--- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/Sufferings/catchup_2019-01-28.txt	Sun Jun 14 14:25:20 2020 +0100
@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+July:
+----------
+One fact mentioned almost in passing that was a surprise to me, at
+least: Britain Yearly Meeting has 179 paid employees at last count
+
+In an otherwise business-as-usual report from BYM Trustees, the
+process of strategic planning I reported on from the April meeting has
+continued, and its goal has been distilled to a remarkable one-liner:
+
+ "a vision of a simple church supported by a simple charity to
+  reinvigorate Quakerism"
+
+*Revising our Book of Discipline*
+
+Meeting for Sufferings has asked Central Nominations Committee to
+bring forward names to serve on a Book of Discipline Revision Committee
+
+It's too late to put your name forward for consideration to serve on
+on this, but you _can_ submit material for consideration, via
+
+  https://forms.quaker.org.uk/qfp-idea/
+-------------
+Minute 17 records our agreement that Area Meeting trustees be
+encouraged to report on sustainability actions in their annual report.
+
+Guidelines for this have been prepared by Quaker Stewardship Committee
+and members of BYM Sustainability Group have indicated they would be
+happy to supply help and support on request.
+------------
+============October==========
+Trustees: Simplifying and removing some restrictions on the process of launching
+and managing legacy-funded projects.
+
+Three strategic priorities, to bridge the planning gap between _Our
+Faith in the Future_ and the Operational Plan: "thriving Quaker
+communities, a sustainable peaceful world and simple structure and
+practice"
+-------------
+We (BYM) now have a Inclusion and Diversity Co-ordinator, her name is
+Edwina Peart.
+
+Responses to the request for input from Area Meetings:
+  * Doing well on age (but see immediately below), gender and sexual orientation
+  * Not so well on race, class and <18 ages
+
+What questions are good to ask a newcomer after meeting?
+  * Don't ask questions, say a little about yourself, and then leave some space...
+  * Asking questions often unintentionally reveals mistaken assumptions
+    which can lead to awkward silences...
+
+*BYM investments and occupied Palestine*
+
+We do not currently have any investments in any companies known to be
+"profiting from the occupation of Palestine".
+
+Trustees have asked MfS to advise on whether we should explicitly make
+divestment a policy.
+
+There is an excellent review of the background to this in the papers.
+
+Recognising the difficulties in identifying such companies...
+
+MfS advised Trustees to go ahead and "exclude from its investments
+companies profiting from the occupation of Palestine, and to amend the
+BYM Investment Policy accordingly."
+------------
+MfS have agreed an experiment to appoint 4 YAFs to MfS for the
+remainder of this triennium.  Interested YAFs should contact the
+============November============
+Residential
+-----------
+QCCIR have been busy, with a very extensive research effort on "The
+Changing Face of Faith" [1].  The first part of this was discussed at
+a conference in March, there will be another in March 2019 to which
+AMs are invited to send representatives: "Area Meetings are encouraged
+to send representatives to share local experience and learn for
+experience in other parts of the yearly Meeting.":
+-----------
+*Quaker Peace and Social Witness*
+
+Promoting a new film, _War School_, "this film from Pow Productions
+takes a closer look at militarisation in Britain":
+
+  https://www.quaker.org.uk/our-work/peace/challenging-militarism-1#heading-1
+------------
+*Quaker World Relations Committee:
+
+Promoting a new film, _Quakers and Climate Change around the World_:
+
+  http://fwcc.world/sustainability-resources
+-----------
+*Trustee's strategic priorities*
+
+"A simple church supported by a simple charity"
+
+Brilliant presentation by Ingrid Greenhow, Clerk to Trustees for just
+a bit longer, and Paul Parker, Recording Clerk, on new strategic
+priorities, BYM Trustees: see the diagram
+-----------
+* Recommendations from the Review of the Committee on Clerks*
+[A bit of a procedural mess, ask me if you are interested in the
+ minutiae of BYM procedures]
+
+"Nominations is the holiest thing we do" [Elsie Dick]
+
+*Sustainabilty Group, again*
+We laid down the Sustainability Group, but Liz Birch did not go
+quietly, in the best possible way.
+
+She raised again the elephant in the room: what does it actually mean
+in concrete practical terms for YM to adopt a concern?  Substitute
+'AM' for 'YM' and you have something we've known we need to address, if
+not how...
+
+"Are [we] ready to be held accountable on how [we] are working towards
+ sustainability?"
+--------
+*Diversity*
+
+We have a new Inclusion and Diversity Coordinator at Friends House,
+Edwina Peart.  She quite sensibly suggested that we need to know where
+we actually _are_ before we can decide what we need to _do_.  She's
+produced a survey:
+
+  http://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/quakersurvey
+
+which I would encourage everyone to fill in, it's quite short.
+
+People might also be interested in Quaker Life Central Committee's new
+statement on gender diversity, which was introduced to us by Jocelyn
+Bell Burnell:
+
+  http://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/qlcc-gender-diversity-statement-for-discussion-2018-11
+
+============
+"goatwalking" jim corbett