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6 <doc>
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7 <head>
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8 <title>Minutes of Southeast Scotland Area Meeting Elders and Overseers</title>
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9 <author>These minutes by Henry S. Thompson, Clerk <emph>pro tem</emph></author>
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10 <date>Held at 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh on 20 October 2013, 1:00 p.m.</date>
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11 </head>
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12 <body>
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13 <div><title>Opening worship</title>
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14 <p>Paragraph 19.57 from QF&P was read</p>
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15 </div>
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16 <div>
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17 <title>Attendance</title>
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18 <p>Present: Maureen Anderson, Alison Chalmers, Alan Davies, Andrew Farrar, Madeleine Harding,
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19 Phil Lucas (AM Clerk, by invitation), Kerstin
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20 Phillips, David Somervell, Henry Thompson, Mary Woodward</p>
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21 <p>Regrets: Cathy Bell, Anthony Buxton, Maeve Cunningham, Doreen Dodd, Janet Grimwade, John Harris, Marilyn Higgins,
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22 Jean McAuslin, Rhoda Mackenzie, Laurie Naumann, Susan Reid, Rosemary Roberts,
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23 Neil Turner</p>
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24 </div>
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25 <div><title>Membership leaflet</title>
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26 <div>
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27 <title>Background</title>
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28 <p>David Somervell, Rosemary Roberts, Marilyn Higgins, Alison Chalmers were
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29 asked in autumn 2012 to produce a leaflet explaining to attenders the process of applying
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30 and being considered for Membership, with the aim of encouraging more
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31 applicants. At our meeting in April 2013 the result, <emph>Thinking about Membership</emph>,
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32 was discussed, and the revised draft before us is the result of the resulting feedback. Phil
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33 Lucas joined the group and contributed to this new draft. Quaker Life is also
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34 currently looking at something similar, with Rachel Muers and
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35 Simon Best convening a group which is working on a leaflet.</p>
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36 <p>The 2008 revision of Quaker Faith and Practice updated the Membership
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37 Chapter (11) to provide two new ways in to Membership in addition to
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38 writing a letter to an Area Meeting Clerk and being 'visited' by two Friends
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39 appointed by that Area Meeting: a Meeting for Clearness, or a series of
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40 meetings with several Friends. These options had been canvassed a few years
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41 before, but Area Meeting decided
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42 at that time to stay with the letter+visit route.</p>
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43 <p>Here is the relevant paragraph (from <emph>Quaker Faith and Practice</emph>, 1994 (4th edition, 2008),
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44 section 11.11):</p>
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45 <display>The process of discernment that membership is right for both the applicant and the meeting is at the heart of the acquisition of membership. Once it has been discerned that it is right for the application process to be taken forward, area meetings may offer a number of options. For example, it may be that the traditional process is followed, with a letter from the applicant to the area meeting clerk and the appointment of two Friends, one from the applicant's meeting and the other from a different local meeting within the area meeting, to visit the applicant and report back to the area meeting. In other cases supporting Friends may hold discussions with the attender and together they may write an application letter or a minute which is taken to area meeting. For some a meeting for clearness (12.23) may be right.</display>
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46 </div>
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47 <div><title>Notes from our discussion</title>
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48 <p>We were reminded that Membership in the Society is very precious. It is
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49 important that AM has enough information to make a decision, and even the
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50 existing process does not always provide this. There have been occasions when
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51 very short reports were all that was available, and the applicant did not feel
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52 well-treated by the process.</p>
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53 <p>The current Area Meeting leaflet for guidance for visitors and applicants was prepared
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54 in the 1990s. The new leaflet, and in particular any change it implies to our
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55 Membership process, will have to be seen and agreed by Area Meeting.</p>
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56 <p>We are particularly concerned to avoid the impression that the
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57 application process is primarily a <emph>barrier</emph>, and that the visit is
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58 not similar to a job interview. At the same time we want to ensure that the
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59 process <emph>is</emph> rigourous.</p>
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60 <p>Participation in <emph>Becoming Friends</emph> is one possible source of
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61 the kind of account by two Friends that QF&P mention, and that is suggested
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62 in the first bulleted option in the current draft.
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63 In practice this is happening already. Several attendees who are now pursuing memberrship have seen the draft
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64 and found it clear, with a few unclarities which could easily be addressed.</p>
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65 <p>Will an attender be clear from the description given what "the process"
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66 is, in "at the end of this process"?</p>
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67 <p>A written application may be very short. A definite action is valuable</p>
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68 <p>Clarifying the way the methods fit into an overall process could and should be done</p>
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69 <p>Choice is good. Younger attenders question the whole concept of
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70 Membership, and adding flexibility can help with this.</p>
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71 <p>That there should be a letter, perhaps a very short one, independently of which of three processes
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72 is chosen should be made clear.</p>
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73 <p>Giving QF&P <emph>before</emph> the process is not the current
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74 practice of AM, but was agreed at our April meeting (Minute 4 of our meeting on
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75 21 April 2013).</p>
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76 <p>Involving a Friend from outside the applicant's LM is a valuable
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77 requirement, avoiding any possibility of a feeling of awkwardness if all
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78 parties are already acquainted, as would otherwise be particulary likely in small LMs.</p>
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79 <p>Bullet 1 was not meant to be as specific as the discussion suggested, i.e.
