Meeting for Sufferings: Britain Yearly Meeting trustees
Jennifer Barraclough spoke to Meeting for Sufferings about the work of Britain Yearly Meeting trustees
A very positive note was sounded by Jennifer Barraclough, clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) trustees, when she spoke to Meeting for Sufferings (MfS) of the work of the group. BYM trustees, she was pleased to report, had recently ‘caught up’ with a lot of work. The review of Standing Committees, which she described as a ‘substantial piece of work’, is almost finished.
There were nods around the room when she reminded Friends that ‘time is a key resource’ and a few more when she recited a favourite rhyme: ‘Vision is what keeps the work alive. Planning is what helps it thrive.’
Jennifer also mentioned the investment policy of BYM and spoke about the progress of a revision of Quaker faith & practice.
In February MfS recommended to Yearly Meeting that a process for revision be initiated. In April MfS agreed to set up a Review Preparation Group to support Friends across Britain in a period of threshing and exploration before beginning a revision. MfS asked that staffing resources be made available to support the work of this group.
Helen Rowlands, who is shortly to retire as head of education at the Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre in Birmingham, is to be seconded to Britain Yearly Meeting for an initial period of one year to support this process. Friends supported this initiative.
Jennifer stressed that it was for Yearly Meeting Gathering in August to make the final decision over whether to proceed with a new Book of Discipline and reminded Friends that it was a ‘live’ resource for Quakers in Britain.
The decision of BYM trustees to meet outside London, at Friargate Meeting in York, was widely appreciated. Jennifer spoke positively of this experience and of her sense of service as a privilege, rather than a chore. She also talked of the ‘joyful experience’ of service and of the insight that it gave her in being able to see the wide range of work being done by Quakers.
