Diana Francis after delivering the Swarthmore Lecture. Photo: Trish Carn.
Britain Yearly Meeting 2015
News from Britain Yearly Meeting 2015, held at Friends House, London, from 1 to 4 May
Swarthmore Lecture 2015
The 2015 Swarthmore Lecture, entitled Faith, power and peace, was given by the peace campaigner Diana Francis on Saturday evening to over 1,000 people in the Large Meeting House.
In a very personal and inspiring lecture, she considered the Quaker Peace Testimony in relation to the current global context and drew on her own experience of peacemaking in many different countries.
Her lecture was rooted in her deep Quaker faith and illuminated throughout by her passionate conviction in the values that have underpinned her work.
Friends’ statement on proposal to sell housing stock
The proposal to extend the ‘right to buy’ legislation to housing associations has been strongly criticised in a statement made on behalf of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain.
The statement, which was made during Britain Yearly Meeting, states that ‘a home is essential for our spiritual wellbeing, not just for our physical and mental health’ and argues that the continuing housing crisis and inequality in housing is a ‘damaging symptom of injustice in our society.’
It asserts that Quakers are called to ‘resist and challenge policies that contribute to inequality and exclusion from access to housing, whether social housing or the private sector. One of these is the proposal to extend “right to buy” legislation to housing associations’.
Legacy funds pilot scheme revealed
Legacies given to Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) in 2014 have exceeded expectations, Friends were told by Peter Ullathorne, treasurer to BYM. They accounted for £3.7m of the Society’s income.
Yearly Meeting was told that a way of releasing the excess into projects which honour testators’ intentions. This will see £1.5m spent over three years.
A Friend asked how the spending of the legacy money is being prioritised and who is making the decisions. Peter explained that the general secretaries of Quaker Peace & Social Witness and Quaker Life Central Committee had attended the last BYM trustees’ meeting to discuss the legacy spending. The priorities had been decided by central committees.
Recording clerk Paul Parker listed a number of the projects made possible by the legacy funds. These include the appointment of a parliamentary engagement officer in Scotland, the redevelopment of the BYM website and work to increase engagement with Meetings.
First all-female clerking team in 2016
For the first time in Britain Yearly Meeting’s history there will be an all-female team clerking at Yearly Meeting next year.
In 2016 Deborah Rowlands, of South Wales Area Meeting, will be clerk; Clare Scott Booth, of London West Area Meeting, will be first assistant clerk; and Siobhan Haire, of North London Area Meeting, will be second assistant clerk.
Large Meeting House
The history of the refurbishment of the Large Meeting House was described to Friends on Friday evening at Britain Yearly Meeting.
It was a proud moment for Sandy Horsfall and Rowena Loverance, co-clerks of the Large Meeting House Project Board, when they addressed hundreds of Friends, comfortably seated in the bright, modern, new space. The journey to get to that moment had involved an enormous amount of sacrifice and effort over many years.
The brief to the new architects, John McAslan + Partners, was the same as that given to the original architect, Hubert Lidbetter: to make use of light and to ensure that, when Friends came for Yearly Meeting, it was possible for everyone to see each other.
The new design of the Large Meeting House, which has been nominated for a Royal Institute of British Architects award, was described as ‘an inspired reworking’ of the original brief and Sandy Horsfall and Rowena Loverance praised the ‘wonderful team’ who had made it possible. They explained that, despite some difficulties along the way, the project had been brought in within budget. Several Friends complemented the team involved and praised the design.
2016 Swarthmore lecturers announced
Two African peacebuilders are to be the Swarthmore lecturers for 2016, the final session of Yearly Meeting heard. Esther Mombo, of Bware Yearly Meeting, Kenya, and Céclie Nyiramana, of Rwanda Yearly Meeting, will focus on the peacebuilding work of East African Quakers.
Patterns of membership
Friends, in the session on Friday evening, welcomed several innovations that had been made in the presentation of data dealing with current membership of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain.
Paul Parker, recording clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), explained how the data in the 2014 tabular statement of membership figures had been worked on to make it more informative and interesting.
He highlighted how information, for example, on the size and composition of Local Meetings, had been looked at and gave some examples of the insights gained. Fifty-eight per cent of Local Meetings had fewer than twenty members, while eighty per cent of Quakers in Britain are in Local Meetings with more than twenty. 295 Local Meetings, he said, list children. In sixty-seven there is no Children’s Meeting.
Friends were reminded that the tabular statement data and Patterns of membership document are available on the BYM website (www.quaker.org.uk/ym).
Trustees’ report prompts questions about investments
Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM)’s investment policy was highlighted when the trustees presented their report and accounts to Yearly Meeting.
A Friend questioned the ethics of investment, which he likened to gambling. He also felt that investment involves ‘extracting value from the labour of others’. He then asked whether BYM would be able to carry out its activities without financial reliance on investment.
Peter Ullathorne, treasurer to BYM, said: ‘We do not take the view that we are gambling. The Society is a responsible investor. We hold shares for the long term. We engage with companies where we regard them as not behaving well.’ He said that the question of extracting income from the labour of others was too wide a topic for him to answer ‘off the cuff’. Peter added that BYM would be able to continue without relying on investment if Friends were to donate an additional million pounds each year.
Another Friend asked whether BYM would invest in tidal lagoon energy, which she described as ‘an indigenous form of renewable energy’.
Peter replied that BYM has some investments in renewable energy, but wouldn’t want ‘an undue concentration’ in its portfolio. He added that the selection of stocks is left to the brokers, but reassured Friends that the brokers responsible had been given strong guidance to look for such opportunities.
Website development
Friends had a preview of the new Britain Yearly Meeting website during the bank holiday weekend. They were given a range of exercises and asked to test the site, which is currently in development.
Friends heard that the team involved had considered the groups of people likely to use the site and their reasons for doing so. They considered the needs of thirteen distinct groups, including journalists, politicians, enquirers and Quakers. Representatives of each group were consulted.
The site will grow organically, with material and facilities added as needed. The development team is looking for people to help them test the site and provide feedback. Friends interested in helping should contact Jane Dawson at Friends House.
Electronic bulletin boards a big success
An innovation at Yearly Meeting was the use of electronic bulletin boards to provide information for Friends on where different activities were happening during the weekend.
The bulletin boards are used during the week to identify which rooms are being hired, and for which groups, within Friends House. The innovation at Yearly Meeting was widely praised.
