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Permalink Reply by Helen Gibbs on 2nd mo. 20, 2011 at 9:36am

It is a difficult tension that exists in the liberal tradition, and requires that those Eldering are able to have difficult conversations with both sides of very strongly opposing ministries like this.

 Elders should have supported you as the person whose ministry was followed by a very divisive statement through asking her to expand on her experiences that had led her to come to that conclusion.  What she said could have been acceptable as an "I" statement, but as the "we" statement she gave, was not acknowledging that our testimony of diversity has a component of joint responsibility to own our own personal issues we bring to meeting. 

Equally, Elders might well have asked you about why that particular part of the Gospel spoke to your condition, and how you had felt drawn to share it.

My concern about a lot of liberal meetings is that we fail to acknowledge both our early roots, and our later (mid-victorian) roots at our peril. Yes, spoken ministry is a gift, but equally it is something that needs nurturing and tending by experienced Friends to support the development of discernment. This involves discussion, reading, reflection and on the odd occasion challenge, to help reach its full potential. It is easy in this modern world to believe that "love" is something nice and soft and gentle, but to truly love is to also correct and speak in discipline to those who minister in ways that might be hurtful to others.

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Forrest Curo on 2nd mo. 20, 2011 at 12:04pm

Enough to wobble a person's faith... but ours, after all, is based on the truth that God is available to help with what we can't do 'without God' (ie while thinking as though it were up to us alone!)

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