APC 11 October 2025

The Agenda Planning Committee (APC) of Yearly Meeting met online to continue its work in planning for Yearly Meeting sessions from July 2026 onward.

What is this committee responsible for?

The APC is a new committee set up by Yearly Meeting in May 2025. In 2026 Yearly Meeting is changing and will start to meet more frequently. Yearly Meeting has asked the APC to work out some of the details around how the new-style 'continuing' sessions will work – for example, which Quaker bodies will be able to send in minutes for consideration and how will they be handled when they are received? The APC will also take responsibility for planning sessions of Yearly Meeting from July 2026 onwards. In the meantime, Yearly Meeting Agenda Committee is planning for Yearly Meeting in May 2026.

What did it do at this meeting?

At the meeting on 11 October the APC:

  • Considered which Quaker bodies should be able to send minutes to APC to be considered for the Yearly Meeting agenda or for publication in some other way. Area Meetings, Crynwyr Cymru – Quakers in Wales, Quakers in Scotland, Young Friends General Meeting, BYM Trustees and the central & standing committees will all be able to do so. At the next meeting APC will consider further whether there are other spirit-led worshipping communities that need to be able to communicate with them.
  • Began to consider how those minutes would be handled in practice – the APC hopes to prepare a clear description and diagram of the process so that meetings can understand what will happen if they send in a minute.
  • Agreed arrangements for the writing of the general epistle in 2026 & 2027, as well as proposals for the timing of invitations to representatives from European Yearly Meetings and to interchurch and interfaith guests
  • Began thinking about how we can build community at our Yearly Meeting sessions.
  • Began discussing how the online special interest meetings that usually take place before Yearly Meeting sessions might work when we have more frequent sessions.
  • Began thinking in outline about the agenda for the Yearly Meeting session on 18 July 2026 to be held in Manchester.

How can I find out more?

You can stay up to date with plans for Yearly Meeting by subscribing to Hope So! or visiting the YM web page.