South Berkshire Friends Meeting Records

Background on South Berkshire Friends Meeting

The South Berkshire Monthly Meeting originated in the home of Raymond and Abbie Olds of Monterey, Mass., and in 1955 became an Allowed Meeting, the Great Barrington Worship Group, under the care of what was then the Middle Connecticut Valley Monthly Meeting (now Mount Toby Monthly). After the Olds relocated in 1962, the small group continued to meet at Gould Farm, a residential rehabilitation center for individuals with mental health challenges, under Clarence and Ruth Carr. It changed name again in 1971 to the Berkshire Worship Group.

With the number of worshippers slowly increasing, Shirley Olds called Friends in the area together in 1982 to discuss their future status and on Sept. 11, 1983, they held their first meeting for business to pursue becoming a monthly meeting. Their application was formally accepted at the Hartford Quarterly Meeting, leading them to set off formally from Mount Toby Monthly Meeting in February 1984.