51 </style><title>Report to Area Meeting from the Future of Victoria Terrace Working Group</title></head><body style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, Arial; background: rgb(254,250,246)">
60 <div class="toc"><h1>Table of Contents</h1><ul class="naked"><li><h2>1. <a href="#intro">Background and introduction: The remit of the working group</a></h2></li><li><h2>2. <a href="#exec">Executive summary of work and conclusions</a></h2></li><li><h2>3. <a href="#history">The past</a></h2></li><li><h4>3.1. <a href="#origins">Origins</a></h4></li><li><h4>3.2. <a href="#structure">Building structure</a></h4></li><li><h4>3.3. <a href="#use">Outline history of building use</a></h4></li><li><h4>3.4. <a href="#fin_hist">Outline financial history</a></h4></li><li><h2>4. <a href="#present">The present</a></h2></li><li><h4>4.1. <a href="#pres_use">Building use</a></h4></li><li><h4>4.2. <a href="#pres_fin">Building finances</a></h4></li><li><h2>5. <a href="#future">The future</a></h2></li><li><h4>5.1. <a href="#options">Practicalities</a></h4></li><li><h4>5.2. <a href="#vision">The Vision</a></h4></li><li><h4>5.3. <a href="#concl">Conclusions</a></h4></li><li><h2>6. <a href="#appendices">Appendices</a></h2></li><li><h4>6.1. <a href="#remit">Appendix A: Remit from Area Meeting</a></h4></li><li><h4>6.2. <a href="#quests">Appendix B: Questionnaires for different user groups</a></h4></li><li><h4>6.3. <a href="#open">Appendix C: Summary of contributions from open meetings</a></h4></li><li><h4>6.4. <a href="#friends_use">Appendix D: Friends’ use of 7 Victoria Terrace in 2008</a></h4></li><li><h4>6.5. <a href="#refs">Other sources</a></h4></li></ul></div><div id="intro">
97 attenders, mostly, but not entirely, from Central Edinburgh, shared with us their answers to the question "What is your vision for the Quaker presence and witness in
176 <p>Over the years the Meeting House has hosted many link group weekends. These have allowed young people from all over Scotland to come together for a residential weekend, to share their thoughts and feelings in a safe environment, to learn more about being a Quaker and benefit from being with like-minded young people.</p>
187 Apart from the internal work which gave us the basic rooms layout, substantial repair work had to be undertaken to repair badly weathered sandstone on the exterior and some roof repairs were also necessary. Urgent repair to stonework was necessary in 2007–8 to make the building safe and opportunity was taken, while the scaffolding was in place, to do general stonework improvement with a view to preventing the need for further such work for the next 20 years or so.
213 The high <b>roof space</b> above the Meeting Room was largely uninsulated and had been very difficult to access (except by pigeons, whose leavings littered the floor). This was remedied in 2004 with the installation of a hatch from the lobby, a fixed steel ladder above the suspended ceiling height and an inspection platform. Some strengthening work was done to the beams, which have a large and fragile span, the area was cleaned and blown recycled paper insulation was put in (2007). The roof space cannot be used for storage because it lacks the necessary structural strength.
218 The first floor <b>Hall</b> had served as a gym during the Boys Brigade years and, except for redecoration, was substantially unchanged when we upgraded the building. Ceiling-hung scaffold bars for the suspension of theatre lighting and curtains were installed in 1995, from which theatre loudspeakers are also hung, with a transverse bar, wired for lighting, added some years later. The blue and yellow colour scheme of 1988 was replaced by a two-tone green scheme in 1997, when some of the wooden wall-barring, a gym feature, was removed, and this was replaced in turn by a neutral buff colour scheme in 2008, when a storage cupboard was added in the passage linking this room to the Library.
223 The <b>Library</b> has been largely unchanged during the past 20 years apart from twice being redecorated and once re-carpeted. A decorative stained glass window has been added, given by Nancy Selkirk in memory of John, her husband, and made by their son.
228 Little was spent on the <b>Kitchen</b> when the building was purchased and, if it is to continue to be used to prepare food for public consumption, it is now in need of significant upgrading to meet current food hygiene regulations. The commercial dishwasher has been replaced once and a domestic gas cooker replaced by a second commercial gas cooker. Electric water heating has been replaced by a through-flow gas water heater.
238 International Voluntary Service, who rented the room at considerably less than its commercial value, moved out in 2008, at which point the room became available for meeting use throughout the week.
