Renaissance House is a Quaker House of Prayer and Hospitality in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Richmond, Indiana.  It was created to provide a safe place for people who live on the fringe of society, to come and share a mid-week common meal and worship together.  We have a unique worship group comprised of people who live in the community and people from other neighborhoods, who gather together to share good food and conversation, followed by a lively hymn sing and time of intercessory prayer.  Our pitch-in meal begins at 6:00pm, and ecumenical worship is from 7:00pm until approximately 8:15pm.  Everyone is welcome at our table and worship time.  Our worship group is under the care of West Richmond Friends Meeting but we have a wide spectrum of denominations represented and we encourage each other in our own faith journeys. Including the above, our events are as follows:

 

Monday 6:00pm Soup and liturgy
Tuesday morning prayers from Common Book of Prayer, followed by breakfast
Wednesday 6:00pm Pitch-in dinner followed by worship
Saturday 6:00pm Fun night, with pitch-in dinner and a movie

 

Several people live in Renaissance House, including John Fitch, who is the primary organizer of the ministry.  Many hands stir the pots, set the tables and make the worship a special event.  John keeps things moving along as the evening progresses but over the years many people have found their niche in helping out and we work together like parts of a well oiled sewing machine.  The Quaker principles of Peace, Justice, Equality, and Simplicity provide a framework for our diverse group to gather together and find common ground for friendship and to work together to bring the Kingdom of heaven down to the corner of North 11th and North C Street.