On a corner of Hendricks County farmland near Camby, just a few miles south of the Indianapolis International Airport, a Quaker meetinghouse has stood since the early nineteenth century. Fairfield Friends Meeting grew out of a settlement of North Carolina Friends who moved north in the 1820s to escape an economy built on enslavement, and the meeting has carried that conscience for justice into every generation since. Two hundred years later, members still gather in the same neighborhood to sit in silent worship, share the practical work of being neighbors, and tend a long list of partnerships with local and global causes. The meeting is known across central Indiana for its progressive Quaker voice, its plainspoken welcome, and its long tenure with writer and pastor Philip Gulley, who has served the community since 1999.
Two Centuries on County Road 700 South
Fairfield Friends Meeting opened its doors in 1826 on the same corner near Camby where it still stands. The congregation was founded by Quakers who had migrated north from North Carolina, a move driven in part by their refusal to live within an economy grounded in enslavement. From those early days the meeting has taken up questions of justice, defending, in the words of the meeting itself, "the rights and dignity of people of color, women, and the marginalized" in each generation.
For most of its history Fairfield was a rural meeting, made up largely of multi-generational farm families. The construction of the Indianapolis International Airport transformed the surrounding land, displacing many of those families and shifting the meeting toward an urban and suburban character. Today the congregation describes itself with an unusually broad list of callings: "teachers, social workers, retirees, business owners, professionals, laborers, scientists, activists, parents, grandparents, college students, children, and one farmer."
The meeting marked its bicentennial in September 2026 with a weekend that included a cemetery tour led by Frank Gladden, the dedication of a peace pole, the debut of a commissioned painting by Libby Whipple, and the launch of a history book and genealogy of Fairfield. Yet the everyday life of the meeting is shaped less by markers on a calendar than by the steady rhythm of unprogrammed Quaker worship and the comings and goings of neighbors who pitch in on committees, small groups, and service projects.
Silent Worship and the Practice of Listening
Worship at Fairfield is unprogrammed, the centuries-old Quaker form in which a gathered community sits in expectant silence. As the meeting puts it, "a key element of our worship is silence, so we can hear God's voice within us, experience God's presence, and grow in our ability to love as God loves." Friends gather on Sundays at 10:30 AM in the meetinghouse, waiting together for the promptings of the Spirit. When someone feels moved to speak, they do; otherwise the silence continues until the meeting closes with a handshake. On fifth Sundays the community meets for fully silent worship in the Young Friends Room.
The meeting is unflinching about the demands of silence in a noisy age, and equally clear that Friends "do more than listen to God." They listen to one another, sharing sorrows and joys, leaving with burdens lightened and satisfaction increased. For anyone who simply needs to be heard, the meeting extends a standing invitation: "If you need someone to listen to you, we're here."
For those who cannot attend in person, worship is livestreamed on the meeting's Facebook page, and recordings of recent sittings are available afterward.
Before the main meeting most Sundays, Friends gather at 9:30 AM in the dining room for the Chat Room, an hour-long conversation on stimulating topics. The Chat Room is open to visitors and regulars alike and offers an easy on-ramp for anyone curious about Quaker practice who would like to meet a few faces before the bell.
Friends Believe
Fairfield is a Christ-centered, unprogrammed meeting in the progressive Friendly tradition, directly affiliated with the Western Yearly Meeting of Friends Church (WYM) and connected more broadly to Friends United Meeting (FUM). Western Yearly Meeting's Faith and Practice shapes the meeting's discipline, and its assistant superintendent, Tom Rockwell, has been visiting the meeting on rotation for extended transition sessions during the pastoral search.
The meeting states its core beliefs in plain language:
- God is in every person.
- The values and priorities of Jesus illustrate what it means to be authentically human.
- Others have experienced the reality of God in other faiths, too.
- God calls us to be instruments of peace and healing in a broken world.
- The qualities of a life well-lived are integrity, simplicity, love, courage, faith, and reverence.
- We should appreciate the past without being enslaved by it.
- God is at work in the world.
- You are a delight to God.
The meeting has no creed to subscribe to. Friends trust that God is at work leading them into truth, and they place a high value on the testimonies - the SPICES - that have shaped Quaker life for centuries: peace, integrity, community, equality, simplicity, and stewardship of creation.
Philip Gulley and the Pastoral Search
Philip Gulley has served as Fairfield's pastor since 1999. A native Hoosier, Phil lives in Danville with his wife Joan; they have two adult sons, Spencer and Sam, a granddaughter, Madeline, and a grandson, Miles. In addition to pastoring, Phil is the author of twenty-two books and writes monthly columns for Indianapolis Monthly and The Saturday Evening Post. His hobbies include motorcycling and enjoying the quiet of a southern Indiana farm near Paoli.
The meeting has launched a pastoral search and is open to both long-term and intentional interim candidates, prepared to consider sustainable pastoral arrangements in a range of forms. The community has welcomed Tom Rockwell, Assistant Superintendent of Western Yearly Meeting, to lead several extended Sunday transition sessions as Friends discern their next pastor and pastoral shape. The meeting describes this season as an opportunity rather than a vacancy: the leadings of the Spirit are taken seriously, and Friends proceed by consensus in the Quaker tradition.