243 Little has been done to the double <b>Crèche</b> room on the first floor, except for redecoration. This is awkward of access, through a narrow corridor which leads off the kitchen and can only otherwise be accessed from the tenement common stair. There is a lavatory off the corridor between the kitchen and this room.
248 There are <b>two mezzanine floors</b> (not shown in the plans) in a flat-roofed extension behind the main building. The upper of these, above first floor level, houses <b>toilets</b>. The women’s toilets, which house two lavatory cubicles and two wash hand-basins, were upgraded in 1996. There is one small lavatory room for men. The lower floor has one toilet room with a single lavatory and hand-basin (and for much of the 20 years housed the washing machine). Adjacent to this is a <b>small room</b>, known as the teenagers’ room during early Quaker occupation, when there were a number of teenagers in the Meeting. This is now known as Room 5 and is used mostly for one-to-one meetings; it can accommodate only four or five at most.
261 entrance, so the original Victoria Terrace entrance was re-opened and a stone ramp installed. At the same time, the foyer was completely refurbished and redecorated, with the installation of a seating area, also suitable for informal meetings, and a reception desk.
264 During the past ten years, spacious storage cupboards have been built into an alcove in the eastern end of the foyer and in the passage linking the foyer to the Bow Room.
270 sink, in which the washing machine is now fitted. Off this is an <b>accessible toilet</b> and a small shower room, which has in the past been used by residential groups but which is more commonly used for further storage.
292 and in recent years to the 6 Victoria Terrace Youth Cafe project. One second floor flat was sold to the Boys’ Brigade caretaker, who lived there until 2004, when she sold it to a member of the Meeting. The other four flats were offered to the Meeting, which bought the fourth floor two-bedroomed flat in 1987. The Meeting also rented a single-bedroomed flat on the third floor (Flat 3F2), which was eventually also purchased in 1995. The remaining two flats were bought by a member of the Meeting, who subsequently sold them to other local Quakers.</p>
298 Occupied by the Managers. Some basic improvement work was done to this when it was purchased and secondary glazing has subsequently been installed in both bedrooms. It is in reasonable order and has gas-fired central heating, but the roof is poorly insulated.</li>
300 Currently occupied by the assistant manager, has, for most of the past 20 years been occupied by Meeting House staff. There was a period in the late 1990s when it was not required for this purpose. It was then refurbished, refurnished and let for income until it was again required for staff. Gas-fired central heating was installed in 2004.</li>
311 <li> The Meeting had grown in size and included a significant number of families with children. A more suitable Meeting Room was needed, with separate spaces for children’s and teenagers’ groups, for the serving of refreshments and for social activity.</li>
312 <li>A suitable building in a central location would enable the Meeting to serve the community by providing meeting rooms, primarily for charities and grass roots organisations.</li>
313 <li>A central location would enable both Quakers and others to access the building easily, whether by public or private transport, and would give Quakers a higher profile in the city.</li>
323 Lise were wardens, as did community use. A group, which included Lise and Ian, saw from the beginning the opportunity offered by the August Festival Fringe to develop the use and profile of the building. Lise was an able vegetarian/vegan cook. She and Ian had ‘green’ concerns and it was decided to run the Library as the ‘Rainforest Cafe’ for two weeks during the Fringe, raising money for rainforest charities. The Hall and Meeting Room were offered for exhibition and concert use concurrent with this.
325 <p>After Ian and then Lise left, Mark and Anna Twinam-Cauchi, a student couple, were wardens for a short while. When they left, a rota of volunteer keyholders was set up to open up, service organisations renting rooms and welcome callers. A support group of Friends, which included Archie Campbell and Jennie Nielson was put in place, with the specific purpose of ensuring a Quaker profile for the building. By 1994, they were running a rota to staff the building on Wednesdays to greet visitors, advise any who had problems and explain Quakerism.
329 with a specific objective of attempting to achieve a balance between costs and income, and with the work of raising the Quaker profile of the building in the community. They were invited to join the Festival Committee, clerked at that time by Bronwyn Harwood, which was already engaged in exploring the development of the Festival Fringe involvement (see below).</p>
333 <p>Income from lettings in 1994 was about £14,000. Given stable management and the resulting improved standards of service offered to users, this grew quite rapidly with increasing use of the building. As lettings increased, there were some small tensions regarding Quaker use during the week. Quaker committees had been accustomed to turning up, sometimes without booking, and finding there was a room available. They now found they had to book and then had to book longer and longer in advance to ensure a room was free. An attempt was made to solve this problem by setting the Library apart one evening each week for Quaker use, but this (unsurprisingly) failed—the evening so reserved seldom suited the committee that wanted it—so committees and groups which were unable to plan sufficiently in advance became accustomed to meeting in homes.
