Guilford Monthly Meeting of Friends Records

Background on Guilford Monthly Meeting of Friends

Friends began to meet informally for worship in Guilford, Connecticut, in September 1951, and gained approval from the Connecticut Valley Quarterly Meeting to form a preparative meeting in April 1953 under the care of New Haven Monthly. Never a large group, they bolstered their numbers by joining with the equally small worship ground at Old Saybrook in 1955, and were active and stable enough to be set off as a monthly meeting in 1957.

Maintaining their vitality, however, proved to be a challenge. After reaching a peak in 1963 with 31 members, including those from out of town, Guilford reported only twenty members little more than a year later, with many having moved away. Reluctantly, the meeting was laid down in May 1966, with the remaining members transferring to New Haven.