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author Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
date Fri, 29 Mar 2024 20:50:45 +0000
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1 <?xml version='1.0'?>
2 <?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="../../../lib/xml/doc.xsl" ?>
3 <!DOCTYPE doc SYSTEM "../../../lib/xml/doc.dtd" >
4 <doc>
5 <head>
6 <title>SESAM and QiS</title>
7 <author>Henry S. Thompson</author>
8 <date>29 Mar 2024</date>
9 </head>
10 <body>
11 <div>
12 <title>Introduction</title>
13 <p>I have struggled at the last two threshing meetings about the proposed
14 governing document (the version of 2024-03-21, hereafter GD) for
15 Quakers in Scotland (QiS) to adequately convey my concerns. In
16 writing this I'm attempting to do better, not only with respect to
17 what I think is wrong, but also by suggesting how it could be fixed.</p>
18 <p>It's not short, and there's an even longer appendix of background
19 detail, so here's a summary:</p>
20 <blockquote>
21 <p>SESAM Trustees should advise SESAM that SESAM <emph>should not</emph> agree to
22 joining QiS without substantial changes to the governing document,
23 distinguishing between the charity and the church and making their
24 relationship explicit, following the model of the governing document
25 for Britain Yearly Meeting (the charity).</p>
26 <p>An updated GD needs to make explicit provision for the possibility
27 of SESAM-the-church continuing <emph>as</emph> an Area Meeting while laying
28 down SESAM-the-charity, drawing on the proposed approach to
29 preserving AMs in Wales. There must be clarity on SESAM-the-church's
30 status with respect to QiS-the-church and thus with respect to the
31 trustees of QiS-the-charity.</p>
32 </blockquote>
33 <p>I'll start by identifying the problems I see with the GD, and go on to
34 outline the kind of changes I think would improve it, to the point
35 where SESAM would support the creation of the QiS-the-charity and
36 would join QiS-the-church.</p>
37 </div>
38 <div>
39 <title>A note on terminology</title>
40 <p>In their cover letter for the draft GD sent to SESAM Trustees on
41 2024-01-06, the QiS-CG says</p>
42 <blockquote>"The Options for Scotland group [proposes] that we form a <emph>single
43 charity</emph> and that we form a <emph>single body</emph>. The idea of a single
44 body clearly needs more work to discern what this might look
45 like. It will take time. That idea is not part of what we are
46 asking you about here." (emphasis added)</blockquote>
47 <p>Above I used "QiS-the-charity" to refer to such a charity and
48 "QiS-the-church" to refer to such a body. For simplicity, hereafter
49 I'll call the former "the SCIO", short for "the Scottish Charitable
50 Incorporated Organisation" and the latter "the RSFS", short for "the
51 Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Scotland".</p>
52 </div>
53 <div>
54 <title>Problems with the GD</title>
55 <div>
56 <title>The church and the charity</title>
57 <p>Making a distinction between the SCIO and the RSFS is explicitly
58 modelled on the distinction found in the governing document of
59 "Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
60 (Britain Yearly Meeting)" as registered with the Charity Commission
61 (charity no. 1127633). Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) is (an English)
62 Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Its governing document defines
63 that lengthy name as the charity and "The Religious Society of Friends
64 (Quakers) in Britain" as the church.</p>
65 <p>The GD uses "Quakers in Scotland" (QiS) for both of these, without
66 ever explicitly acknowledging that they are distinct. Sometimes
67 context makes clear which they are referring to, but not always.</p>
68 <p>There are two problems here:</p>
69 <p> a) The lack of a clear distinction between the two, exemplified
70 further by the calling letter for GM on 6 April 2024, which
71 describes the matter before the Meeting once as "a single Quaker
72 body" and once as "a single Quaker charity / body";</p>
73 <p> b) The very limited nature of what is said, or more often implied,
74 about the RSFS. This is acknowledged in the quote above: "the
75 body is not part of what we are asking you about here".</p>
76 <p>These problems arise in large part because, perfectly understandably,
77 QiS-CG evidently started with the template for governing documents for
78 (English/Welsh) CIOs made available by Quaker Life
79 (https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/cio-constitution-template-agreed-2014),
80 which embodies the same confusion.</p>
81 <p>Indeed SESAM-the-charity's own governing document is also based on a
