• Candidate must be a member of a Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends (SCYMF) local Meeting

• Exploratory conversation with the Elders of the local Meeting

• Complete the Recording Questionnaire

• Meeting for Clearness facilitated by the Elders

• Complete a Ministry Packet using the “Ministry Packet Outline” below and background check

• If clear to proceed with Recording, Elders discern whether the candidate should be Recorded locally or by SCYMF

• Recommendation is taken to the local Meeting for Business

• If Recording is local, it is approved and celebrated

• Notify the SCYMF Committee for Nurture of Ministry that a public minister has been Recorded by the local Meeting

• Candidate must be an individual member of Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends (SCYMF)

• Exploratory conversation with a member of the SCYMF Committee for Nurture of Ministry

• Complete the Recording Questionnaire

• Meeting for Clearness with a local worship group or anchor committee

• Complete a Ministry Packet using the “Ministry Packet Outline” below and background check

• The local worship group or anchor committee reports their discernment to the SCYMF Clerk for the Committee for Nurture of Ministry

Whether the candidate is entering the process as an individual, or through their local meeting, the process at the Yearly Meeting Level is the same.

• If it is discerned that recording should be done at the Yearly Meeting level, all information and the discernment process is forwarded to the SCYMF Clerk for the Committee for Nurture of Ministry Clerk.NurtureOfMinistry@scymf.org. The local group will name someone to accompany the candidate throughout the process at the Yearly Meeting level.

• The committee meets with the candidate, discerning any additional work to be completed. A background check is ordered.

• There is a 30-day feedback period for people to give input about the candidate to the committee

• If there is clearness and joy, the committee brings a recommendation to the SCYMF Meeting for Business. If approved, there is a celebration of Recording.

This questionnaire is a first step in writing out the call to Public Ministry. It is useful as background information for the Meeting for Clearness.

Following a Meeting for Clearness where there is clarity to proceed with the Recording process, the Candidate creates a Ministry Packet that includes following sections:

• Name and contact information;

• Spiritual Journey;

• Shape of the Call and how the Ministry has unfolded;

• Education (formal and personal) with special attention to familiarity and agreement with Quaker process and testimonies and a familiarity with Quaker history;

• Written Testimonies from persons who have benefited by this ministry.

This printable pdf has all the information needed to apply to be recorded, or to recommend someone else for recording. It includes information on a Meeting for Clearness.

Upon receiving a request for licensure approved by a member church of Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends (SCYMF), Nurture of Ministry Committee will issue a Minister’s License. The church should submit basic contact information, the nature of ministry, and their affirmation of the minister/ministry as part of the request. Licensed ministers must be a member of SCYMF and comply with the Yearly Meeting’s policies for protection of children and avoidance of boundary violations.

In general, a Minister’s License is granted for short term needs or to someone who requires a license before completing the Recording Process. All licenses will expire on December 31. Licenses (including those granted mid-year) will require a repeat request from the local church if the license is to be extended for an additional year.

All requests can be sent to the Clerk of the Committee on Nurture of Ministry at Clerk.NurtureOfMinistry@scymf.org

This document addresses the topic of “recording,” “ministers,” and, especially, what those two terms may have meant to Friends through history. This document cannot explore these concepts fully, but can hopefully give some description of common phases in the practice and usage of those terms. Of course, this is not an exhaustive history of ministers among Friends. Instead, this description attempts to focus on the meaning of ministers as it changed and evolved into the pastoral system with particular importance for the recording of ministers in Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting. At its best, this document provides a historical context, pointing out tensions within Quaker views of ministry, and does not attempt to make prescriptions for solutions. That will be the work we accomplish in discernment together.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE