A central facet of our religious lives is discernment of what we are called to do with our lives. Every meeting for worship is an occasion for opening ourselves to the leading of the Spirit and seeking ways to follow the guidance that we receive. As we deepen our spiritual lives we discover a path in the outward life to conform to our spiritual journeys-perhaps we recognize the work we have been doing as our calling or we may find ourselves led to new and different ways of living. Ideally the meeting nurtures this process by providing a setting in which to seek God's guidance and by holding us in the Light as we seek to live as we are led.
In some few cases there is a need or desire on the part of a member to have formal recognition or support from the meeting in pursuing a specific ministry or religious service. In these cases the meeting not only must assist the member in achieving clearness about his or her leading, but also must enter into a process of discerning the meeting's appropriate role.
Sometimes a project will be proposed by a meeting committee or other group as a "meeting project" rather than a ministry of an individual. Before undertaking consideration of a proposal for a meeting project, care should be taken as to whether the project might be more appropriately regarded as a ministry to which an individual or small group are called, which should be tested in the regular process of discernment of a call to ministry.
The clearness committee is a major tool of the meeting for business in discerning the strength and validity of a leading that has arisen out of the spiritual life. Using this procedure, the meeting for business can both test a leading and empower it to be carried forward.
Clearness for the meeting to support a ministry is not a simple agreement or consensus. We must seek a sense of that deep, interior unity which is a sign that the members are consciously gathered together in God. When this unity is found within the meeting, the ministry is carried out with the united strength of the gathered meeting.
The clearness committee has two responsibilities: assisting the individual in seeking clearness and discerning the meeting's appropriate role. Below are suggestions of issues to reflect on in seeking clearness. Clearness, however, is not found in the correct answers to a set of questions, but in the collective sense of having discerned the leading of the Spirit.
1. The nature of the call: What is its nature? How has the person come to feel that she or he is being called to this service? How does this call fit into his or her personal and spiritual life?
2. Potential benefits of the proposed ministry: What are the potential benefits to the person's spiritual development? What are the potential benefits to the life of the meeting? What are the potential benefits to the wider community?
3. Readiness to undertake the ministry: Is the person prepared to undertake this ministry at this time? How does it fit into other obligations such as family, work, or community? Does the person have the skills and resources to carry out this call? What steps might be taken to become better prepared for undertaking the ministry? What are the risks and how will they be borne?
4. Financial readiness: How will the person support her- or himself while carrying out this ministry? Is she or he prepared to go forward even if the level of funds available may require living on significantly reduced means?
5. Rightness of seeking support: Is it appropriate to ask others to join in this ministry by providing practical or financial support? (Sometimes there may be clearness that this is something the individual is called to bear him- or herself.) Should the ministry proceed even if others do not feel called to provide support? Is the person prepared to engage prayerfully with others in the meeting without resentment and disruption of his or her relationship to the meeting community?
If the individual concludes that there is not a call to religious service, or that this is not the right time to act on the call, the clearness committee would report this to the meeting for business and, its work ended, the clearness committee would be laid down. Similarly, if there is clearness for the individual to proceed without seeking further support from the meeting, the clearness committee would report this outcome and be laid down.
If the individual has become clear that she or he is called to a particular ministry and is seeking recognition or support from the meeting, the clearness committee moves on to assist the meeting in discerning the meeting's role in relationship to this ministry by preparing recommendations based on the following guidelines.
It is the meeting's responsibility to discern whether and in what ways the meeting is led to support a ministry. Faith and Practice points out that concerns should be regarded as primarily matters of individual responsibility. It should not be taken for granted that because an individual is called to a specific ministry that other members, or the meeting corporately, are necessarily called in involvement in that ministry.
The following queries may be helpful in discerning the course of action that is appropriate for the meeting.
1. Is it a concern with which the meeting can unite? Is it grounded in Friends' beliefs and practices?
2. Would it be beneficial to the person undertaking the ministry or to the ministry itself for the meeting to play a role? Would it benefit the life of the meeting to be involved with this ministry?
3. Is the proposed action well focused on the concern? Is the method of responding to the call one in which the meeting has confidence? How would this ministry relate to others addressing this concern?
