Sandwich Monthly Meeting

Sandwich Monthly Meeting is the oldest continuous Monthly Meeting in North America. The first recorded meeting was in February 3rd 1657 in Sandwich, MA at the home of Priscilla and William Allen. A year later there were over one hundred Quakers who regularly gathered for worship.

Sandwich Monthly Meeting uses the English system of Quaker organization in which well established groups called Preparative Meetings come together in a Monthly Meeting to carry out business that they have in common; particularly membership, marriage and property. The term "Preparative" refers to the fact that the Meetings "prepare" business to be brought to the Monthly Meeting. (In the American system, Preparative Meetings are usually small, relatively new groups who are under the care of a more established group, referred to as a Monthly Meeting, until such time as they are solid enough to seek Monthly Meeting status.)

Sandwich Monthly Meeting is made up of three English style Preparative Meetings, West Falmouth, Yarmouth and East Sandwich. There are records of Quaker Meetings being held in 1681 in what was known as Yarmouth (which also included Dennis, Brewster and Harwich). In 1709 they petitioned for Preparative Meeting status but were refused until 1811; apparently because Sandwich Monthly people felt that Yarmouth Friends were not attending Sandwich Meetings regularly. Yarmouth Friends did however build the first Meeting House outside of Sandwich in 1714.

West Falmouth Preparative Meeting was granted Preparative status in 1710 and built a Meeting House in 1720.

After 1850 the number of Quaker on the Cape diminishing. In 1909 Yarmouth meeting was "officially" laid down and Sandwich Monthly Meeting appointed a treasurer to oversee trust funds for the care of the building and grounds. Although by around 1918 Friends were no longer worshiping regularly in any of the Meetings, especially in Falmouth, during the summer months, there were Meetings for Worship until 1942. From 1942-1954 several people kept the Sandwich Monthly Meeting alive by meeting every month at either Falmouth or Sandwich where they read the queries, appointed officers, and overseers of trust funds, collected and distributed money, kept minutes and once a year hosted Quarterly Meeting.

After World War II people interested in Friends started to return to Cape Cod. In 1954 people were again worshiping in Yarmouth's Meeting House and by 1955-1956 it was reopen year round. Once a year, in August, Yarmouth Friends (still considered a Preparative Meeting of Sandwich Monthly Meeting) would travel to meet for worship, business and a picnic at the old Sandwich Meeting House. By 1965 West Falmouth Meeting was reestablished with year round worship and in 1976 Friends were worshiping at East Sandwich during the summer months. By 1985 Sandwich was again home to year round worshiping Friends.