Area Meeting Review- Draft Final Report- March 2011

NOTTS AND DERBY QUAKERS

OUR QUAKER FUTURE

REPORT OF THE AREA MEETING REVIEW GROUP

Margaret Brandram
Roger Clarke
Roger Sanderson
John Sturt

Draft for consideration by Local Meetings

March 2011

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Our approach

3. Travelling together

4. Building community

5. Improving communication

6. Inspiring business

7. Securing implementation

Appendices

Appendix A: Background to the Review Group

Appendix B: Extract from Quaker Faith and Practice

Appendix C: Consultation summary

Appendix D: Size of Local Meetings

Appendix E: The work of Friends in other Area Meetings

1. Introduction

1. The Review Group was established by Area Business Meeting in autumn 2009. Its purpose, broadly defined, was to review, and recommend ways of strengthening, the life of the Area Meeting. The Review Group has four members; one from Bakewell Local Meeting, one from Chesterfield, and two from Nottingham. The Review Group has held an extensive programme of meetings and consultations. Information about our work is at Appendix A. This is a draft of our final report. Area Business Meeting [ABM] has asked that it be sent to Local Meetings for consideration. It will then be revised to take account of comments, before being presented to ABM.

   
   

2. We would like to hear from Friends, either in Local Meetings or as individuals, by the end of April 2011. Please send your comments to:

   
   

Roger Clarke
Gordon Lodge
Snitterton
Matlock DE4 2JG

01 62 9 58 21 22

roger m clarke @ tiscali.co.uk    (remove the spaces - there are there to fool the robot email address and telephone number collectors)

2. Our approach

2.1. We have based our approach on the material about Area Meetings in Quaker Faith and Practice [4.01 and 4.02], in which Area Meeting is described as ‘a spiritual community rather than a regular event’, and its job is to ‘develop and maintain a community of Friends, a family of Local Meetings’. The sections from QFP are reproduced at Appendix B. We have also been inspired by the Britain Yearly Meeting ‘Framework for Action’, with its call to strengthen both our spiritual roots and our social concern. We have listened to those who hold office in our Area, and to Friends from each Local Meeting. A programme of consultations was carried out in autumn 2010, to which all Friends were invited, and a summary of the points made is at Appendix C. Basic information about our Area is at Appendix D. We have also drawn on the wisdom and experience of Friends elsewhere in the Yearly Meeting. Their views are at Appendix E. We are very grateful to all who have contributed to our work. We have learned a great deal in the process.

2.2. Recognising that ‘the means are the ends in the making’, our attempt to involve all Friends in the review process seemed the right step in bringing the Area community to life. Three areas for improvement were identified in the autumn consultations:

• Better communication within the Area.
• More opportunities for Friends to get to know each other.
• A more vibrant Area Meeting for Business.

We have addressed these in our report.

2.3. Through our work, several recurrent themes have emerged:

• Community: Friends are a spiritual community, both in our Local Meetings and in the Area
• While we live much of our Quaker life in Local Meetings, membership is of the Area Meeting
• Our life as an Area community is expressed in many different ways, which include but are not confined to the Area Meeting for Business [ABM]
• Growing and deepening our common life is about learning and travelling together: there are no simplistic answers
• Structural changes to the way we work [for example in the ABM] may be needed, but they are not sufficient
• Building up our common life, as part of our faith, requires continuing reflection, review and renewal.

2.4. When we speak of the ‘Area Meeting’, we mean all Friends [members and attenders] in Notts and Derby. When we refer to ABM, we mean specifically the Area Meeting for Business. Likewise we distinguish between a Local Meeting and a Local Meeting for Business [LBM].

2.5. We have tried to keep the main part of this report short and accessible. It is set out as recommendations, with sufficient background information to make each recommendation intelligible. There are five sections [see 3-7 below]. Section 3 contains recommendations about the overall approach. Sections 4-6 are the main body of detailed and practical proposals. Section 7 is about implementation. We welcome the reactions of all Friends, whether as individuals or through Local Meetings.

