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189
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1 *Meeting for Sufferings*
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2
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3 6 June 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-2020-06-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-2020-06-follow-up-package
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14
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15 *Cancellation of 2 April Meeting for Sufferings*
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16
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17 The meeting scheduled for 2 April was cancelled. A letter including a
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18 number of the reports that _would_ have been considered at that
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19 meeting was circulated to members, and is available at
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20
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21 https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/information-members-mfs-april-2020
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22
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23 It contains a report from Trustees, an interim report from the Review
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24 Group for Quaker Stewardship Committee and, perhaps most importantly,
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25 *Britain Yearly Meeting and Woodbrooke Integrated Strategy for
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26 Supporting Quaker Communities 2020-2025", produced by Quaker Life
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27 Central Committee. It gives more detail than previously available
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28 about the plans for the new approach to many of the structures and
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29 activities of Britain Yearly Meeting.
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30
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31 *BYM Trustees report*
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32
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33 COVID:
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34 80% of the Quiet Company (responsible for running Friends House
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35 and Swarthmore Hall) staff and 50% of Friends House staff have
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36 been furloughed.
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37
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38 COVID notwithstanding, the focus for fundraising going forward
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39 will be on systematic funding growth for the long term, not a
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40 single crisis appeal.
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41
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42 Hiring of new Local Development Workers and the establishment of
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43 the first regional Hub have been postponed.
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44
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45 Online activities improve accessability for some, but make it
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46 harder/impossible for others. Are we (SESAM) looking at
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47 identifying and helping those who lack either the skills or the
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48 hardware to participate?
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49
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50 *Yearly Meeting*
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51
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52 There will be an abbreviated virtual YM on the afternoon of 15
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53 September, two one-hour sessions. Attendance open with early notice
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54 required, capped at 1000.
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55
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56 Some necessary business, some shared worship...
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57
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58 Sufferings to be empowered to do some required business between
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59 then and the YM in 2021.
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60
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61 Yearly Meeting Gathering will, God willing, be held in summer 2021 in Bath.
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62
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63 *Small group session*
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64
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65 Some Area Meetings are looking to continue holding Area Meeting
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66 online and/or doing some Area Meeting business online 'after COVID'.
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67
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68 Some form of go-around or after-word is happening in some places.
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69
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70 People with mobility issues found regular attendance to be very
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71 welcome.
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72
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73 One Area Meeting is hold a weekly online Epilogue.
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74
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75 There were many questions about hybrid meetings 'after COVID' (also
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76 called 'blended meetings')
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77
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78 Ellie Harding reported that
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79
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80 "I have been to a blended memorial before - happy to pick up
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81 separately if useful. It was held at Liverpool meeting, so their
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82 elders might be worth reaching out to as well."
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83
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84 Anna Sharman asked
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85
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86 "Is it really silence if there couldn't be noise?"
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87
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88 Her online Meeting has experimented with leaving people unmuted
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89 unless there's a lot of background noise...
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90
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91 Some problems with online meetings that were mentioned:
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92
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93 "It's difficult to reach out to new people"
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94
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95 A few people have pushed back on the concept as unQuakerly...
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96
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97 Technology and/or financial issues exclude some people
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98
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99 One eldering problem has arisen, resulting in lack of unity on the
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100 value of the online meetings...
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101
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102 In one case where there is no online Area Meeting, a Local Meeting
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103 that chose not to meet online has left those members who _would_
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104 like to do so out in the cold
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