Draft:Ramallah Friends Meeting (Quakers)

The Ramallah Friends Meeting (Quakers), or simply the Ramallah Friends Meeting (RFM), is a Quaker meeting located in Ramallah in the West Bank and is part of the Middle East Yearly Meeting. The Ramallah Friends Meeting Quakers are in association with the Friends World Committee for Consultation and are affiliated with the Friends United Meeting, the largest denomination of Quakerism.

History
After the 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus between Christians and Druze, many missionaries flocked to Ottoman Syria. These missionaries included Quakers, commonly called Friends, from several nations. In 1869, plans were formed to establish a school for girls in the city of Ramallah. The Friends Syrian Mission was established in 1874, which ran the Ramallah Friends School, which still exists today.

Having had a local presence of Friends in the Ramallah area for over 40 years, the Ramallah Friends Meetinghouse was constructed in 1910 as a formal place of meeting and worship for Palestinian Friends. The present building was repaired in 2004 with help from the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting after lacking funds for maintenance since the 1990s.

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the RFM meetinghouse and grounds were used to house over 100 Palestinian refugees. During the course of the Second Intifada, the meetinghouse was damaged.

The RFM congregation is a vocal supporter of peace for the region. They voice support for the Palestinian people and sees the Israeli occupation of the West Bank as "oppression." RFM has helped gather humanitarian aid for the Gaza region.

Worship
The Ramallah Friends Meeting holds services every Sunday in the "Unprogrammed" style. Unlike most Christian services, this Quaker worship style does not involve a prepared sermon from a Pastor or congregation leader. While meeting leaders may give unscripted sermons, much of the service involves silence until a member of the meeting is felt moved by the Inward light to speak. (See also: Quakers)

Collaborations
The RFM is a member of the Friends World Committee for Consultation, an organization aimed at uniting Quakers of all backgrounds and ideologies. The RFM is also a recipient of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting's Middle East Collaborative, which helps with RFM's needs, as well as other Quaker institutions in the region.

They are also a partner of Global Ministries, an interdenominational organization which furthers partnerships between churches and aids in specific congregation needs.