*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