meeting-house

Quaker worship building

A meeting-house is a building used for religious worship, particularly by Quakers and some Protestant denominations.

The term emphasizes simplicity and communal gathering over architectural grandeur—Quaker meeting-houses are notably plain, reflecting the sect's rejection of ritual and hierarchy.

In early American usage, meeting-house often meant any church or town hall where citizens assembled: The whole village gathered at the meeting-house.

colonial

Puritan

English Protestant simplifier

congregationAssembled group of worshippers
New EnglandNortheast U.S. region
steeplePointed church tower

pews · town square · clapboard · bell tower · Sabbath · sermon · minister · gallery · commons · whitewashed

communal

assembly

Constructing from components

gathering placeLocation for assembly
village hallPublic building for locals
communityCollective of connected people

congregation · fellowship · townspeople · civic · public · discussion · local · neighbors · socializing · announcements

Quaker

Friends

Nineties sitcom, six Manhattanites

worshipReligious reverence and praise
silenceTotal lack of sound
plainBasic and unremarkable

benches · elders · gathering · testimony · clearness · unprogrammed · clerk · ministry · simplicity · queries

Opposites

architectural grandeur and religious hierarchy

meeting-housecathedral

Bishop's principal church

basilica · abbey · minster · high church · temple

gathering vs. solitude

meeting-househermitage

Secluded religious dwelling

isolation chamber · cell · solitary confinement · private chapel · desert retreat

sacred vs. secular space

meeting-housefactory

Industrial production facility

warehouse · marketplace · tavern · brothel · gambling den

Family

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G