82 similar, more recent, template for non-incorporated Area Meetings from
83 Quaker Life
84 (https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/governing-document-for-am-cc-approved-11-2022-final),
85 and so also suffers from these problems [footnote: East of Scotland AM
86 and North of Scotland AM's governing documents are also based on the
87 non-incorporated Area Meeting template. Stewardship of North of
88 Scotland Quaker Trust is identified as a responsibility of NSAM
89 Trustees in their Terms of Reference. West of Scotland's document is
90 shorter, and perhaps based on an early template, compared to the
91 others.]</p>
92 <p>But <emph>why</emph> are these problems, and even granted that they are, why do
93 they need to be fixed <emph>now</emph>?</p>
94 <p>They are problems because the existing Area Meetings' responsibilities
95 and activities as a worshiping body, governed by Meetings for Worship
96 for Church Affairs of their membership defined in QF&amp;P, are largely
97 distinct from their responsibilities and activities as a charity,
98 governed by trustees. The former consist of, for example, the spiritual and
99 pastoral care of their members and their witness, grounded in our
100 testimonies, to their communities, whereas the latter focus on
101 maitaining the Area Meeting's legal status and financial well-being.
102 As for Britain Yearly Meeting, whose succinct self-characterisation
103 recently has been "A simple church supported by a simple charity", so
104 it should be for Area Meetings. Quaker Faith and Practice has useful
105 guidance on this relationship throughout section 15. 15.03 is
106 particularly relevant:</p>
107 <p> "The law may assume that authority for determining action
108 passes to the trustees and the meeting may choose to do
109 this. However, under Gospel Order, the ultimate authority will
110 still lie with the gathered meeting."</p>
111 <p>This needs to be fixed <emph>now</emph> because it is laid on Area Meeting
112 trustees to manage the assets of the Area Meeting in such a was as to
113 support the charitable objects of the Area Meeting, and without a
114 clear understanding of how that will continue to be true once those
115 assets are transferred to the SCIO, they would fail in that
116 responsibility, which the law expresses as "[they must] seek, in good
117 faith, to ensure that the charity acts in a manner which is consistent
118 with its purposes".</p>
119 </div>
120 <div>
121 <title>The future of the Area Meeting(s)</title>
122 </div>
123 </div>
124 <div>
125 <title>Some extensive background, which has informed my thinking.</title>
126 <p>Thanks to Jackie Noltingk, Erica Thomas and Lesley Richards for
127 helpful answers to my questions, and to Kathryn Gulliver and Piers Voysey for sending
128 me copies of their AM's governing documents.</p>
129 <p>The General Meeting for Scotland (GM) mailing list were told
130 (2023-11-17), in regard to</p>
131 <p> "(1) The possibility of merging our existing 6 charities into a
132 single body, Quakers in Scotland.</p>
133 <p> "(2) How we might organise all our concerns and worship more
134 effectively as a single charity."</p>
135 <p>that</p>
136 <p> "The first step for (1) is to agree a governing document to replace
137 the six comparable documents that apply to our existing charities."</p>
138 <p>and</p>
139 <p> "Friends will hear more requests soon to join in important
140 discussions relating to (2)."</p>
141 <p>I've searched my inbox without success for any request to "join in
142 important discussions relating to (2)" until, possibly, the invitation
143 from QiS-CG (2024-03-11) to two "information and discussion sessions
144 on progress with work towards having a single body and charity for
145 Quakers in Scotland".</p>
146 <p>However the cover letter from QiS (2024-01-06) sent to SESAM Trustees
147 says</p>
148 <p> "The Options for Scotland group [proposes] that we form a single
149 charity and that we form a single body. The idea of a single body
150 clearly needs more work to discern what this might look like. It
151 will take time. That idea is not part of what we are asking you
152 about here."</p>
153 <p>In fact the document laid before us in the special Area Meeting on
154 15 January (Draft of 2023 12 29c.docx) had a lot to say about the
155 body. Or did it? As I read it at the time it did't clearly
156 distinguish between the charity and the body, using the phrase
157 "Quakers in Scotland" in what I found to be confusing ways.</p>
158 <p>A new draft (Draft of 2024 03 21.docx) has just been made available,
159 with only modest changes from the earlier draft. I'll take it as
160 definitive with respect to what we will have before us on 6 April.
