Minutes of Meeting for Sufferings February 2012
At a Meeting for Sufferings held in London 4 February 2012
S/12/02/1: Worship
Section 19.57 of Quaker faith & practice has been read in our opening worship, and we have remembered former members of this meeting who recently died.
S/12/02/2: Adoption of agenda
e have reflected on issues to be considered during our meeting and agreed to the agenda, including in item 15 under Correspondence received an invitation to present a Loyal Address to the Queen. (Paper S/12/02/H).
S/12/02/3: Sustainability
We have received the paper setting out the proposed terms of reference for the Minute 36 Commitment Group (paper S/12/02/A).
We accept these terms of reference subject to the following changes:
2.1 should read ‘The group shall consist of fifteen Friends to include those ex officio'
3.2 will be transferred to section 4.
S/12/02/4: Yearly Meeting 2012
Yearly Meeting in 2012 will be held at Friends House 25-28 May. Lis Burch, Yearly Meeting Clerk, has outlined the agenda to us.
The main items are:
Economic Justice & Sustainability
There will be sessions exploring why this theme is important to us as Quakers and what our meeting and individual responses might be. Meeting for Sufferings will report on progress so far, and we hope to find inspiration and encouragement.
What it means to be a Quaker today?
This is the beginning of a three year focus on this topic for Yearly Meeting which, with Quaker Life, should involve all our meetings at some stage. Junior Yearly Meeting discerned this as an important focus that will progress beyond Yearly Meeting itself.
Friends planning to attend will need to be aware that the Monday of Yearly Meeting will not be a bank holiday in any part of Britain. The Monday will include group sessions for deeper sharing about the issues, and the day will end earlier than usual.
We ask Meeting for Sufferings representatives to encourage Friends to identify with Yearly Meeting, and uphold it, and attend if possible. Lis reminded us of Quaker faith & practice 6.11, and we had our attention drawn to Simon Best's article in The Friends Quarterly.
S/12/02/5: Yearly Meeting 2014
Further to minutes S/09/04/8b and S/11/02/8, we receive minute 2011/11/05 from Yearly Meeting Agenda Committee recommending that Yearly Meeting 2014 be called from Saturday 2 August to Saturday 9 August as a Yearly Meeting Gathering on the campus of the University of Bath.
We agree to these arrangements.
S/12/02/6: Radical Resistance and the State
Further to minute S/11/06/4 we have returned to consideration of ‘Radical resistance and the State’ as introduced to us last June. We resolved to return to this subject for a wider and deeper consideration after we had had time to hear Friends' responses. We hope to strengthen the spiritual understanding of nonviolent resistance, and explore the struggles inherent in it.
Nick Rendle (North West London AM) has reflected his frustrations with the June exercise, as he has expressed in paper S/12/02/C. He has reminded us of Steve Whiting's words about the three ways of influencing the State, - reforming what exists, creating alternatives, and focusing dissent where opposition is needed. But Nick has shown we need to avoid simplistic consistency, and rather develop understanding of underlying conflicts and complexities. He challenged us to know our grounds when we claim to be acting with religious conviction. Then we have to turn criticism and disillusionment into the outworking of a right relationship with God and channel our strong resistance in positive ways. And we will need to accept that this is costly, - in Mary Dyer's case even unto death - and must be rooted in our religious life supported by prayer and community conviction.
We are called to the peaceful resolution of conflict, willing to listen deeply to everyone, but without censoring our own experience and truth. Such processes are slow, and require careful preparation. When action is needed, we still have to confront our own fears and accept that we act in faith with the support of our worshipping community. This leads us into our consideration of advocacy in the rest of our meeting to day
S/12/02/7: Advocacy (I) – current work
We have begun our consideration today of Quaker advocacy by hearing an overview on current work from Paul Parker (Recording Clerk), Michael Bartlet (Parliamentary Liaison Secretary), Anne van Staveren (Media Relations Officer) and Helen Drewery (General Secretary, Quaker Peace & Social Witness).
One of the key roles for the Yearly Meeting and its staff is to carry out advocacy on behalf of Quakers in Britain. This can take many forms, and reflect the wide range of issues and concerns currently active in the Yearly Meeting. Advocacy is part of how we project ourselves as Friends to the world, and its importance to us as a Yearly Meeting is reflected in A Framework For Action, as part of priority ‘b. Speaking out in the world.’ A Framework For Action asks us ‘Are Friends ready once again to be the radical voice they once were?’