3. Travelling together

3.1. Our lives as individual Quakers, and as Local Meetings, are enriched when we learn from each other, and support each other. We belong to a community of Friends who have embarked on a spiritual journey together. We are members of the Area Meeting, and part of Britain Yearly Meeting, even though much of our spiritual life is lived through Local Meetings. Local Meetings are important, but they are not sufficient. No Local Meeting can contain the range of wisdom and experience that is available in the Area, and in Britain Yearly Meeting [BYM] as a whole. The Area is a valuable intermediate step between the Local Meeting and our national work. We need to commit ourselves to learn and travel together as an Area Meeting community.

We recommend that all Friends, and Local Meetings, recognise the importance of the Area, and engage in practical ways with the Area Meeting community.

3.2. There are many different ways in which we can give practical expression to the Area community: social events, learning and development activities, retreats, social action, business meetings, and individual contacts. Individual Friends’ time and capacity to take part in Area activities will vary. No-one should feel guilty that they are not able to engage with all that goes on at Area level.

We recommend that Friends recognise, celebrate and engage with the existing and potential range of activities at Area level.

4. Building community

4.1. A number of events already happen in the Area, such as the residential weekend and the Bakewell walk. They may be related to outreach, or of a spiritual or social character. We need more. We could make greater use of national resources, such as Woodbrooke on the Road and those offered by the departments at Friends House. Appendix E gives examples from other parts of BYM. The capacity of Area institutions, such as ABM, for organising events will need to be augmented by local effort.

We recommend that ABM, with each Local Meeting, gives higher priority to hosting events and activities which are attractive and accessible to Friends from across the Area.

4.2. Several Friends suggested at the consultation events an annual ‘Area Meeting Gathering’ which would be both of a spiritual and a social character. It would be a day meeting, open to all Friends in the Area. It might be hosted by a Local Meeting, but would need a planning group drawn from several Local Meetings.

We recommend that ABM initiates an annual ‘Area Meeting Gathering’.

4.3. Most of our Quaker worship is experienced through our Local Meeting. Local Meetings always welcome visitors. Friends considering applying for membership are often encouraged to experience worship at more than one Local Meeting. We can all gain from, and offer insights to, other Local Meetings.

We recommend that all Friends, as part of their own spiritual journey, consider worshipping at least once a year at a Local Meeting in the Area other than their own.

4.4. While there have been historic links between some Local Meetings in our Area [for example between Chesterfield and Bakewell], there is in general limited contact. We think that Local Meetings have a lot to offer each other. Contact could be given focus through shared events, such as spiritual review days.

We recommend that ABM initiates a programme of ‘twinning’ Local Meetings, perhaps for a year at a time.

4.5. Each Local Meeting depends on Friends holding office, usually for a fixed period, to carry out the various jobs essential to the life of the Meeting: Clerk, Treasurer, premises convenor, children and young people convenor, and so on. While training and job descriptions are often available for these tasks, we think that Friends could gain from the experience of those doing similar work in other Local Meetings. This means some face-to-face contact. Our vision is for networks of post-holders, exchanging information and ideas, each meeting at least once a year.

We recommend that Local Meetings ask Friends holding office to collaborate as a network with Friends holding similar offices in other Local Meetings, including annual meetings.

4.6. The Link Group, for teenagers, is one of the most important practical expressions of the Area Meeting community. For some young people, it represents their main, or their only, contact with Quakers. The Link Group welcomes new participants, and always needs extra adult helpers to assist at its events on a one-off basis. The Link Group needs to be clear to Local Meetings about the help that is required.

We recommend that ABM continues to give priority to nurturing the Link Group, and that Local Meetings encourage more Friends to assist as required at Link Group events.

5. Improving communication

5.1. The Area is a network of Local Meetings and of individual Friends. Good two-way, or multi-directional, communication is essential. Knowing who’s who in the Area, who is carrying out which tasks in Local Meetings, and how to contact them, is a prerequisite. Communication between Local Meetings would be vastly improved if there was an up-to-date, and regularly maintained, Area directory. Compiling, maintaining and publishing it is not an easy task. The task would be assisted if each Local Meeting had its own current contacts list.

We recommend that ABM gives high priority to producing, distributing and maintaining a directory of Friends in the Area, and that each Local Meeting complements this with its own contacts list.

