*BYM Sustainability Group*

(Set up by BYM at 2011 YM, now attached to MfS)

Annual report after 3 years, "review[ing] progress in 2016 and
priorities for 2017"

Considerable action centrally, particularly wrt Friends House itself,
and 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 we don't have.

Important recent focus on "What's _Quaker_ about this concern?  Where
does it get its spiritual grounding?"  Less guilt, more love!
[ref. SCIAF wrt negative images]

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".  [Don Stubbings, ??? to 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 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

--------

JYM Deadline 15 March

--------

*MfS Annual Report*

[Home groups: Scotland and Wales, only 8 people, half alternates]

Jocelyn's critique: It may seem that nothing is happening here, but
the delivery of information in person has long-term ramifications
which are hard to foresee.

"A conduit backwards and forwards"

Vision and prophecy -- where does that happen?

--------

*Quaker Housing Trust*

Outstanding work, enormous almost-all volunteer effort: give them more
money!

--------

*Yearly Meeting Gathering*

Anchoring: making time and space to digest, both food and
mental/spiritual/emotional inputs, and 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, hope you've seen it.