Meeting for Sufferings: December 2024 morning session
Including: the review of Quaker Recognised Bodies, an update from the Book of Discipline Revision Committee, and the Britain Yearly Meeting Trustees' report
Early business
As Storm Darragh swept parts of the UK, thirty-six Quakers made it to Friends House for Meeting for Sufferings (MfS), with almost fifty attending online. Opening worship included pre-prepared ministry from Quaker faith & practice 3.02, reminding Friends of the ‘silent waiting’ for divine guidance which distinguished Quaker discernment from more secular decision-making by consensus. The first five items were taken on draft minute (with some minor amendments). These included membership for MfS; appointments from Central Nominations Committee (CNC); Prison and Court Register; Spirit-led employment practices; and Quaker Recognised Bodies (renewing Dubane Support Group and laying down Friends Therapeutic Community Trust (FTCT), the charity linked to Glebe House).
Elizabeth Allen, assistant clerk of MfS, said she felt ‘very grateful’ for the ‘energy’ of Quakers on the Prison and Court Register. Two Just Stop Oil activists were registered: Viv Shah, from Leicester Area Meeting (AM), and Pasha Bell, from Devon AM.
Friends were also alerted to three minutes, from Leeds, Southern Marches, and York AMs, ‘flagging up deep concern about the consequences for peaceful protest that the enhanced police powers are resulting in’, said Elizabeth. Would Friends like this as an item before MfS in future? There were nods of agreement.
Some Friends asked if a resource on ‘Spirit-led employment practices’, from Lancashire Central and North AM, could be sent to Quaker schools, to which Paul Parker, recording clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), said yes, but emphasised they were independent bodies and suggested sending it to Quaker Recognised Bodies (QRBs).
Friends expressed ‘huge sadness’ about the closure of Glebe House, a residential centre for young men and boys with harmful sexual behaviour. It had been ‘a painful process for all those involved,’ Friends heard, including the young people who were not properly safeguarded. For nearly sixty years, the centre did ‘incredible, necessary, pioneering work and helped so many troubled, damaged boys and young men,’ one Friend said. Another asked where FTCT’s assets were going. While independent and not in BYM’s care, Paul Parker said that, as a charity, FTCT trustees were bound to use assets towards the same purposes as set down in its founding principles, which is what he understood was happening.
Review of QRBs
Friends agreed to new terms of reference for a review of the process for registering as Quaker Recognised Bodies, to take place in 2025.
The recommendations came from a group set up this summer to assess the current process and determine whether there should be a more in-depth review.
Meeting three times, the group had reviewed the documentation for registering and concluded that a full review of the process would be helpful.
Elizabeth Allen said the report mostly advised that there should be ‘clarity about what we mean by core Quaker values’, without assuming a shared understanding. The report also concludes that the current process is ‘tick-box’ and ‘maybe we need some more conversations’ with groups seeking to be QRBs.
Friends welcomed a more in-depth review, with one asking for it to include ‘what we do if there are difficulties with the QRB’. This situation has arisen in the past ‘where there didn’t seem to be a process for dealing with that’. Another wondered if there was sufficient capacity to undertake the review, while one Quaker asked if the terms of reference should consider the ‘accountability’ of QRBs ‘if statutory concerns are raised’ as these carry ‘severe reputational risks’.
Friends cleared a draft minute accepting the group’s proposals, including: ‘We are reminded that further work needs to be done regarding accountability… and the risk of reputational damage that activities may have for BYM’.
Book of Discipline Revision Committee
Friends heard an update from the Book of Discipline Revision Committee (BDRC). Sharing a series of thought-provoking images, Rosie Carnall, co-clerk of BDRC, spoke to its annual report, saying that being part of the group was ‘a remarkable experience’ full of ‘challenge, spirit and growth’. Another aspect of the work was ‘to look to the future and intuit a book that will be useful in decades to come. Ours is a fast changing world and it can be challenging to look ahead’.
The annual report set out a timeline for 2025 and said BDRC was confident it was on track to present a first draft of the book to Yearly Meeting in 2027. ‘We have adopted detailed project plans and timelines for the phases of work up to 2030.’
‘As a committee we need to ask ourselves how the [book]… can be simple, flexible and accessible, while conveying the beauty, challenge, risk and joy of our experience,’ said Rosie. ‘We need you to consider this too.’ What ‘fancy tricks’ might Friends be willing to relinquish’ in order to welcome more diversity?
