Meeting for Sufferings

4 February 2017

Henry S. Thompson, SE Scotland AM representative

*Headlines*

Two high-profile statements, on foreign policy (that is, Donald Trump)
and on fracking, were agreed:

  http://www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-events/news/fracking-must-be-banned
  http://www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-events/news/quakers-stand-alongside-victims-of-racist-policies  

All the papers for the meeting are available online at

  http://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/meeting-for-sufferings-agenda-papers-package-december-2016

where much more detailed information about these and other matters are
available.

*BYM Sustainability Group*

This group was set up by BYM at 2011 YM, it is now attached to MfS.

They delivered an annual report, after 3 years, "review[ing] progress
in 2016 and priorities for 2017"

There has been considerable action centrally, particularly with
respect to Friends House itself, but also by providing help to local
meetings through a new "project officer providing advice to local
meetings on property matters, including sustainability".

Much harder to assess what's happening across AMs/LMs, as useful
information gathering and analysis takes resourcing they don't have.

They've recently tried to focus on "What's _Quaker_ about this
concern?  Where does it get its spiritual grounding?"  Less guilt,
more love!

We are asked to feed back to the group on what we think about the
proposed "a project _Nurturing our Sustainability Ministry_, enabling
and encouraging Friends to give expression to our sustainability
commitment in many different forms" If AM is interested in doing so,
someone should contact Lis Burch, Clerk BYM Sust. Grp..

Do we, as other AMs apparently do, report our annual energy usage (at
least for 7VT and Kelso) to BYM along with our annual accounts?

An interesting echo of some of the STIR group's observations: The
Canterbury Commitment was a commitment made by BYM, but has been
adopted and acted on by AMs to widely varying degrees.  What does it
mean for a more central body to make a notionally binding commitment
when the action involved has to be taken 'lower down'?

As the group was established in 2014 for an initial period of three
years, there will now be a review group established to consider
whether "this approach is the right way for our concern to be carried
forward".

*Opposition to Fracking*

(From a meeting of Pendle Hill AM)

   We ask Britain Yearly Meeting to maximise involvement in ecumenical
   and interfaith structures that allow faith groups to have a strong
   united environmentalist voice on fracking, and that as Quakers
   nationally we take a public stance against fracking.

MfS supported this, and the minute [see link at the top] makes a
specific statement on behalf of Quakers in Britain in support of
sustainable energy and in opposition to "unconventional approaches" to
fossil fuel extraction, including fracking (expanded from the original
to imply worldwide, in response to a mention about the role of
Grangemouth in processing US shale gas).

There will be some kind of event on Pendle Hill on 6 May...

*Cadet Forces in Scottish State Schools*

QPSWCC has taken up this matter, and broadened it in the area of
transparency and accountability

Junior Yearly Meeting application deadline is 15 March

*Quaker Housing Trust*

An excellent, detailed, informative report was given.  I recommend it
highly, see item *MfS 2017 02 10* in

  http://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/meeting-for-sufferings-agenda-papers-2017-02-04

I was hugely impressed: they do outstanding work, with enormous
almost-all volunteer effort: give them more money!

*Yearly Meeting Gathering*

An 'Anchoring' initiative is in place for this event: making time and
space to digest, both food and mental/spiritual/emotional inputs,
meaning, among other things, that there will be no (centrally
organised) meetings over lunch

Two afternoons with 'all-age activities' (lots of facilities for sport
at the venue).

Overall theme is 'Movement Building: Working with others to make a
difference'

*Statement as "Response to the current international situation"*

A good one, see the link at the top.