The Leadership of Eldership: Growing in Spirit

The workshop will explore the story of eldership among Friends as an essential communal practice of Quaker faith and an integral support to the life and flourishing of a meeting. The story of eldership: The organizing of a vibrant spiritual community, one that challenges the domination systems (religious and political) of its times directly under…

Workshop Description

The workshop will explore the story of eldership among Friends as an essential communal practice of Quaker faith and an integral support to the life and flourishing of a meeting.

The story of eldership: The organizing of a vibrant spiritual community, one that challenges the domination systems (religious and political) of its times directly under the guidance of the spirit and the discernment (authority) of the collective body is an important part of the larger story of Quakerism.

As it has evolved over the past three hundred and fifty years, this story developed a practice of leadership that is responsive and servant-based and essential to the flourishing of our lives as Quakers today. It is a story rich in character and struggle, illuminated by holy lives lived under the guidance of spirit but not without their shadows and missteps.

Leadership of Eldership workshop will explore the process of growing into spiritual maturity through the practice of leadership and guidance in the areas of spiritual formation (deepening) and the fostering of unity (conflict resolution) among Friends.

This workshop will be of special interest to Friends serving the worship and ministry and pastoral care functions of meeting as well as those in other positions of leadership (clerking, recording, etc.) It is expected that participants will be committed to serving the spirit of their communities with love and understanding.

The goal of the workshop will be to support an understanding of how Friends with a concern (and responsibility for) the eldership function can help guide the right ordering of the community, lessening anxiety (and conflict) among members and increasing an understanding of how the meeting works as a spiritually vibrant (and evolving) community of faith.

The objective of the workshop is to promote a vision of Quaker leadership that is grounded in a spiritual practice responsive to the leadings and concerns of its members and attenders. It is a practice centered in a vision of the peaceable community and devoted to the value of beloved community as the way to peace.

The function of eldership has always existed wherever Friends gathered to be faithful to the communal and congregational practices that became normative among Quakers by the end of the seventeenth century.

This practice was radically egalitarian and counter to the hierarchical domination system of that historical era.

For early Friends, the truth of a divine calling or a call to ministry is found in dialogue with other people and the spirit. In this way, the authority of the spirit of the group receiving the ministry and supporting its dissemination affirms it.

The workshop will also explored how this practice has often not worked as intended and how Friends have turned away from their founding vision in conformity to oppressive norms of governance from the insularity of the Quaker “hedge” (maintained by elders) to the embrace by many white Friends of the African slave trade.

The workshop will also explore the process of de-colonizing the function of eldership among Quakers with a special focus on listening to the voices of those who have been marginalized and/or ignored during our history (Benjamin Lay, African American Friends, Progressive Friends, etc.) and in the present.

The workshop will cover the following: The historical development of Friends and eldership and its present functioning among Liberal Friends; spiritual formation, discernment, authority, growth and maturity among Friends; de-colonizing eldership from an anti-racist and anti-oppression perspective; the local Quaker meeting as an emotional system and the role of eldership in helping to lessen the anxiety that arises when differences are encountered and diversity is promoted; and, fostering a culture of eldership and inclusion among FCG Friends which promotes belonging and connection.

A guiding principle for this work will be the understanding that a vital Quakerism is one rooted in the story of its tradition, a narrative that does not seek to cast it off but to learn how to enact it with honesty and truth.

Leader Experience

At the 2012 FGC Gathering, I co-facilitated the “Spirituality & Aging Workshop” along with Anita Paul of NYYM. I also gave a plenary address at the 2013 Gathering titled “What Love Requires” on the topic of mental health concerns among meeting members. As Care & Aging Coordinator for PhYM, I have conducted numerous workshops on issues of pastoral care and aging. I also served FGC meetings providing consultation and retreats on issues of support to person with mental health concerns in meeting as well as conflict resolution. In February of 2023, I led an all day workshop on The Leadership of Eldership as part of the PhYM pastoral care Thread Gathering attended by over eighty participants which was very well received according to feedback gathered by PhYM.