The group was in the middle of the process, said Catherine Brewer, co-clerk of BDRC. ‘We need to reassess all the work we have done so far. How does it fit together? Are there gaps, duplication?… It can feel daunting,’ she added, asking Friends to uphold them.
Rather than sharing the topics separately, the clerks said they preferred for Friends to view the first draft as a whole, to see how it all fits together. ‘This is a collaborative process,’ emphasised Rose. Likening it to preparing a meal, she said: ‘We’re spending a long time preparing this book… We hope you will enjoy it when it comes to the table. Not every passage will speak to you but we want everyone to… find the sustenance they need.’
In ministry, one Friend said they were grateful for the ‘huge amount of work’ but said: ‘My anxiety is around if we can do it step by step [by sharing further draft texts] and bring people with us… then we will end up with a better first draft’. She asked them to say more about possible forms of engagement’.
Mentioning statistics from The Future of British Quakerism Conference, that ‘twenty per cent of [Quakers] consider themselves non-theist’, another Friend asked for the revised book to ‘explicitly acknowledge’ this variety of theological voices.
Rosie said that ‘variety of experience’ was ‘at the core of our work’, and the group had been ‘appointed as a diverse committee… That’s part of our thoughts on asking you to be willing to wait to see the whole draft’. The text will use a range of terms for God, but Friends will only get a picture of the overall coherence if they see it all together.
BDRC was also liaising with groups including the Quaker Disability Group, Quaker Rainbow, the Black, Brown and People of Colour Fellowship, Young Friends General Meeting, and the Nontheist Friends Network.
The final draft minute encouraged Friends to share the group’s exercises with their Meetings, and ‘engage with the work of BDRC’.
BYM trustees’ report
In the last morning item, Marisa Johnson, clerk of BYM trustees, spoke about the trustee’s recent work. As they had only recently met on 22 November, the report was delivered orally, with minutes provided beforehand. In the Meeting, trustees had approved the budget to 2025 and agreed the operational plan from 2025 to 2027, she said. Trustees were also considering adding capacity to BYM’s senior management team to support the immense work required to move to a continuing Yearly Meeting in 2026. This would be in the form of a senior change leader for Quaker governance, for a fixed term of two years.
‘We also received the annual report from the Health, Safety and Environmental Committee and a report from the Reparations Working Group,’ Marisa said, as well as a report from Woodbrook about its ‘Climate Crisis: Spiritual nurture and learning project’. Meanwhile, a new risk framework was created. Much time was spent considering the work of Group to Review Central Structures (GRCS), set up to make structures simpler and more sustainable. The group ran a consultation in September and October in which Friends shared their hopes and concerns about possible new committee structures. It was ‘clear that Friends do see a need for changes to structures’, Marisa said. However GRCS ‘could not find unity on specific proposals’ and considers ‘now is not the right time to lay Quaker Life and Quaker Peace & Social Witness central committees down’ in favour of creating a central single committee.
Trustees have accepted the group’s recommendations, said Marisa. ‘However, we intend to work with our central committees to address the need to allocate and prioritise resources across Britain Yearly Meeting’s charitable programmes, as well as to explore how to build greater participation in Quaker work by Friends not currently engaged.’
Trustees plan to lay GRCS down after they have a chance to ‘debrief’ and bring any recommendations for ways forward.
Paul Whitehouse, Yearly Meeting (YM) treasurer, then reported on the proposed budget for 2025, which, according to the minutes, ‘represents an operating deficit of £1.24 million on unrestricted funds’ and ‘efforts in coming years will aim to return us to a balanced position’. (The Friend will report more on the budget next week.)
In ministry, one Friend acknowledged ‘the courage’ of GRCS in taking its decision. Another Quaker suggested that a time-limited group should be set up to oversee the proposed post of change leader. Paul Parker said, ‘We’ve been thinking about something similar,’ but they were still considering the best approach.
The minute noted that the budget for 2025 and operational plan for 2025-2027 had been approved.
See www.quaker.org.uk/mfspapers for the Meeting minutes. Next week: the afternoon session.
Comments
I share the Friends’ ‘huge sadness’ about the closure of Glebe House, a residential centre for young men and boys with harmful sexual behaviour. One of the weighty Friends in Colchester meeting was a trustee there for years and reported regularly and it always sounded like Glebe House did amazing and unique work with dangerous and damaged young men and boys.
By Robbie Spence on 12th December 2024 - 12:28
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