DOCUMENTS in RETROSPECT

The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia Inc. DOCUMENTS in RETROSPECT

Yearly Meeting 3 - 10 January 2015 Queen’s College, University of Melbourne, Melbourne

Photo by Lloyd Godman (VRM)

Printed and distributed from Australia Yearly Meeting Office PO Box 556, Kenmore Q 4069 Documents in Retrospect 2015

Contents Abbreviations, Terms and Definitions ...... 4

YEARLY MEETING 2015 EPISTLES ...... 6

YEARLY MEETING 2015 MINUTES ...... 9 Formal Session 1: 7.00pm Saturday 3 January ...... 9 YM15.1: Acknowledgment of Country ...... 9 YM15.2: Opening worship ...... 9 YM15.3: Welcome to those participating in Yearly Meeting ...... 9 YM15.4: Assistant Clerk ...... 9 YM15.5: Appointments for the duration of YM15 ...... 10 YM15.6: Timeframe for greetings from Yearly Meeting ...... 11 YM15.7: Yearly Meeting timetable and agenda ...... 11 YM15.8: AYM Nominations Committee ...... 12 YM15.9: Letters and media releases sent on behalf of AYM ...... 12 YM15.10: The Friends’ School Board appointments ...... 13 YM15.11: Dictionary of Australian Quaker Biography (DAQB) Online Project ...... 14 YM15.12: Backhouse Lecturer 2016 ...... 14 Formal Session 2: 7.00pm Sunday 4 January ...... 14 YM15.13: State of the Society address: minute of record ...... 14 YM15.14: Introductions and greetings to YM15 ...... 15 YM15.15: AYM Nominations Committee ...... 15 YM15.16: Request that Regional Meetings establish and maintain standard registers of all commitment ceremonies, including marriages ...... 15 YM15.17: Nominating authorities of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) ...... 16 YM15.18: NATSIEC donations ...... 16 YM15.19: AYM Presiding Clerk’s Report ...... 16 YM15.20: AYM Secretary’s Report ...... 16 YM15.21: AYM Treasurer’s Report ...... 16 YM15.22: Acceptance of reports which have no matters for consideration at YM15 ...... 17 Formal Session 3: 9.30am Tuesday 6 January ...... 17 YM15.23: Testimony ...... 17 Formal Session 4: 9.30am Wednesday 8 January ...... 17 YM15.24: Meeting for Remembrance ...... 17 YM15.25: Testimony ...... 18 YM15.26: Summary of Epistles ...... 18 YM15.27: Right holding of Yearly Meeting ...... 18 YM15.28: AYM Nominations Committee ...... 20 YM15.29: Quaker Peace & Legislation Committee and Peace & Social Justice Fund Committee ... 20 Formal Session 5: 9.30am Thursday 7 January ...... 21 YM15.30: Testimony ...... 21 YM15.31: Earthcare ...... 21 YM15.32: Investment Concern ...... 22 Formal Session 6: Thursday 8 January 2.00pm ...... 22 YM15.33: Testimony ...... 22 YM15.34: First reading of the Epistle from YM15 ...... 22 YM15.35: Proposed new entry in the Handbook for Silver Wattle Quaker Centre ...... 23 YM15.36: Proposed changes to Handbook sections on Testimonies to the Grace of God (s. 4.8.5) and Dictionary of Australian Quaker Biography (s.5.5.3) ...... 24 YM15.37: The Australian Friend and AYM Publications Committee ...... 24 YM15.38: Respectful Relationships ...... 25 YM15.39: Quaker Learning Australia (QLA) ...... 26 YM15.40: Refugees and asylum seekers ...... 26 Formal Session 7: Friday 9 January 9.30am ...... 27

