Quaker Centre nears completion
The Bookshop Cafe at Friends House is being refitted over the summer as part of the building work to create the new Quaker Centre.
The Quaker Centre (which will incorporate a café, bookshop, resources area and a worship space) has been designed by Theis and Khan, architects who recently won a RIBA prize for their work redesigning a URC church to create the ecumenical Lumen Church in Bloomsbury.
The design of the worship space has been particularly interesting. Richard Summers, the Quaker Life General Secretary, says: “Quakers do not regard any particular place as being sacred and can worship anywhere, but from very early on Quakers have built meeting houses, designed to facilitate our particular form of worship. The challenge in the Quaker Centre is to design a worship space that reflects contemporary Quakerism and is in some way symbolic of what underlies Quakerism and all that goes on in Friends House.”
The solution is a plain white circular space (a room within a room) with a bench on the back wall and a row of simple wooden chairs with a table in the middle. The architects have given particular attention to lighting and soundproofing and to the way in which the worship space interacts with the other areas in the Centre.
A range of services
The new centre will have a wide selection of books available for sale or loan. It will also include an information point and resource centre for newcomers to Quakers, seasoned Friends and meetings. Richard says: “With the new centre, we will be offering a welcoming and accessible experience about Quakerism. It is exciting to see the final stages of this project come together.”
The Centre will open at the beginning of Quaker Week on 3 October and there is much to be done by Amanda Woolley, the Centre manager (who started on 1 June), and her team.
From 15 July to 3 October, there will be a full cafe service in Friends House restaurant (08:00–16:00, Monday to Saturday). The Bookshop will continue to provide a mail order and book box service, and a selection of best-selling titles will be on sale in the Friends House Restaurant.
Everyone will be very welcome in the new centre and we look forward to seeing you there.
Volunteer roles
Amanda is seeking to recruit a team of volunteers and would like to hear from any Friends interested in being involved. The two main tasks required will be to provide a contact point for Friends and those exploring Quakerism, and management of the resources (books, leaflets etc.) which will be available for loan. If you would like more information or to indicate your interest, please contact Amanda:
Contact:
Amanda Woolley
amandaw@quaker.org.uk
0207 663 1041
