Hear, hear: Piers Voysey reports from GM for Scotland

‘It was a useful reminder of how General Meeting brings Area Meetings together.’

Once again we are meeting online. How nice it is to engage with Friends without leaving home, but how sad not to see them in person – so much is lost and a sense of togetherness is missing. I feel as though a bit of me is not entirely present in the Meeting.

Connection to the business matters is helped by able clerking (thank you Elizabeth Allen) and clear and interesting presentations from others. So many thanks to the team for making it work.

Significant business included the annual report and accounts, which Nigel Dower presented with just the right amount of detail. It was a useful reminder of how General Meeting (GM) brings Area Meetings together nationally.

It is good to hear that GM is in a strong enough financial position, although drawing on our reserves slightly. Approximately £5,000 is spent to ensure that our voice is heard where we feel it matters. This is in addition to the work of the Scottish parliamentary engagement officer.

Nominations have brought forward most of the names who will be part of a nine-month project to compile options for a new Quaker structure in Scotland. We want to improve administration and free up time to enhance our sense of community and feed our spiritual development.

This was the first GM for our new local development worker, Zoe Prosser. It’s good to welcome her, and hear more about her plans. She expects to work as a connector, as a facilitator, and to be generally encouraging while listening to our concerns. Zoe is warm and engaging and I look forward to working with her.

With the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow approaching, Quakers are putting in a lot of time to engage with it in a constructive way. Joyce Taylor gave an update on the work of the parliamentary engagement officer, Andrew Tomlinson, who is focussing on climate change and peace issues. He is working on a response to a planning application for a MoD range, and to bring more awareness to Scotland’s role in the arms industry. Efforts are ongoing to make his post a permanent position. Quakers across Scotland value the political engagement; it helps us speak beyond our size and emphasises our spiritual and secular engagement in society.

Hearing the reports from the Enquirers Day, Scottish Churches Housing Action, Faith in Community Scotland, the Interfaith Group on Domestic Abuse, Acts Group on Human Trafficking, and Together Scotland got me thinking about the power of work delivered by a diversity of volunteers. Listening to their reports is not just interesting, it is how we connect and support them with our attention. We are then better able to engage when strategic decisions are required. One Friend checked back over accounts – this is coming to Meeting prepared! Not all of us find time for this level of research, but it is so helpful if someone does!

This GM had few decisions but a lot of listening and gentle upholding, and acknowledging our capacity to influence our society.

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