Clergy Credential Renewals will be coming up very soon. Please keep the following information in mind when completing your renewal documents - this is what an ADF Priest should be doing today:

The role of the Priest in ADF is tied strongly to the roles of the Clergy Council. Paraphrased from the CC Bylaws [1], those roles are:

1. To formulate and articulate the theology and liturgy of ADF and to act as spiritual advisers to its membership.
2. Ordain, train and supervise all of ADF's Clergy, both in ceremony and in the common lives of our members.
3. Establish and conduct an ADF prison ministry and will train, authorize and supervise ADF Prisoner Spiritual Advisers.

Starting from these points, the Clergy Council met in October of 2009 and agreed that the role of the Priest in ADF is, at a fundamental level, as follows:

• Priests have an obligation to ensure that sacrifices are made at the proper times and in the proper way.
• Priests have engaged in training, and provide training and service to others.
• While we acknowledge that our members can establish their own relationships with the Kindreds, Priests can, through their training and dedication, aid members in developing and maintaining those relationships.

While Priests may (and do) have other roles, the Retreat attendees agreed that these three key points formed a basic role for Priests within ADF. They can be broken down into two primary foci: obligation and training. An ADF Priest, through training and his or her obligations, works in service to the Kindreds and the Folk, ensures that the the sacrifices are made, and helps others with the training that he or she has engaged in.

Blessings,

Drum