335 <p>A two tier letting charge system has been developed over the years, with a lower charge for charitable and grass-roots groups and higher charges for local and national government and commercial groups and classes. There has been some measure of negotiation on charges at the discretion of the wardens/managers, with, for example, new grass-roots groups being given use below the charitable rate until they became established. An eye has been kept on rates charged by comparable buildings in the neighbourhood and there has been co-operation on this, especially with Augustine United and St Columba’s-by-the-Castle. The busyness of the building increased steadily until, for several years, it was about as full as it reasonably could be, from
341 <p>Facilities and equipment have been steadily developed over the years, with digital projector, laptop computer and wireless internet availability now added to the familiar flipcharts, TV and DVD player and overhead projectors.
343 <p>Increase in the use of the building necessitated an increase in staff and it was particularly important to ensure continuity of standards of service during the managers’ absence on holidays and days off. There has been a deputy warden/manager appointed for the past 12 years or so and this has usually been a residential post, with the appointee occupying the smaller flat. Deputy managers have included Andy May, Doug Kline, Finn Pollard, Philip Davies, Mary Woodward and Tom Nisbet. Additional staffing, all paid, has been provided by members of the Meeting and by students, also usually attenders or members. The role title of the wardens was changed to managers some 7 or 8 years ago, this job title more accurately reflecting the managerial responsibility the post now carries.
365 to Scottish enquirers from here, in consultation with Quaker Home Service Outreach in Friends House. There was thought that the Bow Room could become the Quaker Link
377 to send enquirers’ packs to Scottish enquirers from the 7 Victoria Terrace office, (although they continued to do so for a year or two on a voluntary basis). The last vestiges of Quaker Link
384 <p>The Festival Fringe involvement started in the very early days and owed much to the enthusiasm and skill of Lise Bech (in the kitchen/cafe) and Ian Ramsey (developing the use of performance and exhibition space). When they left, a Festival Committee clerked by Andrew Farrar and Bronwyn Harwood took up the development (amid some difficulties as they did not have the support of the new wardens) and the cooking skills of members of the local Meeting were co-opted. It was at this time that voluntary staff from without the area were first brought in.</p>
387 the theatre that year was dominated by one theatre group, which was reluctant to share facilities with others. Setting up the theatre in this way involved considerable hire costs, so the Committee decided for 1996 to take firmer control and, in order to recoup hire costs, to run for three weeks. Use of the space developed over subsequent years until there were up to six shows per day, six days each week, with the café now open also for three weeks. The increased staffing this required was provided almost entirely from volunteers, many of them Quakers from other parts of
389 or the world, who are accommodated in Friends’ homes. Exhibitions continued to be organised in the Meeting Room, but the Local Meeting became uncomfortable with the annual transformation of this room. Continuation of the Fringe involvement was endorsed but use of the Meeting Room for exhibitions ceased. The Festival Committee works through the year, but a considerable proportion of the organisational work falls on the Meeting House managers.
395 <p>Pat and Phil Lucas retired in April 2007 and Sue and Anthony Buxton succeeded them as Meeting House managers, also sharing one full-time job. The changes that have taken place during the past two years reflect in part their priorities for the development of the building and developments in health and safety and particularly food hygiene regulations and the way in which these have been interpreted.</p>
421 <p>From the outset it had been intended that the new Meeting House, given its central position and the variety of rooms available, should become a community resource and, additionally, be able to generate an income to help offset management and maintenance costs.</p>
424 jobs, expected to develop the full use of the building and generate an increased income from the letting of the property to outside organisations. As can be seen from the attached income and expenditure table, this proved to be successful with differential charges being levied of small voluntary organisations and larger government or other public sector bodies some of which had long term, fairly permanent, arrangements to regularly hire out parts of the property. A significant, but fluctuating, contribution to the funds has been received from the Festival Fringe Committee over most of those years.
