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+*Meeting for Sufferings*
+
+1 February 2020
+
+Henry S. Thompson, SE Scotland AM representative
+
+All the papers for the meeting are available online at
+
+  https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/mfs-2020-2-agenda-papers
+
+The minutes and other follow-up material are available from
+
+  https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/mfs-2020-02-follow-up-package
+
+*Trustees consultation*
+
+The Clerk of BYM Trustees reported on the state of the Meeting-centred
+support initiative and related issues.
+
+She acknowledged concerns about decisions wrt meeting-centred support.
+
+Re-envisioning trustees as responsible for the 'simple charity' which
+supports BYM as a 'simple church': more work coming on that.
+
+As an Area Meeting, we can/should feed back to Trustees: What do _we_
+need from the centre to help us be simpler?
+
+In response to Trustee's call for expressions of interest in first
+steps towards Meeting-centred support, specifically hosting local
+development works or acting as 'hubs': 38 responses were received.
+ * One hub will be announced later this year as an experiment;
+ * Local development worker roll-out will begin 'immediately', will
+   take years, still aiming to have one such worker "in reach of"
+   every meeting
+
+Paul Parker, BYM Recording Clerk, spoke about the devolution of
+central functions, saying that this would be a gradual process.  There
+will continue to be wealth of specialist expertise in London.
+Discussions have started with QLCC on what kinds specialist expertise
+is needed and when it needs to be _in London_.
+
+*Speaking out*
+
+We returned to this matter to hear more [see report on Sufferings
+2019-10-04] from Friends House staff on how they approach this.
+
+They drew out two continua along which they see themselves as helping
+us to approach public statements:
+ * Complelled to witness <--> Compelled to achieve change
+ * Be distinctively Quaker <--> Voice all concerns
+
+Our decisions at York Gathering in 2009 on same-sex marriage was
+mentioned as an instructive example of how witness without the
+expectation of change none-the-less _achieved_ change.
+
+*Diversity*
+
+Sam McNair reported very impressively on a 
+Diversity and Inclusion gathering held at Woodbrooke, 17-19 January.
+During a small-group reflection session on this, I found the following
+points that were shared particularly helpful:
+
+ * Gay people of gender X may find X->Y trans people challenging to
+   their own choices wrt their own dismorphia
+
+ * Not all trans people are prepared/able to 'come out' to everyone in
+   a new meeting: how would we as a Meeting cope with a gradual spread
+   of knowledge?
+
+ * In our struggle to understand how a Meeting might be a Quaker
+   meeting and yet take what we find to be a very unQuakerly approach
+   to LGBTQ issues, one Meeting reported having gotten great value
+   from taking an African Meeting as the equivalent of a pen-friend,
+   'twinning' with a Meeting from Ghana
+
+ * What we need to understand better is how we as Meetings can, in
+   individual cases, find a way to make a space that's safe for people
+   who are labouring under the experience of being 'other' to share
+   that in some way.  They may have been waiting a long time for the
+   opportunity...
+