Because Quakers believe the transcendent may act through us…
And because we believe that choices that affect the group should be considered by the group…
We have found many ways to work together “in prayer” as we approach life choices. Back in England in the 1600s and also today, among my kind of Quakers, people like myself are considered to be working on “a ministry,” and it is good for us to seek out “Elders,” and to put ourselves and our ministry under their care.
My Committee of Elders currently consists of Rhoda, James & Matthew. We meet, perhaps quarterly, when I feel there are important points in my life as a Gaia Troubadour I need prayerful help with. When we go too long without meeting, one or more of them starts checking, “so how’s it going,” with the implication that we might need a meeting.
The Committee of Elders acts as a stabilizing influence for the one carrying the ministry (and also sometimes as a goad). When I feel like the message I am carrying sounds too crazy to be shared I check with them. If I say or do something that members of my larger Quaker community find upsetting, and they confront me on it, my Committee of Elders is where I will turn to discuss what has happened and what needs to be done.
Gaia Voices 