The Worship and
Ministry Committee customarily consists of
members of the Religious Society of Friends of varied ages, genders
and gifts and who are known to be faithful in worship and sensitive
to the life of the Spirit. It includes both Friends inclined to speak
in
the Meeting for Worship and those less inclined to do so. It also
includes Friends who are acknowledged as spiritual elders, to whom
persons go instinctively for understanding and loving care. The
function of the committee is to nurture the spiritual health of the
Meeting community.
The first responsibility
of the committee’s members is to deepen
their own spiritual lives and their preparation for worship. When
they are grounded in the Spirit, committee members can recall that
they are but vessels of the Light among many other vessels. Then
they can better trust that the power of God may work through all
persons in the Meeting and beyond. Committee members’ concern
for the Meeting throughout the week, the promptness and
reverence with which they approach the Meeting for Worship, and
their faithfulness to the guidance of the Spirit, are the most effective
ways they may deepen the quality of the worship. By deepening
their own experience of worship, and by their regular presence at
Meeting for Worship, committee members contribute to the
corporate experience of a centered Meeting for Worship.
care for the meeting for worship: The Worship and Ministry
Committee
meets regularly to keep the Meeting for Worship under constant review,
prayer, and care. Committee members should
nurture the Meeting for Worship by giving appropriate attention to
the quality of the vocal ministry and the ministry of stillness that
springs from the centered silence. They should encourage all
Friends to give adequate time to study, meditation, prayer, and
other ways of preparing themselves for worship.Members’ concerns
about worship are directed to this committee for prayerful
consideration and action. At times, the committee should open its
meeting to all to share experience, search for insight and nurture
the
spiritual health of the Meeting for Worship.
Committee
members should encourage those who show promising gifts and lovingly
guide those who speak unacceptably,
too often or for too long. They should endeavor to open the way for
those who are timid and inexperienced in vocal ministry and
should encourage all Friends to listen with tenderness. In trying
to
be helpful, they should not assume superior wisdom, trusting
instead that all are sharing in the search for guidance.
care
for the meeting for worship for business: The Worship and Ministry
Committee’s responsibilities include
nurturing Meeting for Worship for Business.At least a few members
of this committee should be present at every Meeting for Business.
The committee considers prayerfully how to contribute to the
Meeting’s faithful discernment of Truth. It works with
the Presiding
Clerk to develop his or her skills and to create a worshipful
and faithful Business Meeting.
care
for individual lives: The committee seeks to strengthen the lives
of the individuals in the Meeting by helping individuals
discern and develop varied gifts for ministry and service.
Committee members encourage vocal ministry, teaching and
counseling, along with aesthetic, social, and practical modes of
expression and regular spiritual disciplines. The Committee can
support individual spiritual growth by circulating appropriate
literature and arranging for study groups, spiritual sharing groups
and retreats.