4. Are the costs in terms of time, energy, money, and other resources reasonable? Is there a well developed budget for the ministry? Has care been taken to be thorough in predicting expenses and identifying sources of funds? Is the person prepared to bear part or all of the costs of the ministry? Is she or he prepared to live on reduced means while carrying out the ministry? Are the recipients of the service able to cover all or part of the costs of the ministry?
5. Are there sources of spiritual, practical, and financial support outside the meeting? What would be the meeting's relationship with those sources? Are there other sources available for funding this ministry? (As a general rule, solicitations to these sources should be in the name of the individual, with the meeting's support, rather than in the name of the meeting. A solicitation to a specific source may be made in the meeting's name at the recommendation of the clearness or oversight committee and with approval of the meeting for business. Solicitations in the name of the meeting should be signed by the clerk of the meeting.)
6. Considering the above sources, what level of funding from the meeting does the clearness committee think is appropriate? Are the resources asked of the meeting available and/or is the concern sufficiently important to the meeting for the meeting to dig deep to find the resources? Is the level of available funding adequate to meet at least the minimal needs of the ministry and the minister? If all of these sources total less than the anticipated need, what implications does this have for clearness to proceed?
7. Some ministries may need or desire practical support in order to move forward. Would a working committee...be useful or even necessary in the right ordering of the ministry? If this kind of support is seen as necessary, its membership should be identified and structure organized before the ministry is found clear to proceed.
After careful reflection on the meeting's right response to the proposed ministry the clearness committee is asked to develop recommendations for the meeting's consideration. Options for the meeting's involvement might include:
• Discourage the Friend from undertaking the action. (If at the end of the clearness process the individual feels clear but the meeting is not in unity on supporting the ministry, the individual should reconsider carefully. He or she may concur with the meeting's negative judgment or may seek a process of continued discernment and mutual education. If s/he feels called on to continue with the concern despite the meeting's reservations, care should be taken to avoid bitterness and division.)
• Encourage the Friend to go forward if she or he feels clear, but recommend no active role for the meeting
• Endorse the action as one supported by the meeting with an appropriate minute from the meeting
• Provide financial support
• Adopt the project as a meeting project
• Other recommendations as the clearness committee is led.
At the conclusion of the clearness process the committee will report to the meeting for business. The report should include:
1. Description of the call and of the request to the meeting
2. Clarity in the individual as to the nature and genuineness of the call
3. Clarity as to the timeliness of the call: is now the time for this person to undertake this ministry?
4. Recommendations to the meeting for business regarding the meeting's relationship to the ministry
5. Details regarding recommended actions of the meeting (if any):
a. Wording of a minute, often called a minute for religious service
b. Names of those undertaking spiritual or practical support
c. Duration of the ministry if it is viewed as time limited; if
it is not viewed as time limited, time when
clearness will be reviewed
d. Recommendation regarding financial support from the meeting: This recommendation should include any meeting support that may be required at a later time as in fines, etc., resulting from tax resistance. Recommendation for financial support should include information about other sources of financial support and the meeting's relationship to that support. It should also include a recommendation about the amount of support that should be outright grant, the amount matching member contributions, and the ratio of the match.
e. All solicitation of funds in the meeting's name must be reviewed by the oversight committee.
f. Criteria, if appropriate, for evaluation whether to continue
the project at the end of the proposed
period.
g. Recommendation of persons for the oversight committee.
In considering the recommendations of a clearness committee, Friends have a particular responsibility for discernment. We are undertaking what may be a long term commitment, and in approving a ministry we are saying that we hold this ministry to be Spirit-led and responsibly carried forward. We are asking the community to receive the minister with openness because of our testimony to the right ordering of the ministry.
Some queries for individuals to keep in mind in considering support of a ministry:
1. Can I unite with supporting this ministry? Will it do a work of importance for our world? Do I see its importance to the spiritual life of the minister? Will it benefit my spiritual life or that of the meeting to support this work?
2. Do I feel called to participate in this ministry by providing spiritual, practical or financial support? If I do not feel called to support this ministry, does it represent reservations about the ministry that should be raised with the meeting? Am I called elsewhere? Am I resisting God's call?
3. Am I able to support this special project, financially and practically, while continuing to fulfill my obligation to serve on meeting committees and to contribute to this meeting's budget? Is the meeting in a position to fulfill a commitment to supporting this ministry without sacrificing other important commitments?
These articles are from Resources
for Fostering Vital Friends Meetings
See also: the FGC Quaker Library
