Through the Flaming Sword

Resources on Quaker Ministry

This page brings together all the resources I could find on the faith and practice of Quaker ministry and related subjects. If my readers know of others, please click on this link to send me a message with your addition or correction—and thanks! I hope to keep this page as current as possible, at least while this blog is active.

Pamphlets

• Leading and Being Led, Paul Lacey, Pendle Hill Pamphlet #264.
• Building the Life of the Meeting, Bill and Fran Taber lecture, SEYM.
• Some Guidelines for Care of Friends Led to Various forms of Ministry, FGC
• Spirit-Led Teachers, Eldering and Oversight (Sections F & G, Chapter 6), Traditional Quaker Christianity, Ohio Yearly Meeting, edited by Terry H. Wallace, Susan S. Smith, John C. Smith, Arthur Berk
• Tall Poppies: Supporting Gifts of Ministry and Eldering in the Monthly Meeting, Martha Paxson Grundy; Pendle Hill Pamphlet #347.
• Spirit-Led Eldering: Integral to Our Faith and Practice, Margery Mears Larrabee; Pendle Hill Pamphlet #392.
• Spiritual Discernment: the context and goal of clearness committees, Patricia Loring; Pendle Hill Pamphlet #305.
• Early Friends & Ministry, Martha Paxson Grundy; Beacon Hill Friends House pamphlet #1011.
• Leadings, Jim Corbet; The 31st Annual J. Barnard Walton Memorial Lecture, Southeastern Yearly Meeting; pamphlet.
• On Being Grafted Into The Root, Debbie Humphries; Beacon Hill Friends House, Listen! Series pamphlet.
• Called Into Being, Kody Hersh; Beacon Hill Friends House, New Voices Series pamphlet #1005.
• Nudged By The Spirit: Stories of People Responding to the Still, Small Voice of God, Charlotte Fardelmann; Pendle Hill Pamphlet #288.
• Being Faithful As Friends Individually and Corporately, Deborah Fisch; Beacon Hill Friends House pamphlet.
• Building the Life of the Meeting, Fran and William Taber; Southeastern Yearly Meeting.
• The Hidden Center and Outward Scaffolding of Quaker Spiritual Community, Patricia Loring; Southeastern Yearly Meeting.
• Gospel Order: A Quaker Understanding of Faithful Church Community, Sandra Cronk; Pendle Hill Pamphlet #297.
• The Spiritual Care Committee, The School of the Spirit; http://schoolofthespirit.org/programs/the-spiritual-care-committee/.

Books

• Essays on the Quaker Vision of Gospel Order, Lloyd Lee Wilson; Quaker Press of FGC.
• A Description of the Qualifications Necessary to A Gospel Minister: Advice to Ministers and Elders Among the People Called Quakers, Samuel Bownas; Pendle Hill/Tract Association.
• Images And Silence: The Future Of Quaker Ministry, Swarthmore Lecture 1992, Brenda Clifft Heales and Chris Cook; Britain Yearly Meeting.
• On Living with A Concern for Gospel Ministry, Brian Drayton; Quaker Press of FGC.
• Quaker Process for Friends on the Benches, Mathilda Navias; Friends Publishing Company.
• Listening Spirituality, Vol. I: Personal Spiritual Practices Among Friends, and Vol. II: Corporate Spiritual Practice Among Friends, Patricia Loring.

Resources online

• FGC Anchoring Committee Guidelines, guidelines for care of Friends led to various forms of ministry developed by FGC.
• Clearness Committees, Committees of Care, and Oversight Committees, from Canadian Yearly Meeting.
• Guidelines: Embracing the Ministry Friends, developed by Baltimore Yearly Meeting.
• Care of Ministry Guidelines, to support, grow, and care for leadings and ministries, developed by Green Street Meeting in Philadelphia.
• On Traveling in the Ministry, an excellent  blog entry by Wes Daniels.
• Early Friends & Ministry: An Online Course, Martha Paxson Grundy; 4 weeks starting October 3, 2012; grundycrackedopen.
• Experiences of Worship & the Gathered Meeting, transcript of a panel with Micah Bales, Frances Taber, and Kathleen Wooten, at Stillwater Meetinghouse June 27, 2012; www.quakerspring.org/experiences-of-worship.php.
• Guidelines for Embracing the Ministry of Friends, Committee for the Nurture and Recognition of Ministry and Ministry and Counsel Committee, Baltimore Yearly Meeting.

Eldering

• Spirit-led Eldering, Margery Mears Larrabee, Pendle Hill Pamphlet #382; $6.50.
• Tall Poppies: Supporting Gifts of Ministry and Eldering in the Monthly Meeting, Martha Paxson-Grundy, Pendle Hill Pamphlet #347; $6.50.
• Early Friends and Ministry, Martha Paxson-Grundy; $4.
• Dealing with Difficult Behavior in Meeting for Worship: Meeting the Needs of the Many While Responding to the Needs of the Few, Ministry & Nurture Committee, Friends General Conference; $8.
• A Quaker Theology of Pastoral Care: The Art of the Everyday, Zoe White, Pendle Hill Pamphlet #281; $6.50.
• Patterns of Eldership and Oversight, Committee on Eldership & Oversight, Quaker Home Service (Britain Yearly Meeting); $10.
• Gifts and Ministries: A Discussion Paper on Eldership, Alastair Heron.
• Addressing Sexual Abuse in Friends Meetings, Working Party on Sexual Abuse, New England Yearly Meeting Ministry and Counsel; $5.
• Conflict in Meetings, Committee on Eldership and Oversight, Britain Yearly Meeting; $11.

Traveling in ministry

Pamphlets

• Nurturing Calls to Ministry in Friends Meetings: How FGC’s Traveling Ministries Program Can Serve Your Meeting; FGC pamphlet.
• InterVisitation: Travel Under Religious Concern—Quaker Heritage and Present Need, Van Ernst; Friends World Committee for Consultation, Section of the Americas pamphlet.
• The Cost of Traveling Ministry, Ashley Wilcox; questforadequacy.blogspot.com.

Books

• Walk Worthy of Your Calling: Quakers and the Traveling Ministry, Margery Post Abbott and Peggy Senger Parsons, editors; Friends United Press.
• Go and the Lord Go With Thee, Sue Glover; Sessions of York.

Vocal Ministry

• Quality And Depth Of Worship And Ministry; The Committee on Eldership and Oversight of Britain Yearly Meeting.
• On the Vocal Ministry, Ruth Pitman; tract.