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+*Meeting for Sufferings*
+
+6 July 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-2019-07-agenda-papers-package
+
+The minutes and other follow-up material are available from
+
+  https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/mfs-2019-07-follow-up-package
+
+*Court & Prison Register*
+
+ Some 14 Friends are reported as arrested in connection with 1 or more
+ alleged offences undertaken as part of Extinction Rebellion actions.
+ 5 of these are from SE Scotland Area Meeting:
+
+  Cath Dyer
+  Justin Kenrick
+  Saul Kenrick
+  Lesley Morrison
+  Eva Schonveld
+
+*Gender diversity*
+
+Sufferings are going to consider this matter in more detail in our
+October meeting.
+
+The background for this is QLCC's November statement _Quakers and
+gender diversity_ and YFGM's _YFGM minute and values statement_.  The
+YFGM value statement is at least in part a response to the QLCC
+statement.
+
+We are asked "to encourage Friends [to reflect on these statements
+and] to explore this in our local Quaker communities."
+
+My personal view is that it is the very politically-charged issue of
+shared spaces that is implicated in conflicting interpretation of the
+wordings where it is felt that "the two statements contradict".
+
+Although the MfS agenda quoted above continues "... perhaps using the
+resource provided at the end of this paper."  I doubt that this issue
+can be explored without participation from both sides of the matter,
+as third party assertions of the form "feminists think X" or
+"trans-rights people think Y" are rarely either accurate or useful.
+
+QLCC are happy to receive submissions, which will be treated
+confidentially if so requested, from individuals and Meetings on this
+matter.
+
+*Other business*
+
+ - Sustainability
+
+   Three thoughtful minutes received.  I particularly like the _West
+   Weald AM Statement from the Quaker Meeting for Worship held at the
+   Extinction Rebellion camp at Marble Arch, Easter Sunday, 21st April
+   2019_.
+
+   MfS took no action to speak of.
+
+ - Refugees and asylum seekers
+
+   QPSWCC is trying to raise 75K to keep support for Sanctuary
+   Everywhere via Sanctuary Meetings going for another year.
+
+   https://www.quaker.org.uk/our-work/social-justice/migration
+
+   I _think_ this is an England/Wales-only initiative at the moment.
+
+*Trustees*
+
+At their June meeting, shortly after Yearly Meeting, Yearly Meeting
+Trustees (in conjunction with Woodbrooke Trustees), made a major
+decision about the future of Britain Yearly Meeting.
+
+The two bodies issued a joint statement:
+
+  "a meeting-centred approach to providing support can deepen our
+   worship and transform our communities.
+
+  "We share the aspiration to
+
+   "a) extend and expand the current model of Locally Based Development
+       workers so that there is a local development worker within reach
+       of every Meeting in Britain within 5 years.
+
+   " b) work rapidly towards more local support for Meetings and begin
+       to experiment with new regional bases, hubs or clusters."
+
+Sufferings minute reads, in part
+
+  "Change will not happen overnight and have reminded us that some
+   work that is dear to our hearts will have to be laid down to find
+   the investment for meeting-centred support.
+
+  "However, the time to invest in the future of Quakers in Britain is
+   now, whilst we have reserves to enable the management of change -
+   of infrastructure and of culture."
+
+The Clerk of Trustees said
+
+  - Details on how this will happen are still "totally up in the air".
+    Not a cookie-cutter, same thing is not going to work everywhere.
+
+    One example: an Area Meeting that has a lot of money, could fund a
+    worker for themselves and a neighbouring AM.
+
+  - "Evolution not revolution"
+
+  - We will use reserves to cover the [short-term] overspend.
+
+  - Transition planning in hands of Management Meeting.
+
+  - Staffing impact - we're not closing Friends House!  Management
+    C'ttee are working actively on what will be devolved,
+    where/when/how this will happen, what IT infrastructure is needed.
+    Hubs/clusters/bases important for staff welfare: 100% lone-working
+    is not always an easy life.
+
+When asked what was meant by "within reach of", she replied that that
+was a challenging question.
+
+Many people expressed surprise that we'd gone from pretty broad
+statements of support for some kind of follow-on to the Vibrancy
+project by Sufferings (in April) and Yearly Meeting (in May) to a firm
+decision about major restructuring of our central work without _any_
+further discernment being asked for or given by those two bodies.
+
+My personal view is the cost is not just financial -- we are admitting
+we can no longer say that we take care our of our business ourselves,
+we have to pay someone to do it for us.  This may well be necessary,
+but it saddens me to lose such a central part of our understanding of
+our distinctive nature.
+
+