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+*Meeting for Sufferings*
+
+6 June 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-2020-06-agenda--papers
+
+The minutes and other follow-up material are available from
+
+  https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/mfs-2020-06-follow-up-package
+
+*Cancellation of 2 April Meeting for Sufferings*
+
+The meeting scheduled for 2 April was cancelled.  A letter including a
+number of the reports that _would_ have been considered at that
+meeting was circulated to members, and is available at
+
+  https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/information-members-mfs-april-2020
+
+It contains a report from Trustees, an interim report from the Review
+Group for Quaker Stewardship Committee and, perhaps most importantly,
+*Britain Yearly Meeting and Woodbrooke Integrated Strategy for
+Supporting Quaker Communities 2020-2025", produced by Quaker Life
+Central Committee.  It gives more detail than previously available
+about the plans for the new approach to many of the structures and
+activities of Britain Yearly Meeting.
+
+*BYM Trustees report*
+
+  COVID: 
+    80% of the Quiet Company (responsible for running Friends House
+    and Swarthmore Hall) staff and 50% of Friends House staff have
+    been furloughed.
+
+    COVID notwithstanding, the focus for fundraising going forward
+    will be on systematic funding growth for the long term, not a
+    single crisis appeal.
+
+    Hiring of new Local Development Workers and the establishment of
+    the first regional Hub have been postponed.
+
+    Online activities improve accessability for some, but make it
+    harder/impossible for others.  Are we (SESAM) looking at
+    identifying and helping those who lack either the skills or the
+    hardware to participate?
+
+*Yearly Meeting*
+
+  There will be an abbreviated virtual YM on the afternoon of 15
+  September, two one-hour sessions.  Attendance open with early notice
+  required, capped at 1000.
+
+    Some necessary business, some shared worship...
+
+    Sufferings to be empowered to do some required business between
+    then and the YM in 2021.
+
+  Yearly Meeting Gathering will, God willing, be held in summer 2021 in Bath.
+
+*Small group session*
+
+  Some Area Meetings are looking to continue holding Area Meeting
+  online and/or doing some Area Meeting business online 'after COVID'.
+
+  Some form of go-around or after-word is happening in some places.
+
+  People with mobility issues found regular attendance to be very
+  welcome.
+
+  One Area Meeting is hold a weekly online Epilogue.
+
+  There were many questions about hybrid meetings 'after COVID' (also
+  called 'blended meetings')
+
+  Ellie Harding reported that
+  
+   "I have been to a blended memorial before - happy to pick up
+    separately if useful. It was held at Liverpool meeting, so their
+    elders might be worth reaching out to as well."
+
+  Anna Sharman asked
+
+    "Is it really silence if there couldn't be noise?"
+
+   Her online Meeting has experimented with leaving people unmuted
+   unless there's a lot of background noise...
+
+ Some problems with online meetings that were mentioned:
+
+   "It's difficult to reach out to new people"
+
+   A few people have pushed back on the concept as unQuakerly...
+
+   Technology and/or financial issues exclude some people
+
+   One eldering problem has arisen, resulting in lack of unity on the
+    value of the online meetings...
+
+   In one case where there is no online Area Meeting, a Local Meeting
+   that chose not to meet online has left those members who _would_
+   like to do so out in the cold