2 Documents in Retrospect 2015

YM15.41: Testimony ...... 27 YM15.42: First Nations Peoples Concerns ...... 27 YM15.43: Australian Friends Fellowship of Healing ...... 30 YM15.44: Australian Quaker Survey: minute of record ...... 30 Formal Session 8: Friday 9 January 2.00pm ...... 31 YM15.45: Second reading of the Epistle from YM15 ...... 31 YM15.46: Quaker Service Australia (QSA) ...... 31 YM15.47: Backhouse Lecture: minute of record ...... 32 YM15.48: Ecumenism and interfaith ...... 32 YM15.49: Recognition of Australia’s Frontier Wars in Anzac Day ceremonies: request for a letter to the Prime Minister and others ...... 33 YM15.50: Nominations ...... 33 YM15.51: AYM FWCC Committee ...... 33 Formal Session 9: Saturday 10 January 9.30am ...... 34 YM15.52: AYM Children’s and Junior Young Friends Committee ...... 34 YM15.53: Child Protection ...... 34 YM15.54: Friends Peace Teams ...... 35 YM15.55: Information Technology Committee ...... 36 YM15.56: Friends in Stitches: A snapshot, January 2015 ...... 36 YM15.57: Silver Wattle Quaker Presentation: minute of record ...... 36 YM15.58: The Friends’ School: minute of record ...... 37 YM15.59: Summer Schools: minute of record ...... 37 YM15.60: Quakerly inquiry processes ...... 37 YM15.61: Share and tell sessions at YM15: minute of record ...... 37 YM15.62: Nominations Committee ...... 38 YM15.63: Closing minute ...... 38

APPENDICES TO THE MINUTES ...... 40 Aotearoa/New Zealand YM ways of conducting business ...... 40 Australia Yearly Meeting appointments ...... 42 Preparatory Session Reports ...... 45 Children and JYFs and Child Protection ...... 45 Ecumenism and interfaith ...... 51 Earthcare ...... 51 First Nations Peoples Concerns Committee ...... 52 Friends Peace Teams ...... 53 Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) Presentation ...... 54 Handbook entries: changes to 4.8.5, 5.5.3, new entry for Silver Wattle Quaker Centre ...... 55 Investment Concern ...... 56 Peace: Quaker Peace & Legislation Committee and Peace & Social Justice Fund Committee ...... 57 Publications ...... 59 Quaker Learning Australia ...... 59 Respectful Relationships ...... 60 Refugees and asylum seekers interest group ...... 61 Right holding of Yearly Meeting ...... 62 Summer School reports ...... 63 Share and Tell Sessions ...... 67 Penn Friends ...... 67 State of the Society address ...... 67 Summary of Epistles from other Yearly Meetings ...... 70 Quakerism in Japan FWCC Asia West Pacific Visitor’s address ...... 72 Australian Friends Fellowship of Healing Report for 2014 ...... 73

STANDING COMMITTEE 1.15 MINUTES ...... 75

YM15: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS ...... 84

3 Abbreviations, Terms and Definitions

AF: The Australian Friend, the journal of Australia Yearly Meeting, is published online and in print in March, June, September and December. The editorial committee is under the care of a Regional Meeting. AFFH: Australian Friends Fellowship of Healing, a national group interested in healing, whose members are Friends, but which is a separately incorporated body. AVP: Alternatives to Violence Project, begun by Friends, is now a separate organisation. AYM: Australia Yearly Meeting/YM Yearly Meeting. Australia Yearly Meeting is generally used as the abbreviated name of Australia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia Incorporated. The words ‘Yearly Meeting’ are used to describe the annual meeting of Australian Friends. Regional Meetings host this meeting, on a rotating basis. AYM Committees and Working Groups: A list of all AYM Committees and Working Groups, with the names of all Committee members, is printed in Documents in Advance, and updated in Documents in Retrospect, and at http://www.quakers.org.au in the Members section. BL: James Backhouse Lecture. This is an annual lecture, which aims to bring fresh insights into truth, often with reference to the needs and aspirations of Australian Quakerism. It is usually presented at the time of Yearly Meeting, and is named after an English Quaker who travelled extensively in Australia from 1832 to 1837. The printed form of the lecture goes on sale at Yearly Meeting immediately after the delivery of the Backhouse Lecture and is available during Yearly Meeting and afterwards from Interactive Publications http://ipoz.biz/Titles/Quakers.htm. DAQB: The Dictionary of Australian Quaker Biography includes Testimonies to the Grace of God in the lives of many Australian Friends. An annual supplement includes Testimonies to those who have died in the past year, and additional information received on those already listed. Regional Meeting and a number of other libraries hold copies of the DAQB. The web page for Australian Quaker Biographies, www.bios.quakers.org.au, provides online access to all DAQB entries, together with biographies of prominent Quakers from around the world. FNPCC: The First Nations Peoples Concerns Committee was formerly called the Indigenous Concerns Committee. Formal Sessions of Yearly Meeting: The Presiding Clerk conducts the Formal Sessions according to the usual Quaker business method. Reports from the Preparatory Sessions are considered and minutes made. The Presiding Clerk can grant permission for those who are not AYM Members to attend and fully participate in YM sessions, on the recommendation in advance of the Elders of the appropriate Meeting. FPT: Friends Peace Teams. The Friends’ School: The Friends’ School, Hobart, is the only Quaker school in Australia. It has an enrolment of 1300 students, making it one of the largest Quaker schools in the world. FWCC: Friends World Committee for Consultation is a worldwide body comprised of autonomous Yearly Meetings. It meets periodically to promote links between the different Quaker traditions. Australia Yearly Meeting is part of the Asia-West Pacific Section of FWCC. Handbook of Practice and Procedure: The Handbook sets out the guidelines within which Meetings normally operate within Australia. The Handbook is continually revised in line with YM decisions. The current 6th edition was published in 2011, and is available on www.quakers.org.au. JYFs: Junior Young Friends are aged 12 to 16 years. Meeting for Learning is a one-year program that begins and ends with a retreat week, usually held in September-October, under the care of the Quaker Learning Australia (QLA) Committee.

