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190
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1 *Meeting for Sufferings*
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2
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3 1 February 2020
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4
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5 Henry S. Thompson, SE Scotland AM representative
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6
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7 All the papers for the meeting are available online at
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8
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9 https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/mfs-2020-2-agenda-papers
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10
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11 The minutes and other follow-up material are available from
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12
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13 https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/mfs-2020-02-follow-up-package
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14
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15 *Trustees consultation*
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16
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17 The Clerk of BYM Trustees reported on the state of the Meeting-centred
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18 support initiative and related issues.
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19
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20 She acknowledged concerns about decisions wrt meeting-centred support.
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21
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22 Re-envisioning trustees as responsible for the 'simple charity' which
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23 supports BYM as a 'simple church': more work coming on that.
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24
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25 As an Area Meeting, we can/should feed back to Trustees: What do _we_
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26 need from the centre to help us be simpler?
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27
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28 In response to Trustee's call for expressions of interest in first
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29 steps towards Meeting-centred support, specifically hosting local
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30 development works or acting as 'hubs': 38 responses were received.
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31 * One hub will be announced later this year as an experiment;
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32 * Local development worker roll-out will begin 'immediately', will
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33 take years, still aiming to have one such worker "in reach of"
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34 every meeting
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35
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36 Paul Parker, BYM Recording Clerk, spoke about the devolution of
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37 central functions, saying that this would be a gradual process. There
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38 will continue to be wealth of specialist expertise in London.
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39 Discussions have started with QLCC on what kinds specialist expertise
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40 is needed and when it needs to be _in London_.
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41
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42 *Speaking out*
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43
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44 We returned to this matter to hear more [see report on Sufferings
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45 2019-10-04] from Friends House staff on how they approach this.
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46
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47 They drew out two continua along which they see themselves as helping
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48 us to approach public statements:
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49 * Complelled to witness <--> Compelled to achieve change
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50 * Be distinctively Quaker <--> Voice all concerns
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51
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52 Our decisions at York Gathering in 2009 on same-sex marriage was
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53 mentioned as an instructive example of how witness without the
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54 expectation of change none-the-less _achieved_ change.
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55
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56 *Diversity*
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57
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58 Sam McNair reported very impressively on a
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59 Diversity and Inclusion gathering held at Woodbrooke, 17-19 January.
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60 During a small-group reflection session on this, I found the following
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61 points that were shared particularly helpful:
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62
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63 * Gay people of gender X may find X->Y trans people challenging to
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64 their own choices wrt their own dismorphia
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65
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66 * Not all trans people are prepared/able to 'come out' to everyone in
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67 a new meeting: how would we as a Meeting cope with a gradual spread
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68 of knowledge?
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69
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70 * In our struggle to understand how a Meeting might be a Quaker
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71 meeting and yet take what we find to be a very unQuakerly approach
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72 to LGBTQ issues, one Meeting reported having gotten great value
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73 from taking an African Meeting as the equivalent of a pen-friend,
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74 'twinning' with a Meeting from Ghana
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75
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76 * What we need to understand better is how we as Meetings can, in
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77 individual cases, find a way to make a space that's safe for people
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78 who are labouring under the experience of being 'other' to share
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79 that in some way. They may have been waiting a long time for the
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80 opportunity...
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81
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