5.2. The Area Meeting website is a valuable, publicly-available source of information about our work. We could make more use of it. Local Meetings could put information on the website about events and activities which are of general interest. The website could also support contact between Friends across the Area. For this, we will need a fresh protocol, so that the website can be used for internal information.

We recommend that ABM, and Local Meetings, give more attention to the use and development of the AM website.

5.3. Young people in particular are used to communicating through electronic media. There has been a rapid expansion of social networking tools such as Facebook. These may offer possibilities for Friends of all ages, to develop the networking proposals suggested earlier.

We recommend that the Link Group advises ABM and Local Meetings on the use of social networking tools.

5.4. At one time there was a paper-based General Meeting newsletter. This has been discontinued. The work of the AM Clerk in circulating AM agendas and minutes, and a list of forthcoming events, is very welcome. But the distribution is limited. We want to bring to the attention of all Friends in the Area information about national, Area and local activities which may be of interest to them. We also want to encourage Friends to respond, and to engage with issues of interest to them. Recent events in the Middle East have shown how ‘people power’, based on new media, can bring about political change. We are not making full use of our capacity to communicate, and to influence events. Most Friends have access to e-mail and the web, but provision needs to be made for those who prefer paper communication.

We recommend that AMB develops a regular bulletin [electronic, and paper via LM Clerks] available to all Friends in the Area.

6. Inspiring business

6.1. Quaker Faith and Practice defines the task of AMB as being facilitation, co-ordination and mutual support. It reminds us that AMB has an important responsibility for the stewardship of resources, which is achieved through the appointment of Trustees. Many Friends reported that they find AMB tedious and frustrating. This issue is not unique to Notts and Derby, nor is it the fault of our Clerks, who carry a big burden with little support. We think that AMB could become more inspirational if its main business was more forward-looking, and focused on big issues [such as those set out in Framework for Action] of major importance to the Area Meeting community. It might also be helpful if it considered strategic issues arising from the work of Local Meetings, by receiving reports and proposals from the networks of LM office-holders proposed earlier. ABM might attract more support if agendas were much shorter, and each item had a clear outcome in view.

We recommend that the main task of Area Business Meeting should be to give leadership and direction to the life of the Area Meeting community, based on information and proposals from Local Meetings and from national work.

6.2. Friends’ time is precious, and ABM needs to be carefully planned. All three aspects of ABM [worship, business meeting, social time] are of value. A limit might be agreed on the time to be allocated to worship and business, to allow for social time or other activities. Agendas and reports should be circulated well in advance. Friends should know how long the whole event is expected to last. Purely administrative matters should be dealt with through the advance circulation of draft minutes. The Clerks may need support in planning ABM business through a ‘business planning group’, which could also deal with routine administrative matters.

We recommend that ABM sets up a group, including the current Clerks, to review and re-structure ABM business. Local Meeting Clerks might form, or contribute to, a business planning group.

6.3. The central institutions of the Area [ABM, Trustees, communications] are struggling to function effectively purely on the basis of volunteer input. We need more capacity at Area level. There has been a particular difficulty getting sufficient Friends to fill Trustee posts. ABM has already agreed to pay for a part-time Treasurer to assist Trustees and ABM. The volunteer-led tradition is a very important part of Quaker work. However, with the increase in administrative requirements resulting from charity registration, data protection, and safeguarding vulnerable people, we think the time has come to consider paying a part-time administrator. Their task would be to assist the Clerk to Area Meeting and the Clerk to Trustees, in key areas such as meeting preparation and follow-up, and communications. This would be likely to increase volunteer input in the work of the Area, by making tasks more manageable, and enabling more Friends to offer service to the Area, including as Trustees.

We recommend that ABM and Trustees consider employing a part-time administrator to support the work of the Area Clerks, and of the Area more generally.

7. Securing implementation

7.1. We hope that our proposals will be sympathetically received by Local Meetings, and, later, by ABM. As we said at the start of the report, they are a step on a journey, not the final answers. Some actions will turn out to be less relevant; new possibilities will emerge. We want to see a cultural change, a transformation, in the way in which Friends experience the Area Meeting. We would like Friends to create and discover a spiritual community which is exciting and rewarding. To take our proposals forward, we suggest that an Implementation Group be established. Our work as a Review Group ends when our proposals are considered by ABM. An Implementation Group would take whatever is agreed by ABM, and turn it into a programme of action. It might include the Clerk to AM and a small number of experienced Friends. Experience from other Areas shows that inadequate implementation arrangements have often caused proposals for change to fail.

