The Valiant Sixteen

Traveling Ministers and Elders

Micah B, 26,*  Heartland Friends Meeting (Great Plains Yearly Meeting)

Betsy B, 32, First Friends Meeting (North Carolina Yearly Meeting)

Julian B, 27, Central Philadelphia Meeting (Philadelphia Yearly Meeting)

Sadie F, 26, Putney Friends Meeting (New England Yearly Meeting)

Sarah H, 29, University Friends Meeting (North Pacific Yearly Meeting)

Sarah H, 30, Freedom Friends Church (Independent)

Kathy H, 34, Multnomah Monthly Meeting (North Pacific Yearly Meeting)

Faith K, 24, grew up in Shiloh Chapel Evangelical Friends Church (Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region)

Erin M, 27, unprogrammed Quaker without a meeting membership

Treye M, 29, University Friends Meeting (North Pacific Yearly Meeting)

Noah M, 30, Putney Monthly Meeting (New England Yearly Meeting)

Sarah P, 32, Spokane Friends Church (Northwest Yearly Meeting)

Christina R, 29, Atlanta Friends Meeting (Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and Association)

Emily S, 28, Durham Monthly Meeting (Piedmont Friends Fellowship and North Carolina Yearly Meeting Conservative)

Jon W, 26, grew up in and attends Richmond Friends Meeting (Baltimore Yearly Meeting)

Ashley W, 28, Freedom Friends Church (Independent) and University Friends Meeting (North Pacific Yearly Meeting)

*All ages are at the time of the interview/correspondence.

[From the research paper I wrote for the School of the Spirit on the spiritual nurture of young Friends traveling in the ministry.]

A Valiant Sixteen - Part 12

Queries

For meetings and churches:

• What gifts do you recognize in the young people in your faith community?  How do you name those gifts?  How can the community as a whole receive these gifts?
• Are Friends in the meeting or church aware of Friends’ history in traveling in the ministry?  
• How do you define terms such as minister, elder, and spiritual gifts?
• How should a young Friend who is experiencing a call to ministry ask for support?
• Are Friends prepared to form support and accountability committees for young Friends feeling a call to ministry?
• What is the process for creating a traveling minute or a minute of service?
• How can your meeting or church provide financial support for those called into ministry?
• How do you make space available for Friends returning from traveling in the ministry to share their experiences?

For young Friends experiencing a call to travel in the ministry:

• How have you experienced this call to ministry?
• What are your daily spiritual practices?
• Who would you like to have on a support and accountability committee?  Who could serve as a traveling companion?
• What kind of support do you think you will you need for your travel?

Suggested Reading

Abbott, Margery Post & Peggy Senger Parsons. Walk Worthy of Your Calling: Quakers and the Traveling Ministry.  Friends United Press, Richmond, IN (2004).

Drayton, Brian. On Living with a Concern for Gospel Ministry.  Quaker Press of Friends General Conference, Philadelphia, PA (2006).

Grundy, Martha Paxson. Tall Poppies: Supporting Gifts of Ministry and Eldering in the Monthly Meeting.  Pendle Hill Pamphlet #347 (1999).

Wilson, Lloyd Lee.  Essays on the Quaker Vision of Gospel Order.  Celo Valley Books, Burnsville, NC (1993).

[From the research paper I wrote for the School of the Spirit on the spiritual nurture of young Friends traveling in the ministry.]

A Valiant Sixteen - Part 11

Conclusion

“I think that everybody is a minister, and if you don’t think you’re called to be a minister, try thinking again!”  Julian B, Central Philadelphia Meeting (Philadelphia Yearly Meeting).

When I asked young Friends what advice they had for others feeling called to travel in the ministry, the overwhelming response was, “Go do it!”  These ministers wanted to encourage Friends young and old to go to other meetings and churches and see how truth prospers among Friends.  

The second thing that most of them said was that those feeling called into ministry should go to their meetings and churches for support.  Friends have a wide range of ways to support ministers, and those feeling called into ministry should be aware of the ways their meetings and churches can support and encourage them as they test their leadings.

