meetinghouse. I could see the drawbacks of not having our own place to worship, socialize, and store our materials. Also, I could see many examples of wealthy places of worship being able to generate more money for charitable purposes.
The actual surroundings of the place of worship are important to me too, although for years I thought they shouldn’t be because of Quakerism’s back-to-basics message and testimony of simplicity. Nevertheless, meeting in a basement, for example, doesn’t appeal to me (something about the low ceilings and lack of a view to the outside world). I feel there’s a big difference between simple/humble and graceless/drab. In spite of the Art League’s drawbacks, I like the plain wooden floor, the art on the walls, and the beautiful front yard.
The Clear Creek Meetinghouse in McNabb, Illinois (meeting place of Illinois Yearly Meeting) is an example of how a meeting space affects a meeting. Perhaps it is also an example of how more than a century of worship in a place affects the space itself. It is a wonderful, serene old building. People who come to meeting there all seem to feel how special it is. Its high curved ceiling, painted with white-on white brushstrokes, its tall windows with light muslin curtains, and the summer fields glimpsed through the screen windows all contribute to a sense of quietness and communion. I expressed to a friend at IYM that I shouldn’t be so attached to a mere building, and she replied that it was alright because the Divine Spirit created us with a capacity to appreciate beauty. Another Friend said that the place was so peaceful that “you could sit on the porch, close your eyes, and know something about Quakerism”.
In 1944, the Meeting began to meet in the Nineteenth Century Women’s Club. The 1945 State of Society Report states, “Punctually, we meet at eleven o’clock Sundays, in a corner of a large building at 178 Forest Avenue. You will see a simple sign hanging on the front door. Come on in. Come upstairs. Turn to your right. We will be in a circle welcoming you to the deep silence of The Eternal Father.”
By 1953 Oak Park Friends Meeting was meeting at the home of Dr. Beulah Nelson, located at 222 S. Grove Ave. in Oak Park. In addition to Beulah Nelson and the Flitcrafts, some of the early members were Maurice Crew, Carolyn Wills and Anna Alexa,
Our Meeting then met at the Oak Park YMCA for 20 years, beginning about 1956. That was where OPFM was located when Elinor Fallert and Burke Shipley began attending in the 1960s. They remember meeting first in a small room on the first floor of the “Y” with a long table in the middle. Friends sat around the table, and one family kept their rather noisy baby on top of the table. Later, they met in a larger room down the hall. The group met in each other’s homes for social occasions.
In 1976, our Meeting moved again, probably due to the YMCA’s need for the space. The 1976 SOS Report states, “Our new meeting place at Hephzibah House, 946 North Blvd., has a pleasant parlour for Meeting for Worship, a well equipped room for our small First Day Class and a dining room where we gather for coffee and discussions after Meeting.” The 1977 SOS Report gives some further information: “We have been meeting in the comfortable parlour of the Hephzibah House…for a little over a year now, and find that it is an ideal setting for worship. The additional space available to us for our first day school and periods of fellowship when we rise from meeting, meets our needs as well. Our attendance has grown nicely in this new setting, and that has made it possible for us to afford the higher monthly rental fee.” Although it would be tempting to think that there was a cause and effect relationship between a better setting and meeting growth, the 1979 SOS Report stated, “As the long, hard winter comes to an end, Oak Park Meeting finds itself smaller and quieter. Some of the people who met with us regularly a year ago no longer come. Attendance at First Day School is very small.” Another “pendulum swing” was reported in the 1987 SOS Report: “Oak Park Monthly Meeting has experienced another positive and productive year. Attendance continues to increase, and there has been a wider participation in spoken ministry. For the first time in several years we not only have child care but also a First Day School.”
In 1991, OPFM had to move again. The SOS Report for 1992 states, “In late November we learned that we had to leave Hephzibah House, since they were increasing the number of children cared for on a 24-hour basis from 10 to 30. Since we have met there for almost 15 years, this was very unsettling for us. And a new place was not easy to find. We are now meeting at the Oak Park Art League. We appreciate the light and creative atmosphere there, but it has been a challenge in terms of child care, as the space for First Day School is not as well designed as we have had in the past.” The 1998 SOS Report noted philosophically that, “The lack of a space of our own creates such challenges as noise, poor heating, time restrictions, and the inability to easily serve meals. We continue to explore alternatives, but make the best of our situation and remember that others gather in prayer under far worse circumstances.”
And in Conclusion…
Some thoughts on spaces for Meeting for Worship:
Many years ago, I read a story in the newspaper about a church in Oklahoma that decided to really follow Christ’s teachings. They sold their church building and gave all the money to the poor. Thereafter, they met in each other’s homes. I was very impressed, and thought they set a wonderful example.
Years later, I began to have conflicting emotions on this subject. A friend from this Meeting shared with me her dream of having our own meetinghouse. I could see the drawbacks of not having our own place to worship, socialize, and store our materials. Also, I could see many examples of wealthy places of worship being able to generate more money for charitable purposes.
The actual surroundings of the place of worship are important to me too, although for years I thought they shouldn’t be because of Quakerism’s back-to-basics message and testimony of simplicity. Nevertheless, meeting in a basement, for example, doesn’t appeal to me (something about the low ceilings and lack of a view to the outside world). I feel there’s a big difference between simple/humble and graceless/drab. In spite of the Art League’s drawbacks, I like the plain wooden floor, the art on the walls, and the beautiful front yard.
The Clear Creek Meetinghouse in McNabb, Illinois (meeting place of Illinois Yearly Meeting) is an example of how a meeting space affects a meeting. Perhaps it is also an example of how more than a century of worship in a place affects the space itself. It is a wonderful, serene old building. People who come to meeting there all seem to feel how special it is. Its high curved ceiling, painted with white-on white brushstrokes, its tall windows with light muslin curtains, and the summer fields glimpsed through the screen windows all contribute to a sense of quietness and communion. I expressed to a friend at IYM that I shouldn’t be so attached to a mere building, and she replied that it was alright because the Divine Spirit created us with a capacity to appreciate beauty. Another Friend said that the place was so peaceful that “you could sit on the porch, close your eyes, and know something about Quakerism”.
