This page is especially for people who are curious about Quakers, visiting for the first time, or exploring at their own pace.
Looking for stillness, truth and a caring community?
Many people come to Quakers because they are searching — for quiet, for meaning, for justice, or for a spiritual path that leaves room for questions.
You don’t need to hold particular beliefs, and you don’t need to be sure what you’re looking for. Some people who come to Quaker meetings describe themselves as spiritual-but-not-religious, others as Christian, and some as unsure or non-religious. What we share is a commitment to listening deeply — to ourselves, to one another, and to the world around us.
If you’re curious, you are welcome here.
"If I were not a Jew I would be a Quaker" Albert Einstein, 1954
What happens in a Quaker Meeting?
In a Quaker meeting for worship, people usually sit together in silence for about an hour. There is no minister, no set sermon, and no planned programme.
During the silence, some people pray, some reflect, some simply sit quietly. Occasionally, someone may feel moved to speak briefly out of the silence. Many meetings pass with no spoken words at all.
People often say the silence feels grounding, challenging, peaceful, or unfamiliar — sometimes all at once. There is no expectation to participate in any particular way.
Here a Quaker talks about the welcoming silence of Meeting for worship.
"Quaker meeting gives me a setting to find stillness and to quiet my mind in amongst the whirl of modern life." Maia.
Explore at your own pace
People find their way to Quakers through many different paths. You might like to explore a little more — there is no right order, follow what interests you.
What Quakers believe and value – Quakers share a commitment to values such as truthfulness, peace, equality, simplicity, and care for the earth. We believe that spiritual insight is not fixed or finished, and that understanding grows through experience, reflection, and listening together.
Friends (the name Quakers often use for themselves) hold a wide range of beliefs about God, spirituality, and faith. What matters most is how we live — how we treat one another, and how we respond to the needs of the world.
You are not expected to sign up to a creed or doctrine.
Learn about the values that guide Quakers, and how belief among Friends can be diverse:
Quaker Beliefs
The Quaker Way
Advices & Queries (a Quaker booklet by which we challenge and encourage each other in living the Quaker way)
- What happens in worship – What a Quaker meeting is like, what usually happens, and what’s expected (or not). You're welcome to visit any meeting to see what it's like for yourself. No obligation, no pressure, no dress code.
Quaker Meeting
Read how five Quakers describe their experience of Meeting
Here's a guide to your first Quaker Meeting
- Quaker history and stories – Where Quakers come from, and how the tradition has taken shape in Aotearoa.
Our History
Quakers in Aotearoa NZ
Prominent Quakers in History (e.g. founding members George Fox and Margaret Fell.)
Why people become Quakers – Personal reflections from people who found their way to Quakers in different ways. You can watch short videos, read about five Friends' spiritual journeys, and stories of Earth Friends.
Why I am a Quaker
Five Quakers' Journeys
Earth Friends
Frequently asked questions – honest answers to common questions about belief, belonging, and visiting a meeting.
"I attended my first Meeting for Worship at the age of fifteen. It was a small provincial meeting -- there were about eight regular attenders, whose ages ranged between sixty and ninety. By all rights I should have been discouraged from coming back to Meeting by this great disparity in age between me and them. But the next week and the week after I came back to Meeting. Why? Because those Quakers made me feel at home." Lucas.
If you'd like to stay in touch or find out more:
Find a meeting or talk with someone
There’s no expectation that you’ll join anything, attend regularly, or already understand how Quakerism works. Many people start simply by asking a question. If you’d like to ask a question, or talk things through, a Quaker is happy to respond.
Connect with a Quaker
Find a meeting
Join up for our visitors' letter (an occasional newsletter with reflections, stories, news & events)
Whether you’re looking for a spiritual home, a place of quiet, or simply exploring, you’re welcome to take your time. Quakers value patience, openness, and care — for one another and for ourselves.
You are welcome to come and see. If you've got children, then they are welcome too. You might like to read about how Quakers view children's spirituality and involve them in Meeting here.
Want to get involved in our work and activity? Click here.
