Beacon Hill Friends House :: Communities Directory

Established: 1957

This page last updated:12/5/2011

Beacon Hill Friends House

Boston, Massachusetts,

United States

Beacon Hill Friends House is:

- a cooperative residence for those interested in community living;

- the home of Beacon Hill Friends Meeting;

- a center for Quaker educational activities.

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 1804. Since being given to Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1954, the building has become a center for the growing Quaker community in Boston.

Mission:

"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."

Beacon Hill Friends House fulfills its mission by:

- Providing a center where Friends and others can meet, worship, and study;

- Advancing and fostering the principles of the Religious Society of Friends;

- Offering opportunities for the development of leadership and personal growth.

- Maintaining a diverse residential community guided by Friends' principles.

- Providing hospitality to visitors in our B&B guest rooms.

21 Residents 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.

Website: http://www.bhfh.org/

Contact:

Beacon Hill Friends House
6 Chestnut St
Boston, Massachusetts 02108-3624 United States
Phone: 617-227-9118

Links:

Beacon Hill Friends House: Residency Program

Community location is placed at the center of the zip/postal code, city/state, or city/country (not based on street addresses)

This page last updated:12/5/2011

Visitors Accepted

(Please contact the office before visiting to set up an appointment.)

Visitor Process: We have two guest rooms that are available for short-term 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 the Residency Manager at the office to arrange your visit.

Statement of Housing Non-discrimination:

Our community does not discriminate in regards to housing based on race/color, national origin, religion, sex/gender, family status (i.e. having children, not having children, or being pregnant), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, ancestry, source of income, age, creed, personal appearance, political affiliation, HIV infection, military/veteran status, unfavorable military discharge, gender identity or expression, receiving public assistance, or being the victim of domestic abuse.

Population Members(adults and children): 21 Non-member Residents: 4 (guests stay for a few nights at a time) Open to new members: Yes (Vacancies occur throughout the year, often in January and May, and we accept applications on a rolling basis.)	Government Decision Making: By consensus Identified Leader: No (We have three paid, live-in staff members, one full-time director and two 3/4 managers: Kitchen Manager and Residency Manager) Leadership Core Group: No (Our House Meetings are "clerked" (facilitated) on a rotating basis. Various, rotating committees have leadership roles for different parts of the community.)	Labor and Money Financial Style: Members have independent finances Open to Members with Pre-existing Debt: Yes Labor Contribution: Expected (Hour-long weekly chores typically fall on the weekend. Once a week weeknight dishcrew involves setting up and cleaning up dinner. Twice yearly workdays. Monthly committee work. Twice a month house meetings, 1st and 3rd Sunday evenings.) Join Fee: Yes (security deposit equivalent to one month's rent (the room portion) in a double) Regular Fees: Yes (room and board)
Land and Buildings Urban (we're in the Beacon Hill neighborhood in downtown Boston) Land Owned By: Another form of Non-profit (The Corporation owns the house.) Number of Residences: 1 Cohousing: No (Room and board are paid to the nonprofit, which owns the house. Residents do not have any financial ownership of the house.)	Food, etc. Percentage of Food Grown: 1-5% (In the summer, residents often grow vegetables in pots on our deck.) Share Community Meals: 2-5 times/week (We have formal house dinners 5 nights a week, and residents often have informal breakfast, lunch, and dinner together.) Dietary Choice or Restrictions: Diet is up to each individual Dietary Practice: Primarily vegetarian (Food served and stocked is all vegetarian. There is the option of meat about once a week at dinner.) Alcohol Use: Used occasionally (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.) Tobacco Use: Seldom used (Only in restricted areas outside.)	Social Factors Common Spiritual Practices: No (We have a moment of silence before dinner and house meeting. Occasionally, residents organize worship together.) Which Spiritual Traditions(s): Quaker :: Ecumenical (includes "all religions") (The mission of the house involves practicing Quaker values and decision-making. Every resident's religious or non-religious values influence the community.)

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Comment from Beacon Hill Friends House on 6/15/2011 (Reader Rating: 0)

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Come join Beacon Hill Friends House at Boston's first co-op faire! Meet residents from BHFH and learn about our house. There will be lots of other residential intentional communities there, as well as other all kinds of cooperative businesses and organizations.
Saturday, July 2, 10am-2pm
Harvest Co-op Market Essex St Parking Lot in Central Square, Cambridge, MA

Comment from Beacon Hill Friends House on 6/6/2011 (Reader Rating: 10)

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Currently looking for new housemates. Contact the Residency Manager at directors@bhfh.org to request an application or call 617-227-9118 for more information. Consider Beacon Hill Friends House your new home!

Comment from Beacon Hill Friends House on 12/7/2009 (Reader Rating: 0)

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Vacancies starting end of December 2009. Apply today by contacting the office at directors@bhfh.org or 617-227-9118

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