The Ministry Fellowship Has Opened—Because We’ve All Been Listening
- windycooler
- Jul 21
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 22
A Friendly Invitation to a Braver Quakerism
Friends, something beautiful is happening.
After years of conversation, spiritual listening, careful discernment, bold experimentation, and not a small amount of struggle, we are overjoyed to share:
This is more than a program launch.
It’s a grassroots, collaborative, living response to a Spirit-led yearning we’ve all heard rising again and again across the Religious Society of Friends:
Where is the support for those called into public ministry? Who walks with them? How do we help them thrive—not just survive? And what happens to our meetings when we don’t?
These aren’t abstract questions. They come from lived experience. And we’ve all been listening.
The Ministry That Lives Among Us—and What It Needs
We hear it in the stories:
“I lost my teeth doing this ministry. I couldn’t afford dental care.”
“There’s a tremendous amount of demand for the ministry I carry, but last year I lost money on it.”
“I came back from a month of travel in ministry, and no one at my meeting said a word.”
“I didn’t know I could say no. I thought I had to be available for everything, all the time.”
These are not complaints. They are testimonies. They reveal a spiritual and material crisis—not of calling, but of care.
Across our meetings, we say that all are ministers. But in practice, those called into visible public ministry who don't already hold social power in the outside world often face burnout, poverty, silence, and isolation.
Our support structures are patchy or missing. The confusion about what ministry even is—especially in unprogrammed Quakerism—runs deep.
That’s why we started the Friends Incubator for Public Ministry.
Why We Started the Friends Incubator
The Incubator began with a simple but powerful conviction: Ministry flourishes in community. And our meetings must be central to its support.
Historically, Quaker public ministry was grounded in spiritual discernment and sustained by a meeting’s loving care and material backing. But those practices have eroded. Many of us no longer know how to recognize ministry, much less support it. The consequences have been painful: ministers feel disconnected, and meetings lose out on the gifts in their midst.
Over the last three years, the Incubator has grown into a relational, Spirit-led experiment in repairing that disconnect. We’ve offered workshops, storytelling events, and quiet accompaniment to dozens of ministers and meetings. We’ve co-hosted events with institutions like Powell House, Pendle Hill, Quaker Leadership Center and Friends General Conference. Since 2022, the grassroots collaboration that is now the Friends Incubator has brought together more than 300 participants and 30 presenters across 15 public events.
And we’ve listened to each other. Deeply.
We’ve asked: What does public ministry look like today? What support do ministers need? What do meetings need? How do we prepare spiritually and structurally for the real cost and beauty of ministry?
The Friends Incubator Fellowship for Public Ministry is our next experimental response to those questions.
What Is the Fellowship?
The Friends Incubator Fellowship for Public Ministry is a two-year journey for five teams, each made up of:
A public minister, called into visible, Spirit-led service
An elder, who offers grounding, care, and discernment
A meeting, committed to walking with them in faithfulness
These teams will participate in:
Two weeklong retreats
Regional residencies hosted by participating meetings
Peer support, spiritual accompaniment, and shared discernment
Formation in practical and spiritual skills
Pictured (from left to right) are public ministers Marcelle Martin, Marian Baker, Lilia Fick, Windy Cooler, Robin Mohr and Deborah Shaw. Photo from Pendle Hill and Quaker Leadership Center's joint conference: Publishers of the Truth.
Together, they will explore how to make ministry sustainable—not just for the minister, but for the meeting, and the wider body of Friends.
We’re not looking for polished performances. We’re cultivating courage, care, clarity, and community.
What Makes This Different?
This isn’t just another leadership development program. It’s rooted in deep faith and a long memory.
We’re inspired by elders like George Fox, who taught that true preaching arises from Spirit, not credentials. That ministry is given, not earned. That we must ask each other: What canst thou say?
We’re walking with ancestors like Priscilla Hunt Cadwallader, a 19th-century Quaker minister whose life defied convention. Divorced, outspoken, and caught in the turmoil of the Hicksite-Orthodox split, she kept ministering. And her meeting chose to stand by her—even publishing a pamphlet in her defense. She shows us what it means to be faithful—with your meeting—in the face of scandal, hardship, and love.
We’re drawing on the wisdom of Brian Drayton, who reminds us that real ministry begins in love. That to travel in the ministry—even if it’s just across the street—requires internal formation and a willingness to look foolish for the truth.
We’re learning from the Lyman Fund, whose expansive model of supporting ministry includes artists, acupuncturists, justice workers, and writers. Their process shows how clearness, accountability, and small acts of faith can enable a ministry that changes lives.
And we’re building on the structural work of what is now the Friends Incubator for Public Ministry, which equips meetings and ministers to:
Discern and support ministry with clarity and care
Build sustainable funding and accountability structures
Form spiritual care groups for ministers
Collaborate across meetings and branches
Why Now?
Because the world is unraveling. Spiritually. Ecologically. Socially.
And the Quaker tradition was made for times like these.
Public ministry is one way we answer the call of the Spirit. Not by elevating individuals, but by strengthening the meeting. By listening together. By telling the truth. By holding one another in love. By being brave.
This fellowship is for those who feel called—for a season, or a lifetime—into that brave, visible labor.
What’s at Stake?
If we ignore the call to support ministry, we risk:
Silencing the prophets among us
Burning out those who speak hard truths
Shaming ministers for needing care
Choosing comfort over courage
But if we answer the call?
We can become communities of strength, tenderness, and transformation.
Want to Walk With Us?
Here’s how you can join in:
🕊️ Apply: If you’re a minister, an elder, or a meeting ready to go deeper, we invite you to apply for our new fellowship. We’re starting with East Coast-based teams, but we hope to expand.
💸 Donate: We are both the recipients of a Shoemaker grant, and we largely rely on lots of small donations from people like you. Your gift supports retreats, ministers, spiritual care, and the sacred infrastructure we’re building.
📬 Talk With Us: Curious about how this could work in your meeting? Let’s talk. 👉 Contact us
We believe that when we support public ministry, we are not just supporting individuals.
We are reweaving the fabric of Quaker faithfulness.
We are remembering that Love is the first motion.
And we are building something bold, Spirit-led, and deeply faithful.
We’re not just dreaming anymore.
We’re doing.
Come walk with us.
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