Lecture at Radnor Memorial Library Celebrates Third Centennial of Radnor Friends Meeting

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Image via Radnor Friends Meeting.

A recent lecture at the Radnor Memorial Library celebrated 300 years of Radnor Friends Meeting, writes Linda Stein for Main Line Suburban Life.

Emma Lapsansky-Werner, professor emeritus of history at Haverford College and curator of the Quaker Collection there, spoke about several subjects relating to the Quaker religion and its history in the area.

William Penn brought his fellow Quakers to America, where they could live free of religious persecution. Soon after, Philadelphia and the surrounding area became a hub of Quaker life.

Before building meetinghouses, the Friends met at homes, said Lapsansky-Werner. Radnor Friends Meeting was built in 1718, making it the second meetinghouse in the Philadelphia area.

In 1827, the Radnor Meeting accepted a version of Quakerism promoted by a traveling minister, Elias Hicks, who had been rejected by more orthodox members of the faith.

“They were more willing to break the laws for what they believed in, more willing to be noisy for their faith,” she said.

Today, the Radnor Friends Meeting has 224 members and holds a service every Sunday.

Read more about the 300th anniversary of Radnor Friends Meeting in Main Line Suburban Life by clicking here.

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