We recommend that ABM establishes an Implementation Group to plan and oversee the action arising from the Review.

7.2. Our proposals will take time to work through. We think that it would be helpful for ABM to take stock a year after it considers this final report. ABM might be helped if, in preparation for this review in, say, spring 2012, Local Meetings were also asked to review what action they had taken. The Implementation Group would take the lead in preparing a report to ABM.

We recommend that ABM reviews in spring 2012 the actions agreed following this report, and agrees further action, and that Local Meetings carry out similar reviews in preparation for the ABM discussion.

7.3. In conclusion, the goodwill of many Friends, and the active engagement of people through the consultation events, demonstrates that the well-being of the Area community matters. We trust that this tide of support will enable us all to find and achieve the ways forward.

Appendix A

Background to the Review Group

This Appendix describes why the Area Meeting Review Group was created, and the way in which it has operated.

The Group was established by Area Business Meeting at its meeting on 12^th September 2009. The Minute described it as ‘Working Group on the Future Working of Area Meeting’. Beyond that, there are no formal terms of reference.

The Review Group arose from a minute from Bakewell Local Meeting, considered by Area Business Meeting on 11^th January 2009. Bakewell Friends were concerned that we should make the best use of the opportunities created by charity registration, and get a better balance between administrative concerns and witness and spiritual matters, particularly at the Area Meeting for Business. Area Business Meeting, in response to the Bakewell concerns, agreed that a discussion paper be sent to all Local Meetings for comment, and that a working group be established to look at the issues raised in the Bakewell paper. Nominations Committee were asked to bring forward the names of Friends to serve on the working group. Bakewell Friends also sent their paper to Deborah Rowlands as Clerk of Quaker Stewardship Committee, so that Notts and Derby Friends could draw on wider experience.

The Bakewell paper was revised and sent to Local Meetings in March 2009. This paper is on the Area Meeting website. There was a positive reaction from several Local Meetings to the proposal to establish a working group. Nottingham Local Meeting arranged a special event on 17^th May to discuss the issues. A report of this event is also on the AM website.

Nominations Committee proposed membership of the working group to Area Business Meeting in September 2009. The Group held its first meeting on 18^th November 2009. The Group held an initial round of separate consultations with Trustees, Elders, Overseers, and the Clerk to Area Meeting during the winter 2009-2010, and produced an Interim Report to Area Business Meeting on 14^th March 2010. This too is on the AM website.

Area Business Meeting welcomed the report, and endorsed the Group’s proposal that there should be a round of local consultations, so that all Friends in the Area had an opportunity to contribute to the Group’s work. These were duly arranged in Chesterfield, Mansfield, Derby and Nottingham in the autumn of 2010. A discussion was also held with members of the Link Group of young people. In all, nearly 100 Friends from all nine Local Meetings contributed to the consultations. A report on the consultations is at Appendix C.

The Group consulted Friends in neighbouring Area Meetings and at national level. An article in The Friend produced a responses from other Area Meetings which had carried out reviews. The result of these external consultations is at Appendix E.

During winter 2010-11, the Review Group produced a draft of its final report, for consideration by Local Meetings. This is the stage currently reached.

In total, the Group has met 15 times. All members have attended all meetings.

Appendix B

Extract from Quaker Faith and Practice

Area Meetings and Local Meetings

Constitution and functions

4.01

Until 2007 area meetings were known as monthly meetings. The change was made to give more emphasis to the area meeting as a spiritual community rather than a regular event, and in the interests of accuracy because many monthly meetings no longer met monthly.

Monthly meetings were an important part of the gospel order established by George Fox, which played a large part in ensuring the survival of the young Society of Friends. From 1659 onwards monthly meetings were set up, first for men only, then for women and finally joint; they combined business with social ties, caring for the poor and prisoners, education and ministry. By 1676 they were the unit of authority for membership, marriages, property, records, the recognition of ministers (until 1924) and the recognition and laying down of local meetings; most of these functions continue today. So too does their formal responsibility, completed by 1789, for the appointment of elders and overseers.

