Community — “Gospel Order,” Unity, Decision-Making
Introductory Exercise
Presentation
We will explore such topics as “gospel order,” our church structure/polity, the role of ministers and elders, “sense of the meeting” decision-making, women’s and men’s business meetings, unity & diversity, seasoning & discernment, use of queries & advices, individual vs. the group, and the like.
Question & answer, whole-group discussion
Small sharing groups
Reflections & Closing
Reference Material
Written materials
- The Agony & the Ecstasy, by Richard Foster. “Any group of disciples who becomes serious about loving and caring has to deal with hurting and forgiving. This is the agony and the ecstasy of any real group experience…”
- The Footwashing at Marlboro. A story from Sandra Cronk’s Pendle Hill Pamphlet (#297), “Gospel Order,” about a disagreement between two Quakers in Pennsylvania at the time of the American revolution.
- “Gospel Order — I insist,” a blog post by C. Morningbear Cullimore Mercer.
- The Angel of Your Meeting/Church: Moving from Passive Aggression to Using Conflict as a Transformational Tool, by Jonathan Vogel-Borne (from “Seeds,” the online publication by Good News Associates)
- An Introduction to Quaker Business Practice, a paper presented to the World Council of Churches by Eden Grace, a member of Beacon Hill (MA) Friends Meeting.