Welcome Friend!

Welcome to the official site of Quakers in Switzerland.  Please look around, learn about us, contact clerks of Switzerland YM or local groups with any questions.  We look forward to meeting you.

As Quakers, or more simply Friends, we are attenders and Members of the Society of Friends in Switzerland.

Who are Quakers?  We believe that there is the divine nature in ourselves and in each one we meet.  Our faith in this Truth challenges us to live lives based in Quaker testimonies of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and sustainability.  

How do we worship?  We meet in silence, usually for about an hour to listen to what the Spirit has to say to us. From the silence, we may speak when we feel strongly led to share what we hear in our hearts.  We gather in a circle because we believe that the Spirit may reveal itself to anyone.  We meet regularly to build community and to discover together where the Spirit leads us. Many people appreciate the time to rest, reflect, pray, meditate, find peace, connection, be with God, ask questions or seek answers. 

Swiss Friends do not have ministers nor staff, and responsibilities are shared amongst members.
Beliefs History

Local worship groups

Local groups gather regularly in silent meeting for worship.   Ffriendly Family gatherings occur every quarter.

There are two residential meetings - a retreat in February (this year 6-8 February 2026) and annual gathering in late Spring of each year (this year 30 April - 3 May 2026 and next year 14-17 May 2027).  

Swiss Friends also participate in gatherings beyond our borders.  Consult the calendar of FWCC-EMES.  

links to Quaker resources beyond Swiss borders.

About Swiss Quakers

Local worship groups

There are five local groups (Geneva, Lausanne-Riviera-Valais, Zürich, Bern, and Basel) with their schedules for Meetings for Worship and additional gatherings. more

Local worship groups form Switzerland Yearly Meeting (SYM).  Together the Yearly Meetings of Europe and the Middle East form  Friends World Committee for Consultation- Europe and Middle East Section.

Governance
Practices and traditions of each Quaker group are different. Swiss Quakers use the Us et coutumes/ Bräuche.

Switzerland YM is a religious association by Swiss civil law with these statutes.

Young Friends

Ffriendly Families meets quarterly to gather and play while exploring Quaker values.  The next gathering is on 5 October 2025 at Montreux Aikido.

Young adults meet as Europe and Middle East Young Friends or EMEYF




We support

Swiss Quakers support both Quaker organisations and non-Quaker organisations. more

Upcoming Events

Consult the calendar(scroll below)

SYM hosts four annual events.   In addition, local groups host events: talks and gatherings, friendly family events, spiritual deepening and spiritual reading groups. 
Contact local groups for details on their events.

Social Action working groups

Friendly Economics  works to promote the creation of economic and financial systems - at local, national and global levels - that ensure the well-being of all people within planetary boundaries. Our goals are: to determine what Quaker testimonies and traditions might offer toward the emergence of "friendly economics," identify interested Friends beyond Switzerland, and reach beyond Quaker circles to other faith groups and communities to form coalitions around reshaping economic systems.
Friendly Economics page is here.  Contact Friendly Economics here.

Peace Not War
The Peace not War Social Action Group was established by Switzerland Yearly Meeting to discern, stimulate and coordinate Swiss Friends’ efforts toward ending war and violence (both personal and structural). Building on the Quaker Peace Testimony, we are seeking unique Quaker contributions to ending war and violence. Current efforts have focused on supporting conscientious objectors in the war in Ukraine and contributing to organisations that work across the Muslim and Jewish communities in the Middle East to achieve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.  Contact Peace not War here.

Spiritual Reading

Monthly conversations are virtual.  Contact for details on our current reading and upcoming meetings.
Readings

Quaker Library

The Geneva meeting library is specialized with a focus on the Society of Friends:  history, biographies, practices, and Quakerism in Switzerland.  

contact the library

Swiss Quaker Life, Belief and Thought

This anthology in French, German, and English provides insight into the lives of Swiss Quakers.  
Order here - CHF12 + CHF2 shipping

Be patterns, be examples

"Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations wherever you come:  that your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people, and to them; then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone; whereby in them you may be a blessing, and make the witness of God in them to bless you." - George Fox, Statement of 1656
The Quaker Meeting Painting by Egbert van Heemskerk
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