Minutes from our April 2026 Planning Weekend

Our April 2026 Planning Weekend was held slightly differently. Our Elders shared a proposed agenda ahead of the weekend and the Quaker Business Method was used to discern on this and other questions, rather than threshing, which we have used in the past. The following are minutes of Planning Weekend, not the General Meeting.

Minute 1: Proposed agenda

We’ve heard how interlinked the sessions are, and of the need to test how we are led on the day. We acknowledge the need to share more, earlier, to ensure that all Friends have a shared understanding of the challenges YFiB is facing. Clerks and Elders will discern on this. This includes bringing the accounts earlier in the weekend, with further context provided. Clerks and Elders will reconsider the Structures session for Friends to identify pain points, supporting in our re-imagining. We ask Friends to consider whether you may be led to lead any of these sessions.

Whilst there are serious matters before us, we do them because we are led to go forward in the love and joy of coming together and imagining a better way.

We accept the revised, proposed agenda.

We particularly thank Dan and Calum for their hard work in preparing this proposed agenda.

Minute 2: Practicalities

We want as many people as possible to have the opportunity to attend our spiritual review weekend. There are practical difficulties, but we are led to not limit the number of potential attendees. If Friends are able, they may be encouraged to eat and sleep off-site if this is necessary for catering purposes, fire regulations and the potential for overwhelm due to numbers. We ask our Logistics Committee to liaise with the warden to ensure we are compliant with fire regulations. We ask our Elders to ensure those present can participate in the event whilst complying with fire regulations in terms of room capacity. We ask that Elders liaise with Switchboard and those at this Planning Weekend to monitor registrations and consider how to manage this.

We ask that the sign up form and communications for this event make it clear that Friends registering should intend to actively engage with the sessions.

We are led to ask local Friends in Bristol to help us cater for our spiritual review. We ask our Logistics Committee to liaise with Redland Local Meeting to facilitate this. If local Friends are not able to support us with catering, we will cater for ourselves as usual.

These decisions are for this gathering only. It may be discerned at the spiritual review that this is the sort of decision that will or will not be made in the future.

We ask Friends to gather in joy and service and to consider how we can serve each other with confidence and without guilt. We trust that, in making this decision, our community can live adventurously and with love.