Martha Paxson GrundyCritiques

The book describes the traditional Quaker understanding of power and spiritual authority, and God’s gifts in relation to them.

Excellent discussion of the Quaker understanding of spiritual gifts entrusted to monthly meetings and what meetings should be doing to nurture and exercise those gifts properly.

Excellent discussion of the Quaker understanding of spiritual gifts entrusted to monthly meetings and what meetings should be doing to nurture and exercise those gifts properly.

In this extremely important pamphlet, Grundy addresses how meetings need to and can support ministry and eldering. She clearly describes the traditional Quaker understanding of God's gifts of spiritual power and authority in teaching, prophesying, speaking to the spiritual condition of others, and encouraging, nurturing, and discerning gifts of ministry. These and other gifts being for the service of the spiritual community, right order in a meting includes ways to provide support and accountability for these gifts. Since the gifts of ministry and eldering work together, as elders encourage, support, and hold accountable the ministers, wise eldering is part of right ordering of a meeting. Thus recognizing and developing gifts of ministry and eldering can be important to breaking through the spiritual sleepiness of a comfortable ungathered meeting.

Contemporary Quakers are guilty of being so enamored of equality that we fail to recognize each other's gifts. Grundy reminds us that although the Lord loves each of us equally, we have not been gifted equally. We proclaim that to those who live up to their Light, more will be given, but in reality, we seem to want to lop the heads off the tall poppies; to the leaders who stand tall we give the message, "Down in front!"

Grundy reminds us of our history. She recounts what various Yearly Meetings did in the past and what they are doing today to recognize our gifts. She questions our reluctance to support modern Friends because we [erroneously] think recompense equals a hireling ministry.

A small pamphlet with much for us to consider today.

This paper was written for New England Yearly Meeting's "Quaker Issues," a series which hopes to attract a wide variety of Quaker voices to speak to a wide range of issues. In this particular example, Grundy hopes to engage modern Friends in what it meant to Early Friends to travel in the ministry and challenge us today to delve deeply into what it means to us today.½

PHHP #347