FRIENDS
INCUBATOR
FOR PUBLIC MINISTRY
Constellation of Witness Project
Hand drawn illustrations for a new book featuring Quaker stories in Public Ministry
This book will be a resource, an exploration, a celebration of courage, an invitation, and a collection of art all in one.
Watch the introduction video!
What is Public Ministry?
As Friends, all of us are called to be ministers in the lives of our worshipping communities. Some of us are called to be ministers in public. Ministry in public is called public ministry!
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There are many different ways one can be a public minister, and that's what this book will exemplify by lifting up stories of Quakers following their leadings, from history and today.
Co-editor Tom Hamm on Public Ministry
Seeking submissions of writing on public ministry
Do you have a story to share from your own experience or through example, contemporary or historic? Send in your idea! Write to Windy, convener of the Friends Incubator for Public Ministry, at windy@friendsincubator.org.
Submit first draft by May 1.
This book will include first-hand accounts from public ministers themselves, reflections shaped by grief, sacrifice, joy, risk, endurance, and daily labor. These are not abstract theological essays but lived testimonies about what it costs to follow a call, what sustains a minister over time, and what it means to be accompanied or to stand alone. Alongside these voices, we will hear from Friends both familiar and less widely known, drawing lessons from our 400-year history as Quakers about recognition, authority, rupture, courage, and care.
Taken together, these voices form a constellation. Different lights, different contexts, different temperaments, yet a shared commitment to faithfulness beyond the meetinghouse walls.
If this vision resonates with you, I invite you to consider contributing to the project. Your support will help us gather, edit, illustrate, and publish these stories so that the Religious Society of Friends may remember what it knows about ministry and imagine what is still possible.
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-Windy Cooler
(Convener of Friends Incubator for Public Ministry)
Still curious?
Check out the FAQs