Meeting house explained

A meeting house (meetinghouse,^[1] meeting-house^[2]) is a building where religious and sometimes public meetings take place.

Terminology

Nonconformist Protestant denominations distinguish between a:

church, which is a body of people who believe in Christ, and;
meeting house or chapel, which is a building where the church meets.^[3] ^[4]

In early Methodism, meeting houses were typically called "preaching houses" (to distinguish them from church houses, which hosted itinerant preachers).^[5]

Meeting houses in America

The colonial meeting house in America was typically the first public building built as new villages sprang up. A meeting-house had a dual purpose as a place of worship and for public discourse, but sometimes only for "...the service of God."^[6] As the towns grew and the separation of church and state in the United States matured, the buildings that were used as the seat of local government were called town-houses^[7] or town-halls.^[8] Most communities in modern New England still have active meetinghouses, which are popular points of assembly for town meeting days and other events.

The nonconformist meeting houses generally do not have steeples, with the term "steeplehouses" referring to traditional or establishment religious buildings.^[9] Christian denominations that use the term "meeting house" to refer to the building in which they hold their worship include:

Anabaptist congregations
- Amish congregations
- Mennonite congregations
Congregational churches with their congregation-based system of church governance. They also use the term "mouth-houses" to emphasize their use as a place for discourse and discussion.
Christadelphians
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) uses the term "Meetinghouse" for the building where congregations meet for weekly worship services, recreational events, and social gatherings. A meetinghouse differs from an LDS temple, which is reserved for special forms of worship.
Provisional Movement
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), see Friends meeting houses
Spiritual Christians from Russia
Some Unitarian congregations, although some prefer the term "chapel" or "church".
The Unification Church

The meeting house in England

In England, a meeting house is distinguished from a church or cathedral by being a place of worship for dissenters or nonconformists.^[10]

Sources

Congdon, Herbert Wheaton. Old Vermont Houses 1763–1850. William L. Bauhan: 1940, 1973. .
Duffy, John J., et al. Vermont: An Illustrated History. American Historical Press: 2000. .

Notes and References

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meeting%20house "Meeting house"
[Oxford English Dictionary]
Web site: Wakeling. Christopher. Nonconformist Places of Worship: Introductions to Heritage Assets. Historic England. 28 March 2017. August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20170328195437/https://content.historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/iha-nonconformist-places-of-worship/heag139-nonconformist-places-of-worshipi-iha.pdf/. 28 March 2017. dead.
Book: Jones . Anthony . Welsh Chapels. 28 March 2017. 1996. National Museum Wales . 9780750911627 . en.
Samuel J . Rogal . Legalizing Methodism: John Wesley's Deed of Declaration and the Language of the Law . Methodist History . January 2006 . 44 . 2 . 105–114 . 30 January 2022 . United Methodist Church General Commission on Archives and History.
Sweeney, Kevin M.. "Meetinghouses, Town Houses, And Churches: Changing Perceptions Of Sacred And Secular Space In Southern New England, 1720–1850." Winterthur Portfolio 28.1 (1993): 59. 1. Print.
Sewall, J. B. "The New England Town-house", The Bay State Monthly, Vol 1, No 5. 1884. 284–290. Print. Accessed 12/6/2013
Whitney, William D. (ed.) The Century Dictionary vol. 8. 1895. 6407. Print. Town-house may also mean a jail, poor-house, or house not in the countryside. See Century Dictionary
Book: Quaker Spirituality: Selected Writings. 2005. HarperCollins. 9780060578725. 18. registration.