Where the river flows life abounds.  Ezekiel 47:9

A Brief History...

     The first religious service on record in North Carolina was a Quaker meeting held in 1672 by William Edmundson in what is now Hertford, approximately twelve miles from Up River.  Later that year, Edmundson was joined by George Fox to hold additional meetings among the settlers of the Albemarle area.  Soon the Society of Friends became the dominant religious group in the colony.  However, because of their concern over slavery, many Friends migrated to Free states.  By the Civil War, the only remaining Friends meeting in the area was Piney Woods, which was established in 1794.

 

     Members of Piney Woods which lived "up the river" from Belvidere desired to hold meetings for worship closer to home.  The first meeting for worship was held in their schoolhouse on June 3, 1866.  The first meetinghouse was built in 1875.  That meetinghouse served until 1914 when the present meetinghouse was constructed a short distance away.

 

     In 1927, Up River was granted permission to hold separate meetings as needed from Piney Woods, and in 1946, after eighty years as a preparative meeting, Up River was granted monthly meeting status.   

 

     Through this time, Friends continued to meet for worship under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, with recorded ministers and elders sitting at the head of the meeting on facing benches.  Music was gradually accepted into worship probably in the 1920's, after being used in Sunday School for some time.  The first salaried pastor was called in 1953.  Since that time worship has included pastoral sermons as well as periods of open worship. 

 

Today, Up River Friends is an independent meeting with a vision to share Christ in our community and throughout the world.  Up River is a welcoming community led by the Holy Spirt; a community of believers who embrace Christ and His message of hope, love, and salvation.  Our mission continues to be: "to know Christ and to make Him Known."