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Very rough port from .txt 349:c9212f
author Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
date Fri, 29 Mar 2024 20:50:45 +0000
parents 0437dd5360fc
children f94493498cc6
files QiS/What_are_QiS.xml
diffstat 1 files changed, 296 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-) [+]
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+<?xml version='1.0'?>
+<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="../../../lib/xml/doc.xsl" ?>
+<!DOCTYPE doc SYSTEM "../../../lib/xml/doc.dtd" >
+<doc>
+ <head>
+  <title>SESAM and QiS</title>
+  <author>Henry S. Thompson</author>
+  <date>29 Mar 2024</date>
+ </head>
+ <body>
+  <div>
+   <title>Introduction</title>
+    <p>I have struggled at the last two threshing meetings about the proposed
+    governing document (the version of 2024-03-21, hereafter GD) for
+    Quakers in Scotland (QiS) to adequately convey my concerns.  In
+    writing this I'm attempting to do better, not only with respect to
+    what I think is wrong, but also by suggesting how it could be fixed.</p>
+    <p>It's not short, and there's an even longer appendix of background
+    detail, so here's a summary:</p>
+    <blockquote>
+     <p>SESAM Trustees should advise SESAM that SESAM <emph>should not</emph> agree to
+      joining QiS without substantial changes to the governing document,
+      distinguishing between the charity and the church and making their
+      relationship explicit, following the model of the governing document
+      for Britain Yearly Meeting (the charity).</p>
+     <p>An updated GD needs to make explicit provision for the possibility
+      of SESAM-the-church continuing <emph>as</emph> an Area Meeting while laying
+      down SESAM-the-charity, drawing on the proposed approach to
+      preserving AMs in Wales. There must be clarity on SESAM-the-church's
+      status with respect to QiS-the-church and thus with respect to the
+      trustees of QiS-the-charity.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+    <p>I'll start by identifying the problems I see with the GD, and go on to
+    outline the kind of changes I think would improve it, to the point
+    where SESAM would support the creation of the QiS-the-charity and
+    would join QiS-the-church.</p>
+  </div>
+  <div>
+   <title>A note on terminology</title>
+<p>In their cover letter for the draft GD sent to SESAM Trustees on
+2024-01-06, the QiS-CG says</p>
+<blockquote>"The Options for Scotland group [proposes] that we form a <emph>single
+   charity</emph> and that we form a <emph>single body</emph>. The idea of a single
+   body clearly needs more work to discern what this might look
+   like. It will take time. That idea is not part of what we are
+   asking you about here." (emphasis added)</blockquote>
+<p>Above I used "QiS-the-charity" to refer to such a charity and
+"QiS-the-church" to refer to such a body.  For simplicity, hereafter
+I'll call the former "the SCIO", short for "the Scottish Charitable
+Incorporated Organisation" and the latter "the RSFS", short for "the
+Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Scotland".</p>
+</div>
+<div>
+<title>Problems with the GD</title>
+<div>
+<title>The church and the charity</title>
+<p>Making a distinction between the SCIO and the RSFS is explicitly
+modelled on the distinction found in the governing document of
+"Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
+(Britain Yearly Meeting)" as registered with the Charity Commission
+(charity no. 1127633).  Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) is (an English)
+Charitable Incorporated Organisation.  Its governing document defines
+that lengthy name as the charity and "The Religious Society of Friends
+(Quakers) in Britain" as the church.</p>
+<p>The GD uses "Quakers in Scotland" (QiS) for both of these, without
+ever explicitly acknowledging that they are distinct.  Sometimes
+context makes clear which they are referring to, but not always.</p>
+<p>There are two problems here:</p>
+<p> a) The lack of a clear distinction between the two, exemplified
+    further by the calling letter for GM on 6 April 2024, which
+    describes the matter before the Meeting once as "a single Quaker
+    body" and once as "a single Quaker charity / body";</p>
+<p> b) The very limited nature of what is said, or more often implied,
+    about the RSFS.  This is acknowledged in the quote above: "the
+    body is not part of what we are asking you about here".</p>
+<p>These problems arise in large part because, perfectly understandably,
+QiS-CG evidently started with the template for governing documents for
+(English/Welsh) CIOs made available by Quaker Life
