Sandra Cronk was for ten years a resident teacher at Pendle Hill; she was also a founding member of the School of the Spirit. Through this latter activity she became well known to numerous Friendship Meeting Friends. In this pamphlet she explores the ways Gospel Order plays a role in our relationships in the monthly meeting community. ( )

Gospel order was the phrase early Friends most often used to describe communal/ecclesiastical and social dimensions of God's new ordering in their lives. This essay concentrates on the communal and societal aspects of Gospel order as the foundation of meeting – or church community life. "Gospel" does not refer primarily to the intellectual content of faith or a religious message. It is the actual life, power, and reality of the relationship with God. In the corporate and social dimensions of Gospel order, "order" refers to the patterns of daily living which flow from God's life and power and which allow the community to maintain and deepen its relationship with Christ.

This is a very important pamphlet for understanding Quaker practice. Cronk clearly explains the spiritual foundations of much Quaker practice. Gospel order was the term used to describe the communal, ecclesiastical, and societal dimensions of living by God's order. While this is not introductory material for understanding Quakerism, it is fundamental to faithful Quaker living and meetings. ( )

PHHP #297