161 It hasn't changed much, if anything, of what I've found that makes me
162 uneasy about agreeing to adopt it.</p>
163 <p>More background: What do we already have as models for how charities
164 and their trustees work. I'm reasonably familiar with two examples,
165 which guide my thinking in this matter.</p>
166 <p>1. The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain, and Britain
167 Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers),
168 Charity number: 1127633</p>
169 <p>The governing document for the latter charity
170 (https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/bym-governing-document-revised-min34-bym2014)
171 begins with the following definitions:</p>
172 <list>
173 <item>The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain refers to
174 the church in England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands and
175 the Isle of Man, including all its local meetings for worship and
176 its constituent meetings for church affairs as well as all their
177 work [referred to below as <name>the Society</name>].</item>
178 <item>Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
179 (Quakers) [<name>Britain Yearly Meeting</name>] refers to the centrally held
180 and managed policy, property, employment and work of the charity
181 constituted by this document.</item>
182 <item>Yearly Meeting in session [<name>Yearly Meeting</name>] refers to the annual
183 assembly that is open to all members of the Society.</item>
184 <item>Area Meetings are the main local meetings for church affairs and
185 these are the level of the Society at which individual membership
186 is held. Each Area Meeting is a separate charitable entity and
187 may be registered as such with the Charity Commission.</item>
188 <item><emph>Quaker faith &amp; practice</emph> is the current edition of the Book of
189 Christian discipline of the Religious Society of Friends
190 (Quakers) in Britain</item>
191 <item>Meeting for Sufferings is the standing representative body of the Society.</item>
192 <item>The term Friend refers to a member of the Society.</item>
193 </list><p>* Highlighting added</p>
194 <p>Note that there are two clearly distinguished entities, "the church"
195 and "the charity". The charity is governed by the above referenced
196 governing document, the church by the Red Book.</p>
197 <p>Subsequent articles make clear that the Society, embodied in Yearly
198 Meeting in session and Meeting for Sufferings, is responsible for
199 amending the governing document, appointing Britain Yearly Meeting
200 trustees, approving their terms of reference and appointing their
201 clerks, among them the BYM Treasurer.</p>
202 <p>2. Area meetings in Scotland governing documents</p>
203 <p> * The governing document for the Religious Society of Friends
204 (Quakers) [in Britain] East Scotland Area Meeting (abbreviated as
205 East Scotland Area Meeting) is based on the template provided by
206 Quaker Life
207 (https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/governing-document-for-am-cc-approved-11-2022-final).
208 The template does not make any overt distinction between the church
209 and the charity, to my embarassment. However the phrases "(East
210 Scotland) Area Meeting in session" clearly refer to the church, and
211 in "3. Object The object of East Scotland Area Meeting" it is
212 evidently the charity.</p>
213 <p> This sentence, taken unchanged from the template, is of note: "If
214 at a meeting of East Scotland Area Meeting the members decide that
215 it is necessary or advisable to dissolve the Area Meeting or to
216 amalgamate with another Area Meeting <emph>and this is agreed by Meeting
217 for Sufferings</emph>, the trustees shall have the power to realise any
218 assets held by or on behalf of the Area Meeting. Any assets
219 remaining after the satisfaction of any proper debts and
220 liabilities shall, <emph>with the agreement of Meeting for Sufferings</emph>, be