The Week's Rhythm
Beyond Sunday morning the meeting keeps a varied weekly calendar, mostly held in person at the meetinghouse with several gatherings also offered on Zoom.
- Weekly Prayer for Peace gathers every Friday at 7:00 PM at the Peace Pole in front of the meetinghouse, with a Zoom option for those who prefer to pray from home.
- USFW (United Society of Friends Women International) meets periodically, roughly monthly, on Mondays at 11:00 AM.
- Meeting for Business, the meeting's corporate decision-making gathering in the Quaker tradition, follows Meeting for Worship on select Sundays at 12:00 PM.
- Standing committees meet regularly, including Ministry and Counsel, Trustees, Finance, Stewardship, and Peace and Social Justice.
Twice a year the meeting walks together outdoors: a spring nature walk and a fall hike bring Friends to Indiana state parks for shared time on the trails. The September 2026 calendar began with a Labor Day Social hosted in tandem with peer meetings in Richmond and Bloomingdale as a follow-up to the Emerging Friends Camp.
Affinity Groups and Small Gatherings
Fairfield encourages its members to form affinity groups around shared interests, and a number of them have become longtime institutions of the meeting. Current groups include a writers' group, a women's book group (meeting this fall over The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain), a men's fellowship, a movie viewing and discussion group, the Quaker Men's Fellowship, the USFW women's group, and - with characteristic Quaker dry humor - a motorcycle-riding contingent known as the Quaker Oatlaws. The meeting invites anyone to announce and organize a group around an appropriate shared interest.
Friends Reach Out: Community Partnerships
Friends Act names the meeting's outreach partnerships, which describe what that looks like in practice. Fairfield is an active host and supporter of several local and global organizations:
- Family Promise of Hendricks County - along with other faith groups in the county, the meeting helps end homelessness and hunger by providing housing and food for those in need.
- The Lord's Pantry at Anna's House - food assistance for neighbors facing hunger.
- Exodus Refugee - resettlement support for newly arrived refugees.
- Peace Learning Center - peace education for young people in central Indiana.
- Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center - practical support for Indianapolis neighborhoods.
- Indiana Friends Committee on Legislation - statewide Quaker advocacy.
- Friends in Belize - the meeting's longtime partnership with Friends engaged in Belize.
Combined with the meeting's recurring "What we're doing" newsletter, this list gives a clear picture of a community whose faith spills readily into the wider Hendricks County and Indianapolis landscape. Friends also gather from time to time beyond their own grounds, joining Indianapolis Festival of Faiths at Garfield Park and standing publicly for the closure of the ICE detention facility at Miami Correctional with Plainfield Friends.
The Green Team: Care for Creation
The Fairfield Green Team, formed in 2022, takes the Quaker testimony of stewardship seriously. The team gathers to discern ways to use resources more mindfully, to encourage sustainable energy practices at the meetinghouse, and to help the wider community explore creation care as a spiritual practice. Members have planted a pollinator garden on the south side of the meeting, started composting, and posted regular essays on backyard birding, food waste, recycling realities, and the Inflation Reduction Act.
The team draws on the work of Quaker Earthcare Witness and a wide range of secular and faith-based resources, and members keep an eye on the kinds of ordinary choices that make up an environmentally faithful life. The meeting's faith and practice recognizes stewardship as one of the Quaker SPICES, and the Green Team gives that testimony both a meetinghouse home and a wider audience through its essays.
Counseling, Cemetery, and Hospitality on the Grounds
The meetinghouse is more than a place for Sunday worship. Three quieter offerings extend its reach into the surrounding community:
- Counseling: Dr. Sherry Rediger has provided individual, marriage, and family counseling for more than twenty years. Her office is housed in the meetinghouse, and fees may be supplemented for those who attend Fairfield.
- Cemetery: Fairfield maintains a cemetery on its grounds, with expenses and rules available for those researching or arranging for loved ones interred there.
- Meetinghouse and equipment rental: The meetinghouse, kitchen, and equipment are available for rental by individuals and groups for appropriate activities, with forms, fees, and a hold-harmless agreement required.
Several outside organizations use the building during the week, and a small number of weddings and funerals are held there. The meeting's Peace Pole, the regular gathering point for Friday Prayer for Peace, stands in front of the building as a quiet witness.
Giving and Membership
Fairfield accepts donations through several channels, including direct bank giving (by emailing the meeting's webmaster), PayPal donations sent to fairfieldgiving@gmail.com, and checks mailed to the meeting's PO box. The meeting has also opened an online cart for purchases that support its work. Membership information is laid out in detail, with further notes for members and attenders.
Newcomers are welcome to attend Meeting for Worship any Sunday at 10:30 AM and to arrive a little early for the Chat Room at 9:30 AM in the dining room. Worship is livestreamed on the meeting's Facebook page for those who cannot attend in person, and recordings of recent sittings are available afterward.