Gifts of the Spirit

Tara Craig reports on Britain Yearly Meeting 2016

‘Our worship is a worship of listening: to the Spirit, to each other and to ourselves.’

These words of ministry were spoken by a Friend in an opening session of Yearly Meeting 2016 and set a tone and template for a gathering in which personal witness and story were a feature of worship and business sessions.

Friends House came alive for Yearly Meeting, with more than a thousand Friends gathering over the bank holiday weekend of 27 to 30 May. This was the second year of a three-year consideration in which Friends at Yearly Meeting addressed the subject of ‘Living out our faith in the world’. This year the focus was on ‘gifts’, and on how Friends are prompted to individual and corporate action.

In addition to members of Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends from a number of Yearly Meetings across the world were in attendance. The new garden at Friends House proved a popular space for those keen on getting some fresh air between sessions, while the corridors were packed with Friends chatting as they waited for refreshments or to speak to people at stalls. Children were much in evidence, too, particularly when the time came to bury the time capsule in front of Friends House on Sunday afternoon (see front cover).

The special interest groups, held on Saturday and Sunday between business sessions, were as varied as ever, offering everything from poems of persecution and torture to a mini-mindfulness session that caused a number of Friends to nod off. The Sunday Groups Fair illustrated a wide range of Quaker concerns. Both the Salter and Swarthmore Lectures were innovative in presentation and thought-provoking in content.

Outside the worship sessions, the atmosphere at Friends House was one of great busyness, bustle and activity, not least from the catering staff, who coped confidently and courteously with the sudden, dramatic increase in visitor numbers for the weekend.

Spirit-given gifts

Session two, on Saturday morning, focused on ‘Living out our faith in the world – using our gifts’. Friends considered three questions: ‘What do we mean when we speak of gifts of the Spirit?’, ‘Can you think of times when someone you know acted on a Spirit-given gift?’ and ‘How are you acting on your gifts?’

Gill Pennington of Central England Area Meeting described how the early loss of her mother set her on a path that helped her develop her gifts. She quoted the American theologian Frederick Buechner: ‘The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.’

One Friend spoke of ‘turning burdens into gifts’, while another described how the ability to make money could be a gift of the Spirit when it is used in the right way.

A Friend said: ‘The great gift of my life has been allowing others to discern my gifts for me.’ She explained that being asked to accept a nomination prompts one of three responses: knowing that you can do the work, knowing that you can’t but that you need to trust the discernment of those who have asked, or knowing that you don’t want to do it, but that someone else needs you to. This third response, she said, is the most testing, and requires trust in the Spirit.

The greatest gifts are ‘the ones that are invisible,’ said another Friend: ‘They are indistinguishable from the character of the person that holds them.’

Preparation Meetings

Session three saw Friends choose between three simultaneous ‘preparation meetings’: on Meeting for Sufferings, Quaker Stewardship Committee and Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) trustees.

More than 150 Friends were in the Large Meeting House for the preparation meeting for the BYM trustees’ annual report. A Friend asked the trustees how they could attract more young people with families. Ingrid Greenhow, clerk of the trustees, said that they are looking at this with Quaker Life Central Committee (QLCC). She asked QLCC co-clerk Jocelyn Burnell to speak.

Jocelyn said: ‘It is up to all of us in our Meetings to grow the Meeting.’ She added that work is being done to help Local Meetings with outreach, stressing that there are a lot of resources that Meetings are not availing themselves of.

A Friend spoke of a recent visit to Swarthmoor Hall in Cumbria and said she was delighted to see it much improved, with a new café and improved accommodation. The Friends House Hospitality Company (FHHC) is now responsible for Swarthmoor Hall.

A Friend spoke of the Canterbury commitment to sustainability in 2009 and asked: ‘Is there any sense of urgency around climate change and Meeting houses?’ BYM treasurer Peter Ullathorne said that ‘a tremendous amount’ had been done to improve the carbon footprint of Friends House. He added that the process is ongoing where Meeting houses are concerned, and that the Meeting Houses Fund can provide support at a financial level. At its last meeting, however, there were no applications for funding.

A Friend questioned the spending on fundraising. Peter Ullathorne explained that £3m of the £3.7m allocated to fundraising last year was spent on FHHC’s trading costs. He stressed that most of the actual fundraising is done by Meeting treasurers. Trustees were asked whether they had spoken to the Co-operative Bank about its ethical policy. A full review of BYM’s banking arrangements has been scheduled, Peter Ullathorne said.

Another Friend queried the relationship between BYM and Friends schools. Paul Parker, recording clerk,  said that the schools are independent of BYM.

A Friend expressed his concern that Business Meetings are no longer Spirit-led. He asked how trustees could ensure that their Meetings were. Sarah Donaldson, elder to Yearly Meeting trustees, answered: ‘We approach each item knowing it is work laid upon us by Yearly Meeting.’

The pay and pensions arrangements for FHHC staff were queried. Paul Parker said: ‘We treat all staff in one way. They have the same terms and conditions. We pay everybody well over the London Living Wage. All employees have access to the pension fund. We have a one to four ratio between the lowest and highest paid staff.’

Testing concerns

Following the preparation meetings Ethel Livermore, Meeting for Sufferings clerk, spoke to Sufferings’ annual report. She stressed that for Sufferings to work well, it must have a good relationship with Area Meetings.