221 given or transferred to another Area Meeting, to Britain Yearly
222 Meeting, or to some other charitable institution or institutions
223 having objects similar to that of the area meeting and failing that
224 for such other charitable purpose as Britain Yearly Meeting shall
225 direct." [Emphasis added]</p>
226 <p> * The governing document for the Religious Society of Friends
227 (Quakers) in Britain: South East Scotland Area Meeting [referred to
228 below as South East Scotland Area Meeting or the area meeting and
229 formerly known as South East Scotland Monthly Meeting] likewise is
230 based on the Quaker Life template. "Subject to the matters set out
231 below the resources of the area meeting shall be administered in
232 accordance with this governing document by the trustees..." is
233 clearly talking about the charity, whereas "Amendments to this
234 governing document shall be agreed by South East Scotland Area
235 Meeting in session and recorded by minute of the area meeting."
236 it's the church. The dissolution clause is again taken from the
237 template, with the addition of GM for Scotland to the allowed
238 dispositions.</p>
239 <p> * Dundee Friends Property Trust was governed by a 130-odd-year-old deed
240 of trust, now superseded in 2009 by a governing document, which I
241 can't find online. From the 2020 Annual Report:</p>
242 <p> "New trustees are appointed by the remaining trustees, who are
243 bound to select individuals in sympathy with the conditions of
244 the original Trust Deed and who shall, if possible, be
245 representative of Dundee Local Meeting. The majority of Trustees
246 shall be drawn from Dundee Local Meeting."</p>
247 <p> * North of Scotland AM is also based on the Quaker Life template.
248 Stewardship of North of Scotland Quaker Trust is identified as a
249 responsibility of NSAM Trustees in their Terms of Reference.</p>
250 <p> * General Meeting for Scotland</p>
251 <p> * The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Wales and the Marches
252 - Cymdeithas Grefyddol y Cyfeillion (Crynwyr) yng Nghymru a’r
253 Gororau [know as Cynar] is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation
254 (CIO, comparable to an SCIO). Its constitution (Linked from
255 https://www.symudymlaen2.org/) says that the members of the CIO are
256 "all members of the Constituent Area Meetings". The constitution
257 describes "General meetings of the members of the CIO", and
258 mandates at least an Annual General Meeting. The clerks of the
259 Constituent Bodies (the AMs and CCQW) constitute the "clerking
260 team" who set the agenda for GMs and provide a clerk for each of
261 them from among their number. At least two members from each
262 Constituent Body must be present for a GM to be quorate. The
263 Convenors of the NomComms of the COnstituent bodies constitute a
264 NomComm for the CIO, and prepare nominations for the trustees and
265 the Treasurer. There must be at least one trustee from each
266 Constituent Body.</p>
267 <p> I'm told that "AM trustees will cease to exist, Cymar trustees will
268 fulfil the role of AM trustees, but for all 4 AMs and CCQW, so once
269 the assets have been handed over, bank accounts closed down and
270 final report and accounts prepared, then they can be released by
271 their respective AMs and leave the rest to [Cymar] to deal with."</p>
272 <p> It's not clear to me how this accords with QF&amp;P 4.02
273 (https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/passage/4-02/) which says "Each area
274 meeting is a separate charitable entity and it may be required to
275 be registered as such with the relevant charity regulator. Area
276 meetings which are registered or preparing for registration will
277 operate under a formal governing document, which amongst other
278 matters should set out the arrangements for trusteeship."
279 </p>
280 <p>Prison Chaplains</p>
281 <p>QF&amp;P (13.54) gives area meetings responsibility for appointing prison
282 chaplains and "General Meeting for Scotland is responsible for
283 providing [their names] to the governors of all prison establishments
284 in the area meeting area".</p>
285 <p>Registering officers</p>
286 <p>A similar story, without the involvement of GM, obtains for
287 registering officers. "Each area meeting shall appoint a suitable
288 Friend as registering officer ... the area meeting ... shall report
289 [the appointment] to the Recording Clerk without delay, by minute
290 signed by the clerk ... The Recording Clerk is required to certify all
291 such appointments ... in Scotland, to the Registrar General for
292 Scotland"; "The registering officer, acting on behalf of the area
293 meeting, ..." (QF&amp;P 16.22,23)</p>
294 </div>
295 </body>
296 </doc>