Meeting for Sufferings: Implications of Book of Discipline revision
Meeting for Sufferings heard about revisions to Church Government and the implications of the revision of the Book of Discipline
Mark Tod, convenor of the Church Government Advisory Group (CGAG), spoke to Meeting for Sufferings on Friday 23 November about implications of the decision to revise Quaker faith & practice (Qf&p), and the revised text pertaining to Central Nominations Committee and Yearly Meeting Nominating Group.
It was felt, Mark Tod said, that the first sentence of Qf&p 4.23, dealing with disputes, was ‘a bit negative’ and ‘in need of updating’.
On the proposed new text, a Friend said: ‘I like the sentence “[we] are not immune to conflict”. It sets the right tone. We need to know that and have humility.’
Another Friend said: ‘It is good practice that we have words understood by those not well-versed in the workings of Quaker committees.’
One Friend told Sufferings: ‘From a position of inexperience, my heart lifted. It’s such a move towards the simplicity we’re seeking.’
In the view of a Friend from Scotland, ‘a serious point about unity’ was being made. He asked: ‘Do we always take lessons learned back to Meeting for Sufferings?’
Paul Parker, recording clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), identified a problem as: ‘What shall we do about church government while a review of Quaker faith & practice is going on?’ It was not easy, he said, dealing with two books in parallel – ‘the current book and the new book we are still imagining’. The paper before Sufferings offered a way of ‘simplifying’ the process. ‘It could be a gift to Yearly Meeting.’
A Friend said: ‘I hope this will be done. Matters relating to the two different books should be kept separate and this seems a good way of doing it.’
Sufferings agreed to offer to take on the responsibility of ensuring church government is kept up to date while the review of Qf&p is ongoing.
After two small amendments, Sufferings agreed to the proposed textual changes, which will be forwarded to Yearly Meeting.
