Quaker churches in western Kenya are adapting their worship style by introducing faster music, modern instruments and more energetic singing and dancing as they seek to keep younger generations engaged in the faith.
The approach is particularly visible at Friends Church Cheptulu in Kaimosi, where choirs perform local hymns accompanied by keyboards and other instruments, while congregants clap and dance during services. The style contrasts with the silent worship traditionally associated with Quaker communities in the United States.
Quakerism, formally known as the Religious Society of Friends, originated in 17th century England and places emphasis on an individual relationship with God and the concept of the “Inner Light.” In many Quaker congregations, worship traditionally involves periods of silence in which members wait for spiritual inspiration before speaking.
Kenyan Quakerism developed differently after American missionaries from the Friends United Meeting arrived in Kaimosi in 1902. The missionaries introduced slower hymns and evangelism while establishing schools and hospitals that helped expand the faith in the region.
Over time, however, some Kenyan churches began increasing the tempo of their music and introducing contemporary instruments as younger worshippers gravitated toward churches with more energetic services.
Kennedy Shiverenje, senior pastor at Cheptulu Church, said the changes were intended to make worship relevant to the local community.
“We needed to capture the youth and re-energize the elderly so that our service is vibrant,” Shiverenje said.
Older members recall a period when young people often left Quaker churches because they considered the traditional hymns too slow. Catherine Ikalakala, who has been a Quaker for almost 50 years, said the introduction of a keyboard helped attract younger worshippers who had been attending other churches.
At a recent Sunday service at the century old Cheptulu Church, young people led much of the praise and worship. Even when older women led a hymn, a young Quaker musician helped maintain the tempo on the keyboard.
Rose Oside, another member of the community, recalled how slowly hymns were once performed, saying older congregants would sometimes sing for so long that they became tired before the song ended. The introduction of African drums and other instruments has since changed the character of services in some churches.
The changes are not without tension. Some older Quakers are concerned that adapting worship to contemporary tastes could weaken aspects of the faith’s traditional identity.
Thomas Amalemba, a 90 year old Quaker in Cheptulu, said older members sometimes feel uncomfortable with the changes, although he acknowledged that adaptation is necessary.
The effort to maintain continuity with Quaker traditions is also reflected at Friends Theological College in Kaimosi, which has more than 400 students studying on campus and online. The institution trains pastoral ministers and maintains an archive documenting the history of Quakerism in the region.
The college’s principal, Robert Wafula, said pastoral training remains important as Quaker communities expand and confront contemporary social and political challenges. He pointed to the faith’s emphasis on peace and its involvement in peacebuilding efforts in Kenya and other parts of East Africa.
The college’s archive includes historical materials from the early Quaker movement in Kenya, including a Bible written in the local Maragoli language and records from early meetings. Researchers have been collecting such materials partly to help younger members understand the origins of their faith.
Linet Mmbone, an assistant librarian at the college, said preserving the history of the movement was important as the church modernises.
The experience of Kenya’s Quakers illustrates a broader challenge for religious institutions: how to adapt cultural practices and forms of engagement to changing generations while retaining the traditions and values that define their identity.
For Kenyan Quakers, the growing presence of young people in praise and worship suggests that music has become an important part of that adaptation, even as congregations continue to debate how far those changes should go.
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