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Quakers return to Haverfordwest after 190 years

Quakers with their banner: Gathering at Milford Haven Friends Meeting House (Pic. Maura Hazelden)
Quakers with their banner: Gathering at Milford Haven Friends Meeting House (Pic. Maura Hazelden)

QUAKERS are coming back to Haverfordwest this autumn with ‘Quaker Quest’, a series of four informal evenings where members of the public can come and find out about Quakers today. Themes include belief, worship, peace and action. Speakers from across West Wales will share their individual and common insights on how being a Quaker influences their lives – from silent meeting for worship to radical action in peacemaking and politics.

Quaker Quest meets every Friday in October at the Picton Community Centre on Freemans Way, starting at 6.30 with fairtrade refreshments and delicious cake, and followed by informal presentations and opportunities for discussion and questions. There is also the opportunity to experience Quaker silent worship, which lies at the heart of the Quaker tradition. Quaker Quest has been organised by the four local meetings in our area; Milford Haven, St. Davids, Narberth and Cardigan, and marks a timely return to the county town.

Quakerism first grew up in the county after George Fox visited in 1656; the towns of Haverford and Narberth in Pennsylvania were founded by Pembrokeshire Quakers fleeing persecution and imprisonment locally. The Meeting House in Haverfordwest, on the site of the Shire Hall, closed in 1824, as the focus for local Quakers moved to Milford Haven, which was founded by Quaker whaling families from Nantucket. A Quaker burial ground dating from the 1660’s remains at Sutton, just outside Haverfordwest, providing a tranquil place to visit, with its beech tree avenue and walled graveyard. For more information visit qqhaverfordwest.blogspot.co.uk

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