The paper sets out work done on behalf of Britain Yearly Meeting in three key areas:
- Work with decision makers
- Work with opinion-formers
- Campaigning activities
Michael Bartlet advocates with decision makers. Among the challenges he faces are: -timeliness- the 21st century wants fast decisions very different from Quaker practices in the 17th century; - relevance- finding the middle way between generalisations and too detailed policy suggestions; -priorities- we have to choose the issues we will take up and speak calmly and forcefully.
Anne van Staveren also shared with us the demands of the media to receive quick responses, and the difficulties this presents for Quaker processes. We are in danger of losing opportunities for media coverage if we cannot act quickly. Yet it is our stillness that intrigues the world and draws people to us.
Helen Drewery spoke about campaigning. The Society of Friends invites Friends everywhere in the Society to join in, by providing information, by setting up letter writing campaigns, and by seeking volunteers. We are asked to be witnesses, living our Quaker way visibly, and being able to explain this to others, even if it involves breaking the law. Our witness influences others.
Much other advocacy work is done by individuals and groups working at local or national level under concern. Good examples would be the work of listed informal groups such as Quaker Action on Alcohol and Drugs or Quaker Homeless Action; or the work of General Meeting for Scotland in representing Quaker views to the Scottish Parliament. It is not only the centrally managed work from Friends House which contributes to our confident Quaker voice being heard.
During the first half of 2012, Paul Parker reports that restructuring of part of the staff team of Britain Yearly Meeting at Friends House will occur; the new department of Communication & Services will include a team which is more sharply focused on Advocacy & Public Relationships. This team will bring all the strategic responsibility for advocacy with decision-makers and opinion-formers into one place in the organisation, so that our outward-facing communications can be better planned and co-ordinated. We hope that this will lead to our confident Quaker voice being more regularly heard.
S/12/02/8: Advocacy (II) –Quaker advocacy in Europe
i) Our representatives to the Quaker Council for European Affairs, Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick (Luton and Leighton Area Meeting) and Sarah Coote (Hampshire & Islands Area Meeting) have spoken to their written report (paper S/12/02/E). In their report we were also given updates on the Human Rights work and Peacebuilding projects undertaken by Liz Scurfield and Martina Weitsch at Quaker House Brussels.
The Quaker Council for European Affairs work is multi-faceted and faces the advocacy challenges of our London staff. They have no formal structures with Britain Yearly Meeting but forge relations with members of the European Parliament and diplomats. They value the communication with Friends widely, have a website and a blog. They benefit from the work of the programme assistants, who among other tasks write the blog.
The preparation of briefing papers and the advocacy prompts, called Action alerts, are valued ways of empowering many Friends to speak out on issues in a concerted way. At present about one in fifty Friends receive the alerts.
ii) We have also heard from Marisa Johnson, Executive Secretary of Friends World Committee for Consultation Europe & Middle East Section. Marisa visits Yearly Meetings throughout Europe and is an important link in spreading the concerns of one yearly meeting among other yearly meetings. The yearly meetings in Europe are small but active and they benefit from this support.
Annually Friends World Committee for Consultation Europe & Middle East Section hosts a gathering of Quaker peace workers who share their experiences and learn from each other.
We thank Rebecca, Sarah and Marisa for their work and for giving their reports.
S/12/02/9: Dates of Meeting for Sufferings 2013
Paper S12/02/F sets out proposed dates for Meeting for Sufferings in 2013, all at Friends House unless indicated otherwise, as follows:
Friday – Sunday 1-3 February 2013, residential at Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre
Saturday 13 April
Saturday 6 July
Saturday 5 October
Saturday 7 December
S/12/02/10: Membership and Appointments
a ) Membership of Meeting for Sufferings
The following Friends are nominated to, or have asked for release from, Meeting for Sufferings:
Release:
Anne Lewis Quaker Life Central Committee
John Nurse West Weald AM
Nominations:
Claire Edmunds South East London AM
Margaret Morton West Scotland AM
Sonia Relf Quaker Life Central Committee
Rhiannon Rees Quaker Peace & Social Witness Central Committee
We duly appoint the Friends named and thank the Friends released for their service.