+(https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/cio-constitution-template-agreed-2014),
+which embodies the same confusion.</p>
+<p>Indeed SESAM-the-charity's own governing document is also based on a
+similar, more recent, template for non-incorporated Area Meetings from
+Quaker Life
+(https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/governing-document-for-am-cc-approved-11-2022-final),
+and so also suffers from these problems [footnote: East of Scotland AM
+and North of Scotland AM's governing documents are also based on the
+non-incorporated Area Meeting template.  Stewardship of North of
+Scotland Quaker Trust is identified as a responsibility of NSAM
+Trustees in their Terms of Reference. West of Scotland's document is
+shorter, and perhaps based on an early template, compared to the
+others.]</p>
+<p>But <emph>why</emph> are these problems, and even granted that they are, why do
+they need to be fixed <emph>now</emph>?</p>
+<p>They are problems because the existing Area Meetings' responsibilities
+and activities as a worshiping body, governed by Meetings for Worship
+for Church Affairs of their membership defined in QF&amp;P, are largely
+distinct from their responsibilities and activities as a charity,
+governed by trustees.  The former consist of, for example, the spiritual and
+pastoral care of their members and their witness, grounded in our
+testimonies, to their communities, whereas the latter focus on
+maitaining the Area Meeting's legal status and financial well-being.
+As for Britain Yearly Meeting, whose succinct self-characterisation
+recently has been "A simple church supported by a simple charity", so
+it should be for Area Meetings.  Quaker Faith and Practice has useful
+guidance on this relationship throughout section 15. 15.03 is
+particularly relevant:</p>
+<p>  "The law may assume that authority for determining action
+   passes to the trustees and the meeting may choose to do
+   this. However, under Gospel Order, the ultimate authority will
+   still lie with the gathered meeting."</p>
+<p>This needs to be fixed <emph>now</emph> because it is laid on Area Meeting
+trustees to manage the assets of the Area Meeting in such a was as to
+support the charitable objects of the Area Meeting, and without a
+clear understanding of how that will continue to be true once those
+assets are transferred to the SCIO, they would fail in that
+responsibility, which the law expresses as "[they must] seek, in good
+faith, to ensure that the charity acts in a manner which is consistent
+with its purposes".</p>
+</div>
+<div>
+<title>The future of the Area Meeting(s)</title>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div>
+<title>Some extensive background, which has informed my thinking.</title>
+<p>Thanks to Jackie Noltingk, Erica Thomas and Lesley Richards for
+helpful answers to my questions, and to Kathryn Gulliver and Piers Voysey for sending
+me copies of their AM's governing documents.</p>
+<p>The General Meeting for Scotland (GM) mailing list were told
+(2023-11-17), in regard to</p>
+<p>  "(1) The possibility of merging our existing 6 charities into a
+   single body, Quakers in Scotland.</p>
+<p>  "(2) How we might organise all our concerns and worship more
+   effectively as a single charity."</p>
+<p>that</p>
+<p>  "The first step for (1) is to agree a governing document to replace
+   the six comparable documents that apply to our existing charities."</p>
+<p>and</p>
+<p>  "Friends will hear more requests soon to join in important
+   discussions relating to (2)."</p>
+<p>I've searched my inbox without success for any request to "join in
+important discussions relating to (2)" until, possibly, the invitation
+from QiS-CG (2024-03-11) to two "information and discussion sessions
+on progress with work towards having a single body and charity for
+Quakers in Scotland".</p>
+<p>However the cover letter from QiS (2024-01-06) sent to SESAM Trustees
+says</p>
+<p>  "The Options for Scotland group [proposes] that we form a single
+   charity and that we form a single body. The idea of a single body
+   clearly needs more work to discern what this might look like. It
+   will take time. That idea is not part of what we are asking you
+   about here."</p>
+<p>In fact the document laid before us in the special Area Meeting on
+15 January (Draft of 2023 12 29c.docx) had a lot to say about the
+body.  Or did it?  As I read it at the time it did't clearly
+distinguish between the charity and the body, using the phrase
+"Quakers in Scotland" in what I found to be confusing ways.</p>
+<p>A new draft (Draft of 2024 03 21.docx) has just been made available,
+with only modest changes from the earlier draft.  I'll take it as
+definitive with respect to what we will have before us on 6 April.
