Minutes
Present:

Co-Clerks: Nessa Grimes & Guy Milner

YFGM Treasurer: Huw Still

Co-Convenors of Overseers: Majk Stokes & Tom Rowlands

Management Officer: Ruth Wood

Co-ordinator: Ellie Colyer

Monthly Meeting Representatives:

Bangor: Bethan Harris Colchester & Coggeshall: Jez Smith

Darlington: Anna Rachel James Dundee: Paul Dodwell

Emzy Wisker Hampstead: Jonathan Doering

Hardshaw East: Sarah Donaldson Kingston & Wandsworth: Annabella Krol

Norwich & Lynn: Ellen Elliott Notts & Derbys: Marie Drouin

Reading: Rob Osborne South East Scotland: Ericka Smith

Southwark, Lewisham & Bromley: John Bacon Warwickshire: Maud Grainger

Westminster: Ellen Marshall Rachel Wake

Witney: Alyn Still York: Hannah Spiers

Northwest Yearly Meeting (USA): Jon Kershner
Josh Kaiser

Adam Boardman, Andrew Rendle, Ben Jarman, Chris Hanning, Dawn Filtness, Ed Blann, Edd Ullathorne, Emily Maddison, Graham Hayward, Hannah Leavett, Helen Percy, Hilary Topp, Hugh Williams, Hugo Finley, Iain Alexander, James Barnard, Jen Batten, Jessica Metheringham, Kris Turner, Lani Parker, Laurel Townhead, Luke Spiers, Mark Russ, Peter Parr, Rachel Xerri, Sally Nicholls, Sam Barnett-Cormack, Simon Best, Symon Hill, Siobhan Haire, Tamsin Baker, Tom Harris

Total: 59

06/14 Opening Minute We welcome one another to our May YFGM in Norwich, and extend a particular welcome to Jon Kershner and Josh Kaiser from Northwest Yearly Meeting in the United States of America. We hope that the longer time we can spend together over the Bank Holiday, and the smaller group that are gathered here, will mean that we are able to form a closer community in the light.

06/15 Recycling/Composting Volunteer We agree to create a new volunteer post, Recycling/Composting Volunteer, to ensure that our waste is recycled or composted where possible at each YFGM.

06/16 Children’s Meeting We agree to amend the Crèche Co-ordinator’s job description to include liaising with the local Meeting where YFGM is held to organise, where appropriate, helping with children’s meeting. We ask them to follow the local Meeting’s child protection policy in facilitating this.

06/17 Report from Planning Weekend Jess Metheringham and Mark Russ have given us a report from the March Planning Weekend at Selly Oak Meeting House in Birmingham.

06/18 Quakerism – the Programmed Tradition After an introduction about Northwest Yearly Meeting, covering what it means to be an Evangelical Programmed Friend, Jon Kershner and Josh Kaiser led us in a programmed Meeting for Worship. Here we were encouraged to think about our faith in an often dark, confusing and chaotic world, where God, although often hidden, shows Himself through moments of Grace. We thank Jon and Josh warmly for travelling so far to be with us and lead us in this experience.

06/19 Carbon Pledges Ruth Wood and Maud Grainger have introduced a session looking at how we can have a positive impact working against climate change through both political action and lifestyle changes. We have explored ways in which we can live more sustainably in our own lives, encouraging our stewardship of the world. We have written pledges to reduce our impact on climate change individually. We have written these on postcards, which will be sent to us after YFGM to remind us of them.

We thank Ruth and Maud for leading us in such an informative and inspiring session and for allowing us to share ideas.

06/20 Report from Management Group Ben Jarman has given us a report from Management Group about the progress we have made with our new database and about the new features available to us with its introduction. We thank Management Group, our Co-ordinator, and simon and Bettina gray for their continuing work on this.

06/21 Interfaith-Interchurch Report We have heard from Mark Russ about his time as Interfaith-Interchurch Secretary. He has shared with us how his faith has been challenged and enriched by his encounters with those of other churches and faiths. We thank him for the work he has done over the last two years to encourage YFGM to enter into interfaith dialogue.

06/22 Sharing our Spiritual Journeys We have been led in considering our spiritual journeys by Mark Russ and Sally Nicholls. We explored our spiritual journeys individually using paper and pens, then shared our words and pictures in small groups using creative listening. The session concluded with a period of worship sharing.

Our spiritual journeys can often seem uncertain and messy, and talking about them can help us to make sense of them. We thank Sally and Mark for giving us a chance to do this.