Ministry and Oversight: Sometimes known as M & O, or Elders & Overseers, or Ministry & Care. These Local or Regional Meeting committees, either separately or combined, are responsible for the spiritual and pastoral care of members. NCCA: National Council of Churches in Australia, of which AYM is a member. Pastoral Care Committee: This committee is set up for the period of Yearly Meeting and consists of Friends nominated by their Regional Meeting for the purpose of assisting people at Yearly Meeting. Penn Friends: Penn Friends (after William Penn) are ‘written correspondence friendships’ between older Friends and children (often now by email), who may live in another Meeting. Penn Friends find one another at the Penn Friends’ afternoon tea during Yearly Meeting. Preparatory Sessions: Preparatory Sessions are designed to give background information, and raise the awareness of Friends to the work of a particular committee. A report from the Preparatory Session, including any issues for decision, is brought to a Formal Session. QEN: Quaker Education Network is based in West Australia Regional Meeting. QLA: Quaker Learning Australia is an umbrella organisation offering a number of programs, and seeking to develop further resources for deepening Friends’ spiritual lives. QPLC: The Quaker Peace & Legislation Committee, based in Canberra, lobbies government, provides a space for peace and social justice discussions, and posts on our website ‘Action Alerts’, ‘Watching Briefs’ and Discussion Papers on current issues for Friends. QSA: Quaker Service Australia is the development aid agency of Australia Yearly Meeting. It is presently under the care of NSWRM, and is based at Devonshire Street Meeting House, 119 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010. RM: Regional Meetings in Australia are Canberra (CRM), New South Wales (NSWRM), Queensland (QRM), South Australia Northern Territory (SANTRM), Tasmania (TRM), Victoria (VRM), and West Australia (WARM). These organisational bodies of the Society are individually incorporated associations. Regional Meetings are responsible for matters of membership and business within their area, as set out in the Handbook of Practice and Procedure. The Sanctuary is the name of a house and grounds in Sydney that was part of the Lemberg Bequest to Australia Yearly Meeting. The property is behind the Wahroonga Meeting House, and has been leased as a residence awaiting a suitable proposal for its future. SC: Standing Committee, a body with two representatives from each Regional Meeting, and from Young Friends, meets usually in January and mid-year, to conduct business on matters which must be addressed before the next Yearly Meeting. The Presiding Clerk, Secretary, Treasurer, the Immediate Past Presiding Clerk, and the Incoming Presiding Clerk are ex-officio members of Standing Committee. SWQC or Silver Wattle: Silver Wattle Quaker Centre is a centre in Australia for spiritual development and learning about Quaker faith, based at Silver Wattle, 1063 Lake Road, Bungendore, New South Wales. See http://silverwattle.org.au. YFs: Young Friends are 16 – 30 year olds who may be Members or Attenders. Young Friends have an Easter camp and a camp before Yearly Meeting. Young Friends have representatives on most AYM committees, including Standing Committee.

