Coming to light : cultivating spiritual discernment through the Quaker clearness committee

by Valerie Brown

Other authorsCarol Holmes (Editor), Mary Helgesen Gabel (Designer)
Pamphlet, August 2017

Status

Available

Call number

CP 446 c2

Publication

Wallingford, PA : Pendle Hill Publications, 2017.

ISBN

9780875744469

Description

"Coming to Light explores the practice and process of the clearness committee, a means of spiritual discernment used by Quakers that has also proved helpful to many others. The author shares her personal experience of clearness committees, first as a member of the Religious Society of Friends and then as a retreat leader for the Center for Courage & Renewal, which uses the clearness committee as the center of its practice."--Publisher.

User reviews

LibraryThing member QuakerReviews
In this useful pamphlet, Brown explains the practice and process of the clearness committee, as an instrument of discernment and support. She addresses its spiritual basis as well as the practical matters of what it is for and the skills, structure, and flow. While Brown quotes and cites several
Show More
other excellent works addressing the use of clearness committees, including Patricia Loring's classic PHP #305, this pamphlet is a succinct and thorough guide.
Show Less
LibraryThing member kaulsu
Often, it seems that writings about clearness committees seem pretty fluffy. Or, they are to the point but written within a larger book entirely. Brown has done a fine job in distilling the essence and translating that into understandable English.

*Ask open, honest questions: no yes or no answers,
Show More
but answers that come from deep within the focus person.
*Don't "lead the witness." Instead phrase the question without expecting any particular answer.
*Questions should be brief and to the point.
*Don't lace the questions with your personal beliefs.
*Ask questions that address the person as well as the issue. Outward facts are generally accompanied by "inward realities."
*Ask questions that help the focus person probe their concern on a deeper level rather than answering your curiosity.
*Trust your own leadings about asking questions that may seem off the wall.
*If you aren't sure about a question, sit with it for a bit. Wait for clarity.
*Keep your question simple and straightforward.
Show Less

Similar in this library

Call number

CP 446 c2

Barcode

6333
Page: 0.1372 seconds