4.02

The area meeting is the primary meeting for church affairs in Britain Yearly Meeting. Its role is to develop and maintain a community of Friends, a family of local meetings who gather for worship and spiritual enrichment. It should provide that balance between worship, mutual support, administration, learning, deliberation and social life which can make its meetings enjoyable occasions and build up the spiritual life of its members.

Area meetings act as facilitators and co-ordinators, ensuring that their constituent local meetings have access to opportunities for fellowship, spiritual development, and spiritual and pastoral care, including the care of children and young people. They also provide mutual support through the shared testing of concerns.

Area meetings also carry responsibilities for ensuring the right stewardship of local and area resources. Each area meeting is a separate charitable entity and it may be required to be registered as such with the relevant charity regulator (see 15.01). Area meetings which are registered or preparing for registration will operate under a formal governing document, which amongst other matters should set out the arrangements for trusteeship (see 15.03-15.05). A model document suitable for charitable registration is available from the Recording Clerk.

The area meeting consists of those who are by minute recorded as its members.

Copyright Religious Society of Friends [Quakers]

Appendix C

Consultation Summary

Five consultation events were held during September and October 2010 Chesterfield, Mansfield, Derby, Link Group and Nottingham. In total 85 Friends attended and one Friend put thoughts in writing. Some events represented mainly one Local Meeting. Other events had representatives from several Meetings. Everyone present spoke at some time in the consultation.

At each event information was shared as to how the consultations came about as part of the work of the Area Meeting Review group. Each event worked in a similar way, with several groups of 5 or so Friends, considering the same questions -

What is good about Area Meeting?
What is not so good?
What changes would you make?

At the end of each session the groups reassembled. Friends were asked to identify 3 priorities to take forward for further thought. This request was met in different ways at each event.

The three priority areas emerged as:

• Communication

  
  

• Tighten up/improve Area Meeting for Business (ABM)

  
  

• Activities which enable Friends to get to know one another, hence fostering the idea of community.

  
  

An underlying theme, through each consultation event, was that of spiritual sharing. Each group talked about it and produced ideas of how this could happen, although it did not emerge as an area of immediate concern. It is as though spiritual sharing is part of Friends’ life and happens through whatever else is going on. With work concentrating on the three identified areas then spiritual sharing will improve and strengthen.

Communication

All events and the Link Group highlighted the difficulties in communication between individual Friends, Local Meetings, Elders, Overseers, Treasurers and other nominated groups. Communication was identified as being an issue in every direction possible, not only from ABM outwards but inwards to ABM and round/through other groups. The Link Group was enthusiastic about a Facebook page for the group and has set one up. They envisaged that this would get information to the members of the group scattered through Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.

The key tool was seen as an up to date directory of members and attenders. This is in hand but has encountered difficulties. Some thought is needed to ensure the process of compilation runs smoothly next time. It was suggested that Local Meetings might consider a more frequent updating for their own Meetings.

Although some Local Meetings distribute a newsletter regularly which is pertinent to their local situation, it was felt that an Area Meeting newsletter would be helpful. No format was suggested but it was compared with the General Meeting newsletter that existed a few years ago. A diary of events within Area Meeting is available, usually with Area Meeting information, but this could be enlarged and possibly bring national events to Friends attention. E.g BYM/Gathering.

Area Meeting for Business

Strong feelings were expressed about the need for ABM to become a vibrant, inspirational meeting. Currently it seems to be in the doldrums. Various suggestions were made; shorten the time for silence at the beginning; reports made available before the meeting, especially if they are of a technical nature; Friends could comment once if they wished, reports of outside events could be circulated before the meeting and highlights only mentioned at the business Meeting; invite a speaker to occasional Meetings. Friends felt ABM needed to clarify its responsibilities e.g. administration, a conduit for information from Friends House. Sharing of food may be as important as the business conducted – not something to be tacked on the end but an opportunity to get to know Friends from other Meetings.

