1. South East
  2. Central Edinburgh Quaker Meeting

Central Edinburgh Quaker Meeting

We strive to be an All-age worshipping community, with monthly All-age Worship and regular children's activities. We welcome many visitors each week, both from Edinburgh and from around the world. 

Meetings for worship

All are welcome to meeting for worship:

Sunday 09.30am: "Blended" (online and in the Meeting House), every Sunday for 45 minutes.centraledinburgh [at] quaker.org.uk ( Please contact us for the Zoom link).

Sunday 11am: "Blended" Meeting for Worship every Sunday for 1 hour. On the 1st Sunday of every month, this is All-age worship, and lasts for 45 minutes.

  • Every Sunday some worship in the Meeting House and some worship from home, via a Zoom call connected to the Meeting House.
  • If you'd like to worship online,centraledinburgh [at] quaker.org.uk ( please contact us for the Zoom link).
  • As well as All-age worship on the 1st Sunday, we have sessions for children and young people on the 3rd and (where there is one) the 5th Sundays of the month. Read more about children's activities.

Wednesday 12.30-1pm: Midweek Meeting

  • This Meeting for Worship is only in the Meeting House. Please check our Covid guidance before attending.

There are sometimes changes to children's sessions and Midweek Meeting on holidays and during the Fringe in August, so please check this page for details.

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Contact information

Central Edinburgh Quaker Meeting worships in the Edinburgh Quaker Meeting House; there are separate contact details for the Quaker Meeting and the Meeting House:

  • To hire a room in Edinburgh Quaker Meeting House please go to the room hire website or contact the Meeting House managers by email (office [at] equaker.org.uk) or phone (0131 225 4825). 
  • To contact Central Edinburgh Quaker Meeting please email the clerking team at centraledinburgh [at] quaker.org.uk or leave a message in the Meeting House on 0131 225 4825.

Our home

We meet in the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town. This fine building was built in 1865 and purchased by the South East Scotland Area Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1987, and has been made fully wheelchair-accessible.

The building is open and staffed throughout the week. Please feel free to call in to learn more about Quakerism, or just to have a period of peace and quiet reflection over a cup of coffee or tea in the entrance foyer.

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Meetings for worship are held in the large room at the top of the building; below this is a hall for social events, together with a library and a kitchen. The library is open on Sundays and may be consulted during the week by arrangement.

Rooms can be hired by groups at all times that they are not in use by the local Quaker community; please read more on the room hire website or phone 0131-225 4825.

Every August the building is used as Venue 40 of the Festival Fringe.  There are performances by theatre groups from around the world, concerts and cafe.  Profits earned during the Festival period are passed on to charities.  Read more on the Venue 40 website.

Our wider Quaker Community

We are part of:

  • South East Scotland Area Meeting, which is responsible for many aspects of our spiritual life, such as Weddings and Funerals, and is the legal body responsible for the building and employing the Meeting House staff.
  • General Meeting for Scotland, which brings together Quakers throughout Scotland, representing our concerns particularly in the Scottish Parliament.
  • Britain Yearly Meeting, which brings together all Quakers in Great Britain and carries out work to support the Society of Friends and works in Britain and throughout the world on Quaker concerns such as peace-building and bringing about a more just and equitable society.

Becoming involved

If you are attending regularly, please ask after a Meeting for Worship if you would like to have a Pastoral Friend, join our email announcement list and receive Terrace Talk, our newsletter, by email. We also have an experimental WhatsApp group.

Artist's impression of online Meeting for Worship ... 

Lego Zoom Meeting

 

Meeting place

Quaker Meeting House
7 Victoria Terrace
Edinburgh EH1 2JL ,
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Wheelchair access to the Meeting House is from George IV Bridge along Victoria Terrace. There is also access from the Upper Bow from the Lawnmarket or from the steps up from Victoria Street. Metered parking is nearby (free on Sundays) in Johnston Terrace, Victoria Street and Grassmarket. Lothian buses 23, 27, 41, 42, and 67 pass nearby.

Diary