MfS 1 March 2025

What is Meeting for Sufferings responsible for?

Meeting for Sufferings is described as our 'standing representative body' – it is a meeting of representatives sent by our area and general meetings and some other Quaker communities and committees. It does some of the important work of the yearly meeting in between Yearly Meeting sessions. You can find out more in Quaker faith & practice paragraph 7.02.Yearly Meeting has decided to lay Meeting for Sufferings down from summer 2026, after which it will be replaced by continuing Yearly Meeting sessions open to all.

What did it do at this meeting?

As usual, the meeting appointed some Friends to roles, heard a variety of reports, and spent some time discerning appropriate actions.

The main agenda items this time included:

Annual report from Quaker Committee on Christian & Interfaith Relations (QCCIR), summarising their work in 2024. QCCIR is the national-level committee for interchurch (sometimes called ecumenical) and interfaith work. The committee is small and works hard. It's keen to hear from Friends who are interested and experienced in doing this work locally.

Preview of the agenda for Yearly Meeting 2025, which will take place at Friends House from 23-26 May 2025. There will be a strong focus on peace at this Yearly Meeting. Registrations are open now and all Friends are invited to register.

Report on the work of Quaker Housing Trust (QHT). QHT is an independent charity that aims to provide a practical response to the Quaker concern for providing comfortable and appropriate homes to those in need. It usually reports to Britain Yearly Meeting about every 3 years.

Preparation for upcoming changes to how Yearly Meeting sessions are organised. The meeting considered how area meetings and other Quaker communities might be represented at continuing Yearly Meeting sessions, and heard suggestions for improving the system for financially supporting individuals to attend Yearly Meeting.

Update on sustainability work across Britain Yearly Meeting, together with consideration of how to take this forward. The meeting agreed to pass this important issue to the new Agenda Planning Committee for Yearly Meeting, and gave guidance on points to think about for future reporting.

Consideration of the impact of new police powers on Quaker witness and peaceful protests. At the online preparation session earlier in the week Friends had shared experiences of how these powers are being used to curb legitimate actions and resistance. At the meeting Friends minuted their concerns and their hopes that we can work towards repealing these laws.

Meeting for Sufferings was originally set up to support Friends whose faith led them to suffer at the hands of the state, and Quakers continue to see the importance of upholding those whose faith leads them to take actions that may place them at personal risk.

What next?

You can read the full minutes of the meeting and the supporting papers here.

You can register for Yearly Meeting 2025 here.

Meeting for Sufferings will meet again on 5 July 2025.