The oldest Quaker meeting house west of Iowa is celebrating its 140th anniversary with a renewed commitment to accessibility.
The historic San Jose Meeting House is raising funds to bring its landmark space into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The remodeling has turned out to be more extensive than expected due to the historic nature of the house. To date, the congregation has raised $350,934 and needs an additional $40,667 to reach its goal.
The house is listed in San Jose’s Historic Resources Inventory, which requires additional permits to make adjustments while preserving the home’s original integrity.
“It’s a lot of money,” Anna Koster, co-clerk and longtime member of the San Jose Friends Meeting, told San José Spotlight. “It’s not just a ramp. The foundation has to be adjusted, and the door needs to be widened. The whole entryway is extensive.”
The interior of the San Jose Meeting House is used for worship and reflection. Chairs face each other so that Friends can look at one another when they choose to speak. The congregation also lends the space to other nonprofit groups. Photo by Sofia Ruvalcaba.
To reach its fundraising goal, the congregation is holding a series of benefit events, with the next one March 22. The events are also an effort to increase visibility for the congregation.
Quakers, or the Religious Society of Friends, are a historically Protestant Christian denomination that places emphasis on the “Inner Light” and personal reflection. During worship, individuals typically sit in mostly silent services unless they feel moved to speak.
Koster said the campaign is rooted in Quaker tenets.
“The testimonies of community, equality and stewardship,” Koster said. “Each of those plays into being open as a community to everyone.”
Quaker congregation member Patti Bossert reflected on her 41-year membership at the San Jose Friends Meeting as one grounded in community, equality and sustainability.
“Coming together with like-minded people to meditate together and know that we all believe in the testimonies is important,” Bossert told San José Spotlight. “It’s all about bringing peace to myself and the world, and living with the thought of everyone coexisting together.”
The Quakers established roots in San Jose when Joel and Hannah Bean left Iowa with other members in 1885 amid theological controversy that had fractured their community.
Division persisted after arriving in California, and the faction split twice more over the same disputes. It was only when the Beans aligned with a smaller, like-minded circle of Friends that they pooled their finances among four families and secured the funds necessary to build what would become the San Jose meeting house.
The meeting house has since relocated a mere 200 feet to make room for the construction of Highway 17 in 1958. Today the group lends out the facility to other nonprofit organizations.
The congregation doesn’t have many members to lean on for funding, with a community of 49 people. Koster said Quaker numbers have not fluctuated much since the 1940s, other than a brief increase in membership during the 1960s in response to the Vietnam War.
“It’s a refuge, it gives us a place where we can live our values and encourage each other,” Koster said. “But we don’t want to be secret.”
The March 22 event will be held at 1041 Morse St., featuring performers Jody Yeary and Nathan Ladyzhensky as the musical duo Sweet Grits. This will be the final performance before the meeting house celebrates its 141st anniversary on April 26.
“We’re here, and we welcome everyone,” Koster said.
Contact Sofia Ruvalcaba at [email protected] or @sofiaruvs on X.