Getting to know each other

Currently ABM has responsibility for the annual study weekend which Local Meetings take in turn to organise and present. Other activities organised locally, include shared lunches, walks, workshops, visits from Woodbrooke-on-the-Road and seasonal events. Getting together events, though organised by Local Meetings, can be advertised through the Diary of Events, issued by ABM, if the clerk knows about them. Such events could be listed on the Area Meeting website also.

The general feeling was that Area Meeting is doing many of the points mentioned but not as well as they could be done. Maybe there is a lack of commitment, support and inspiration from the Area community as a whole. Some Friends are left to continue with the work, which may become a burden. Tasks are perceived as onerous and result in few being prepared to take them on.

The consultation events created opportunities for Friends to meet, talk and enjoy each others’ company. Area Meeting Review group felt that these events also gave the chance to answer the questions asked in familiar surroundings. Strong feelings were expressed about some of Area Meeting’s shortcomings. Friends made many constructive suggestions about how things could be improved. All these points are pursued in the final report.

Appendix D

Notts and Derby Area Meeting

Size of Local Meetings at end of 2009

Local Meeting	Members	Attenders	Children	Total
Bakewell	52	41	13	106
Beeston	8	8	1	17
Bingham	12	6	2	20
Chesterfield	27	20	4	51
Derby	63	26	7	96
Fritchley	26	11	2	39
Mansfield	15	9	0	24
Nottingham	98	80	17	195
Worksop	7	8	0	15

Appendix E

The work of Friends in other Area Meetings

This information has come mainly from two sources: responses to a letter in The Friend enquiring about any work on the theme of Area Meetings as spiritual communities; and information supplied by one of our representatives on Quaker Life Representative Council.

There have also been contacts suggested by members of our group and by Deborah Rowlands, (Clerk of Quaker Stewardship Committee) who has been helpful throughout. She first suggested contact with Norwich and Lynn AM, who provided a 2007 report of the work of a group carrying out a spiritual review of the AM Community. Based on the Eldership and Oversight Series Handbook No. 3 (now under revision) this ongoing review process, continued in 2009, involved working with Members of the AM in various groupings and feeding back the results. This approach was reported to work well (apart from use of a questionnaire which was not felt to be effective.)

Responses to Letter in The Friend

Brenda Rigby of Pickering and Hull AM gave an account of some ten years experience developing innovative learning programmes, part-funded by the ABM, to bring members of this AM together. This began under Woodbrooke’s Partnering Scheme and later continued independently. These were evaluated and developed, enthusiastically received, are still ongoing and are felt to have created a more cohesive relationship among friends across the Area, with more people attending the ABM.

John Noble of Wirral and Chester AM reported on proposals for change which were put to his ABM based on a questionnaire and survey report in 2003/4. He describes the actions taken to implement these ideas since then, and stresses his personal opinion that strong leadership is required to bring about change. He suggests that what is needed is a proactive group, which includes the AM Clerk pursuing 'significant structural change' rather than tinkering with the existing setup.

A Pendle Hill AM contact described some ongoing work supported by a contact at Bolton university, with the aim of involving a greater number of friends to nurture their Area Meeting, using teambuilding, developing contacts across the Area and reviewing the role of AM Clerk. More recently Norma Lee, Clerk of Pendle Hill AM, reported on some specific changes in the conduct of ABM which are currently being introduced- to be evaluated in July/August 2011. This includes an interesting but complex new clerking model, with new linkages and roles to ensure communication and follow-up. My understanding is that Pendle Hill have been preparing the ground for this by involving AM members in a range of other activities.

North London AM contacts described a series of meetings of a ‘future group’ beginning early in 2009 exploring ways of strengthening the Area Meeting and investigating any reorganization plans of adjoining AM’s, leading up to an Area-wide all-age consultation meeting on 13th. March 2010, facilitated by a Friend from outside the Area, which considered the ideal Area Meeting, ranked essential and non-essential tasks and threshed options for change. To follow this up, the Futures group was asked to continue its work for another year.

