A Visit to the Canterbury Shaker Village

A weekend or two ago Aaron and I took a drive up north to New Hampshire for a change of (social-distanced) scenery and to visit the Canterbury Shaker Village. In school I remember hearing about religious groups like the Quakers and Shakers but its especially neat to live in a region of the country where you can visit pieces of their history.

Canterbury is a small community nestled in central New Hampshire. After our tour of the village we drove to a country store fifteen minutes down the winding road to grab a quick snack for the drive back. The store was on the same “block” as the local church, post office, library, and town hall. Each building a stone’s throw (or less) away from each other. A true picture of small town New England, if you ask me.

Fun facts about this Shaker Village:

• This particular village is one of 19 that existed in the United States over the past few centuries. That’s right, this village has been here for over 200 years! (Shakerism began in England in 1747 and entered American in 1780.) Shakers no longer live here, but the property is well kept thanks to a short turnaround between the transition from religious order to museum.
• Villages (or “families” as they were originally called) were communal. Converts would give all they had to the community. Not only resources, but parenting was also practiced communally for children who lived in the family.
• Celibacy was strictly enforced, even to the point of having separate doors for men and women!
• Shakers committed themselves to simplicity and pacifism.
• Chores and work responsibilities were gendered, yet they believed in inherent gender equality. Women held spiritual authority in the same way men did. They also believed all races and ethnicities were equal and welcomed people of color into their families. This belief wasn’t consistently practiced and some villages had segregated living quarters, but the Canterbury Shakers, among other villages, did not.
• The Shakers were extremely practical and embraced technology. Work was inherently worship and they preferred to work smarter, not harder. They created this style of broom and this particular village had electricity before the state house in Concord, NH!
• Their style of worship also included charismatic singing and dancing. This inspired the nickname “shaking Quakers,” which eventually became Shakers.
• The Shakers recognized their way of life wasn’t for everyone, but welcomed anyone. People came and left frequently. Children were educated. Widows or the homeless found stability and community. In many ways, Shaker villages offered a form of social welfare to their broader communities.

“Hands to work and hearts to God.”

Membership at Canterbury was closed in 1992 as the Shakers began to dwindle, leaving only one Shaker family in Sabbath Day Lake, Maine. They have 3 or 4 members. Despite their small numbers, the legacy of the Shakers continues onward.

The body, food, work, faith – each piece of the Shaker life was connected and had potential for a connection with God. And while their theology wasn’t always orthodox, we can learn a thing or two from their pursuit of holiness. I personally admire their simplicity and practical (and not-so-practical) understanding of worship.

Many of their commitments, like pacifism, gender equality, communal finances, and lifelong celibacy, have been counter cultural to many American (Christian) values. Western individualism, American exceptionalism, and consumerism have been major influences in our connection with ourselves, our communities, and God. (For better or for worse.) I believe the Shakers (and many, many other groups/cultures around the world) found an alternative vision for their lives and pursued it’s collective beauty and truth with everything they had, for the benefit of others.

I spoke with Leslie Nolan, the relatively new director of the museum, on her hopes for the village moving forward. Inspired by the Shaker’s unique way of life, she hopes to foster a space for faith groups and interfaith reflection. The Shakers explored a distinct way of connecting with God through radical and simple practices and she hopes their legacy can inspire the spirituality of today’s contemporary world.

Whether you’re a visitor or New England local, I highly encourage you to visit the Canterbury Shaker Village with your friends and family. (Not only is it a Blue Star Museum, ages 25 years and younger also receive free admission!)

Have you been to a Shaker village before? What kind of legacy do you want to leave?