Yearly Meeting 2015 Epistles Australia Yearly Meeting Epistle to Friends everywhere To dear Friends everywhere Life in the Light, our Summer School theme, means listening and acting in the breadth of our concerns. Building a gracious and resilient Quaker community that is inclusive and respectful of all its diversities holds us true to processes both new and historic. Life in the Light means looking imaginatively beyond our comfort zone. To the Boonwurrung people of 1827 white people were visitors who didn’t go away. In 2015 Quakers were welcomed to country with the hope of a peaceful future. The First Nations People tell us to listen respectfully, to build long-term relationships, to talk softly and listen well. We continue to look for new ways to internalise this advice, to look for God in every thing. The brighter the light, the deeper the shadows. Australian Quakers try to resist labels, divisions around belief and cultural practices. We are confronted by issues such as individualism, extreme political philosophies, environmental desecration, and unscrupulous investment. Living in the Light means taking on the darknesses of capitalism, war, climate change, isolation and racism. It means engaging with champions who have paved paths; we cut our own new tracks and prepare for new light from those who may have been ‘the Other’. In 1697 William Penn underscored our interconnectedness with all living beings around the world. We consider deeply ways to live sustainably, to share this information across our wide brown land and care for our environment with small wins and great efforts to still be made. We add Earthcare to our testimonies. Are we unstoppably moved towards caring for our planet? We contemplate ways to make sustainable our peace testimony work, recognising this is one of our core beliefs, requiring new funding models to put our faith into action. Are we content to mainly support smaller individual projects or will new decision-making processes allow us to develop a stronger corporate witness? The Backhouse Lecture This We Can Do: Quaker faith in action through the Alternatives to Violence Project reminds us of our leadings towards peacemaking amongst Friends, First Nations People, refugees, prisoners and students. We are juggling and struggling with the challenges of faith in action and the processes we use, encompassing dispersed and isolated Friends as well as being tender to our youth and their needs. How can we extend our corporate witness to these Friends, those in Asia West Pacific and the wider world of Friends? Introducing an Elders role formally into Yearly Meeting sessions is grounding us in worshipful discernment. Will the trial of the new Yearly Meeting timing and exploring more equitable processes of distributed decision-making allow us to reaffirm our commitment to Quaker faith and practice? How do we live in community, building our relationships and growing the Truth in our Meetings? Will use of technology allow us to be more inclusive? Are we developing creative ways to nurture ourselves? In what ways do we offer the Testimonies beyond our Society? What is the religious health of our meetings? The answers to these questions must flow from our gratitude for the Light as we grow in Grace.

6 Children’s Epistle (2 – 12 year olds) We enjoyed many things in our program this year: • Going to the zoo, especially when it rained and we threw water all over each other • Origami • Making new friends and seeing old friends • Having alone time • Watching videos • Making stories • Playing Uno • Playing with the wooden toys • Circle dancing • Playing with Clancy • Falling into a huge puddle • Yoga • Having some time with the older kids • Silence • Making ‘poppies for peace’ and the WWI exhibition • Eating food • Making films • Learning Japanese and Korean songs • Ball games and Frisbee and rocket and paper planes • Drawing • Having peace and quiet. We like spending time with the Junior Young Friends. We would like to do more of this next year. We liked organising Meeting for Worship. Each year we bring in a new idea to share with the whole meeting. Everyone likes it because it’s different. Junior Young Friends’ Epistle (12 –17 year olds) The 2015 Junior Young Friends (JYF) program was formed and organised by Andrew Bray, Kyrstie Crane, David Albrecht, Anna Wilkinson, Bruce Henry and Rosie Remmerswaal.* Although it was a large group of around 30 JYFs, as a whole we managed to create an inclusive and loving environment. Our week composed of Quaker workshops, creative tasks, meetings and outdoor activities. Yet, somehow, we still found plenty of time for lounging and bonding with friends of all ages. After many meetings to organise various aspects of the JYF program, we were treated to workshops that lightened our spirits and gave us a chance to discuss our beliefs and mindsets. A creative twist was brought to tasks by Rosie, who helped us produce videos on our groups’ interpretation of Quakerism. We were split into four groups and our final products became an entertaining conclusion and a way to reflect on our week. Camp began with an opportunity to give back to the community of Gembrook Retreat by assisting with chores around the vast garden that is known as a place of healing. A variety of apple picking, gardening and wood chopping jobs resulted in a relaxing and rewarding afternoon, despite the heat. We refreshed ourselves with a dip in the pool that evening, readying ourselves for the coming days of indoor soccer, low ropes courses, and other fun pastimes. We have our wonderfully open-minded leaders to thank for the hours of time we were given to do as we please. Chess, card games and hair braiding brought the group of all ages closer together because we could all take part. We took pleasure in the afternoons spent in the pool, and drying off on the volleyball court and trampolines. Then on our last night we stayed up until early in the morning playing The Fantasy Game and chatting. It was the dessert for breakfast, the loom bands strewn across the floor, the interesting spotting on the low ropes course, and the light-hearted vibe which made the JYFs program 2015 memorable