Gerald Hewitson, Clerk of North Wales AM, (a recent addition to my contacts supplied by Deborah Rowlands) sent an interesting overview (Area Meeting- A Vision) which developed from the work of a small group appointed by the ABM- which sees ABM as a 'crucible for the spirit' needed to meet the 'thirst for change and spiritual renewal' in the Society. He cautions against minor changes in form and content without an overall vision tested against AM's own discernment. Other documents describe a draft ABM agenda and minutes which illustrate how they have begun to try to streamline the meeting by combining items, writing minutes in advance etc. and introducing a spiritual focus e.g. with an opening address by a Member of the Meeting on "Why/How I Am A Quaker."

Luton and Leighton AM have some interesting material on their website, (www.llquakers.org.uk) in their ‘Right Ordering’ Handbook. Originally written in 2001 it was endorsed by Elsa Dicks as Recording Clerk and regularly updated. It is a substantial document with 20 sections covering every aspect of Quaker 'Church Affairs' and with frequent references to QFP. Part 2 (Area Meeting) gives detailed administrative procedures for the conduct of ABM including job descriptions, forms for completion, etc.

Conclusions: This material offers useful ideas and illustrates some problems that can be encountered. Each programme of work began from a perception that some change was needed. In the change strategies adopted two different approaches can be seen:

- attempts to implement specific localized changes e.g. in ABM structure and procedures, to solve specific problems, often derived from questionnaires or surveys and usually proposed to the ABM in a report;

- collaborative working on a broad development agenda with many members of the Area Meeting Community in small groups, workshops, reviews, learning programmes and/or large-scale gatherings.

The first approach can hopefully be implemented quickly but may come to grief sooner or later due to lack of widespread, sustained commitment. The second can become a time-consuming, diffuse and long-term process, but is often felt by its instigators to produce beneficial change in the longer run. Sometimes both approaches can be used together. Involving Friends across the Area Meeting Community to participate in a practical way,grounding our actions in experience and shared understanding seems to incorporate basic principles of the Society of Friends. But to allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit in this way we have to let go of some control, abandon the pressure for specific ‘ results’ and trust our own Quakerly process- cf. for example Linda Murgatroyd’ s description in her Friends Quarterly essay* , of ‘ quiet spaces’ pp. 10, 29, 30. We also need to carry out regular, thorough reviews, to enable the necessary experiential learning cycle Linda describes on page 38 of her essay to happen.

Within such a process, a wide variety of activities can contribute to the broad aim of developing a thriving Area Meeting Community, as illustrated by the following selection from lists of current activities across Britain Yearly Meeting:

Selection from Current activities Reported by AM representatives to QLRC-

(March and October 2010) (Source- Pamela Harrold- QLRC Representative)

Getting To Know One Another- Fostering Community: weekends/awaydays on Building Community/living in True Community; focus on local or wider issues or concerns; exchanging experience and developing and supporting roles e.g. Elders and Overseers weekends; using Woodbrooke On The Road; Quaker Life Explorations Scheme; discussion and study groups; more informal meetings/weekday meetings; dining clubs; discussion and study groups; art groups; cycling group; all-age weekends; monthly walks; summer gatherings; singing workshops; choral performances; exhibitions of work; talks from invited speakers.

Improving Communication: area newsletters/websites/e-mail bulletins with a page for each LM; e-mail discussion groups; google-groups; small face-to-face groups; Area Meeting visits; intervisitation; how to contact those listed but not seen at local meetings; splitting the Area into two; assisting attenders into membership; use of Becoming Friends; Better notice boards.

Improving Area Meeting for business: mentoring; shadowing; making business more efficient and less time-consuming; introducing time-slots e.g. for Friends to talk about their own spiritual life or art work etc.; workshops on ‘building business method’; encouraging new friends to take up ABM roles; rotating clerkship; succession planning; setting up a Future Group or Steering Group.

Spiritual Sharing: non-residential retreats; spiritual nurturing; using the Experiment with Light; away days on developing spiritual life; Spiritual reviews of meetings; Kindlers initiatives; using a healing group for reconciliation, difficult situations and deepening worship; publishing living Friends’ life stories.


John Sturt

*”The Future of Quakers In Britain: Holding spaces for The Spirit To Act.”

Linda Murgatroyd The Friends Quarterly May 2010 page 4