And the Warwick group are inviting people to find out more at their events during the second National Quaker Week, starting tomorrow (Saturday) and running till October 12.

The sect of Christianity, also known as the Religious Society of Friends, was founded in England in the 17th century, and the Warwick group has been going strong since those early days.

Many Quakers feel that their faith does not fit within traditional Christian categories of Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant, but is an expression of another way of experiencing God.

About 40 members of the 150-strong group in Warwick meet every Sunday at 10.30am for an hour of 'silent worship'.

John Sheldon, who lives in Warwick and has been involved at the High Street centre for more than 30 years, explained: "Friends come in and sit in silence and during that time it may be that one friend receives a message and speaks to the rest of the group about it. That would come from a deep place within them. It may be that somebody else will speak a bit later.

"There is always somebody at the door to greet any newcomers and we have leaflets to explain what is going on."

After each meeting, there are refreshments and the chance for anybody who wants to chat to find out more and ask questions.

During Quaker week, as well as the usual meetings on both Sundays - which are open to all - there will be a 'meet the Quakers' event at the centre on Tuesday from 7pm.

Mr Sheldon said: "It will present an opportunity for anybody who is interested to come and find out what is special about the Quaker faith.

"I would encourage people to so because it is very much a faith of our time. It is not dogmatic, so it allows people to be true to their own feelings and thoughts about religious and spiritual matters.

"Friends are and continue to be involved in social justice and peace issues. Anybody who is looking for a spiritual dimension to their life would be interested."

He added: "We can look at our worship and define it in negative ways because we don't do a lot of things that other faiths do, but we can look at that in itself as a positive."

Bill Evans, who has served as Leamington mayor and Warwick District Council chairman, has been a member of the Warwick Quaker group since he moved to the area in 1979.

He said: "In some ways it looks as though we are being a bit evangelical, but that's not what we are trying to do. We always find there are some people who have not heard of Quakerism, but once we have defined it, they find that it is what they were looking for.

"A lot of people like the opportunity to discover something they don't know about."

Kineton woman Ruth McFarlane, 40, has been attending meetings at Warwick for six years and she now writes for the group's monthly newsletter.