Appendix A: Remit from Area Meeting
-
[include doc here]
+
South
+East Scotland Area
+Meeting
+25 October 2008
+
Remit for
+short-life working group
+– New vision for the Quaker presence in Edinburgh
+
Background
+
+On 30
+August 2008,
+Area Meeting considered the history and prospects for the Quaker
+Meeting House at 7 Victoria Terrace.
+
The following minute was made:
+
+Minute 7: The future of 7 Victoria Terrace
+
+
+Partly in the light of repairs and alterations due to the building over the next few years, we have taken this opportunity to reconsider some of the uses of 7 Victoria Terrace.
+
+
+Don Stubbings and Mike Perks have given us a brief summary of its uses since 1987, and of its main costs and revenues, and we thank them for providing such a good basic introduction to our discussion.
+
+
+We want to discuss this further, and in particular to decide what God wants of us in running 7 Victoria Terrance, both for Quakers, and the wider Scottish and British communities.
+
+
+We ask Nominations Committee to bring forward to October AM names for a Working Group to explore this. We hope the group will speak with the Managers of 7 Victoria Terrance, with Central Edinburgh and all other local meetings in the Area Meeting and with the Trustees, with a view to making recommendations to AM in June 2009.
+
+
+7 Victoria Terrance is home to some of us, and we have heard that all meetings in the Area Meeting benefit from it, thought they may not bear the full burden of running it.
+
+
Remit
+
+It
+was agreed at Area Meeting on 25 October that
+the
+purpose of the working group is to enable Area Meeting to
+reach a revived vision of the Quaker presence in
+Edinburgh,
+recognising that it is now over 20 years since we moved to Victoria
+Terrace, and that our worshipping and community activities are
+greater than in the late 1980s.
+
+The
+working group will:
+
+-
+review the present operation of 7 Victoria Terrace,
+including but not restricted to: the uses of the building through
+lettings and other activities and the income generated thereby; the
+operational, maintenance and capital costs associated with the
+building; the demands on people, including our paid staff and our
+membership, in operating and maintaining the building at its
+present level of activity; its accessibility to
+all; the balance between Quaker
+and wider community use
+-
+consider options for the future, including but not
+restricted to: extending the lettings and community activity;
+generating additional funds by more commercial letting; restricting
+the building to mainly Quaker use; making it available to
+Scotland-wide Quaker use;
+selling the building and moving elsewhere
+-
+report to Area Meeting by June 2009 with a proposed
+statement of what Quakers wish to achieve through our presence
+in Edinburgh and
+how our property will contribute to this, to encourage South
+East
+Scotland Area
+Meeting to unite around a clear vision for the
+future.
+
+
+Operation of the group
+
+The
+working methods of the group will be in line with the above minute,
+ie the group will consult widely within Area Meeting
+in reaching their conclusions. This may be through
+discussions with individuals or groups as appropriate. In
+addition, the group may wish to find out how other Quaker meeting
+houses are used and managed in similar settings. It may be
+that special meetings are required to discuss issues that bring
+forward a variety of differing views (‘Threshing
+Meetings’ – see QFP, 12.26).
+
+The
+working group will have a membership of 8, with a convener
+appointed by Area Meeting. Nominations Committee are asked to
+propose members who come from different local meetings, and have
+interests including the arts, children, and the community, as well
+as having the necessary skills in finance and strategic
+thinking. Membership of will include at least one Elder and
+one Overseer.
+
+It
+is envisaged that the commitment will be fairly intensive over the
+period Dec 2008-June 2009. Meetings will probably need to be
+monthly, and work will be needed between meetings to ensure the
+breadth of consultation required by the AM minute.
+
Minute of Nominations Committee held
+9
+November 2008
+
Min.3 Nominations required for forthcoming Area Meeting (7
+Dec)
+
+Working Group on future of 7 Victoria Terrace:
+Following the approach set out in the remit agreed by AM on 25
+October, we agree to approach the following people to join the
+group:
+
+- Laurie Naumann
+- Phil Lucas
+- Rufus Reade
+- Madeleine Harding
+- Brian Mayes
+- Henry Thompson
+- Alison Burnley
+- Eileen Schott
+
+
+
+We
+ask Andrew to invite Henry Thompson to convene the group; we ask
+Alastair Cameron (w/f Marjorie Farquharson) to attend the first
+meeting of the group if possible to set out the background and
+intention.
+