History of Minuting Ministry Among Friends
Then & Now, in PYM and at Chestnut Hill
from members of the Worship & Ministry Committee
At the January business meeting, the meeting was asked to consider uniting with a minute of religious service. Several questions were raised about the nature of such a minute. There was concern that recognizing the call to ministry of an individual might in someway elevate that person over others. Some wondered if the practice of recognizing ministry was Quakerly. The following brief history is intended to provide some back ground for the meeting's ongoing discussion and consideration of the matter.
There is a centuriesold practice among Friends of granting formal recognition as "recorded ministers" to those with strong gifts for Spiritled spontaneous vocal ministry. Their ministry frequently helped others to understand and grow in their faith and to come into stronger contact with the Inward Teacher. Such Friends dedicated regular time to Bible reading, prayer, and daily worship or "retirement" in order to be more serviceable to the work of the Spirit.
Their gift was seen as a gift belonging to the entire meeting. The meeting was called to take on the responsibility of nurturing and guiding the ministry, and the minister took on the responsibility of exercising the gift on behalf of and for the enrichment of the meeting. When Friends with such gifts felt a leading to travel to a particular place to share their gift of ministry, meetings that felt unity with the leading would provide a traveling minute to certify that this Friend had a recognized gift and leading and the support of their meeting.
Quakerism survives today -- unlike most other sects begun at the same time and place in history-- in part because so many Friends with special gifts for vocal ministry offered years of their lives and risked great dangers to travel to other meetings and other places, spreading and keeping alive the faith in meetings and areas needing such ministry.
The practice of recording ministers was generally discontinued in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting in the middle of the twentieth century, although it continues as a regular practice today in some other unprogrammed yearly meetings, both, conservative and liberal. However, some PYM meetings have recorded ministers in recent years and PYM's current Faith and Practice still makes provision for it: "Although Friends' practice of a free ministry is based upon the experience that the gifts of the Holy Spirit may be bestowed upon anyone at any time, a monthly meeting may, upon the advice of its Committee on Worship and record as ministers those members who are recognized as having a clear leading to vocal ministry and prayer or counseling of individuals. This recognition is not, one of status or privilege and should be reviewed periodically."
Although the practice of recording ministers is now uncommon in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, it is still common to provide traveling minutes, formally called Minutes of Travel for Religious Service. They are described in the current Faith and Practice thus: "As in the past, Friends today find themselves under a sense of divine leading to travel in support of an important cause or to the nurture of the religious life of Friends families and meetings or of other groups. In carrying out such leadings, they find it supportive to take with them a formal minute for religious servicefrom their monthly meeting." Such a minute "should state clearly the nature, scope, and duration of the proposed service and affirm the meeting's liberation and support of the Friends concerned." Especially if the travel is beyond the yearly meeting, such traveling minutes are often passed on to be endorsed by the quarterly and yearly meetings.
Many Quaker bodies have felt a need to more broadly define ministry. Our Faith and Practice quotes London Yearly Meeting in suggesting the range of service that constitutes ministry, beginning with speaking under the guidance of the Spirit and "upholding the work of the Spirit in silence and prayer", but also serving on committees, providing hospitality and childcare, care of finances and property, and tasks such as teaching, counseling, listening, serving, and enabling others to serve. It concludes: "The purpose of all our ministry is to lead us and other people into closer communion with God and to enable us to carry out those tasks which the Spirit lays upon us."
Numerous meetings in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting have felt led to provide minutes for those called to ministries of longer duration than a single trip. Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting undertook a special study of such ministries and prepared a thorough document that has been a model by many other meetings.
When an individual who feels a particular leading to ministry asks for the recognition and support of the meeting, a clearness committee is appointed to examine whether there is an authentic leading to ministry and to sense whether or not the meeting is called to, offer recognition and support for it.. If so, and if the meeting as a whole comes to unity with the recommendation of the clearness committee, then a minute is approved and an oversight committee appointed to oversee the carrying out of that ministry,, whether it is of a short duration or a 'more ongoing nature.
CPMM has given minutes to individuals with diverse ministries, such as George Lakey's work to train peacemakers and social action trainers around the world, and Patricia McBee's leading to visit families in her meeting to discuss environmental concerns. Other meetings have similarly recognized calls to ministry by approving minutes and offering oversight committees. Such recognized ministries include the spiritual nurture work of Patricia Loring that involved leading courses and retreats and writing the books, Listening Spirituality, volumes I and 11. John Calvi's meeting recognizes and supports his ministry of healing and retreat leading. in each case, an individual has felt a spiritual leading to undertake a particular kind of ministry, often requiring them to give up other kinds of work they had been doing. Such minutes have been called by various names.. including minutes of religious service.
Following a similar pattern, Chestnut Hill Meeting has been grappling with the challenge of when to recognize particular ministries of individual members and how to support them. In 1994, Marthajane Robinson needed recognition from her faith community in order to work as a pastoral counselor at a hospital. The Meeting did not feel it was appropriate to use the old Quaker practice of recording her as a minister, but came to unity on recognizing her ministry. The minute noted that all Friends in a Quaker meeting are ministers and named Marthajane's particular ministerial gifts, including pastoral counseling. It appointed an oversight committee to support her.
Since that time, the meeting has approved minutes recognizing the ministries of Carolyn Schodt (to persons with AIDS), Jorge Arauz (two minutes, one for his ministry in Fairhill, and the other for his peace work in the Andes) and most recently Phil Anthony (for his ministry of visitation to offer spiritual support to other meetings.) In each case, these minutes have recognized a particular kind of long-term ministry to individuals or groups outside our monthly meeting. Although these Friends exercise various kinds of gifts within the meeting community-as do all Friends in the meeting--no minute has been issued to recognize the exercise of special gifts within the meeting.
The minute offered at the January business meeting for Marcelle Martin conforms to a pattern established in Chestnut Hill, Meeting. It recognizes a particular call to spiritual ministry that is exercised beyond the meeting. It is an ongoing ministry of longer duration than a single trip. A clearness committee met with Marcelle, composed of Eileen Flanagan (clerk), Phil Jones, Mickey Abraham, Nell Kahil ' and Amey Hutchins. This fall Marcelle provided opportunities for interested members of the meeting to become familiar with the kind of ministry she offers others. Marcelle held such a minute for several years while a member of Newtown Square Meeting. Chestnut Hill's Worship and Ministry Committee has been considering the matter since March 2002. After reviewing the recommendation of the clearness committee, it approved a minute for consideration by the whole meeting. The matter will be taken up again it the next business meeting.