Letters - 12 June 2015
From vocal ministry to tax avoidance
Vocal ministry
I was surprised that in the recent discussion of vocal ministry (29 May and 5 June) nobody mentioned physical experiences in this context.
When I feel urged to speak during Meeting for Worship, this urge is usually preceded by my pulse starting to race – and then gradually calming down again. Once I’ve gone through this physical process, I have no other choice but to stand up and speak.
On a few occasions, I spoke at Meeting without having gone through this physical process – and each time felt afterwards that I shouldn’t have bothered. So, I’ve now made it a rule to ‘test’ any potential vocal ministry by listening to my body.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who takes this kind of approach. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if my Local Meeting alone may include several other Friends doing the same.
Klaus Huber
I respect Gordon Smith’s (29 May) view of vocal ministry as coming ‘not from the person speaking but through that person from beyond’ and I recognise that many Friends past and present share it.
But I see vocal ministry, both my own and that of other Friends, as deeply felt, never to be spoken lightly or egotistically, but in the end always the responsibility of the speaker.
I think history demonstrates the dangers of imagining or asserting that the words that come from our mouths are the words of Almighty God, or that our ministry is anything other than our ministry, or that the decisions we take together are anything other than our own decisions, for which we are responsible and accountable.
Fortunately, our Society is broad enough and inclusive enough to include both theist and nontheist understandings, in mutual respect and charity.
David Boulton
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