546 building safe, wind and watertight as well as to meet disability access legislation for properties open to the public. While the routine maintenance and repairs can be met from regular letting income, contributions from Friends and attenders and donations, specific appeals have had to be made for the redevelopment of the foyer and new entrance costing nearly £70,000. In 2008 the cost of the stonework repairs of about £30,000 was largely met by two legacies recently left to the Area Meeting.</p>
582 plus people attend. After meeting there is coffee or tea in the library, and then a simple lunch (soup, bread and cheese) in the hall. Central Edinburgh is a big meeting and people value the opportunity to get to know each other better over lunch.</p>
583 <p>There is a mid-week meeting for worship on Wednesday at 1230 which up to twenty people attend. Some people like a smaller meeting or perhaps cannot always manage a Sunday. This meeting for worship lasts about thirty minutes and is also followed by a simple lunch.</p>
586 bus. The building itself is not so good for the less physically able and some people do rely on buses coming close to the Meeting House. Access within the Meeting House is good but the toilets need improving.</p>
587 <p>There is also now an early bird meeting for worship on weekdays at 0800 lasting thirty minutes. This is a small meeting, but valued by those who come.</p>
589 <p>Children’s meeting for worship takes place every Sunday. The children meet at 1100 for their own programme and join the adult meeting at 1145</p>
590 <p>On the second Sunday of the month there is an all age meeting for worship held in the hall to which all are welcome. This meeting for worship is programmed, normally lasts thirty to forty minutes, and is well attended by families and other regular attenders from the meeting.</p>
593 part of this. The most recent of these took place in December 2008 and was held in the meeting room. It was very positively received. This event can only take place at 7 Victoria Terrace because of the need for a large meeting room in which to hold it.</p>
604 <p>The main use of the Meeting House as a venue is for voluntary and community groups who want a relatively cheap but central location for one-off meetings, or a series of meetings, or one day conferences with a good ambiance. (People frequently say they do not like the formal service they get from hotels). We are not in the market for corporate events.</p>
605 <p>This means our clients cannot afford commercial rates that would bring us a clear profit. However the small number of rooms available limits the number of staff required for cleaning and catering.</p>
606 <p>7 Victoria Terrace is not in the same league as other large Meeting Houses such as Friends House or Manchester Mount Street, to be a large Quaker centre.</p>
615 period and with the help of the Managers have looked at the groups who used the Meeting House and the number of lets. The figure below summarises the results.</p>
662 <p>It is unclear if we should or could increase income by raising the letting rates. Trustees are aware the lettings levels have fallen, especially daytime use. A possible reason for this could be greater competition in the area for the level of provision we offer. Our letting charges are comparable with other churches/halls in the area.</p>
672 <p>The use of the building for the Festival is a major undertaking (see in section 3.3). The main hall is made into a small theatre with raked seating. Several small theatre groups rent this space during the Festival.</p>
673 <p>There is also the Café that runs at the same time—from around 1000–1800. The income from this has increased over the years but again last year there was a drop. The main income is from the theatre lettings. Although the café does not make much of a profit it adds to the feel and ethos of the venue.</p>
721 The table below summarises the 2008 income and expenditure and demonstrates the dependency on lettings and members and attenders’ contributions for income. As far as expenditure was concerned, 2008 was what could be considered a fairly unusual year with elements of one-off capital expenditure on the stonework and the fees for the architect’s quinquennial technical review of the property that we have to have to plan for its future maintenance.</p><div class="figure">
857 Hospitality, information and outreach: the Meeting House is centrally located and attracts many visitors—reduced opening hours would limit contact with the public, it may affect bookings if enquiries are not answered in person (rather than on-line or by leaving a message on an answer-phone) and may reduce first-timers coming to Meeting for Worship.
860 Other alternatives—all of which would reduce costs, reduce income and contact with the general public, visitors, newcomers and passers-by therefore reducing outreach opportunities:</p>
878 It is clear from our initial consultations that any significant reduction in activity would change the feel of the Meeting and affect the users of the building.
884 The meeting could continue to be open for Quaker and non-Quaker activities but we could look for savings and raise money to meet the cost of essential maintenance and upgrading of facilities.
895 We could plan for the future to include a schedule of works—upgrading basic facilities—the windows, toilets, heating and consider what is required to improve the layout of the rooms and food preparation facilities as they affect members of the meeting and lettings.
902 The Quakers and non-Quakers who responded to our questionnaire and Worship Sharing sessions said they value the building, its central location and what is available in the Meeting House. Successive Meeting House Managers have continually improved the appearance of the Meeting House. Doing more in the Meeting House and with the Meeting House could include:
924 There are probably many more visions for the Meeting House and to support these a strategy for fund raising on a larger scale would need to be put into operation.