+It hasn't changed much, if anything, of what I've found that makes me
+uneasy about agreeing to adopt it.</p>
+<p>More background: What do we already have as models for how charities
+and their trustees work.  I'm reasonably familiar with two examples,
+which guide my thinking in this matter.</p>
+<p>1. The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain, and Britain
+   Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers),
+   Charity number: 1127633</p>
+<p>The governing document for the latter charity
+(https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/bym-governing-document-revised-min34-bym2014)
+begins with the following definitions:</p>
+<list>
+<item>The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain refers to
+     the church in England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands and
+     the Isle of Man, including all its local meetings for worship and
+     its constituent meetings for church affairs as well as all their
+     work [referred to below as <name>the Society</name>].</item>
+<item>Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
+     (Quakers) [<name>Britain Yearly Meeting</name>] refers to the centrally held
+     and managed policy, property, employment and work of the charity
+     constituted by this document.</item>
+<item>Yearly Meeting in session [<name>Yearly Meeting</name>] refers to the annual
+     assembly that is open to all members of the Society.</item>
+<item>Area Meetings are the main local meetings for church affairs and
+     these are the level of the Society at which individual membership
+     is held. Each Area Meeting is a separate charitable entity and
+     may be registered as such with the Charity Commission.</item>
+<item><emph>Quaker faith &amp; practice</emph> is the current edition of the Book of
+     Christian discipline of the Religious Society of Friends
+     (Quakers) in Britain</item>
+<item>Meeting for Sufferings is the standing representative body of the Society.</item>
+<item>The term Friend refers to a member of the Society.</item>
+</list><p>* Highlighting added</p>
+<p>Note that there are two clearly distinguished entities, "the church"
+and "the charity".  The charity is governed by the above referenced
+governing document, the church by the Red Book.</p>
+<p>Subsequent articles make clear that the Society, embodied in Yearly
+Meeting in session and Meeting for Sufferings, is responsible for
+amending the governing document, appointing Britain Yearly Meeting
+trustees, approving their terms of reference and appointing their
+clerks, among them the BYM Treasurer.</p>
+<p>2. Area meetings in Scotland governing documents</p>
+<p> * The governing document for the Religious Society of Friends
+   (Quakers) [in Britain] East Scotland Area Meeting (abbreviated as
+   East Scotland Area Meeting) is based on the template provided by
+   Quaker Life
+   (https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/governing-document-for-am-cc-approved-11-2022-final).
+   The template does not make any overt distinction between the church
+   and the charity, to my embarassment.  However the phrases "(East
+   Scotland) Area Meeting in session" clearly refer to the church, and
+   in "3. Object The object of East Scotland Area Meeting" it is
+   evidently the charity.</p>
+<p>   This sentence, taken unchanged from the template, is of note: "If
+   at a meeting of East Scotland Area Meeting the members decide that
+   it is necessary or advisable to dissolve the Area Meeting or to
+   amalgamate with another Area Meeting <emph>and this is agreed by Meeting
+   for Sufferings</emph>, the trustees shall have the power to realise any
+   assets held by or on behalf of the Area Meeting. Any assets
+   remaining after the satisfaction of any proper debts and
+   liabilities shall, <emph>with the agreement of Meeting for Sufferings</emph>, be
+   given or transferred to another Area Meeting, to Britain Yearly
+   Meeting, or to some other charitable institution or institutions
+   having objects similar to that of the area meeting and failing that
+   for such other charitable purpose as Britain Yearly Meeting shall
+   direct."  [Emphasis added]</p>
+<p> * The governing document for the Religious Society of Friends
+   (Quakers) in Britain: South East Scotland Area Meeting [referred to
+   below as South East Scotland Area Meeting or the area meeting and
+   formerly known as South East Scotland Monthly Meeting] likewise is
+   based on the Quaker Life template.  "Subject to the matters set out
+   below the resources of the area meeting shall be administered in
+   accordance with this governing document by the trustees..." is
+   clearly talking about the charity, whereas "Amendments to this
+   governing document shall be agreed by South East Scotland Area
+   Meeting in session and recorded by minute of the area meeting." 