Traveling in the ministry has been one of the most difficult things I have done, but it has also made me feel more alive and more aware of the presence of God in my life than at any other time.  Like the young Friends who so generously gave me their time and stories, I encourage anyone who feels called to travel in the ministry to do it, and then come back and share how God is at work in your life with the rest of us.

[From the research paper I wrote for the School of the Spirit on the spiritual nurture of young Friends traveling in the ministry.]

A Valiant Sixteen - Part 10

Naming Gifts

“I really didn’t feel like I was capable of being a traveling companion until Deborah recognized a gift in me and asked me to be her elder. I was shocked at first.  It was amazing to have a gift named, to have a Friend see something in me, and then for me to recognize it in myself and want to step more fully into it.”  Emily S, Durham Monthly Meeting (Piedmont Friends Fellowship and North Carolina Yearly Meeting Conservative).

To really nurture and support ministry in our meetings, we need to know each other.  If we have deep relationships with each other, we will be able to see and name gifts in another that he may not see himself.  Christina R, from Atlanta Friends Meeting, and Faith K, who grew up in Shiloh Chapel Evangelical Friends Church, spoke of how it can be difficult for the meeting to see those who have grown up in the meeting as adults.*    

Julian B, from Central Philadelphia Meeting, suggested that meetings try to see people of all ages, including children, as ministers and “potential sources of God’s light and God’s wisdom.”  He also encouraged Friends to look at the things they are passionate about as leadings.

Emily S, from Durham Monthly Meeting, recommended that meetings provide young people with “a spiritual language that they can draw on to articulate their beliefs.”  Meetings can help people discern their callings by developing a shared vocabulary and defining terms such as leadings, callings, elder, minister, and spiritual gifts.  

Engaging in conversations about how God is calling each of us to be faithful in using our gifts will set the stage for encouraging young Friends to discern what those gifts are and how they are being called to use them.  And as Friends, we know that God gives these gifts for the benefit of the entire community, not just the individual.  With that in mind, encouraging each person to use his gifts also builds up the life of the meeting and the Religious Society of Friends as a whole.

*Faith also noted that the same thing happened to Jesus and asked, “Why should we be different?”

[From the research paper I wrote for the School of the Spirit on the spiritual nurture of young Friends traveling in the ministry.]

A Valiant Sixteen - Part 9

Spiritual Friendships

“We can be such a gift to each other if we can sit with each other and pray for each other and accompany each other, even from really far away.”  Noah M, Putney Monthly Meeting (New England Yearly Meeting)

Even with the support of one’s faith community and a traveling companion, traveling in the ministry can be lonely work.  Many of the Friends I interviewed spoke of the importance of spiritual friendships and being in touch with others who are doing similar work.  In addition to talking about their own experiences, ministers said that they appreciated how spiritual friends could point them toward spiritual practices or passages in early Friends’ journals or in the Bible.  

I found that I felt incredibly nurtured by the conversations we had about traveling in the ministry.  It was so good to talk to others who have had experiences that are similar to mine and to share and compare stories.  Even though we were from different places and, sometimes, different branches of Friends, there were so many similarities
 

Several of these ministers longed for a spiritual accountability group, where ministers and elders would share their experiences of traveling in the ministry and be able to encourage each other and hold each other accountable.  These descriptions reminded me of early Friends’ Second Day Morning Meeting, where ministers would come together to worship and provide each other with support and guidance.*   

After meeting with all of these ministers, either in person, by email, or over the phone, I wish there was some way to get them all together, so that we could all worship and share our experiences directly with each other.

*“By 1763, ministers either resident or visiting in London met regularly on Second Day (Monday) mornings for worship, mutual support, encouragement, and, occasionally, chastisement.”  Margery Post Abbott and Peggy Senger Parsons, Walk Worthy of Your Calling, p. 258.

[From the research paper I wrote for the School of the Spirit on the spiritual nurture of young Friends traveling in the ministry.]

