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181
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1 *Meeting for Sufferings*
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2
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3 4--6 October 2019
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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-2019-10-agenda-papers-package
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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-2019-10-follow-up-package
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14
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15 This was a residential weekend meeting, at Woodbrooke, which was
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16 welcoming and peaceful as always.
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17
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18 We heard a number of reports (all in the linked-to documents above),
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19 and had some thoughtful deliberation, but very few actual actions were
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20 taken.
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21
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22
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23 *Court & Prison Register*
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24
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25 We spent rather a lot of time agreeing guidelines for what does and
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26 doesn't count as "suffering for the faith".
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27
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28 It surprised many that there was a presumption that any Friend setting
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29 out on a course of action likely to result in arrest should test their
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30 concern with their Meeting in advance if at all possible.
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31
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32 *Sustainability*
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33
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34 "How might we be called to act next?"
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35 - Eldership
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36 "All creation was being set free to be true to itself" Eden Grace 2019
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37 "Right purpose, right use, right relationship" Ditto
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38 - Oversight
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39 Action depends on community, acting alone is too hard
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40 Enable and support us: changing community norms [wrt energy use]
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41 Economic growth vs. finite resources
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42 - Living Faithfully
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43 Think about energy _as part_ of a decision, not a retro-fit
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44 Is the Eco-church movement a possible source of guidance?
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45
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46 Some anger was expressed about the narrowness of our witness: "too
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47 neat, too tidy": impact needed on wider community (i.e. not just the
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48 "white, middle-class")
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49
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50 In a small group, I heard the phrase "Just transition" ['just' as in
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51 'justice'] for the first time: to bring the less privileged with us on
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52 sustainability, we need to show there is a way forward that does not
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53 destroy what little livelihood they may have. See [1] for an
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54 introduction to this idea as included in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
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55
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56 Trees came up a lot in discussions of action that can be taken
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57 locally, and the suggestion of creating Quaker burial grounds to grow
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58 trees and save the huge energy costs of cremation.
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59
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60 *Trustees*
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61
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62 We returned to the topic of structural changes in Britain Yearly Meeting.
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63
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64 "Meeting-centred support" [2] is the new buzz phrase, 'vibrancy' is no
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65 longer mentioned.
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66
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67 Woodbrooke: numbers down over several years. Need to renew purpose to meet
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68 Friends' and peoples' needs. A survey was done, main points noted were:
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69 * Woodbrooke needs to come to Friends;
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70 * But it's too expensive (particularly when compared to getting someone from Friends House 'for
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71 free').
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72 The planned changes are an opportunity for renewal. JW Rowntree said
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73 "Woodbrooke should not be a privilege for the rich".
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74
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75 *Quaker Stewardship Committee*
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76
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77 We learned about this little-known body, which works to help Meetings
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78 take proper care of their resources, principally but not exclusively
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79 property.
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80
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81 "We are a bottom-up organisation, and I don't know of any other" [a
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82 member of Sufferings]
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83
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84 "The bottom _is_ the top" [Ursula Fuller, Clerk to the Committee]
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85
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86 "Yearly Meeting decisions are taken with care because they are
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87 understood to be, as a matter of our faith, decisions by _all_ of
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88 us." [ditto]
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89
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90 *Assisted dying*
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91
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92 This has come around again from in concerns sent to Sufferings from
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93 several English AMs. We attempted to focus on what we _as Quakers_
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94 have to say. My memory of our experience in Scotland is that we are
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95 unlikely to reach unity on the question, but might that in itself may
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96 be a worthwhile contribution to the wider public discussion?
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97
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98 "Not reaching unity is not a failure" [Paul Parker, Recording Clerk]
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99
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100 MfS session reflected a wide range of positions.
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101
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102 Studied neutrality is also a possibility [3].
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103
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104 We were usefully reminded that even _considering_ assisted dying is,
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105 at least currently, very much a possibilty only to the privileged.
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106
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107 *Speaking out*
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108
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109 We were reminded that there is a policy governing "public statements
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110 and comments" from, among others, Area Meetings (typically having been
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111 agreed in an Area Meeting for Business and published over the name of
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112 the Clerk), and individual Friends, particularly in the context of
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113 marches/vigils/protests where any of us may find ourselves confronted
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114 by a microphone and camera [4].
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115
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116 That there is a moderated Facebook group was brought up, see topic
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117 *Post-truth world* at MfS 2019-02-02, and in particular my take:
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118
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119 Finding the courage to challenge lies is hard enough to do in
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120 person, it's even harder to do on social media, where the response
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121 may well be both many-fold and obnoxious, the latter particularly in
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122 response to challenges from women.
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123
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124 Can we find ways to provide safe online spaces [perhaps taking EAPPI
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125 as a model]?
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126
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127 [1] http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/publication/climate-change-and-the-just-transition-a-guide-for-investor-action/
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128 [2] https://quaker.org.uk/our-organisation/support-for-meetings/meeting-centred-support
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129 [3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3505400/
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130 [4] https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/speaking-out-briefing
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