*Meeting for Sufferings*

23--25 November 2018

Henry S. Thompson, SE Scotland AM representative

All the papers for the meeting are available online at

  http://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/mfs-november-2018-agenda--papers-packagev5

The minutes and other follow-up material are available from

  http://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/mfs-2018-11-follow-up-package2

This was a residential meeting, at Woodbrooke, and the opportunity to
carry discussions forward in the corridors and over meals was very
valuable, as was the opportunity to get to know people informally.
Staying at Woodbrooke provides a rare occasion of living in
"Quaker-time" [1] for much longer than just a Sunday morning: I recommend
it!

*Quaker Committee for Christian and Interfaith Relations*

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.":

  http://www.quaker.org.uk/our-organisation/our-structures/quaker-committee-for-christian-and-interfaith-relations

"Quakers just get on and do what they say they're going to do"

Sustainability efforts can drive ecumenical engagement rather than the
other way around (Bristol AM)

*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

*Books of Discipline revision*

We have Co-Clerks for the BoD Revision:
 Rosie Carnall, Sheffield and Balby AM
 Catherine Brewer, Northumbria AM, Durham LM

Over 300 Friends have volunteered to serve on the BoD Revision
Committee, so, it's probably too late to volunteer...

*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

  http://hst.name/RSoF/Trustees_strategy_2018-11.png

or read the report in the papers linked above.

* 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

Finally we should consider sending a representative to the national
gathering at Woodbrooke 18th-20 January, ‘Answering that of God in
everyone’, albeit it's only a few days away:

  https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/item/answering-that-of-god-in-everyone-a-diversity-and-inclusion-national-gathering/
-----------------
[1] For more on this concept, and Woodbrooke, Friends may be
interested in a something I wrote some time ago: _Reflections on
Woodbrooke_ (http://hst.name/RSoF/woodbrooke_thoughts.html)