Gifts Of The Spirit

FAYETTEVILLE — FAYETTEVILLE Teacher. Prophet. Giver of hospitality. Artist.

Witness. Healer of the world.

These were among the 28 “gifts of the spirit” explored by members of the Fayetteville Friends Meeting at a workshop on Sunday. The Friends - better known as Quakers - meet at the United Campus Ministries building on the University of Arkansas campus.

Participants wandered among scattered chairs with the name of a gift affixed to the back. When they found one they felt drawn to, they sat and read a brief description of that gift.

By the end of 20 minutes, each person had collected a handfulof typed slips. They sorted the descriptions in order of which spoke most clearly and shared their discoveries with the group.

Marianne Lockard, the Quakertraveling minister and spiritual nurturer who led the workshop, asked participants to consider which gifts they are currently using and which they feelthemselves growing into. Note the surprises, she said - those gifts that arouse curiosity, discomfort or unexpected joy. Those are clues that nudge one toward growth.

Karen Takemoto described the pull toward a gift she never would have considered for herself.

“I looked at it. It looked at me.

We were drawn to each other. At first, I said ‘no.’ But no one else sat there - so I sat down.”

The gift of “priesting” - which Lockard defined as mediating God’s love - is something for her to grow toward, Takemoto decided.

Lockard tracked participants’ responses, sketching a composite description of the meeting as a whole. “Meeting” is the Quaker word for a worship and businessgathering. The Fayetteville meeting has a decidedly spiritual bent, Lockard said.

At least 10 members picked the word “liminal” - “the Friend that lives in the threshold that bridges the conscious and unconscious worlds for us.”

“The cumulative gifts of all of you make up the work your meeting has,” Lockard said. Those gifts also act as a magnet, drawing other seekers toward those qualities.

“Many meetings are called to good works in the world. Not this meeting. You are just called to light up and shine.” Ancient Tradition

The concept of spiritual gifts is a key component ofQuaker structure and beliefs, Lockard said. Quakers have no clergy or hierarchy, relying on individual members to discern “the sense of the meeting.”

The weekly Meeting for Worship is held in silence, as members draw close to God in their own ways. If a member feels guided to speak to the group, he may, but many worship meetings pass without any vocal intervention.

Members carry the same quiet intentionality into their monthly Meeting for Business. They strive to discern God’s will for the meeting as a whole, rather than advancing personal agendas. Decisions are made by consensus.

This is the way Christian communities were organized in the decades after Christ’s death, Lockard said. Paul’s letters reveal a charismaticstructure, with members asked to contribute their unique gifts. “Charismatic” comes from the Greek word “charisma,” which Dictionary.com defines as “a divinely conferred gift or power.”

“In other words, the churches were to be governed by the Holy Spirit itself through the gifts given to the members of each community,” Lockard said.

Paul offers a list of these gifts in his first letter to the Corinthians. They include wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in diff erent tongues and interpretation of tongues. Elsewhere he adds the gift of administration and the gift of helps.

Lockard’s list - and herdefinitions - are her own understanding of these and other gifts, she said.

Communities of faith are poorer when they ignore the spiritual gifts in their midst, she said. Too many times, the fear of spiritual one-upmanship keeps people from fully expressing their gifts.

“Meetings and Friends have the responsibility of mutuality,” she said. “It is our responsibility to help one another discern our gifts, nurture those gifts into fullness and offer those gifts to build up the meeting.”

Lockard ended her presentation with a line penned by Sister Macrina Wiederkehr of Saint Scholastica Monastery in Fort Smith.

“Oh God, help me to believe the truth about myself, no matter how beautiful it is.”