06/23 YFGM 2005 Accounts Huw Still, our YFGM treasurer, has presented the 2005 accounts. We thank all those who have been involved in preparing our accounts, and ask our trustees to check and approve them once they have been examined.

06/24 Akany Avoko Appeal Maud Grainger has given us an introduction, with slides, to the Akany Avoko centre in Madagascar, which we are supporting as our appeal.

Our Appeal Group has raised around £4,000 so far since the start of the appeal in October, through a range of fundraising activities. We have learned from our appeal group about some of the projects our money may support, including a new minibus for the centre.

06/25 Nominations We appoint the following people to serve in the following posts for the periods mentioned. We release from service those mentioned, warmly thanking them for all their work on our behalf.

Position Length of Service Person Appointed Released from Service

Co-Clerk 3 years Hannah Spiers Nessa Grimes

Interchurch-Interfaith Secretary 3 years Symon Hill -

Crèche Co-ordinator 3 years Helen Percy Ruth Todhunter

Overseer 2 years Rachel Xerri Hannah Spiers

Pardshaw Committee member - - Darrel Spence

Pardshaw Financial Overseer Until Feb 2009 Andrew Rendle Darrel Spence

Outreach Convener Until Oct 2006 Tom Harris Mark Russ (released from

convening)

Nominations Convener 2 years Hannah Leavett John Bacon

Planning Weekend newcomers Until Oct 2006 Graham Hayward

Chris Hanning
Anna James

Nominations Committee 2 years Dawn Filtness John Bacon

Ed Blann Darrel Spence

06/26 Special Interest Groups
This weekend we have enjoyed the following Special Interest Groups:
A trip to the shrine of Julian of Norwich
A trip to a swimming pool
Baking
QUNO – Laurel Townhead
Women and children in prison – Laurel Townhead
Story Telling – Nigel Peckett
Young Quaker
Malagasy Cooking
Programmed Quakerism – Jon Kershner and Josh Kaiser
Peace Brigades International – Lani Parker
Relaxation
We thank those who have run our Special Interest Groups for their work.

06/27 Epistle The epistle of the Leaveners’ Exploring Arts Project: Sexuality and Spirituality has been read. We thank the project for sending us this epistle.

06/28 Pardshaw Open Meeting Further to minute 06/05, Pardshaw Committee plan to hold an open meeting in July at Lancaster FMH to explore how Pardshaw Young Friends Centre could be managed in the future. We support them in this and encourage interested parties to attend.

06/29 Recruitment of a new Co-ordinator We authorise Management Group to recruit a new Co-ordinator for YFGM to start in July 2006, and to enter into a contract with the successful candidate which will run to December 2007. This will be extended to December 2009, if further funding is received.

06/30 Minute of Record – Trustee Further to minute 06/25 we appoint Hannah Spiers as an Officer and Trustee of YFGM for a period of 3 years.

06/31 Minute of Record – Signatories
We authorize the following people to act as signatories for the following accounts:
General Fund Current and Deposit accounts: Huw Still
Guy Milner
Hannah Spiers
Employment Fund Current account: Ben Jarman
Guy Milner
Hannah Spiers
Employment Fund Petty Cash account: Ben Jarman
Guy Milner
Hannah Spiers
Ellie Colyer

06/32 Volunteers We thank the following people for volunteering to help in the following ways at YFGM in Lancaster in October.

Caterers: Sam Barnett-Cormack

Jennifer Brett

Pan Transport: Helen Percy

Recycling/Composting: Rachel Xerri

06/33 Closing Minute We thank each other for the fellowship and friendships we have had a chance to build this weekend in Norwich. We have had time to reflect on our different spiritual journeys, and to share them in our community. Our gathering was enriched by the visit of Jon Kershner and Josh Kaiser, and the programmed session that they led. In these sessions we have been inspired by our similarities, and challenged to grow through our diversity, as we walk our own paths in the light.

We were pleased to hear more about our appeal, and the differences we are hoping to make to the Akany Avoko centre. The session on Carbon pledges reminded us of our shared responsibility for care of the Earth and its resources.

Nessa Grimes has come to the end of her time as Co-clerk at this YFGM. We will miss not only her hard work, enthusiasm and spiritual directness, but also her sense of fun and good humour.

We leave tired, many of us, after this long weekend, but can take with us the strength our community has given us. It is a powerful thing to be part of such a community, and to realise that we do not have to walk our paths alone.

Signed in and on behalf of YFGM,

Guy Milner Nessa Grimes

Co-clerks