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as sent to Alan
author Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
date Mon, 23 Nov 2020 11:53:13 +0000
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1 *Meeting for Sufferings*
2
3 2--4 October 2020
4
5 Henry S. Thompson, SE Scotland AM representative
6
7 All the papers for the meeting are available online at
8
9 https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/mfs-2020-10-agendapapersv2-1
10
11 The minutes and other follow-up material are available from
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13 https://quaker.org.uk/documents/mfs-2020-10-follow-up-package
14
15 This would normally have been a weekend-long residential meeting at
16 Woodbrooke, and it was very frustrating to miss the opportunity to
17 spend _informal_ time together.
18
19 We did meet online from Friday evening through early Sunday afternoon.
20 My report below covers only some of the sessions, and I refer Friends
21 to the links above for topics not covered, marked with an asterisk
22 below. The bracketed string in each case gives the item number which
23 can be used to find relevant material in both the papers in advance
24 and the follow-up package.
25
26 *Session list*
27
28 Sustainability and the Climate Crisis [MfS 2020 10 06]
29
30 - Report from the Sustainability Monitoring Group *
31 - Update on the project: ‘Climate crisis: spiritual nurture and
32 learning’
33 - Preparations for COP26
34
35 BYM Trustees [MfS 2020 10 08]
36
37 Responding to racism [MfS 2020 10 09] *
38
39 Review of Quaker Stewardship Committee [MfS 2020 10 10]
40
41 Quaker Recognised Bodies [MfS 2020 10 11] *
42
43 Annual report from Quaker Committee for [MfS 2020 10 12]
44
45 Update on minutes received by Meeting for Sufferings [MfS 2020 10 13] *
46
47 Report from the Book of Discipline Revision Committee [MfS 2020 10 14]
48
49 Yearly Meeting 2020 MfS [2020 10 15]
50
51 *Update on the project: ‘Climate crisis: spiritual nurture and learning’*
52
53 Maud Grainger, Woodbrooke's Faith in Action Programme Coordinator,
54 introduced the work of this new project. Its three main aims
55 are
56
57 1. Supporting Friends to explore, understand and become more
58 confident in articulating the spiritual underpinning of Quaker
59 commitment to caring for the earth and creation."
60
61 2. Providing advice, guidance support and encouragement to enable
62 Friends to make practical changes to individual lifestyles and to
63 take community-level action, particularly around the use and
64 management of property.
65
66 3. Building community to support and strengthen our individual and
67 corporate response.
68
69 Maud described a brilliant set of plans for achieving this goal,
70 including a wealth of suggestions for concrete action.
71 Woodbrooke's web page for this work is here:
72
73 https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/learn/climate-crisis/
74
75 but there's more detail in the papers in advance than there is there
76 at the moment.
77
78 *Sustainability*
79
80 Livvy Hanks, Britain Yearly Meeting’s Programme Manager for Economics and
81 Sustainability Project Development and Programmes, reported on plans
82 for BYM involvement in COPS 26 in Glasgow. The QPSW item in the
83 papers in advance gives lots of detail on how Friends can get involved
84 in our input to COPS 26.
85
86 Quaker Peace and Social Witness (QPSW) have also launched the *Build
87 Back Better* campaign "for a green and just recovery from the
88 pandemic", appointing three people to work on this.
89
90 The *Quaker Faith in Action newsletter* (back copies available at
91 https://us7.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=7506c29d95944ba554b4871f8&id=b525b532da)
92 contains information about both of the above.
93
94 *Review of Quaker Stewardship Committee (QSC)*
95
96 A big change is coming: QSC, which was established nearly 20 years ago
97 to oversee Trustees' responsibility for compliance with Charity
98 regulations, both at Yearly and Area Meeting levels, is to be laid
99 down, and their responsiblities transfered to Quaker Life Central
100 Committee and Meeting for Sufferings.
101
102 Lots of details on how this will work in practice remain to be worked
103 out...
104
105 Book of Discipline Review Committee interim report*
106
107 The co-Clerks, Catherine Brewer andRosie Carnall, gave an encouraging
108 report on the committee's work to date. Although the group is still
109 mostly getting to know each other, working out procedures and
110 generally laying the foundations for the effort ahead, the co-Clerks
111 were able to share some of the early results:
112
113 Seven key themes are emerging:
114
115 * Spirituality, worship and discernment
116 * individually and collectively with God
117 * Quaker community --- life in our meetings
118 * Testimony and faith in action --- in the world
119 * Stages of personal life journeys and close relationships
120 * Church government --- how we organise ourselves
121 * Our story --- where we have come from and where we are going
122 * Advices & Queries
123
124 Along with five key insights:
125
126 1. We can all have direct access to God/Spirit/the Divine. This
127 experience/encounter/relationship can transform us.
128
129 2. We live under guidance from God/Spirit/the Light/the promptings
130 of love and truth in our hearts
131
132 3. We recognise and seek to address that of God in each human being ---
133 each of us is unique and precious
134
135 4. There is a dynamic Spirit bringing continuing revelation
136
137 5. We hold the whole of life sacramental and so we do not divide the
138 sacred and the secular
139
140 There is a webpage
141
142 https://www.quaker.org.uk/resources/quaker-faith-and-practice/revising-quaker-faith-practice
143
144 which gives details of how to be in touch with the committee,
145 including a link to the collection tool where ideas (both general and
146 specific text) can be offered.
147
148 Several vacancies have arisen, and nominations suggestions (of others,
149 or oneself) are invited to be sent to nominations@quaker.org.uk
150
151 The committee is planning to coordinate an activity at Yearly Meeting
152 Gathering in Bath: *Open to New Light - an invitation from BYM's Book
153 of Discipline Revision Committee*. There is a website where
154 contributions can already be made: https://padlet.com/bdrc/OpenToNewLight
155