We record the following Britain Yearly Meeting Trustees who took up appointment from 1 January 2012 or earlier and serve as members of Meeting for Sufferings ex officio:
To serve from the rise of Yearly Meeting 2011 until 31 December 2013:
Alison Ironside Central England AM
To serve from 1 January 2012 until 31 December 2014:
Reappointments:
Gethin Evans Mid-Wales AM
Sandy Horsfall London West AM
Appointments:
Dorothy Carson Gloucestershire AM
Nicolas Francis West Wiltshire & East Somerset AM
Ingrid Greenhow Chilterns AM
b) Central Nominations Committee
brings forward the names of the following Friends for service or release as indicated:
Church Government Advisory Group
To serve from 1.1.2012 until 31.12.2014
David Lewis nomination Hampshire & Islands AM
Richard Porter nomination Mid Somerset AM
Janet Quilley nomination Wensleydale and Swaledale
The clerk, by between meeting procedure, approved on our behalf the extension of service of Jeremy Greenwood (Ipswich & Diss AM) and Jeffrey Dean (Manchester & Warrington AM) to serve from the 1st to 31st January 2012 after their service would have ended on 31 December 2011. This was to allow work on Quaker faith & practice text to proceed as nominations for the new intake on the group were not ready.
Britain Yearly Meeting representatives to other European Yearly Meetings
Denmark Yearly Meeting 24 - 25 March 2012
John Miles nomination Gloucestershire AM
France Yearly Meeting (date unknown)
Hilary Pinder nomination Chilterns AM
Ireland Yearly Meeting 12-15 April 2012
Barbara Adshead nomination Northumbria AM
(one name to come)
Netherlands Yearly Meeting 17-20 May 2012
Judith Thurgood nomination Devon AM
Norway Yearly Meeting 26-28 May 2012
Sheila Gatiss nomination Cambridgeshire AM
Sweden Yearly Meeting 17-20 May 2012
Daphne Sanders nomination Lancashire Central & North AM
Switzerland Yearly Meeting 25-28 May 2012
Bridget Dunbar nomination East Cheshire AM
Meeting for Sufferings Support Group
To serve until Yearly Meeting 25-28 May 2012:
Rachel Milling nomination Swarthmoor AM
Meeting for Sufferings Arrangements Group
To serve until Yearly Meeting 25-28 May 2012
Janet Quilley renomination Wensleydale and Swaledale AM
Quaker Life Central Committee
To serve until 31.12.2012
Rosie Bailey nomination Gloucestershire AM
Quaker Peace & Social Witness Central Committee
To serve from 1.1.2012 until 31.12.2014
Rachel Berger nomination West Wiltshire & East Somerset AM
Julia Bush nomination Northamptonshire AM
Quaker Stewardship Committee Assistant Clerk
Release:
Viv Streets South Wales AM
(appointed in error in December 2011)
Members of The Retreat General Meeting
To serve until 31.12.2012
Shirley Torrens nomination Staffordshire AM
To serve 1.1.2012 until 31.12.2014
Rosemary Furzer nomination Hampshire & Islands AM
Derrick Whitehouse nomination Northamptonshire AM
BYM Representative to Friends World Committee for Consultation
Release:
Rosie Carnall Sheffield and Balby AM
We duly appoint the Friends named and thank the Friends released for their service.
We not that Allan Wright (Southern Marches AM), a trustee of the Quaker Housing Trust, has died and ask Central Nominations Committee to fill the vacancy so caused.
Search Group for Joseph Rowntree Foundation Trustee.
For information: Central Nominations Committee has appointed Deborah Rowlands (South Wales AM) to the Search Group to serve from 1.1.2012 until 31.12.2014 and to act as convenor.
S/12/02/11: Clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting Trustees report
Jonathan Fox, clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting Trustees, has reported on the work of Britain Yearly Meeting Trustees and has answered our questions.
The Quaker United Nations Office Geneva is being reviewed (Trustees’ December meeting minute 5) and we hope we can continue to support it.
The fundraising function of Britain Yearly Meeting will be within Communications & Services Department.
S/12/02/12: Advocacy (III) – Southern East Anglia Area Meeting
Further to minute S/11/12/5f we have returned to the minute received from Southern East Anglia Area Meeting on their concern for strengthening the work of advocacy in our yearly meeting, for which they are offering a generous increase on their contributions to Britain Yearly Meeting. We appreciate this offer.
We are united in appreciation of the work of advocacy being done at present, and we think it could be better publicised among Friends.
Some valuable observations included:
- Advocacy needs to be founded on experience, knowledge and facts. We need to build up our knowledge base to inform ourselves in areas where we don't have expertise. Opinion without knowledge is useless;
- We would suggest providing support for Quaker listed informal groups to increase their research;
- We remember that Quaker work includes making connections and building relationships with decision makers and opinion formers.
We are confident that those working in this area on our behalf are bringing the necessary focus, preparation and imagination to the task. We ask Trustees to continue in dialogue with Southern East Anglia Area Meeting, and to reflect further on how Britain Yearly Meeting advocacy be appropriately resourced. We will return to this concern at our next meeting in March.
