A clearness committee is a process for
discernment within the
Religious Society of Friends
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
(Quakers). It is often used when a member of the meeting seeks to reach clarity on how to respond to a concern or dilemma.
Like
Quaker business meetings, meetings of clearness committees are considered a form of
meeting for worship
A meeting for worship is what the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) call their church service. Quakers#Splits, Different branches of Quakers have different types of worship, primarily consisting of three types. A meeting for worship in Engl ...
and are based on the principle that the
inner light is present in all people. The process thus is one of aiding the person seeking clearness in finding the answer within, rather than offering outside advice or guidance. A clearness committee can be requested by anyone for any reason and will usually be appointed by one of the standing committees of a
Monthly Meeting.
In addition to those requested by individuals, clearness committees are appointed by most meetings when a person applies for membership and when a
couple seeks marriage under the care of the meeting. In these cases, the committee serves the dual purpose of helping the person or couple find clearness that this is the proper step and ensuring that the meeting is ready to take the member or couple under their care.
Clearness committees were frequently used by the Quaker-influenced
Movement for a New Society and occasionally show up in other progressive organizations in the Philadelphia area, especially those with
pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...
or
nonviolence
Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
orientations.
See also
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Dialogue
Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American and British English spelling differences, American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literature, literary and theatrical form that depicts suc ...
*
Learning circle
*
Pastoral care
''The Book of Pastoral Rule'' (Latin: ''Liber Regulae Pastoralis'', ''Regula Pastoralis'' or ''Cura Pastoralis'' — sometimes translated into English ''Pastoral Care'') is a treatise on the responsibilities of the clergy written by Pope Greg ...
*
Pastoral counseling Pastoral counseling is a branch of counseling in which psychologically trained ministers, rabbis, priests
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Clearness Committees and Their Use in Personal DiscernmentMeetings for Clearness
in Britain Yearly Meeting's Quaker Faith and Practice.
Parker Palmer's description of the Clearness Committee and its benefits
Quaker practices
Committees