• Two Friends had not returned endorsed travel minutes/letters of introduction to their meetings, because they were not asked to, or the meeting did not respond to their requests to do so.
• One Friend reported annually to her meeting about her activities she understood as ministry, even though they did not ask for such a report, or have a way to process it.  After some years, they formed a clearness committee for her. 
• Sometimes individual Friends recognize in other individual Friends a capacity to give helpful feedback, and come to rely on that, thinking of them as their personal "elders."

Do your monthly meetings understand and value the gifts of elders?  How are the holders of these gifts discerned, nurtured, and held accountable?

• "Elders" often brings up a negative stereotype, many Illinois YM Friends do not link this to supporting ministry.  Some IYM Friends and meetings do understand and value the concept.
• Two examples given as modern-day eldering:  Teaching--such as First Day School or Quakerism 101--that helps prepare ALL of us to be better ministers;  Orienting and mentoring newcomers in the ways of Friends, allowing them to begin to participate in our shared ministry.
• "Mostly, we haven't done much to value the gifts ... of elders and ministers.  And, we have a lot of work to do to understand why holding them accountable is so crucial to our growth as a religious society."
• We are ambivalent about receiving eldering, but elders themselves need their gifts to elder named, nurtured, supported; and they need to be held accountable in their eldering.  As one Friend put it, "I'm getting to the age where other Friends seem to look to me for wisdom and leadership.  So now, where do I find Friends to sit down and counsel me?"