Our Heritage
As members of the Society of Friends (Quakers), we celebrate a rich heritage. The origins of Friends are found in the seventeenth century in England, a time when many were questioning the established beliefs of the age. George Fox (1624-1691) did not find answers to his questions in any of the churches of his day. Out of his searching and study of the Scripture came the spiritual message which swept a large part of the country. The Society of Friends was born. Fox called for a radical, Spirit-filled Christianity that would not be oppressive of people on account of race, gender, or class. Fox preached that every person had free, unmediated access to God for Jesus Christ has come to teach his people himself. Fox did not intend to start a new Christian group. He wanted to persuade the church to return to what it had been in the days of the Apostles.
Quakers began to settle the Piedmont area of North Carolina in the middle of the 18th century. They came from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New England as well as from England and Ireland. Springfield became an established meeting in 1790 and Deep River Quarterly Meeting was set apart from New Garden Quarter in 1819. By 1883 High Point had grown into a thriving town built around trade, the railroad and manufacturing. Since many Friends lived here, Springfield Monthly Meeting requested that Deep River Quarterly Meeting establish a meeting for worship in High Point. So in 1885 a preparative meeting was approved becoming a full-fledged monthly meeting on January 7, 1892. In turn, High Point Friends Meeting established a meeting at Oak Hill in 1905 which became independent three years later. |
©2007 High Point Friends Meeting, High Point, NC
