Too Long; Didn't Read: A Resource List for Quaker Ministers and Review of The Past Two Months!
- windycooler
- Jun 25
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 26
We have been blogging…not very long, but we already have a lot to say! Here is our “Too Long; Didn’t Read (TL;DR)” summary of all the themes, people, organizations and resources we’ve talked about since we started in May. We will continue building our resource list from blog entries as we mature and labor in this ministry on ministry, with each of you.
Next week we will return to new blogging with our first installment of recorded short lectures by Quaker historian Tom Hamm on his favorite inspiring (and sometimes problematic) Quaker public ministers, starting with George Fox himself. Then we will hear from Tracy Booth, of the Lyman Fund, on her reflections from being a funder of public ministry among Friends.
BUT, since the late Spring, here is what we have talked about:
1. Traveling in the Ministry: A Living, Embodied Practice
Traveling ministry has deep historical and spiritual roots in Quakerism. Friends like Brian Drayton, Karla Jay and Adria DiCapua testify that it remains alive and transformative today. Whether through global work with Friends United Meeting’s Living Letters or local visitations, traveling ministry is a sacred act of presence and faithfulness. It does not require special expertise, only openness to the Spirit and community. For many, traveling in the ministry is how they discover the Divine in others—and themselves.
Key Insights:
Traveling ministry includes listening, presence, and sometimes preaching or organizing.
It enriches spiritual life both for the minister and the communities visited.
Public ministry is not a solo act—it depends on faithful companions and supporters.
2. Eldership: Spiritual Companionship and Midwifery
Eldership is often misunderstood as control or gatekeeping, but it is meant to be a ministry of deep listening and mutual care. Drawing on the wisdom of Melinda Wenner Bradley, Zelie Gross, and others, Friends are reclaiming eldership as an act of nurturing transformation. Elders support ministers in discernment, challenge, and repair. Trauma-informed practice, humility, and spiritual maturity are essential.
Key Insights:
Eldership is about walking beside, not ruling over.
It is central to nurturing faithful ministry and addressing rupture.
Mutual eldering relationships are a model for Spirit-led accountability.
3. Community and Institutional Support for Ministry
Ministry flourishes in communal soil. Lynette Davis and the Friends Incubator focus group emphasized that Quaker ministers need financial, emotional, and spiritual structures. Tools like faithfulness groups, clearness committees, and public recognition are part of sustaining ministry. The Friends Incubator is building through global collaborations and local communities support models to guide meetings and ministers toward healthier, Spirit-led engagement that are grounded in history and present to opportunities today, in each ministry context as it really is.
Key Insights:
Public ministry requires structures of support: eldering, mentorship, finances.
Individualism must give way to communal discernment and mutual care.
Institutions can foster healing from past harm by investing in the ministries among them.
4. The Wounds and Promise of Ministry
Public ministers are often wounded by the very communities they serve. As convener Windy Cooler describes, “tall poppy syndrome” still undermines Spirit-led leadership. The Friends Incubator is a response to that harm—building spaces of care, healing, and trust. Ministry challenges status quo comfort, but faithful community makes space for such challenge.
Key Insights:
Faithfulness includes rupture, risk, and vulnerability.
Ministry is sustained when communities are brave enough to support what is difficult.
Mutual transformation—ministers and meetings together—is the goal.
Comprehensive Resource List May-July, 2025 (with Links)
Books and Pamphlets
Tall Poppies by Marty Grundy – Pendle Hill Pamphlet
Walk Humbly, Serve Boldly by Margery Post Abbott – Book Link
Walk Worthy of Your Calling by Margery Post Abbott – Book Link
On Living with a Concern for Gospel Ministry by Brian Drayton – Book Link
The Theology of the Inward Imperative by William P. Taber, Jr. – Essay
Spiritual Accompaniment by Cathy Walling & Elaine Emily – Pendle Hill Pamphlet
Spiritual Gifts by Adria DiCapua – Available through Pendle Hill Pamphlet
Organizations and Projects
Friends Incubator for Public Ministry – https://friendsincubator.org
Quaker Leadership Center – https://esr.earlham.edu/qlc/
Friends General Conference (FGC) – https://www.fgcquaker.org
Pendle Hill (retreat center) – https://pendlehill.org
Friends United Meeting (FUM) – https://www.friendsunitedmeeting.org
Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) – https://fwcc.world
Quakers in Pastoral Care and Counseling (QPCC) – https://quakerspcc.org
Faith & Play Stories – https://quakerfaithandplay.org/
Quaker Religious Education Collaborative – https://quakerrecollaborative.org/
Shoemaker Fund – https://shoemakerfund.org
Friends of Jesus Fellowship – http://friendsofjesusfellowship.org
Adria DiCapua’s Blog – https://shadowofbabylon.com
Brian Drayton's Blog – https://amorvincat.wordpress.com
Ujima Friends Meeting – https://www.ujimafriends.org/ujima-monthly-meeting/
Definitions of Key Terms
Term | Definition |
Traveling in the Ministry | A Spirit-led practice of visiting other meetings or communities to share ministry, deepen faith, and build relationship. |
Public Ministry | A visible or recognized leading to serve others or speak truth rooted in spiritual conviction, requiring community support. |
Eldership | A ministry of spiritual companionship and care, offering listening, guidance, accountability, and challenge. |
Tall Poppy Syndrome | A term describing the tendency to "cut down" those who stand out, often applied to Quaker discomfort with visible ministry. |
Faithfulness Group | A small group offering ongoing spiritual support and accountability to each person within it carrying a ministry. |
Clearness Committee | A Quaker discernment process where trusted Friends help someone seek clarity on a spiritual or practical question. |
Living Letters | A ministry of visitation and presence supported by FUM, focused on listening, love, and learning without needing expertise. |
Videos of Past Events
(Friends Incubator, Friends General Conference, Powell House, and Quaker Leadership Center collaborating):
Convener, Windy Cooler, and Andy Stanton-Henry, Co-Director of Quaker Leadership Center, lead a series of three discussions on important themes in public ministry as it is practiced in reality by both liberal and conservative Friends:
Convener, Windy Cooler and Rashid Darden, Associate Secretary for Communications and Outreach, Friends General Conference, lead a panel discussion on the lived experience of public ministers in Quaker traditions:
Quaker scholar, Brian Drayton, lectures for Friends Incubator on the 400 year history of Quaker public ministry:
Future Courses and Events!!!
Info Session at Pendle Hill (Zoom): Learn about our upcoming fellowship program for meetings, ministers and elders, July 22nd! Free (donations welcome), registration required.
Jim Webner (Baltimore Yearly) offers a series of stand-alone discussions on the work of a beloved theologian, Walter Brueggemann, and his concept of the prophetic imagination as it applies to public ministers and meetings today. Free (donations welcome), registration required.
Our convener, and the author of this blog post, Windy Cooler, is traveling all summer to ten yearly meetings! So far she has visited Friends in South Central, Northern, Lake Erie, and most recently, Illinois. She is on her way now to Sierra-Cascades. Everywhere she goes she is inspired, tuckered out, longing for her husband, children and cat, and making new friends. At ILYM she fell in love with this portrait of Quaker life by Fariba Murray, and it now hangs in her home.
Have you considered traveling in the ministry? What do you imagine it will be like?
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