Meeting for Sufferings: Yearly Meeting 2024
'Things might look a little different, but the aim was to be more inclusive, particularly across the generations.'
After a shuffle break, Friends heard from Adwoa Burnley, clerk of Yearly Meeting (YM). She introduced the agenda for YM 2024, which will be held on 26–30 July at Friends House. This longer Meeting was an experiment, said Adwoa, and it would involve sessions in smaller groups. Things might look a little different, but the aim was to be more inclusive, particularly across the generations. Some sessions would be online, some in-person, and some would blend both.
Junior Yearly Meeting, for young Quakers aged fourteen to eighteen, would take place at the same time, while there would be day programmes for other age groups.
Discernment at YM would consider proposals from the group reviewing Yearly Meeting, she said, on changes to national Quaker structures. She hoped Friends would build on last year’s ministry from Diane Randall, on speaking truth in love, and on Thomas Penny’s Swarthmore lecture about creating a ‘kinder ground’ for mutual consideration. The Meeting would also hear from the Quaker Truth & Integrity group.
Those attending would be asked to consider the meaning of Yearly Meeting minutes. Were they personal or collective expressions? What difference does a YM minute make?
To accommodate the longer Meeting and different sessions, the Agenda Committee had secured the use of nearby Woburn House, said Adwoa. Saturday and Sunday would involve exploratory sessions, with a ‘celebration event’ on Sunday evening.
Responding, one Friend wanted to know whether YM would have any focus on the climate crisis. Adwoa took a moment to respond. Friends would be doing this work in the context of what was happening in society, she said – not just amid a climate crisis, but ‘we may be at war’. The ‘difficulties we’re in, in the world right now’ were obviously weighing on her. ‘I hope we can listen with love to the Spirit,’ she said.
The resulting MfS minute also accepted the dates for YM 2025 and 2026: Friday 23 May to Monday 26 May 2025; and Friday 1 May to Monday 4 May 2026.
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