1051 Partly in the light of repairs and alterations due to the building over the next few years, we have taken this opportunity to reconsider some of the uses of 7 Victoria Terrace.
1054 Don Stubbings and Mike Perks have given us a brief summary of its uses since 1987, and of its main costs and revenues, and we thank them for providing such a good basic introduction to our discussion.
1057 We want to discuss this further, and in particular to decide what God wants of us in running 7 Victoria Terrance, both for Quakers, and the wider Scottish and British communities.
1060 We ask Nominations Committee to bring forward to October AM names for a Working Group to explore this. We hope the group will speak with the Managers of 7 Victoria Terrance, with Central Edinburgh and all other local meetings in the Area Meeting and with the Trustees, with a view to making recommendations to AM in June 2009.
1063 7 Victoria Terrance is home to some of us, and we have heard that all meetings in the Area Meeting benefit from it, thought they may not bear the full burden of running it.
1168 <p>South East Scotland Quakers bought the present Meeting House about 20 years ago to meet the needs of a growing Quaker meeting and to serve the community by providing a meeting place in Central Edinburgh, especially for charities and grass-roots organisations. Twenty years later, we wish to assess how well this nineteenth century building (which is quite expensive to maintain and update) is meeting the needs of both Quakers and other users. Please help by completing this questionnaire and returning it, either to the person who gave it to you or to the Meeting House Office. Thank you very much.</p>
1202 <p>South East Scotland Quakers bought the present Meeting House about 20 years ago to meet the needs of a growing Quaker meeting and to serve the community by providing a meeting place in Central Edinburgh, especially for charities and grass-roots organisations. Twenty years later, we wish to assess how well this nineteenth century building (which is quite expensive to maintain and update) is meeting the needs of both Quakers and other users. Please help by completing this questionnaire and returning it, either to the person who gave it to you or to the Meeting House Office. Thank you very much.</p>
1203 <p>Please put a cross in the appropriate space and add any helpful comments in the space between questions. Leave no mark where you feel you have no useful response to make.</p>
1238 <li>Please add comments below, if you wish, on any other aspect of the Meeting House, its current use and suitability for that use. Add you name if you wish.</li>
1243 <p>South East Scotland Quakers bought the present Meeting House about 20 years ago to meet the needs of a growing Quaker meeting and to serve the community by providing a meeting place in Central Edinburgh, especially for charities and grass-roots organisations. Twenty years later, we wish to assess how well this nineteenth century building (which is quite expensive to maintain and update) is meeting the needs of both Quakers and other users. Please help by completing this questionnaire and returning it, either to the person who gave it to you or to the Meeting House Office. Thank you very much.</p>
1244 <p>Please put a cross in the appropriate space and add any helpful comments in the space between questions. Leave no mark where you feel you have no useful response to make.</p>
1273 <li>Please add comments below, if you wish, on any other aspect of the Meeting House, its current use and suitability for that use and add your name at the bottom if you wish.</li>
1278 <p>South East Scotland Quakers bought the present Meeting House about 20 years ago to meet the needs of a growing Quaker meeting and to serve the community by providing a meeting place in Central Edinburgh, especially for charities and grass-roots organizations. Twenty years later, we wish to assess how well this nineteenth century building (which is quite expensive to maintain and update) is meeting the needs of both Quakers and other users. Please help by completing this questionnaire and returning it, either to the person who gave it to you or to the Meeting House Office. Thank you very much.</p>
1279 <p>It would be helpful to have your feelings and responses to the following questions as to how you use and see the use of the meeting house which belongs to us all.</p>
1325 <p>South East Scotland Quakers bought the present Meeting House about 20 years ago to meet the needs of a growing Quaker meeting and to serve the community by providing a meeting place in Central Edinburgh, especially for charities and grass-roots organisations. Twenty years later, we wish to assess how well this nineteenth century building (which is quite expensive to maintain and update) is meeting the needs of both Quakers and other users. Please help by completing this questionnaire and returning it, either to the person who gave it to you or to the Meeting House Office. Thank you very much.</p>
1362 <p>If “greater”, would this be to enhance Quaker outreach ___ or increase income ___ or improve service to the community and to visitors ___ ?</p>
1363 <p>If “less”, would this be in order to decrease pressure on the building and it staff ___ or to enhance its usefulness to the Meetings in our Area ___ ?</p>
1382 <p>Your response to this questionnaire will be of great assistance to us. Please feel free to add your comments on any relevant matter. Thank you.</p>
1393 Henry Thompson opened the meeting by sketching in the background to and describing the shape of the meeting, which would have a worship-sharing format, with Friends encouraged to respond individually to the above question, which was posted up in the room
1394 Phil Lucas took notes of contributions, without attribution. These are notes, not a verbatim record, and will reflect how Phil heard the contributions. Between 35 and 40 people attended (a very few leaving before the end) and 24 made spoken contributions).
