A Recorded Minister was originally a male or female Quaker (that is, a member of the Religious Society of Friends), who was acknowledged to have a gift of spoken ministry.
The practice of recording in a Monthly Meeting Minute the acknowledgment that a Friend had a gift of spoken ministry began in the 1730s in London Yearly Meeting, according to Milligan's Biographical dictionary of British Quakers in commerce and industry. [1] [2] The acknowledgment did not involve anything like ordination or any payment, in view of early Friends' testimony against "Hireling Priests". [3] Acknowledgment did permit the Recorded Minister to attend at Yearly Meeting and Meeting for Sufferings.
In London Yearly Meeting the practice of recording Ministers was discontinued in 1924. [1] [4]
While many Yearly Meetings have discontinued the practice of recording ministers, it is maintained by many others. Today, Friends are recorded as ministers as an acknowledgment of a variety of ministries, including teaching, chaplaincy, and evangelical and pastoral ministry. [5] [6] [7] [8]
A Recorded Minister was originally a male or female Quaker (that is, a member of the Religious Society of Friends), who was acknowledged to have a gift of spoken ministry.
The practice of recording in a Monthly Meeting Minute the acknowledgment that a Friend had a gift of spoken ministry began in the 1730s in London Yearly Meeting, according to Milligan's Biographical dictionary of British Quakers in commerce and industry. [1] [2] The acknowledgment did not involve anything like ordination or any payment, in view of early Friends' testimony against "Hireling Priests". [3] Acknowledgment did permit the Recorded Minister to attend at Yearly Meeting and Meeting for Sufferings.
In London Yearly Meeting the practice of recording Ministers was discontinued in 1924. [1] [4]
While many Yearly Meetings have discontinued the practice of recording ministers, it is maintained by many others. Today, Friends are recorded as ministers as an acknowledgment of a variety of ministries, including teaching, chaplaincy, and evangelical and pastoral ministry. [5] [6] [7] [8]