Meeting for Sufferings: The beating heart
The first Meeting for Sufferings of the new triennium was held on Saturday 4 July
The first Meeting for Sufferings of the new triennium was held at Friends House, London on Saturday 4 July.
The tone for the morning was set with an arresting image during opening worship, where a parallel was drawn between what the heart is to the body and what Meeting for Sufferings is to the Religious Society of Friends in Britain. A Friend reflected that the heart, quietly going about its business, pumps blood to the organs, nourishing the body that houses the soul.
Forty-five of the 115 Friends who had registered in advance were attending Sufferings for the first time. In order to lay the foundations for the coming three-year term, the morning sessions were given over to an induction.
Introductions began with the clerks’ table, then moved to the room at large. Representatives were asked to raise their hands if they were new to Sufferings, had undertaken roles at Local and Area Meeting level or had ever served as trustees. An opportunity was then available for Friends to speak with each other about their hopes and fears for the coming triennium.
Ethel Livermore, clerk of Meeting for Sufferings, spoke of the role of the Meeting. She drew on Quaker faith & practice 7.01 for a whistle-stop tour of the history – from the Meeting’s formation in 1675, through the first women taking their seats in 1898 and the creation of the trustee body in 2006, to the Meeting being reduced in size three years ago.
Speaking about Sufferings today, Ethel quoted the first paragraph of Quaker faith & practice 7.02: ‘Meeting for Sufferings is the standing representative body entrusted with the general care of matters affecting Britain Yearly Meeting and, in the intervals between Yearly Meetings, the making of decisions and the issuing of statements in the name of Britain Yearly Meeting. Within our church government it exercises discernment on priorities and receives regular interim reports for information and consultation on the Britain Yearly Meeting trustees’ work. It has a part to play in developing a visionary and prophetic role for the whole Yearly Meeting and in fostering communication throughout the Yearly Meeting.’
Paul Parker, recording clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting, introduced centrally managed work, gave an overview of Britain Yearly Meeting’s structures and spoke about Sufferings’ role in discernment.
He drew on chapter eight of Quaker faith & practice, including the three elements of centrally managed work: ‘first discernment and decision-making; secondly governance; thirdly management. Friends in Local Meetings, Area Meetings, Meeting for Sufferings and at Yearly Meeting in session are responsible for the discernment and decisions about the work that needs to be carried out… [Britain Yearly Meeting Trustees and Quaker committees] are responsible for the governance and oversight of this work… Staff are responsible for the management of this work.’
Jennifer Barraclough, clerk to Britain Yearly Meeting trustees, and Ingrid Greenhow, who will be taking over as clerk in January 2016, introduced the trustee body and spoke of its role within Yearly Meeting processes.
Rachael Swancott, alternate representative from Young Friends General Meeting, got Friends talking to each other with a session on Quaker business method. She asked those present to consider what discernment is, when it starts and how long it should last.
The practicalities of how Meeting for Sufferings works were also presented. Ursula Fuller, of East Kent Area Meeting, introduced the Meeting for Sufferings Arrangements Group and shared the process by which agendas are formed. Kate Green, of North East Thames Area Meeting, explained the role of the Meeting for Sufferings Support Group, who act as elders and overseers for the Meeting.
Juliet Prager, deputy recording clerk for Britain Yearly Meeting, described how minutes sent to Meeting for Sufferings are dealt with and emphasised that when Meeting for Sufferings adopts a concern this has ‘profound implications’ for everyone in the Yearly Meeting.
An experiment in expediting the business of Sufferings was introduced by Anne Ullathorne, assistant clerk of Meeting for Sufferings. A new practice of tabling draft minutes on the day of the Meeting has been introduced in an effort to be more efficient, particularly when dealing with routine business. Anne welcomed any feedback Friends have on this innovation. She went on to say that draft minutes were not intended to constrain the Meeting, as with Quakerism you can ‘never know for sure what’s going to happen’.
Another report will follow next week.
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