Quaker Resources: Vocal Ministry

Print resources available from the FGC Quaker bookstore, quakerbooks.org, organized by topic.

Print Resources on Vocal Ministry, with commentary

  • On Speaking out of the Silence: Vocal Ministry in the Unprogrammed Meeting for Worship, Douglas V. Steere; Pendle Hill Pamphlet #182; $7. A classic.
  • A Description of the Qualifications Necessary to A Gospel Minister: Advice to Ministers and Elders Among the People Called Quakers, Samuel Bownas. Available from Amazon. Great book from the 18th century.
  • Listening Spirituality, Volume II: Corporate Spiritual Practice Among Friends, Patricia Loring; pages 127–141 on vocal ministry, 141–146 on eldering—a very good resource. Available from quakerbooks.org.
  • The Spoken Ministry Among Friends: Three Centuries of Progress and Development, Seth B. Hinshaw; $6 from Amazon.
  • Quality And Depth Of Worship And Ministry; The Committee on Eldership and Oversight of Britain Yearly Meeting; $12. Available from quakerbooks.org: https://quakerbooks.org/search?q=quality+and+depth+of+worship+and+ministry. This is one of several volumes prepared by Britain Yearly Meeting on Quaker essentials.
  • On the Vocal Ministry, Ruth Pitman; tract; $0.10.
  • Silence and Speech: for those new to meeting for worship, Richard Allen; Quaker Home Service, London. Available for purchase as a bundle from quakerbooks.org, but they also give the actual text of this pamphlet; here’s a link.
  • Images and Silence: The Future of Quaker Ministry, Brenda Clifft Heales & Chris Cook; Swarthmore Lecture 1992; $9. Available from quakerbooks.org.
  • Guide to Quaker Practice, Howard H. Brinton; Pendle Hill Pamphlet; $7. This pamphlet covers a lot of ground and is considered a classic. It has several pages on vocal ministry.
  • Enriching the Open Worship, John Punshon; Quaker Lecture, Western Yearly Meeting 1993. Not available from quakerbooks.org or Amazon. I could copy or scan my copy for those who want it.
  • Where Words Come From, Douglas Steere; Swarthmore Lecture 1955. Another classic but not easy to find. Amazon has a paperback for $30

Updated 4-16-2019