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80 that it's about Meetings for Learning as the route towards the end in view,
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81 although that would be one possibility. It wasn't intended (only) as a generalisation of study
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82 groups, but as a way to get two experienced friends, perhaps one outside th
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83 LM, to meet. Sometimes we don't <emph>have</emph> study groups</p>
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84 <p>The back page reads too much like a curriculum: Once you write down a
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85 list, you're liable to becoming constrained by it.</p>
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86 <p>Issuing this leaflet does not mean AM does not need to consider lengthier
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87 guidance for itself and those it asks to help with the reporting process.</p>
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88 <p>Is the cover illustration
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89 necessary? Does it convey that attenders are too small/junior/insignificant?
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90 Growth and development is a useful image.</p></div>
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91 <div>
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92 <title>Formal minute: Guidance for the Membership leaflet sub-group</title>
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93 <p>We thank the sub-group for their hard work, and feel we are converging on
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94 a result. We would like the leaflet to give a clear picture to attenders of what
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95 the process of applying for Membership involves, and <emph>why</emph>. We
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96 invite the sub-group to recast the section <emph>The process of becoming a
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97 member</emph> by starting at the end: Area Meeting needs to know that you want
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98 to join, and needs a basis
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99 for deciding on your request. Then we get the three methods of getting that
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100 information: two Friends getting to know you, possibly but not necessarily in
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101 the context of a series of Meeting for Learning, a Meeting for Clearness, the old
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102 'visit' approach. In each case a letter to the Clerk of AM has a place, and in
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103 each case a report or minute will provide the necessary information to AM. The
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104 letter need not come at the beginning of the process, particularly if the first
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105 route is chosen, but it must give AM the opportunity to be involved in the choice of rapporteurs.</p>
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106 <p>We invite the sub-group to explore ways of changing the last 'page' help to lessen
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107 the sense that it's a set of exam questions. Possibilities include changing
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108 the <emph>title</emph>, along the lines of "some
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109 considerations", adding a bit at the beginning and rephrasing the questions into statements.</p>
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110 <p>Minor points: In <emph>Topics for all these discussions include:</emph> we prefer "individual's service" for bullet 7, and suggest
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111 simply removing "and organise" from bullet 6.</p>
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112 <p>We ask the sub-group to prepare a new draft for our consideration, being
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113 sensitive to the above guidance.</p>
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114 </div>
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115 <div><title>Formal minute: QF&P for enquirers</title>
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116 <p>We ask the Clerk of Elders and the Clerk of Overseers to write to the
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117 Clerk of Area Meeting asking that approval for the purchase of a number of
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118 copies of <emph>Quaker Faith and Practice</emph>, which may be given to
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119 potential applicants, be sought from Area Meeting.</p></div>
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120 </div>
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121 <div><title>Attenders’ attendance at Area Meeting when membership matters are discussed</title>
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122 <div><title>Notes from our discussion</title>
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123 <p>Maureen Anderson introduced her concern that, particularly in the
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124 context of our aim to encourage entry into Membership, it did not make sense to
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125 require attenders to leave the room when membership matters were discussed.</p>
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126 <p>If there is a friend of the applicant in the room, they may be made to
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127 feel uncomfortable. When the report has less than positive aspects,
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128 particulary if the application is then turned down, the
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129 <emph>authors</emph> may feel uncomfortable. We were reminded the QF&P
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130 mandates that the report be factual, and not contain a recommendation as such.</p>
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131 <p>Writing a report can be painful. Reading a <emph>short</emph> report
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132 can convey that much (negative) has been left out.</p>
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133 <p>We agreed that the applicant themselves should still be asked to leave
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134 (and not on their own, if possible), noting that we have recently changed our
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135 practice as regards nominees leaving when their nomination is to be discussed.</p>
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136 <p>Our overall feeling was that attenders who attend Area Meeting are no
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137 more or less likely than members to be upset, or break confidence.</p>
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138 </div>
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139 <div>
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140 <title>Formal minute: Attenders to remain in Area Meeting</title>
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141 <p>We ask the Clerks of Area Meeting Elders and Area Meeting Overseers to
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142 write to the Area Meeting Clerk recommending that Area Meeting agree to allow
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143 attenders (other than the applicant) to remain in the Meeting during discussion
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144 of membership matters. See <emph>Quaker Faith and Practice</emph>, 1994 (4th edition, 2008),
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145 section 4.8, which does leave the door open:</p>
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146 <display>The area meeting is open to all its members. Other Friends should notify their presence to the clerk before the meeting begins and, if drawn to speak, should be sensitive to the fact that it is not their area meeting (see also 11.27). Attenders may be present only with permission of the clerk, which should be sought well in advance of the day of meeting. It should be borne in mind that some matters, particularly membership, are confidential and cannot easily be discussed with non-members present.</display>
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147 </div>
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148 </div>
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149 <div><title>Reflection on how Elders and Overseers support each other within each of our Local Meetings</title>
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150 <p>Postponed to a subsequent meeting</p>
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151 </div>
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152 <div>
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153 <title>Next Meeting</title>
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154 <p>We ask the Clerks to agree this after consultation with their respective groups.</p>
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155 </div>
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156 </body>
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157 </doc>
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