Community Carol Sing
Sunday, December 22, 8:00 P.M.
Join us for this beloved Christmas tradition
The Pennsdale Friends Meeting annual Carol Sing goes back more than 75 years, since the Nicholson family — Marjorie, Jim, Peter and James, members of the meeting descended from its founders — gathered on the porch at Pennsdale Meeting to sing carols. In the still night air they sang for their family, they sang for their neighbors, and they sang for the Spirit.
Others joined them, and over time, the event went public, moving inside by the warmth of the fire.
We don’t worry about being in tune, we just sing carols for an hour – first the secular ones, and then the religious ones — by the light of regular and LED candles. “A Visit from St. Nicholas” and the Gospel of the Nativity from St. Luke are the only readings. We close with Quaker silence for a short time, followed by cookies and cider.
Friends preserve this tradition in memory of the Nicholson family and for all those to whom it has become a cherished part of their own Christmas.
Pennsdale is an unprogrammed Meeting. This means that, in the life of the Meeting and during a worship service, there is no separate clergy or distinction between clergy and laity. Members and attenders fill either role as they are “inwardly moved” to do so. Our meeting is affiliated with Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.
Meetings for worship are held at 11 a.m. each Sunday — First Day in Quaker parlance — and last for one hour. All are welcome.
Who We Are
Welcome to Pennsdale Meeting – a Quaker spiritual community that has been a presence in this part of Pennsylvania since the late 1700s.
We come from a variety of backgrounds and have a diversity of beliefs. We share a practice of silent worship.
In Quaker terms, this is an “unprogrammed” meeting. This means silent worship is the core of our gathering here.
You may have heard that Quakers don’t have ministers. Actually, we don’t have laity. Ministry is everyone’s responsibility — and joy — whether you are a member of the Religious Society of Friends or attending for the first time.
Ministry, to us, is not a “spectator sport.” You are participating in ministry simply by being with us.
We sit in silence in order to listen inwardly for that divine voice that has spoken through the sages in many times, places, and spiritual traditions. Inward listening is possible in solitude, but becomes powerful and even palpable when we gather.
About Quakers
The Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, began in the mid-1600s amid the tumultuous years of England’s Civil War. The first Friends were drawn to George Fox, a seeker who believed that God dwells in each of us, rather than in holy books or buildings. Early Friends faced persecution until they came to the haven offered by an influential convert, William Penn.
The Meeting
This meeting was, since early settlement just before 1800, a “Preparative Meeting” that was part of Muncy Monthly Meeting, which also encompassed Catawissa, Fishing Creek, and Roaring Creek meetings. In 1988 Pennsdale established itself as an independent monthly meeting. Elklands Meeting is a preparative meeting to Pennsdale Monthly Meeting.
The Meeting House
Pennsdale is among the loveliest of the ancient meeting houses in Pennsylvania, lying well displayed along the hillside with the burial ground beyond. Built in 1799 of local stone, the Pennsdale Meeting House retains much of its original charm. A ramp leads to the porch and a portable ramp can assist with wheelchair access. It has no plumbing and the privy is not wheelchair accessible.
Where We Are
At the corner of Village Road and Quaker Church Road in the village of Pennsdale, just off I-180 at the Hall’s Station Exit.
Pennsdale Friends Meeting
443 Village Road
Pennsdale, PA 17756
United States
PO Box 166
Muncy, PA 17756
United States