A Valiant Sixteen - Part 8

Returning Home

“I wish I could have felt more spiritually nurtured upon return from traveling, when I almost felt like some Friends had forgotten about me.  My community was happy to see me, but I would have like to have had more check-ins about how I was recuperating [and] processing.”  Treye M, University Friends Meeting (North Pacific Yearly Meeting)

Traveling in the ministry is exhausting.  While ordinary travel can be tiring, travel in the ministry has the added components of trying to be present to God and to others for extended periods of time and sometimes having to give vocal ministry or presentations.  It is essential for meetings and support committees to provide support for ministers as they return, because the minister will probably feel tender.  As one example, I have found it especially helpful when Friends have given me a ride home from the airport so that I do not have to take the bus home.

Once the minister has recovered from traveling, it is important for meetings and churches to create space for ministers to bring back what they have learned and experienced.  Jon W, from Richmond Friends Meeting, commented that the important question to ask after ministry is “was I faithful?”  It is helpful for the minister to meet with a support committee to process how the travel went, especially if things seemed to not go well or as expected. There must also be time for the minister to communicate with the community as a whole.  

In my interviews, many Friends expressed deep sadness in not being able to share their experiences with their home faith communities.  It can be difficult for the minister to initiate this communication alone.  Sarah P, from Spokane Friends Church, noted that “the fact that folks didn’t invite me to share was decisive in whether things got shared or not,” but she felt that her meeting was missing out on its half of the experience of traveling.  Sarah H, from University Friends Meeting, said that she felt that her ministry in Palestine was to witness and carry stories back and it has been excruciating to not have space to share the stories.  Some mentioned that it felt supportive for individuals to follow up and ask about the ministry.

[From the research paper I wrote for the School of the Spirit on the spiritual nurture of young Friends traveling in the ministry.]

A Valiant Sixteen - Part 7

Traveling

“Travel in the ministry is eight-tenths drudgery and two-tenths spiritual stuff.”  Sarah P, Spokane Friends Church (Northwest Yearly Meeting)

Travel in the ministry requires a lot of advance preparation.  After the minister has discerned where she is called to travel, it is important to communicate with the meeting, church, or others who will be receiving the minister, to clarify what will be expected.  Some meetings extend specific invitations to speak or lead workshops.  Others expect traveling ministers to lead a discussion in a religious education class or over a potluck.  A meeting may just expect the Friend to worship with them.  Sarah H, from Freedom Friends Church, who recently traveled to Kenya, commented that if the minister is traveling to a different culture, it is important to learn about that culture in advance, if possible.

Many young Friends spoke about the importance of traveling with someone else, either another minister or an elder.  Kathy H, from Multnomah Monthly Meeting, said that it was essential for her to have someone to debrief with at the end of the day.  Betsy B, from First Friends Meeting, spoke of how important it was for her to worship with another person and to ask each other, “Am I on the mark?  Am I not on the mark?  Are you on the mark?”  Young Friends who have traveled as elders, such as Sadie F, from Putney Friends Meeting, said that the fact that they were elders opened up discussions among Friends about what an elder is, and that it does not necessarily mean someone who is older.

Much of travel in the ministry involves deeply listening to the nudges of the Spirit.  Emily S, from Durham Monthly Meeting, talked about how after preparing six pages of notes for a talk, “God showed up, as God always does,” and she threw down her notes and started speaking.  She felt that the preparation was important, but it was also important to be faithful to the working of God in the moment.

One practice that some ministers spoke of was having “opportunities,” or times of worship with a few other people, while traveling.  Although I sometimes feel awkward asking others to have worship with me, I have found opportunities to be wonderful experiences.  In an opportunity, a few Friends and I take about 20-30 minutes to worship together, then speak to anything that arises out of the worship.

Something for ministers to keep in mind, as Lloyd Lee Wilson reminds us, is that you never know why you are there.   At times, I have thought that I knew why I traveled to a particular meeting, but had a sense when I was there that it was for a completely different reason.  Sometimes I feel like I am sowing seeds and will never know the “real” reason for the visit.

