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+*Meeting for Sufferings*
+
+4--6 October 2019
+
+Henry S. Thompson, SE Scotland AM representative
+
+All the papers for the meeting are available online at
+
+  https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/mfs-2019-10-agenda-papers-package
+
+The minutes and other follow-up material are available from
+
+  https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/mfs-2019-10-follow-up-package
+
+This was a residential weekend meeting, at Woodbrooke, which was
+welcoming and peaceful as always.
+
+We heard a number of reports (all in the linked-to documents above),
+and had some thoughtful deliberation, but very few actual actions were
+taken.
+
+
+*Court & Prison Register*
+
+We spent rather a lot of time agreeing guidelines for what does and
+doesn't count as "suffering for the faith".
+
+It surprised many that there was a presumption that any Friend setting
+out on a course of action likely to result in arrest should test their
+concern with their Meeting in advance if at all possible.
+
+*Sustainability*
+
+"How might we be called to act next?"
+ - Eldership
+   "All creation was being set free to be true to itself" Eden Grace 2019
+   "Right purpose, right use, right relationship" Ditto
+ - Oversight
+   Action depends on community, acting alone is too hard
+    Enable and support us: changing community norms [wrt energy use]
+    Economic growth vs. finite resources
+ - Living Faithfully
+   Think about energy _as part_ of a decision, not a retro-fit
+Is the Eco-church movement a possible source of guidance?
+
+Some anger was expressed about the narrowness of our witness: "too
+neat, too tidy": impact needed on wider community (i.e. not just the
+"white, middle-class")
+
+In a small group, I heard the phrase "Just transition" ['just' as in
+'justice'] for the first time: to bring the less privileged with us on
+sustainability, we need to show there is a way forward that does not
+destroy what little livelihood they may have.  See [1] for an
+introduction to this idea as included in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
+
+Trees came up a lot in discussions of action that can be taken
+locally, and the suggestion of creating Quaker burial grounds to grow
+trees and save the huge energy costs of cremation.
+
+*Trustees*
+
+We returned to the topic of structural changes in Britain Yearly Meeting.
+
+"Meeting-centred support" [2] is the new buzz phrase, 'vibrancy' is no
+longer mentioned.
+
+Woodbrooke: numbers down over several years.  Need to renew purpose to meet
+Friends' and peoples' needs.  A survey was done, main points noted were:
+ * Woodbrooke needs to come to Friends;
+ * But it's too expensive (particularly when compared to getting someone from Friends House 'for
+   free').
+The planned changes are an opportunity for renewal.  JW Rowntree said
+"Woodbrooke should not be a privilege for the rich".
+
+*Quaker Stewardship Committee*
+
+We learned about this little-known body, which works to help Meetings
+take proper care of their resources, principally but not exclusively
+property.
+
+ "We are a bottom-up organisation, and I don't know of any other" [a
+  member of Sufferings]
+
+ "The bottom _is_ the top"  [Ursula Fuller, Clerk to the Committee]
+
+ "Yearly Meeting decisions are taken with care because they are
+  understood to be, as a matter of our faith, decisions by _all_ of
+  us." [ditto]
+
+*Assisted dying*
+
+This has come around again from in concerns sent to Sufferings from
+several English AMs.  We attempted to focus on what we _as Quakers_
+have to say.  My memory of our experience in Scotland is that we are
+unlikely to reach unity on the question, but might that in itself may
+be a worthwhile contribution to the wider public discussion?
+
+"Not reaching unity is not a failure" [Paul Parker, Recording Clerk]
+
+MfS session reflected a wide range of positions.
+
+Studied neutrality is also a possibility [3].
+
+We were usefully reminded that even _considering_ assisted dying is,
+at least currently, very much a possibilty only to the privileged.
+
+*Speaking out*
+
+We were reminded that there is a policy governing "public statements
+and comments" from, among others, Area Meetings (typically having been
+agreed in an Area Meeting for Business and published over the name of
+the Clerk), and individual Friends, particularly in the context of
+marches/vigils/protests where any of us may find ourselves confronted
+by a microphone and camera [4].
+
+That there is a moderated Facebook group was brought up, see topic
+*Post-truth world* at MfS 2019-02-02, and in particular my take:
+
+  Finding the courage to challenge lies is hard enough to do in
+  person, it's even harder to do on social media, where the response
+  may well be both many-fold and obnoxious, the latter particularly in
+  response to challenges from women.
+
+  Can we find ways to provide safe online spaces [perhaps taking EAPPI
+  as a model]?
+
+[1] http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/publication/climate-change-and-the-just-transition-a-guide-for-investor-action/
+[2] https://quaker.org.uk/our-organisation/support-for-meetings/meeting-centred-support
+[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3505400/
+[4] https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/speaking-out-briefing