Beacon Hill Friends House
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Updated on: Sep 19, 2024 (about 5 months ago)
- Created on: Dec 31, 1999 (about 25 years ago)
Mission Statement
"To embody the Quaker principles of faith, simplicity, integrity, community, and social responsibility in order to nurture and call forth the Light in all of us."
Community Description
Beacon Hill Friends House is:
- a cooperative residence for those interested in community living
- a center for public educational programming that supports personal and spiritual deepening
- a public meeting & event space welcoming a wide range of community groups
- a Quaker nonprofit organization, and the longtime home of Beacon Hill Friends Meeting (an independent Quaker congregation)
Beacon Hill Friends House is located on historic Beacon Hill in Boston, Massachusetts, a few blocks from the State House. The building was originally built in 1803. Since being given to Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1957, the building has become a center for the Quaker community and others in the Boston area.
Beacon Hill Friends House fulfills its mission by:
- providing a center where Friends and others can meet, worship, and study
- offering opportunities for the development of personal growth and deepening
- maintaining a diverse residential community guided by Friends' principles
- providing hospitality to visitors in our B&B style guest rooms
- advancing and fostering the principles of the Religious Society of Friends
21 Residents (of many faith and non-faith traditions) live at the house for up to four years. We create community through house dinners cooked by our kitchen manager, sharing chores and community-building responsibilities, and two house meetings a month. We welcome residency applications from people of all ages, genders, ethnicities, beliefs, sexualities, backgrounds, etc.
- Status: Established (4+ adults, 2+ years)
- Started Planning: 1957
- Started Living Together: 1957
- Visitors Accepted: Yes, rarely
- Open to New Members: Yes
- Please read the details in Membership below before contacting this community.Send Message
- Website: http://www.bhfh.org/
- Business, Project, or Organization: https://bhfh.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BHFHBoston/
- Other Social: https://www.instagram.com/beaconhillfriendshouse/
- Phone: 617-227-9118
- Community Address:6 Chestnut St.
Boston, Massachusetts 02108-3624
United States Location
About
- Type(s):
- Shared Housing, Cohouseholding, or Coliving (multiple individuals sharing a dwelling)
- Spiritual or Religious
- Programs & Activities:
- Organization, Resource, or Network
- Educational Programs
- Location: Urban
Housing
- Status: We have land we have developed on
- Current Residence Types: Room(s) in a house or building
- Current Number of Residences: 1
- Housing Provided:
- Rental
- Included in Membership
- Land Owned By: A non-profit corporation
- Additional Comments: Room and board are paid to a nonprofit corporation, which owns the house. Residents do not have any financial ownership of the house.
Membership
- Adult Members: 22
- Child Members: 0
- Non-Member Residents: 0
- Percent Women: 50%
- Percent Men: 41-49%
- Percent Transgender: 1-10%
- Percent Non-Binary: 1-10%
- Visitors Accepted: Yes, rarely
- Visitor Process: We have one guest room that is available for short-term (up to 2 week) stays. If you would like to stay in our guest rooms, please call the office or email us. We are also open to visits from people looking to live here. Please contact BHFH staff at staff@bhfh.org to arrange your visit.
- Open to New Members: Yes
- Membership Process: Vacancies occur throughout the year, and we accept applications on a rolling basis.
- Additional Comments: The mission of the house involves practicing Quaker values and decision-making. Every resident's religious or non-religious values influence the community. We have a moment of silence before dinner and house meeting, and many of our community decision-making processeses are based on traditional Quaker processes.
Government
- Decision Making: Consensus + (everyone agrees, except for up to 3 people.)
- Identified Leader: Yes
- Leadership Core Group: Yes
- Additional Comments: We have four full-time staff members, including an Executive Director, Associate Director, and Facility Manager, and Program & Outreach Manager. Some decisions are made by staff, others by a consensus process in house meeting, and others by the board.
Economics
- Dues, Fees, or Shared Expenses: Yes
- Shared Income: None
- Open to Members with Existing Debt: Yes
- Additional Comments: Residents to weekly household chores and "dish crews" (setting up and cleaning up dinner). Rent varies depending on room size, and includes all utilities. All residents also pay full board. We ask for a security deposit equivalent to one month's rent in a double room.
Sustainability Practices
- Energy Infrastructure: We are connected to the grid.
- Current Food Produced: 0%, or close to 0%
- Planned Food Produced: 0%, or close to 0%
- Food Produced Locally: Between 26-49%
Lifestyle
- Common Facilities:
- Common House
- Garden(s)
- Library
- Workshop
- Large Scale Kitchen
- Internet
- Internet Available: Yes, community provides it
- Internet Fast?: Yes, it's fine.
- Cellphone Service: Good for most people.
- Shared Meals: 2-5 times per week
- Dietary Practices:
- Omnivorous (plants and animals)
- Mostly Vegetarian
- Mostly Vegan
- Dietary Choice or Restrictions: Somewhat - there are some dietary restrictions or customs.
- Special Diets OK: Yes
- Alcohol Use: Yes, used occasionally.
- Tobacco Use: Yes, used seldomly, or ceremoniously.
- Additional Diet Comments: We have house dinners 5 nights a week, and residents often have informal breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. In the summer, residents often grow vegetables in pots on our deck. Food served and stocked is all vegetarian. There is the option of meat about once a week at dinner. We expect people not to get disruptively drunk in the house and to keep alcohol out of the kitchen and not use alcohol during dinner or other house events. Smoking is only allowed in restricted areas outside.
- Common Spiritual Practice(s):
- Ecumenical (accepts all religions or spiritual practices)
- Eclectic (integrates multiple religious or spiritual beliefs)
- Quaker
- Spiritual Practice Expected?: No
Fair Housing Laws
This community acknowledges that their listing does not include any potential violations of the Fair Housing Law, or that they do not provide housing. For any questions about this topic please see our Content Policies and contact FIC with any questions or concerns: directory@ic.org.
Keywords
co-op, intentional community, multi-generational, Boston, Quaker, spirituality