In addition to checking in with one’s traveling companion, it can be helpful for the minister to check in with members of his or her support committee or others in the home meeting, particularly for extended travel, either by phone or email.  Sarah H, from University Friends Meeting, said that it was helpful for her to have times of worship over the phone when she spent an extended period of time in Jordan and Syria, where there are not very many Quakers.

Several of the Friends I spoke with said that travel in the ministry was different from other kinds of travel because it was more focused, but others found that the lines between the two began to blur.  Julian B, from Central Philadelphia Meeting, commented that just as every day is God’s day, every journey “is a possible opportunity to connect with God and to be part of God’s work in the world.”  Similarly, Noah M, from Putney Monthly Meeting, said, “I’m finding more and more that this traveling in the ministry thing sort of seeps into all the cracks.”

[From the research paper I wrote for the School of the Spirit on the spiritual nurture of young Friends traveling in the ministry.]

A Valiant Sixteen - Part 6

Providing Hospitality for Traveling Friends

“A general sense of welcome, that Friends are glad for the visit, that hospitality can be easily arranged, and that Friends will want to share the news that a special meeting will be held, goes a long way toward easing the burden of the traveler.”  Lloyd Lee Wilson, Essays on the Quaker Vision of Gospel Order

As I have traveled, I have really appreciated the meetings that have prepared to receive me and my ministry.  The first part of receiving a minister is to provide a place for the minister to stay, if she is staying overnight.  Asking in advance what the minister might need in terms of a place to stay and meals (such as, if the Friend is a vegetarian) is thoughtful.  I have been particularly grateful when my hosts have offered to arrange a potluck, opportunities for worship, or other ways for me to share fellowship with Friends.  Because traveling and speaking can be draining, it is helpful for hosts to allow the minister time alone as well.

It can be scary to walk into a meeting filled with strangers, or even one where many of the members are friends, but the meeting is unfamiliar.  In some meetings and churches I have visited, it was clear that Friends knew in advance that I was coming and were happy to see me.  Sarah P, my traveling companion from Spokane Friends Church, stated that she has felt nurtured by the meetings and churches that we visited together.

A minister traveling with a minute is expected to have each meeting he or she visits endorse the traveling minute.  Many meetings have not had the opportunity to endorse a minute, so this provides a chance for Friends to learn more about this practice.  Micah B, from Heartland Friends Meeting, said that he always reads his minute aloud, to educate Friends about traveling minutes.  The clerk of the meeting should endorse the minute with a brief description of the minister’s visit.

Many Friends who travel today do so in response to an invitation from a meeting or church.  If your meeting would like to have someone come to visit, it should extend an invitation to that minister.  Another way to make traveling ministers feel welcomed and supported is by providing elders to pray for the minister before and during the visit, and to pray that the community will hear any message that God is leading the minister to give.

[From the research paper I wrote for the School of the Spirit on the spiritual nurture of young Friends traveling in the ministry.]

A Valiant Sixteen - Part 5

Financial Support

“We Friends today need to open our hearts to discern what God is teaching in regard to support for a minister who is led to spiritual work that is recognized by his or her meeting.  This is an unfinished piece of business for unprogrammed Friends.  It is an opportunity to test our theory that God will teach us and bring us into unity if we sincerely ask and humbly listen.”  Martha Paxson Grundy, Tall Poppies: Supporting Gifts of Ministry and Eldering in the Monthly Meeting 

When I started to think about this paper, I was not planning to write about money.  I thought I could just focus on spiritual nurture and support and avoid the question of financial support.  But as I interviewed young Friends who travel in the ministry, money kept coming up.  I also realized as I talked to them that financial support of the ministry is a form of spiritual support.  If a meeting can offer a minister some funding to support her ministries, that shows that the meeting cares about the minister and that the ministry is under the meeting’s care.

