In the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), a monthly meeting or area meeting[1] is the basic governing body, a congregation which holds regular meetings for business for Quakers in a given area. The monthly meeting is responsible for the administration of its congregants, including membership and marriages, and for the meeting's property. A monthly meeting can be a grouping of multiple smaller meetings, usually called preparative meetings, coming together for administrative purposes, while for others it is a single institution. In most countries, multiple monthly meetings form a quarterly meeting, which in turn form yearly meetings.[2] Programmed Quakers may refer to their congregation as a church.[2]
- ^ "Area meetings and local meetings". Quaker Faith and Practice: The book of Christian discipline of the Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain (Fifth ed.). Britain Yearly Meeting. 2014.
- ^ a b "FAQs about Quakers". Friends General Conference. Retrieved 19 April 2019.