1401 <li>Our building’s shop windows make us unusually visible—they encourage people to come in and make it clear what you are getting into. This and our openness to the community are unusual for a religious building and have helped change the attitude of others to Friends. We need to value and develop this.
1406 <li>An expression of our responsibility and values—care for the environment, peace etc—a focus for us speaking out from a spiritual base. We have responsibility to use our facilities for the community.
1414 towards independence. This will present a great opportunity for Scottish Quakers to dialogue with Scottish law-makers (freed from the influence of English bishops).
1417 It’s difficult for some groups which share our values to find meeting space here. Can we look at ways of using our space more flexibly to increase availability.
1423 <li>Early Friends often worshipped out of doors or in each other’s homes. Our meeting for worship is the most precious things we have to share with others. I would worry if the Meeting had to move out of central
1427 <li>I am a member of another organisation given a building which it can no longer afford to run. This has brought the organisation close to collapse. Our expenditure on the building must not be allowed to outrun our income.
1429 <li>I’m grateful that the question we are addressing today does not mention the building. I hope we can think away from the building. Remember that George Fox referred pejoratively to churches as ‘steeple houses’.
1431 <li>Responsibility for a property takes time and energy as well as money. Not having this responsibility frees up this time and energy. Ownership of a building is OK only if this is kept in balance. Losing the balance will have a negative impact on the core purpose of the community.
1433 <li>Remember this building’s enormous capacity for outreach, especially during the Fringe but also throughout the year. This is not reason enough for keeping it, but it is must not be forgotten.
1447 <li>Temporary closure of terrace has made access very difficult for some. I hope account is taken of this in judging pattern of use. This meeting house is a precious home and a beautiful place—would deplore it if we moved from city centre to a tucked-away corner somewhere. Decision taken while at
1451 <li>Struggle with ‘the vision thing’. But my vision is that I want to keep coming to ‘church’—it’s fundamental to my life. We have reconstructed the work of the ‘hireling priest’ in our own distinctive way and the ‘steeple house’ by a functional building that meets our needs. No need to be apologetic about being like other churches in this regard. It tells people that we are here—part of this city’s spiritual space. My vision therefore is of a place as well as a spiritual community.
1465 is available for droppers in (and out). Would be sad if all Meetings were dispersed and small—would make building an inclusive community to bring on the new generation difficult.
1470 <li>Emphasis on wider vision important. Strong base to enable Friends to cope with all the rapid changes in society and to promote ‘good lives’ within and around the community. Rental decline may not last (cf what has happened at Friends House).
1477 <li>I belong to a small Meeting in a rented building—difficult to make one’s presence known. The presence of the Meeting House—there for all of us in
1478 SE Scotland—helps to take us out of our insularity and remind us we belong to a wider Quaker community. Very important for raising our profile and it is a home to come to.
1480 <li>This Meeting and the meeting house have enriched my life spiritually and helped me strengthen my witness in the world. Vision is to keep strengthening the spiritual life of the community and from here to continue to take it out in witness. This needs to be even more focussed than it is.