+   it's the church.  The dissolution clause is again taken from the
+   template, with the addition of GM for Scotland to the allowed
+   dispositions.</p>
+<p> * Dundee Friends Property Trust was governed by a 130-odd-year-old deed
+   of trust, now superseded in 2009 by a governing document, which I
+   can't find online.  From the 2020 Annual Report:</p>
+<p>    "New trustees are appointed by the remaining trustees, who are
+     bound to select individuals in sympathy with the conditions of
+     the original Trust Deed and who shall, if possible, be
+     representative of Dundee Local Meeting. The majority of Trustees
+     shall be drawn from Dundee Local Meeting."</p>
+<p> * North of Scotland AM is also based on the Quaker Life template.
+   Stewardship of North of Scotland Quaker Trust is identified as a
+   responsibility of NSAM Trustees in their Terms of Reference.</p>
+<p> * General Meeting for Scotland</p>
+<p> * The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Wales and the Marches
+   - Cymdeithas Grefyddol y Cyfeillion (Crynwyr) yng Nghymru a’r
+   Gororau [know as Cynar] is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation
+   (CIO, comparable to an SCIO).  Its constitution (Linked from
+   https://www.symudymlaen2.org/) says that the members of the CIO are
+   "all members of the Constituent Area Meetings".  The constitution
+   describes "General meetings of the members of the CIO", and
+   mandates at least an Annual General Meeting.  The clerks of the
+   Constituent Bodies (the AMs and CCQW) constitute the "clerking
+   team" who set the agenda for GMs and provide a clerk for each of
+   them from among their number.  At least two members from each
+   Constituent Body must be present for a GM to be quorate.  The
+   Convenors of the NomComms of the COnstituent bodies constitute a
+   NomComm for the CIO, and prepare nominations for the trustees and
+   the Treasurer.  There must be at least one trustee from each
+   Constituent Body.</p>
+<p>   I'm told that "AM trustees will cease to exist, Cymar trustees will
+   fulfil the role of AM trustees, but for all 4 AMs and CCQW, so once
+   the assets have been handed over, bank accounts closed down and
+   final report and accounts prepared, then they can be released by
+   their respective AMs and leave the rest to [Cymar] to deal with."</p>
+<p>   It's not clear to me how this accords with QF&amp;P 4.02
+   (https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/passage/4-02/) which says "Each area
+   meeting is a separate charitable entity and it may be required to
+   be registered as such with the relevant charity regulator. Area
+   meetings which are registered or preparing for registration will
+   operate under a formal governing document, which amongst other
+   matters should set out the arrangements for trusteeship."
+   </p>
+<p>Prison Chaplains</p>
+<p>QF&amp;P (13.54) gives area meetings responsibility for appointing prison
+chaplains and "General Meeting for Scotland is responsible for
+providing [their names] to the governors of all prison establishments
+in the area meeting area".</p>
+<p>Registering officers</p>
+<p>A similar story, without the involvement of GM, obtains for
+registering officers.  "Each area meeting shall appoint a suitable
+Friend as registering officer ... the area meeting ... shall report
+[the appointment] to the Recording Clerk without delay, by minute
+signed by the clerk ... The Recording Clerk is required to certify all
+such appointments ... in Scotland, to the Registrar General for
+Scotland"; "The registering officer, acting on behalf of the area
+meeting, ..." (QF&amp;P 16.22,23)</p>
+</div>
+ </body>
+</doc>