The Quaker Settlement is a Quaker intentional community situated on the northern outskirts of Whanganui, Aotearoa/New Zealand. The 20-acre site is owned by the Whanganui Educational Settlement Trust (WEST), a Quaker trust set up in 1975, and comprises 17 homes surrounding a residential seminar center that can accommodate up to 40 people, serving the needs of New Zealand Quakers and other groups.
There is no individual ownership of land: tenure is therefore “guardianship,” communal facilities kept up by people living in the encircling houses. Residents share all management responsibilities and work cooperatively using spiritually discerned decision-making.
Weekend seminars organized by New Zealand Yearly Meeting’s Quaker Learning and Spiritual Development Committee occur throughout the year and can be found on the website.
Seminars and events in 2023 included an intergenerational weekend focused on ways to reach out to young families and seekers of all ages; an autumn work weekend to complete maintenance jobs at the settlement; a Quaker men’s gathering; a WEST board meeting; a seminar exploring the word worship with facilitators who asked participants to consider what worship means to them individually and to all Friends; and a Rainbow Weekend for LGBTQ+ Friends and Friends who are curious about their sexual and gender identity and orientation.
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