Buddhists & Quakers

Buddhists and Quakers

Sharing our vision for multi-cultural spiritual awareness, the Sunyata Buddhist Center and the Southern Illinois Quaker Meeting rent lower-level rooms at Gaia House Interfaith Center.


Sunyata Buddhist Center. Sunyata’s purpose is to serve as a resource for the people of Southern Illinois and beyond by maintaining a library, a meditation space, and engaging in events that further the understanding of Buddhist philosophy and meditation in general. Sunyata also seeks to promote understanding between the various Buddhist traditions and the other major faith traditions in the world.

The Center is open during regular hours of the Gaia House Interfaith Center. Check the calendar for scheduled morning meditation during the academic year. For more information on events or to be on the mailing list at Sunyata write to: sunyatacenter@yahoo.com or visit www.shawnee-dharma.org/sunyata.


Southern Illinois Quaker Meeting. The S.I. Quakers (Religious Society of Friends) practice a form of spirituality which emphasizes the personal experience of God in one’s life over any specific doctrine or belief. The group holds unprogrammed worship in the Columbo Memorial Library at 10:00 a.m. each Sunday. A monthly schedule of special events follows at 11:00 a.m.: potluck lunch (first Sunday), informal singing (second Sunday), discussion (third Sunday), meeting for worship and business (fourth Sunday), and more singing (fifth Sunday).

For young attenders, care and lessons are provided in the "Foxden" (named for Quaker founder George Fox). The child-friendly room, located on the lower level of GHIC, also houses a Quaker library and is used weekly for a book-discussion group which meets on Thursdays. Visit SIQM online at www.siquaker.org.