A Friend spoke about testing concerns. He mentioned that a concern appeared to have come to his Area Meeting because Sufferings ‘didn’t know what to do with it’. He stressed that Sufferings is now much smaller and asked whether it lacks the breadth to deal with issues. Ethel answered that the concern was sent out for more discernment before coming back to Sufferings. She added that there are pros and cons to both large and small Sufferings. Catherine James, clerk of the Church Government Advisory Group, presented proposed amendments to Quaker faith & practice. The changes were mainly minor, reflecting changes to names of organisations and new laws.

Friends returned to ministering on gifts. One said that it is ‘about being there’, for example ‘sticking with it with a friend in distress’, and ‘providing comfort and discomfort’. He said: ‘We are not perfect, we are not angels, but we can be there, to provide consistent, loving support in so many different settings.’

Being a community

Session four followed a Meeting for Worship for all ages on Sunday morning, 29 May. It began with the annual report of the Central Nominations Committee (CNC). Catherine Putz and Christine Habgood-Coote described the role of nominations committees.

Catherine said: ‘We are a community and nominations committee helps to assemble this community from its component parts: it oils the wheels and gives it “oomph” to do the work.’

A Friend said that she had concerns about the nomination process. She stressed that discernment ‘has to come from the person hearing the voice’. She hoped that a conversation could be had before this voice is brought to someone.

Another Friend asked whether attenders could hold posts. There are not many roles for attenders, she was told, although some are linked to Young Friends General Meeting (YFGM). A Friend asked whether the different forms expressing interest in performing Quaker service could be combined.

Treasurer Peter Ullathorne spoke to BYM’s financial reports, describing the financial performance as ‘broadly satisfactory’. He spoke of the volatility of legacy receipts, and explained that ‘extra’ legacy money is set aside for short and medium-term projects. Among these are the Vibrancy in Meetings project and the new website, which is ‘broadly finished’.

Peter spoke also of his letter to Meeting treasurers, in which he had asked whether Meetings could increase their contribution from £150 per member to £200 or £250. He added: ‘We can’t say what we are using the £1m extra for until we know we will have it.’

A Friend appreciated the growing financial contribution made by FHHC, but asked: ‘Should we be concerned with the sources? If BAE Systems asked to rent this room, would we decline? What criteria have we given to the management of Friends House Hospitality?’ BAE would not be allowed to use Friends House, he was told.

Another Friend was concerned with the wellbeing of the staff at Quaker Life following the retirement of Richard Summers, the former general secretary. She asked for assurance that ‘proper support is being given to workers shouldering such a large burden’. The Friend was told that staff are being well looked after, and workloads monitored.

The annual report of the Quaker Stewardship Committee (QSC) was brought before Friends in session five, after lunch on Sunday. Clerk Ursula Fuller told Friends that QSC would be delighted to have input from Area Meetings regarding how it can help them. A member of the Quakers and Business Group repeated their offer to help Meetings.

Another Friend expressed a concern that trustee reports were written to meet the requirements of the Charity Commission, rather than the stricter requirements of Quaker faith & practice. Ursula said that reports are produced in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), but that there was ‘nothing to stop Area Meetings going beyond that in terms of accountability’.

Friends also heard about the review of the terms of reference for BYM trustees. A Friend said: ‘It seems to me that trustees are doing more and more without due consultation with Meeting for Sufferings and the relevant committees.’ She added: ‘It is at least as important that discernment should happen in the right place as that it meets the law.’ The terms of reference were accepted, and it was suggested that they be looked at again in 2018. The CNC terms of reference were also accepted.

Yearly Meeting then turned to the subject of recognising, testing and supporting a concern. One Friend spoke of his personal response to the promptings of the Spirit. Three members of Junior Yearly Meeting interviewed Craig Barnett, of Sheffield and Balby Area Meeting, about the testing of a concern that led to him establishing the ‘City of Sanctuary’ movement in Sheffield. He talked about his work on the project and also of his time, later, at Hlekweni in Zimbabwe. 

Gifts and concerns

The theme of how Friends thought about and interpreted the word ‘gifts’, and how they responded to them, produced some moving and challenging ministry. One Friend said her life had been transformed by coming to Quakerism twenty years ago. Since then, ‘everything had been initiated in a Quaker context without having a Quaker concern’. Another Friend said he had been ‘concerned about concerns’ for a long time: ‘When we started this Yearly Meeting, I was immediately aware that the gifts of the Spirit are listed in the Bible. Lots of Friends in the room are not aware of that’.

The Friend added: ‘Modern Quakers are making it up on the spot. Sometimes I see things on Quaker agendas and it worries me that the Quaker concern looks very much like the concerns of the secular world. Quakers now feel like the Liberal Party at prayer.’ A Friend responded: ‘If we are called to do something, we should do it.’

Session six, on Monday 30 May, focused on ‘movement building’. A Friend spoke of a concern that prompted him to carry out an action at Heathrow Airport. Another said: ‘I don’t have a sense of a concern laid on me. It is more a sense of – there is work I have felt for a long time that I have to do’.

A Friend urged Quakers to be much more specific in what they do. He said: ‘What we are lacking is nationally agreed goals. We can’t do everything, Friends! We need to make priorities’.

Clerk Deborah Rowlands told Friends that the focus of Yearly Meeting Gathering in 2017 will be on ‘working with others’.

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Comments

I can only see one man.
Were there any more?

By andavane on 3rd June 2016 - 20:28

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