*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