Traveling in the ministry is expensive.  Not only does the ministry require money for gas, airplane or train tickets, or bike maintenance, the time the minister spends traveling is time that the minister cannot spend on other, paid work.  The money for this ministry has to come from somewhere, and frequently it comes out of the minister’s pocket.  One young Friend I spoke with said that she had at times been in “dire” financial straights as a result of following her call to ministry.  None of the Friends I interviewed expected to receive a lot of money for their work, but several wished that they could find a way to make their ministries financially sustainable.  Even in those cases where the minister was paid to speak, the honorariums they received usually did not begin to cover the travel expenses and time lost from paid employment.

As I have traveled in the ministry over the past year, I have found that working full-time and traveling in the ministry on the weekends is not physically sustainable for me.  I would come back from a weekend visiting meetings and churches and feel unable to go immediately back to work the next day.  I was fortunate to have understanding employers and generous paid sick leave from my job, but this is not the case for everyone.  After several months of trying to balance full-time work and ministry, I felt clear to lay down my paid employment for a few months to focus on ministry.

Many Friends meetings struggle with the idea of providing financial support for Friends who feel called to ministry.  Young Friends who feel led to travel in the ministry provide an opportunity for meetings to hold these concerns in worship and discern how they feel the Spirit leading them to respond.  One Friend cautioned that if members of a meeting have a concern about providing financial support, they should raise the concern before the minister begins to travel, because it is far more difficult to address these concerns when the minister is traveling.  He also said that it was hard for him when his meeting began to question funding his ministry after he began to travel because it felt like the meeting did not support his ministry.

Large Friends organizations also provide some possibilities for financial support for young Friends traveling in the ministry.  Many yearly meetings have grants and scholarships for young Friends.  Other organizations, such as Friends General Conference and Friends World Committee for Consultation have funds available.  If meetings need additional funds to provide financial support for ministers, they can apply on the minister’s behalf for some of these funds.  The meeting can also provide support by helping the minister find sources of funding.  Because these organizations usually require a specific process and minuted support of the Friend’s ministry, as well as a written report when the Friend returns from traveling, they can also provide another layer of seasoning and accountability.

[From the research paper I wrote for the School of the Spirit on the spiritual nurture of young Friends traveling in the ministry.]

A Valiant Sixteen - Part 4

Community Support of the Ministry

“We cannot stress enough the importance of community blessing for public ministry.  When this does not happen within the immediate congregation, a person who is called must reach out more widely.  If the blessing is not present in the wider community, either the individual misheard the call or the community is at risk of dying.”  Margery Post Abbott & Peggy Senger Parsons, Walk Worthy of Your Calling: Quakers and the Traveling Ministry

One of the most visible ways that a meeting can provide support for someone traveling in the ministry is by providing the minister with a traveling minute or a minute of service.  After the minister has met with a clearness or support committee to discern how to proceed, the committee should prepare a report for the meeting to consider in its meeting for business.  The report should include a description of the ministry and proposed travel, and a recommendation from the committee that the meeting support the Friend’s ministry.  

In the meeting for business, the community as a whole can consider the Friend’s leading and how to support it.  This is also a good time for the community to ask the committee and the minister clarifying questions about the scope of the ministry.  By giving the traveling minister a minute, the meeting provides an introduction to the Friend, a testimony of the Friend’s character and good standing in the meeting, and shows that the Friend’s ministry is under the care of the meeting.  

A minute also creates an expectation that the Friend will bring back endorsements from the meetings and churches he or she visits, and will report back to the meeting after completing the travel.   Noah M, from Putney Monthly Meeting, said that his meeting’s process in approving his traveling minute and other’s reactions have helped him take his ministry more seriously.
 

An issue that came up frequently in the interviews was how it can be more difficult to find meeting support when the minister is not a member of the meeting he or she attends.  Young Friends in particular may not be members of meetings because they are in a transitional time of life and may be waiting until they have finished school or settled somewhere more permanently before applying for meeting membership.  Erin M, an unprogrammed Friend from Canada, stated that she has not felt led to become a member of a meeting in part because she feels that she is a member of all Friends and cannot choose between the different branches of Quakers.  Others, like me, may live at a distance from their primary faith community.
 

