Saturday vigil outside Friends House
Meeting for Sufferings: Sombre start
‘We also hear the cry of those in despair which draws out our compassion… When we know what we have to do, how to do it will come.’
Although Meeting for Sufferings did not fully consider Ukraine until Sunday morning, Friends were understandably concerned with the subject all weekend. So in this issue we have deviated from our usual chronological report and added Oliver Robertson’s introduction to Sunday’s worship, on page 14. The rest of the account is sequential, as normal.
Most representatives chose the online option for the March Meeting, which would in more ordinary times have been a residential weekend. For those who made it to Friends House – some forty or so – the joys of in-person fellowship were tempered by the devastating news from Ukraine. The Meeting opened with a reading from Quaker faith & practice 29.02: ‘We also hear the cry of those in despair which draws out our compassion… When we know what we have to do, how to do it will come.’ The following ministry was entirely silent.
After dealing with some straightforward business – adding Friends to the Prison & Court Register for protesting climate causes, and the Quaker Truth & Integrity group becoming a Quaker Recognised Body – representatives heard Caroline Nursey, clerk to Britain Yearly Meeting trustees, give a report. Minutes from trustee Meetings formed part of the weekend’s agenda, so Caroline instead talked about how BYM was working towards its three priorities – thriving Quaker communities; a sustainable, peaceful world; and simplifying structures and practices.
Much of the community work was now being done by local development workers, she said, and outlined some ways LDWs had been assissting Local Meetings. A new ‘Faith in Action’ team was pursuing a sustainable, peaceful world, formed from staff from Quaker Peace & Social Witness and the BYM communications team. Peace and sustainability work was happening in various ways, from peace education in Britain to collaborative work in East Africa. Ecumenical accompaniers were again visiting Israel/occupied Palestine.
Simplification work was happening locally, but also included new financial systems and an intranet.
Responding, one Friend said he was still hearing from BYM staff about their concerns with recent reorganisations; they were feeling insecure. Caroline said most restructuring was complete, and there were no more plans for redundancies; but she did believe that change was necessary. She expected staff to become happier over time.
Another Friend wanted to celebrate some learning that had been happening at her Area Meeting as a result of work trustees had asked them to do. Implementing essential safeguarding measures had seen Friends overcome several barriers – it had been a useful discipline.
Ahead of schedule, representatives then turned to the report they were to offer to Yearly Meeting on their work in 2021. A Friend wanted to note that, given that MfS had been given a responsibility for sustainability, ‘we’re a long way from being a sustainable community’. Also, had any progress been made on non-geographic membership? The pandemic had meant Friends worshipping online all over the world. And what about diversity? Another representative thought it would be helpful to add a paragraph on MfS’s experimentation with different forms of blended Meeting.
Responding, Margaret Bryan, clerk to MfS, said that Quaker Life was deliberating on non-geographic membership. A Friend from its central committee said that some of these issues went beyond what QLCC usually does, but they were willing to report on it. Margaret said all these concerns would form part of a redrafting.
In an Epilogue, Friends heard the poem ‘Go to the Limits of Your Longing’ by Rainer Maria Rilke: ‘God speaks to each of us as he makes us.’
