Meeting for Sufferings: Progress on sustainability
Frances Voelcker reported on the progress of Britain Yearly Meeting's Sustainability Group
Frances Voelcker, a member of the Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) Sustainability Group, spoke to the group’s written report. She stressed that only half of Area Meetings have appointed representatives to attend the Sustainability Gathering at Swanwick, Derbyshire in March, and urged others to get involved.
Frances spoke of the progress made. She identified three main areas ‘where more work is needed’. These are: ‘Strengthening the sense of community around the commitment among Friends and Meetings’, ‘Developing a shared story about our sustainability commitment and its base in Quaker faith & practice, and ‘Implementing the [sustainability] commitment in the lives and practices of Friends and Meetings’.
A Friend said that he would urge his Area Meeting to send someone to the Sustainability Gathering. He added: ‘My Area Meeting has reached a plateau in sustainability terms,’ and explained that previously the focus had been on making a number of listed buildings more sustainable. ‘Now, it’s about different bits – for example changing our own lives,’ he said.
The same Friend added that the personal element – for instance whether or not to eat meat – makes the situation more difficult.
A Friend described her experiences at the last Sustainability Gathering. ‘It was so important in terms of generating more energy, connections, new ideas. It’s exactly when we have plateaued that we should get together,’ she said.
Another Friend spoke of her concerns with sustainability where it overlaps with other issues, such as Fair Trade. ‘We then find we are buying things that have travelled a very long way. How do we offset this?’ she asked.
A Friend felt it would be helpful to point Meetings towards one or two ‘really important areas’ of sustainability.
She mentioned hearing a radio report describing the United Kingdom as having some of the worst housing stock in Europe, in terms of energy usage.
