ABOUT US
Lowell Friends is a small but vibrant church with an average of forty attending each Sunday morning. We are prayerful and reverent but also love to smile and laugh. God created humor and we delight in the lightheartedness of life.
We enjoy a simple approach to worship: Pastor Jeff Adams opens with a welcome, announcements, and prayer. We then sing two or three traditional hymns led by our choir. Our "open worship" is a time when we quiet our hearts and minds so we may be better able to listen to the leadings of the Holy Spirit - a silent communion with Christ. There are times during open worship when the silence is broken and someone is led to offer a prayer, scripture reading, or discerning thought. Our Pastor then provides a relevant and biblically based message and offers a closing prayer.
To bring all areas of our lives in order, we strive to live our faith in Christ through our Quaker testimonies: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, and Equality. We enter our meetinghouse to worship and depart to serve.
LOWELL FRIENDS CHURCH HISTORY
Lowell, Kansas is a rural township tucked away in the southeast corner of Cherokee County, Kansas. The village is situated on the confluence of Spring River and Shoal Creek in an area known as Quaker Valley. Osage and Cherokee Indians were first inhabitants to the region and their history, in various ways, is interwoven with that of the early Quakers to the area. Immediately following the Civil War in 1865, there was an influx of Friends to the Lowell area from northern Kansas (near Shawnee Mission), Iowa, Indiana, and Ohio. Their influence dominated the community and continues to have a profound effect. In 1891 Friends built the Lowell Polytechnic Institute (an Academy for higher learning) and a second building which served as a dormitory, library, and chemistry lab. With the rise of public schools, the Academy closed in 1904 and was converted into the Lowell Friends Church as it is used today. An annex was built to the church in 1956 and is used for classes and fellowship. Over the years little has changed with the church building or our heartfelt desire to worship God . Every Sunday the original Academy bell continues to sound the call of meeting for worship.
- LFC history extracted from the writings of Kay Prather Shoup (LFC Member), Verdie Lindy, and John Kinion