Settle Meeting House

Submitted by Alan Marsden on Fri, 05/04/2024 - 00:00

I have rather more sympathy for early Quakers rather than their contemporary heirs. James Parnell, one of their seventeenth-century martyrs, said

“Be willing that self shall suffer for Truth and not the Truth for self”.

Modern Friends seem less familiar with the truth of Christ Jesus as revealed in the Bible, looking instead to self’s inner light.

Nevertheless, I found their Meeting House at Settle an inspiration. It was built in 1678. This is remarkable because they were only legally constructed after 1689’s Act of Toleration. Those Friends of Settle stepped out in faith, and providence saw fit to preserve their efforts. It cost them eighty pounds, suggesting that the plot possessed an existing building whose materials they could re-use, and that many did the work themselves. Although the proceeding century saw further improvement and enlargement, its foundations were laid amidst the fires of persecution. I fear these days are likely to return, not at the expense of liberal Quakerism, but those who hold dear the truths of scripture and Christ’s exclusive claims.