Keith Wilson
The word ‘ministry’ occurs 102 times in Quaker Faith & Practice while, for comparison, the word ‘peace’ occurs 172 times. Given the importance of peace in the Quaker world, this admittedly crude comparison suggests, to me at least, that ministry is a rather important aspect of our Quaker life. So why do I never minister? Before I answer, let me make clear that I’m talking about spoken ministry in Meeting for Worship.
The reason I don’t minister is possibly related to those 102 occurrences in QF&P. Spoken ministry to me seems to be wrapped around with so much ‘guidance’ (by which I actually mean rules, but we Quakers don’t have rules do we?) that it feels like it’s booby trapped.
Ministry must be spontaneous, not prepared; it shouldn’t be a reply to an earlier piece of ministry; no Friend should speak twice in the meeting; items of ministry should not follow each other closely; you shouldn’t minister in the last few minutes of the meeting; you should only minister when divine inspiration strikes and, if you do minister, for heaven’s sake (literally, I suppose) don’t mention the daffodils!
I’m sure there are many other ‘guidelines’, but I hope you catch my drift: spoken ministry is perilous! Perhaps you think I exaggerate and maybe I do, just a little, but in spite of that, in my time at Oxford Meeting, I’ve heard of more Friends being eldered for transgressions related to ministry than for any other reason.
Maybe you think I’m being faint-hearted and it’s not Quakerly to let fear of a stern eldering stand in the way of delivering inspired ministry. Maybe you’re right – or maybe I’ve never had the right type of inspiration to make me stand and deliver. Note well my reference to ‘the right type’ of inspiration because my inspiration is of a different kind. It’s the kind that impels me to keep my mouth shut but start writing! You’re reading an example of the result right now. I don’t know why written ministry – if you accept that’s what it is – seems to be my way except, perhaps, that I have been an obligate writer sinceI could first hold a pencil.
This tale has, I suppose, two morals: the first is that, despite what it says in Advices & Queries, some of us find spoken ministry is not for us. The second is that spoken ministry is not the only form of ministry, so please don’t judge too harshly those of us who choose an alternative option.
As a coda, I’ll offer a little warning for anyone who, like me, prefers to produce written rather than spoken ministry. I first saw this cautionary message on a fridge magnet (picture attached). It says, as you’ll see, ‘verba volant, scripta manent’. For those of you fortunate enough to be so young you didn’t learn Latin at school, an approximate translation is ‘spoken words fly away, written words endure.’ Written ministry has perils of its own!
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Forty-Three Newsletter • Number 520 • August 2022
Oxford Friends Meeting
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