I would like to encourage meetings to support young Friends who feel called to traveling ministry even if they are not members of the meeting.  Emily S, who is a member of Durham Monthly Meeting, but attends Central Philadelphia Meeting, said that she was amazed that the meeting gave her a support and care committee, even though she is not a member.  If members of the meeting are concerned about why the minister is not a member of the meeting, ask the Friend directly.  In addition, if the minister is living far away from his or her home meeting, the home meeting should consider ways that the meeting can provide support at a distance, through emails, phone calls, prayer, and reports from the minister to the meeting.
 

Another way that the meeting can provide support for the minister is for individuals to learn about the culture of the place where the Friend will be traveling.  Sarah H and Treye M, from University Friends Meeting, who have both traveled in the ministry in Palestine, said that it was very helpful for them to be able to talk to each other about their experiences, because they did not have to explain all of the details and history of the current situation in Palestine to each other.  Similarly, I have found that when I travel to visit evangelical Friends churches and yearly meeting annual sessions, it is helpful to be able to talk to others who have spent time with evangelical Friends and understand how they are different from unprogrammed Friends, both in worship style and theologically.
 

One of the best ways a meeting can support a minister is by being clear about how the meeting will continue to support the minister while she travels and the meeting’s plan for holding the minister accountable.  If the minister does not have a support committee, the meeting should help the minister create one.  The meeting should provide ways for the minister to keep in contact with the meeting while she is traveling and let the minister know what its expectations are for reporting back to the meeting after traveling, whether that should be through a written report, a presentation to the business meeting, or another form of reporting back.

A Valiant Sixteen - Part 3

Supporting and Encouraging Leadings

“In the early days of Friends, it seemed as though ministers sprang up from the earth like watered crops.  Now it seems as if this gift is the rare tree emerging from a crevice in the rock.  We marvel at its tenacity, but it does not occur to us to apply fertilizer.”  Margery Post Abbott & Peggy Senger Parsons, Walk Worthy of Your Calling: Quakers and the Traveling Ministry

For many of the Friends I talked to, they began traveling in the ministry before they knew what to call what they were doing.  Several Friends spoke of individuals who had acted as mentors for them.  It was helpful for them to have other recognize, support, and encourage their leadings.  Young Friends who feel called to travel in the ministry may have a difficult time asking for support, or knowing what kinds of support they need.  Several ministers said how grateful they were to others who suggested forms of support and helped them find the support they needed.

Many meetings and churches have experience with providing clearness committees for Friends who are getting married or need support in discernment.  When a young Friend expresses a leading to travel in ministry, a clearness committee is a good place for the meeting to start helping the Friend discern how she is being called.  If it becomes clear that the Friend is called into ongoing service or ministry, the meeting should provide an ongoing support and accountability committee for the minister.

A support and accountability committee functions in some ways like a clearness committee.  Friends meet and worship together, the minister shares how she sees the Spirit at work, and the committee may ask clarifying questions or mirror back to the Friend things that seem important or ways in which the Spirit seems to be moving.  A support and accountability committee differs from a clearness committee in that it is ongoing, instead of meeting just once, and it’s purpose is to provide support for the minister that is specific to his or her ministry.  Support might include being in contact with the minister while she is traveling by phone or email, praying for the minister, helping the minister find an elder or traveling companion, and acting as a liaison between the minister and the rest of the meeting.  It is important for the committee to allow the minister to use spiritual language that is comfortable and meaningful for her.

I have had wonderful experiences with my own support committee.  It started out, as many of them do, as a clearness committee.  I was feeling led to ministry in various ways and having a hard time seeing how they all related, so I asked my meeting for a clearness committee.  After we met, the committee suggested that we meet again in a few months.  We have continued to meet for two years.  When I began the School of the Spirit program On Being a Spiritual Nurturer, my committee became more formal and began to meet once a month.  I am grateful for a place to worship with Friends and I feel supported and challenged by them each time we get together.  They have been able to watch me grow and change in how I approach ministry and can ask me whether I am being faithful.

