Action plan: Mary Aiston prepares for Yearly Meeting

‘This is not a quick process. It takes time and a lot of work.’

I had been to Yearly Meeting (YM) several times before I thought to ask: who sets the agenda for it?

The answer is that the agenda is discerned by Yearly Meeting Agenda Committee (YMAC), a committee that does what it says on the tin, and of which I have now been part for three years.

Before considering YMAC’s work, it is worth thinking about the purpose of Yearly Meeting. As set out in Quaker faith & practice (Qfp) 6.05, YM is there to take decisions, but also to guide, teach, inspire, celebrate, and call us to action.

This means that YMAC seeks to identify some key things: questions that have to come to Yearly Meeting because only Yearly Meeting can answer them; issues that Friends are expecting to come up, perhaps because the next Yearly Meeting is part of a series considering a single subject; and topics that fall into one or more of the functions in Qfp 6.05.

The committee gathers input from a range of sources. First, members of the committee are all local Friends who worship in Meetings across Britain, covering a wide age range. Some are steeped in central work, and some are serving on a central committee for the first time. Second, we hear from Quaker bodies, which share their discernment on what questions might usefully come to the next YM. These bodies are listed in Qfp 6.18 and reflect input from hundreds of Friends. Thirdly, Area Meetings send us minutes.

Our discernment on all this input takes account of – but is not limited to – practical matters, such as the time available and the needs of Friends of all ages. Yearly Meeting is not a conference; we might discern that there is an overarching theme, but we might not.

We listen hard, and spot when a theme comes up more than once, but we do not simply count the number of Friends who have raised an issue. Sending a minute to YMAC is not like writing to your MP. The questions asked at YM might be the biggest issues facing the world right now, but they might not be. Not everything has to come to YM; there are many other ways to share and work on a concern.

This is not a quick process. It takes time and a lot of work to convert ideas into an effective agenda, with preparation sessions. We seek to have a good sense of what the agenda might include by January (see Meeting for Sufferings report, 14 December 2023), so that we can give Friends the necessary information and time to prepare. The work can be frustrating, and it can be joyful, surprising and adventurous.

When the agenda is set, the committee lets it go. Once matters are put before Yearly Meeting, it is up to the leading of the spirit as to what is discerned. It may go in a direction nobody foresaw. And, once YM has agreed a minute, it is up to the leading of the spirit as to what happens next. What difference does a Yearly Meeting minute make? Well, that is one of the questions we expect to bring to YM in 2024.

Mary is second assistant clerk to Yearly Meeting 2024.

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