October 18, 2026  AND October 25, 2026, 9:30 to 10:45am
(Note earlier start time)

Join Tom Gates from Lancaster Friends Meeting for…

“A Romp Through Quaker History”

It can be hard for newer Quakers (as well as long time attenders and yes – even members) to get a sense of the complexity and richness of Quaker history. And yet understanding that history is important to gaining a fuller appreciation of today’s Quakerism. The sessions are meant to be as painless as possible (even fun!), while grounding Quakers in a shared understanding of our history. 

Part I (Sunday October 18 – 9:30 – 10:45 a.m.): Seventeenth Century Origins.  We will look at the political and religious background of the emergence of Friends in the 1650s, as well as some of the critical events, and end with a review of several “theories” about the emergence of Quakerism.     

Part II (Sunday October 25 9:30 – 10:45 a.m.): Nineteenth Century Origin of Quaker Diversity.  We will pick up the story by looking at “the long 18th Century” of Quaker history (from the death of Fox in 1691 to the schism of 1827), some of the background and consequences of the divisions in the 19th century, and the origins of modern Quaker diversity (Orthodox, Hicksite, Wilburite, and all that). 

Tom Gates is a retired family physician and medical educator. He is a member of Lancaster Meeting, where he serves on the Worship and Ministry Committee. Tom is the author of several Pendle Hill pamphlets and a recent book, Turning Toward the Victim: The Bible, Sacred Violence, and the End of Scapegoating in Quaker Perspective (Wipf and Stock, 2025). 

​

​