S/12/02/13: Proposed revisions to Quaker faith & practice
Church Government Advisory Group forwards proposed amendments to Quaker faith & practice.
a) Chapter 16: Quaker marriage procedure (paper S/12/02/Ia)
Yearly Meeting 2011, by minute 30, adopted for the time being the draft Alternative A text of chapter 16 of Quaker faith & practice on Quaker marriage procedure, and asked for a further revised draft of chapter 16 to be prepared as soon as the Government regulations on civil partnerships in religious premises in England and Wales were available. Changes in the draft text incorporate guidance relating to the regulations on civil partnerships in religious premises regulations which came into force on 5 December 2011.
The Government plans to publish consultation proposals in March 2012 on equalising civil marriage for same sex and opposite sex couples in England and Wales, with a view to legislation by 2014. The Scottish Government is also consulting on similar issues. We do not yet know whether or how far this will affect Quaker marriage arrangements, but we expect further changes will be needed to this chapter in the next year.
We agree to the proposed changes and forward the draft text to Yearly Meeting 25-28 May 2012 for approval and adoption.
b) Chapter 6: Yearly Meeting (paper S/12/02/Ib)
Yearly Meeting 2011, by minute 11, adopted recommendations from Meeting for Sufferings affecting the holding of Yearly Meeting Gatherings and the membership and functions of Yearly Meeting Agenda Committee. Yearly Meeting asked Meeting for Sufferings, through Church Government Advisory Group, to prepare amended text for chapter 6 of Quaker faith & practice for bringing to Yearly Meeting 2012.
We agree to the proposed changes and forward the draft text to Yearly Meeting 25-28 May 2012 for approval and adoption.
c) Chapter 7: Meeting for Sufferings (paper S/12/02/Ic)
Yearly Meeting 2011, by minute 26, approved recommendations of the Review Group for reviewing Meeting for Sufferings and Britain Yearly Meeting Trustees that altered the membership and size of Meeting for Sufferings and the terms of reference of BYM Trustees. Yearly Meeting asked Meeting for Sufferings, through Church Government Advisory Group, to prepare amended text consequent on these decisions for bringing to Yearly Meeting 2012.
We agree to the proposed changes and forward the draft text to Yearly Meeting 25-28 May 2012 for approval and adoption.
S/12/02/14: Minutes received not taken elsewhere
a) From committees
We receive the following minutes:
i. Quaker Life Central Committee: strengthening our area meetings
We receive minute 11/164 of Quaker Life Central Committee held 25-27 November 2011, updating us on its response to our minute S/11/10/8 from its current consideration in committee and at Quaker Life Representative Council. Central committee would like to add to what was in our minute a strong focus on area meetings as the place where we look beyond our localities and become actively aware of the wider community of Britain Yearly Meeting and Friends worldwide.
b) From area meetings
We receive the following area meeting minutes:
i. Minute 7 of Hampshire & Islands Area Meeting held on 14 January 2012 concerning the renovation of the Large Meeting House (paper S/12/02/MC1). We forward this minute to Britain Yearly Meeting Trustees for advice.
ii. Minute 2011.123 of Central England Area Meeting held on 7 December 2011 on the report on Meeting for Sufferings (paper S/12/02/MC2). We note the support for the initiative taken by the Recording Clerk and his statement in support of Occupy UK.
iii. Minute 18/12 of West Scotland Area Meeting held on 21 January 2012 on Economic justice and sustainable global society events in and by the area meeting (paper S/12/02/MC3). We forward this minute to our Minute 36 Commitment Group for information.
iv. Minute 12.19 of North East Thames Area Meeting held on 21 January 2012 suggesting Quaker faith & practice should be available as an e-book. We forward this minute to the Yearly Meeting Publications Group
S/12/02/15: Correspondence received
As a Privileged Body, we have received a letter from the Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain’s Office inviting us to present a loyal address to the Queen, on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee, at Buckingham Palace on 27 March 2012 (paper S/12/02/H).
We have heard some reservations about the principle of offering a loyal address but we believe this is an opportunity to communicate what we hold most important.
The address will be drafted in the light of comments made in this meeting. We agree that the delegation should be made up of Friends representing different parts of the yearly meeting.
A draft of the address will be considered by the Meeting for Sufferings Arrangements Group at its meeting on 17th February. After this, we ask our clerk to approve and sign the address on our behalf.
Christine Cannon
Clerk