Because I am sojourning with University Friends Meeting and plan to return to Freedom Friends Church, I actually have two support committees, one in Washington and one in Oregon.  Before each meeting, I write a page or two about my condition and send it to both groups.  I meet with the committee in Washington, and someone takes notes during the meeting.  The notes go out to both committees.  After I move to Oregon this summer, I will continue to follow this practice, but meet with my committee in Oregon.

[From the research paper I wrote for the School of the Spirit on the spiritual nurture of young Friends traveling in the ministry.]

A Valiant Sixteen - Part 2

The Historical Practice of Friends Traveling in the Ministry

“The ‘valiant sixty’ was a movement of men and women in their late teens and twenties who went first to London, Bristol, and Norwich to proclaim the Gospel message.  Later they traveled to Europe and to the American colonies to carry the message abroad.”  Wilmer A. Cooper, A Living Faith: A Historical Study of Quaker Beliefs

In the early days of the Religious Society of Friends, many women and men felt called to travel in the ministry.  Although there are an increasing number of traveling ministers today, meetings and churches may have little or no experience with Friends traveling in the ministry.  

A surprising number of the ministers I spoke with had formally studied Friends, Friends history, and travel in the ministry in college or in seminary.  Meetings and churches are fortunate to have ministers with a strong understanding of the history of travel in the ministry, but it can be draining for these ministers to have the added burden of educating their meetings and the meetings they visit about the historical practice of Friends traveling in the ministry.

Accordingly, the first step meetings and churches can take in supporting young Friends who feel called to travel in the ministry is to become familiar with the practice, both historically and in the present day, and to learn about the various ways that meetings and churches can support these leadings.

[From the research paper I wrote for the School of the Spirit on the spiritual nurture of young Friends traveling in the ministry.]

A Valiant Sixteen - Part 1

Introduction

“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.  He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’”  Luke 10:1-2.

When I decided to write about the spiritual nurture of young Friends traveling in the ministry, my motivation was personal.  As a young person who travels in the ministry, I found it was easy for me to get traveling minutes, and not very difficult to get money (not a lot of money, but grants to pay for travel), but it was harder to find spiritual nurture.  I wasn’t even sure what I meant by spiritual nurture.  I was also aware that some of the issues I was facing arose specifically because I am a young Friend.  So I decided to interview other young Friends who travel in the ministry to find out what kinds of spiritual nurture are most helpful to them.

The response was incredible.  Friends from all over the United States and Canada responded to my questions in person, over the phone, and by email.  Each one was so supportive of my project and urged me to contact other Friends to hear their stories.  And as I talked to these traveling ministers and elders, it felt like looking into a mirror.  Over and over, I heard my own experiences reflected back to me.  In each conversation, I felt my heart expand in love and appreciation for the work that these Friends are doing.

As my research for this project, I interviewed 16 Friends (including myself), age 24-34, who have traveled (and in many cases, continue to travel) in the ministry.  At least twice as many names were suggested to me.  These Friends represent the various branches of Quakerism.  About two-thirds grew up as Friends.  I interviewed Friends who identify as liberal, evangelical, conservative, convergent, and who feel called to Quakerism as a whole.  Some identify as Christian, others do not.  They are responding to calls to pastoral care, hospitality, music, eldering, telling stories, education, gospel ministry, bridge building, and reconciliation.  They have traveled to Haiti, Mexico, Palestine, Israel, Syria, Jordan, England, Kenya, Iraq, and meetings and churches across the United States and Canada in response to the leadings of the Spirit.  I am grateful to all of them for their stories.

It would take a book for me to relate all of the experiences that these Friends shared with me.  Instead of trying to include everything, I am going to focus on the places of connection, the times when others’ experiences resonated with my own.   In our conversations, I was amazed by the similarities between these Friends’ stories, and it was easy to see themes.  My hope is that this paper is useful for meetings and churches that want to support young Friends who feel called to ministry, and it will encourage young Friends who may be experiencing that call.

[From the research paper I wrote for the School of the Spirit on the spiritual nurture of young Friends traveling in the ministry.]