Live Oak Friends Meeting

Live Oak Friends Meeting is wonderful. The unprogrammed worship in this serene, oak-shaded building allowed for real stillness and connection. Friendly, open-hearted people and a lovely, understated setting. A perfect place for quiet spiritual practice in the Heights area—highly recommend visiting

We are an Unprogrammed Monthly Meeting of The Religious Society of Friends commonly called Quakers. The Meetinghouse was designed by James Turrell and built in 2001. Weather permitting the roof is opened 30 minutes before sunset and closed 30 minutes after every Friday evening and on the first Sunday of each month.

Amazing place to attend sunset on a Friday, weather permitting. We came here from Belgium, and were warmly welcome for this super experience. We are fans of James Turrell's installations and this one is worth the trip

We've been attending the Sunday meeting with our two young kids for about six months and enjoying it. Potluck after is a nice way to get to know others. People have been very kind and generous. If you're looking for something unique and subtle, with a rich history, this might be for you.

We booked the Meeting House for our wedding. The size was perfect for our guests (we had more than RSVPd attend and filled it up.. The weather was nice and they opened the ceiling early for us… and the timing was perfect as our guests were taking their seats the roof opened up and beautiful blue skies above filled the space. We hadn’t thought about music til the last minute and the acoustics in the room were EXCELLENT! We had just a solo violinist and it was perfect for the space. The price was great, and they were responsive and easy to work with! Thank you for helping us make our day special! (Also we live in the neighborhood and they let us run our dog off leash on the grounds which is very neighborly off them…

A wonderful place for an event. The skylight room is amazing at sunset as you sit quietly and was the sky change colors and all the colors are reflected on the walls. There is plenty of room to wander the grounds in a quiet setting in the middle of the city.

The best Quaker meeting I know in Texas!! Also the only one that I have ever been to. Beautiful place sacred sanctuary

Great place to land if all other churches don't seem to fit. Silent service. Beautiful time to contemplate about life, God and our purpose. Accepting congregation.

First time in a Quaker/Religious Society of Friends meeting house. Felt very calm and welcome. Love the philosophy of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality and stewardship. The open grounds with a garden and live oak trees is so peaceful and inviting. The meeting house is also a James Turrell Skyspace,known as One Accord, that is open to all on Friday nights or available for special events, like the one that I attended. So interesting how James Turrell used the tenets of the Quaker faith to design the space. One of the Quaker meditation tenets is that you go inside to greet the light. As the retractable roof opens at sunset, you can watch as the light of the day slowly fades across the sky. So beautiful and so special. Ask a Friend to learn more. So willing to share information about the history of this stunning space. #OurStoryIsOne Invited by a Baha'i friend to a concert tour to remember the ten women of Shiraz who were murdered forty years ago on June 18, 1983. What were the charges? What were their crimes? Teaching neighborhood children in Sunday school. Being a student. Not being married. Gender equality. Practicing their Baha'i faith. Ezzat. Roya. Mona. Nosrat. Shirin. Mashid. Tahereh. Simin. Akhtar. Zarrin. They were hanged one by one in Chowgan Square when they refused to renounce their religion. Tears flowing as their journey, their stories were shared. The youngest who was only 17 years old kissed the noose before she was executed in a final display of faith and defiance. A special thanks to Live Oak Friends Meeting and the Baha'i community for hosting this moving event.

For those youngsters who first heard about James Turrell via Hotline Bling, well at least you're a little bit more cultured. But he's been making interesting art installations for years before. I first heard of him when Rice was lucky enough to get one of his stand alone public installations. Since, then I have been tracking them down worldwide. I was shocked to find that here in Houston alone, we have 3 of his works. I actually walked through the one at the Museum of Fine Arts without even knowing it was him. So, when Fujio posted his review, I had this place bookmarked. It's hard to come by because it's only open to the public on Friday evenings and it's got to be a clear night. I was lucky enough to be able to get off work before sunset and stop on by. The people who manage the space are super sweet. This place is small and intimate, but provides a unique experience. Expect to spend about 30 minutes - 1 hr to experience the color change in the sky. When, the roof is closed the roof lighting has a shade of blue too. If you are a fan of Turrell's work, it's very cool to be able to see another piece. On the night I went there was only 8 people there. So you get to take it all in!

"You go inside to greet the light"... Contemplate your soul at the Live Oak Friends Meeting. Located inside the 610 Loop near Ella, Live Oak Friends Meeting is a place of worship, but is open to the public on Friday evenings at sunset (weather permitting). This is a fascinating place that was brought to my attention when the recent James Turrell's "The Light Inside" 2013 exhibit was installed at the Museum of Fine Arts. From a Quaker family, Turrell contemplated the sky and outdoors a lot when he would sit with his grandmother in a meeting, "what would it be like if the roof were off". It is a very simple, gray, rectangular building with sturdy wooden "pews" that face towards the middle of the main room. Above is a white, semi-arched ceiling with a squarish hole called an aperture. When the roof is retracted (which is quite a bit larger), you can see the sky from any part of the room and not see any part of the top of the building. This is Turrell's installation called "One Accord". In the evenings, soft ambient light gives a warm glow in contrast to the bluish tones of the night sky. As with the many Skyscapes that he has created around the world, your mind focuses through the aperture and sees colors and the sky in a way that you couldn't just lying on your back in the great outdoors. Like the Rothko Chapel, Live Oak Friends Meeting is a place to think and meditate. This is just one of the many great hidden treasures that we have in our great little city. That our city has three major Turrell works including the Rice University "Twilight Epiphany" Skyscape and the Tunnel at the MFA is quite remarkable. For a little background on James Turrell and "One Accord", watch this documentary that I shot and edited: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdmbuGc18ls&index=24&list=PLZgWC3ksdD8VYyjmi6FegpDtRJc60gYYB My Tip for you: In their Yelp Reviews, Jeff S and John T reveal great insight about their experiences here. My Tip x 2: Bring your patience and respect for the location & the others with you.

Don't go for the space, go for the sky, as framed by a James Turrell ceiling aperture. You don't need to be a member. Friday nights, when it's not raining, the staff retracts the roof on the meeting house, and presents those in the pews with a square swatch of sky, that in it's intensity & perfection reminds you of your priorities; and of how beautiful our surroundings truly are, tired though we become of them out of hub-bub and familiarity. The Live Oak Friends meeting house is at once a phenomenological eye trick, a social experiment, an emotional catalyst, a romantic setting, a very droll joke, a window on divinity & civility, a treasure... I've taken my deeper friends here who've said "I get it. Can we get out of here?' And I've taken my shallower friends here who've clearly had a profound experience; followed by an excited recounting of what they saw on the ride home. The meeting house says "Here's the sky... remember? It's perfect and beautiful... Don't forget." Then we do forget. And we trot back to the Meeting House after too long an interval.