13075 Woolman Lane, Nevada City, California, 95959

Grass Valley Friends Meeting

NOTE: We are now doing Hybrid Meetings for Worship.  Please use the Contact Form for to receive details on how to attend in person at Sierra Friends Center or on Zoom.

Topics We Discuss

01.

Motivation

We are an unprogrammed Friends meeting. We sit in silent, expectant worship. We gather to seek and share spiritual nourishment, care for one another, and serve the wider world.

02.

Vision

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. The membership total worldwide is about 200,000.

03.

Strategy

We believe that every person is loved by the Divine Spirit, which dwells in everyone and everything. There are Quakers of all ages, religious backgrounds, races, education, sexual orientations, gender identities, and classes.

04.

Leadership

Please feel free to ask the person who ends meeting any questions you might have after Worship.
You are welcome to join us as you are. Dress as you feel comfortable.

05.

Self Improvment

Our meetinghouse has traditionally been located on the property known as John Woolman School or Sierra Friends Center.

06.

Self Awareness

We acknowledge that this property was never ceded from the Nisenan people. 

07.

Confidence

As a Meeting, we are discerning ways to meaningfully act in support of the Nisenan people.

08.

Life Skills

First Day (Sundays) 9 a.m. Singing
10:00 a.m. Meeting for Worship and Children’s Program and child care (all ages welcome).

What Do We Believe?

To listen to God

To know and be known by God

To grow in our faith

To be changed

About US

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.

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We hold monthly business meetings. 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.

You are welcome, Friend.

Grass Valley Friends Meeting holds programs and events throughout the year.

On second Sundays we hold Meeting for Worship on the Occasion for Business, in which we conduct all the business of our monthly meeting.

Spiritual Life meets once a month on fourth Sundays after Meeting for Worship. Programs vary from month to month. We have a general focus of exploring our spiritual experiences both individually and corporately.

On fifth Sundays we hold a Family Meeting for Worship.   Children and adults gather and spend 20 minutes in story telling, 20 minutes in singing and 20 minutes in silent worship.

Please use the Contact Form under the CONNECT button to get a list of our current events and programs.  

Some recent highlights:

  • March 28, 2021:  Laying Down the Sword and Shield: Using NVC as a Spiritual Practice
  • February 28, 2021:  Eldering with the Pacific Yearly Meeting Eldering Subcommittee
  • January 24, 2021:  Faithfulness Groups

Last night’s workshop on “How We Win: Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigns for Climate Justice” with George Lakey was a big hit. Over 60 people attended. He gave great advice on how to effectively organize nonviolent direct action campaigns. Someone from the local Sunrise Movement was there. I was disappointed that George didn’t mention that a group of his students founded Sunrise. His experience in activism started in the late 1950’s with demonstrations against atmospheric nuclear testing and is still going strong. He was arrested just a few weeks ago in a demonstration in D.C. urging Congress to act responsibly in the climate crisis. He has accumulated a great deal of wisdom about effective nonviolent action in his 82 years.

After the three hour workshop, he lead a much smaller group of us in a sing along of Broadway show tunes. That was a lot of fun. I learned that Paul Robeson couldn’t stomach the original lyrics to “Ol’ Man River,” so he rewrote them so the character singing them had more dignity. For example, “Get a little drunk and land in jail” became “Show a little spunk and land in jail.” He showed them to Oscar Hammerstein who agreed that Robeson’s lyrics were better.

The event was sponsored by Grass Valley Friends Meeting, the Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains, and Woolman at Sierra Friends Center.

Testimonial

What Pastors Are Saying

“Attending the unprogrammed worship at Grass Valley Friends Meeting has been life-changing. The silence and reflection provide such peace, and the sense of community is truly heartwarming.”
DANIEL JOHNSON
“GVFriends.org helped me find a spiritual home where I can connect with others in a meaningful way. The hybrid gatherings are perfect for staying involved even when I can’t attend in person.”
Julia Michele
“I appreciate how Grass Valley Friends Meeting combines faith with real community service. Through the website, I learned about volunteer opportunities and events that support local families.”
Robert Green
“The worship style is simple yet profound, and everyone is so welcoming. I only wish there were more midweek online gatherings, but overall it’s been a blessing to be part of this community.”
Oliver Goodman

If You Have Any Question,
Feel Free to Call 608-404-1014

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.