General Meeting for Scotland: Carolyn Burch reports

‘In our worship sharing there was a sense of uplift.’

As is now usual our Meeting was ‘blended’, with twenty-six Friends in Glasgow and almost fifty online. This was a high turnout and, though we still feel a pang at not all being together, we are glad that technology allows for the inclusion of Friends for whom home-based attendance is a great bonus.

We do celebrate being able to get together in person, however. One great example of this is the Families weekend at Pitlochry. Last year’s weekend was much appreciated, and we hope this year’s will be another step in strengthening our all-age community. The theme will be ‘Peace at the Heart’, which links with: BYM’s Peace at the Heart report, the associated Teach Peace pack, and a travelling exhibition, which will be at the Scottish Parliament in September.

Friends around Scotland are being encouraged to host the exhibition in their own Area. Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Engagement Working Group (PEWG) is arranging an additional event at the parliament the week before the exhibition, on 21 September (International Day of Peace). Mary Troup will take a group of primary school children to Holyrood to perform a storytelling/music piece on a peace theme. Other PEWG work involves responding to the Scottish government’s consultation on its Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan. These are relevant to climate justice and economic justice, two of the group’s priority areas. Advocacy work continues, despite the departure of our excellent parliamentary engagement officer, Andrew Tomlinson, who takes up a new role at Christian Aid. By our next Meeting we hope to have a new officer in post.

We were pleased to find that the 2022 Tabular Statement shows that Quaker numbers in Scotland remain stable, with attender numbers on the rise – though of course there are also sad losses of older members. We do however face real problems in filling roles – trustees for example. We are so grateful to the trustees for their work, especially those who have worked painstakingly to complete a shortened and clarified set of safeguarding guidelines.

We are looking forward to hearing more from the Options for Scotland group at our next Meeting. It is considering how to reshape our structures and liberate our energies. Zoe Prosser led us in a reflection session. We are living with losses, fears and challenges, but in our worship sharing there was a sense of uplift. Much hope and determination was expressed – Scottish Quakers are still energised and have a strong bond, even if we are formed of many small, scattered groups. Younger Friends are coming in; there is rejuvenation of Local Meetings; and new people are joining us. There are new ways of doing things, and new ways to connect in a spirit of worship. We continue to work with others on shared concerns: we heard reports, for example, from Friends working with ecumenical and interfaith colleagues, and with Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees. Our gathering, sharing and reflection reminded us again of how much we want to do, how much we have to be grateful for, and what inspires us to continue.

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