1489 <p>The meeting in worship-sharing mode followed the same structure as on the first occasion. There were a total of 23 Friends present of whom six were members of the Working Group. Henry Thompson opened and closed the meeting and Laurie Naumann took these notes.</p>
1491 <li>Hopes that in 20 years’ time the meeting house will still be in the ownership of the Area Meeting. The property is a wonderful asset and would be a great shame to lose due to the economics although not aware about how much money involved.</li>
1492 <li>Disliking ‘missionary activity’ joined SoF in 1950 and feels that our witness is needed now as much as ever. The VT facilities are good, central and excellent for outreach work; had originally thought the building was not the best.</li>
1493 <li>It is essential to have a building accessible and welcoming to all the generations irrespective of mobility requirements. Feels that there is potential space for a crèche, teens and young people activities including residential use. Vision that the charges levied should cover costs—this might be helped with greater use of it by community groups.</li>
1494 <li>Even when not in use the meeting room has the ‘silence of meeting for worship’ which is greatly appreciated by a staff member when taking a break. A fondness for the building was described which was like a vessel or container—a focus, a real hub for all who use it. New creativity and life needs to be brought to the vessel.</li>
1495 <li>‘The world is hungry for Friends’—that was said in 1988 when moving to 7VT and is still true today, perhaps even more now. Someone had described 7VT as ‘an odd building for odd people’, but it does not need <i>only</i> to be that. Greater use should be made of the building including for outreach work; all options should be considered.</li>
1496 <li>There was an important degree of faith involved in purchasing and moving to 7VT. We should not have similar faith about continuing in the premises.</li>
1497 <li>Perhaps with a growth in members in Edinburgh there is a need to have further resources—new meetings could be started. And there’s a definite need for the continuing use of 7VT—it is a wonderful resource for local, area, Scotland and GB wide events. At the start ‘the building worked for us’ perhaps is it not time that ‘we have to work for the building’. It would be great to have larger premises with a garden, but we should persevere with 7VT and exploit the meeting house even more—it’s big enough, a pleasant space and open to all.</li>
1498 <li>Harvey Gillman described outreach as ‘spiritual hospitality’ and it is that that the meeting house provides and is ideal at doing it. The vision should be that 7VT continues to provide spiritual hospitality to all who care to use the premises. The lack of iconography makes the building, as with other meeting houses, open and appreciated as a place of spiritual hospitality by strangers.</li>
1499 <li>It is somewhat arresting and intriguing to think about the next 20 years and the possibilities for Quakers. The world is likely to be a profoundly different place. It is important that the central base remains irrespective of the building; it’s a vital resource for anyone who might be drawn to Edinburgh. </li>
1500 <li>Reinforced the positive expressions about the 7VT building and would be interested to know whether outside users have also felt it to be a special place. Not sure about the contribution to the next 20 years, but convinced about our positive contribution to the arts in the city. In spiritual terms 20 years is a short period. Excellent to be bang in the centre of Edinburgh.</li>
1506 <li>There’s a difficulty in getting to know everyone in large meeting. More needs to be done to help Friends keep in touch. 7VT should be maintained, but consideration might also be given to taking the hospitality to people’s own homes.</li>
1507 <li>My first attendance at MfW took place after a non-Quaker event in 7VT, a good property for outside organisations. Having had that initial experience felt more confident about attending MfW. Central Edinburgh meeting is special because of the variety of people that it brings in and newcomers soon realise that there is a lot going on. The variety of publicity material that is readily available is an asset in a larger meeting. Perhaps members and attenders could do more to fundraise for the lively meeting. It would be a great pity to lose the city centre location.</li>
1508 <li>‘Looking at the future is fraught with difficulty’. Very thankful that 20 years’ ago Friends took the decision to purchase 7VT. People like the building—it gives us presence.</li>
1509 <li>Too much time is spent going up and down stairs. This is particularly frustrating for lone working staff who are not permitted to use the lift. The stairs can be daunting and intimidating especially for newcomers. Surely there must be other suitable properties in central Edinburgh that would save, not only having to walk to the top of a hill, but also having to climb to the top of the building to be closer to God.</li>
1510 <li>We’re in a ‘chicken and egg’ position regarding selling the building, as it would be necessary to sell before purchasing again and at present it is not the time to consider selling.</li>
1517 <li>We need to think about the Quaker presence in the world including the distinctive inclusiveness of silent worship. The multi-faith world needs to be able to come together; the vision is a place where people from all different backgrounds/faiths can meet together. There is a role for building up communications and offering the local community a space where things can be explored openly—a unique opportunity.</li>
1519 <li>The organiser of the recent Middle East Festival would like to have booked 7VT for the whole of its duration. It was considered to be the right place for that kind of event.</li>
1520 <li>There’s a possible tension between the needs of Central Edinburgh Friends, wider outreach and letting out rooms. In thinking ahead, account will have to be taken of the sometimes conflicting demands for a funeral or wedding and advance cash earning bookings from outside non-Quaker organisations.</li>
1521 <li>It is not just the adults who are concerned about the future of the property. When one of the Friend’s children heard about the possibilty a move from 7VT there was an expression of ‘disbelief and sadness’.</li>
