Home boys and Home girls have found their Chautauqua home with the Quaker House – their official host at Chautauqua. Three groups of 4, each group comes for a week and stay at the QHC. Entering into the Chautauqua sabbatical experience, they take home experiences of sailing, new friends, and affirmation of their humanity […]
Category: History
Quakers, Chautauqua and Historical Research – Part 2)
blog post by Mary Finn — (See part One in the February 2022 blog post) When I learned a few years ago that Quakers met at Chautauqua in 1900 to form Friends General Conference (FGC), “The most influential center of American Liberal Quakerism in the 20th c.” (Hamm, 2020), I was surprised and intrigued. Who […]
“April is the Cruellest Month…”
Blog by Ron Petersen, QHCHQ Steering Committee member April 2022 “April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. So opens T. S. Eliot’s poem “The Waste Land”. As I begin work on the blog entry I agreed to do for this […]
Quaker Hospitality
Blog post by Kathy Slattery Our very first year, was a process of continuous learning. This year offers much the same, but at a slower pace. Last year I served as House Manager and Registrar. During the 2022 season, I will serve again as the Registrar while looking forward to being at the house frequently […]
Quakers at Chautauqua @ 1900
Blog post by Mary Finn, Steering Committee member Posted Feb2, 2022 I love being a Quaker, and being at Chautauqua, and doing historical research. All three passions came into unity when I learned that a major Quaker organization, the Friends General Conference (FGC), had been established at Chautauqua in 1900. FGC has been described as […]
The World is Always Turning
By Shari Castle PhD Quaker House Steering Committee Member An old folk song says that the “world is always turning toward the morning.” As I sit here in wintery Chautauqua, I think about how the world is always turning toward the summer season. Here on the Chautauqua grounds, I’m in my cozy winterized condo having […]
What Hides Beneath the Snow
It’s December and winter time at the Chautauqua Institution. And the Quaker House has entered its season of hibernation. The porches are enclosed with canvas drapes protecting chairs and bicycles, the water pipes are drained, wall air conditioners stored inside, perishables removed, furniture covered in sheets, WIFI disconnected and stand by power turned off. […]
Why Come to Chautauqua?
Reflections of a Fifth Generation Chautauquan (and Quaker House Committee member) Submitted by Shari Castle I am a 5th generation Chautauquan. There are so many reasons why I come back year after year. But you may never have been here. So Why Should You Come? The Programming You get the arts, education, religion, and recreation […]
A Spirituality of Anticipation
by Deb First Member Quaker House Steering Committee Forty-five years ago, I planned to attend Meeting for Worship for the second time. My usual procedures for going anywhere- simplest (have something to eat. Write the directions) to adaptive (was it snowing? Did I need an umbrella?) were this time accompanied by an unfamiliar sensation – […]
Making a Family Home into Quaker House
The past few months The past few months have been a mix of discovery, experimentation, thoughtful organization and amazement. This is not unlike my own spiritual journey and perhaps yours? Quakers found ourselves homeless on the grounds of Chautauqua…then receiving the promise of a house of our own at Chautauqua – a handsome 1911, gabled […]