and fulfilling. Something as precious as this time could only be concluded with a dislocating high- five. (Young Friends representative to YM15 from Aotearoa/New Zealand YM) Young Friends’ Epistle (16 – 30 year olds) from pre-YM15 Camp To Friends everywhere From 27 December to 3 January Young Friends gathered at the beautiful Baldessin Press, an hour from Melbourne, in St Andrews. Tess Edwards and Lloyd Godman very generously offered us the use of their property for our gathering, for which we are deeply grateful. We felt spiritually nurtured by the space, as it was clear that much love went into its creation and care. We hope our efforts at watering their extensive gardens and plant sculptures has ensured their survival over this hot week of summer. As we arrived, we had the opportunity to meet the Attenders of the Diamond Valley Worshipping Group as they concluded their monthly Meeting for Worship. Although most of us didn’t know each other at the beginning, by the end of the gathering, we had bonded over simple tasks such as sharing responsibilities for cooking and cleaning together. We also connected through enjoying a diverse range of music that formed the background soundtrack to meal preparation, in particular the extensive collection of jazz we found there. On excursions, crammed into ‘Mighty Boy’, the small car Tess and Lloyd generously lent us, through the discovery of a cassette tape of Tina Turner, we were prompted to ask ourselves what love has to do with it. The Young Friends tradition of sharing tasks, knowledge and experience fostered learning valuable life skills such as how to pit an avocado, make omelettes and how to cook dahl, an essential skill in the up and coming life of a Young Friend. Other essential Young Friend skills we learnt were how to build community through fun and play, in the process learning new games. As St Andrews is a fire prone area, we had emergency fire plans in place, and our discussions brought out knowledge of the dangers bushfires pose and how one should respond. We enjoyed both the nature—swimming in a local river and exploring our surrounds by foot—and also profited from immersing ourselves in local history and culture, by spending time in Melbourne’s inner suburbs, roaming around the city visiting the National Gallery of Victoria, The State Library, Victoria Markets and the Botanic Gardens. We deliberately left the week unscheduled to allow us to determine our daily activities by Spirit-led consensus; Young Friends make decisions mutually we are all responsible for everyone’s well being. During our Meetings for Worship for Business, we started the difficult process of discerning ways forward for our Young Friends community on matters of Child Protection, which will greatly impact our future. During a creative afternoon in the art studio, among other creations we made a Quakers for Peace banner that was later used in the Silent Vigil for Justice for First Nations Peoples in Melbourne. Camp has been a wonderful experience for those who attended, providing the opportunity to form lasting and meaningful relationships that will sustain us spiritually as we go out into the wider Quaker community, not only acting in line with our beliefs, but endeavouring to live them. A quote we found written up on the whiteboard upon our arrival at camp sums up well the connection we feel as Young Friends to each other, and is a fitting conclusion to our epistle: Mind that which is eternal, which gathers your hearts together up to the Lord, and lets you see that ye are written in one another’s hearts. George Fox, 1653

Yearly Meeting 2015 Minutes Queen’s College, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Formal Session 1: 7.00pm Saturday 3 January

YM15.1: Acknowledgment of Country

Yearly Meeting acknowledged the traditional owners of the land on which we are meeting. Aunty Carolyn Briggs of the Boonwurrung language group of the Kulin nation, welcomed us to the country of her ancestors in her language, one of five language groups in the ‘land of the two bays’, that we now know as Melbourne. ‘Wurring’, she told us, meant to ‘speak my country’. As Quakers, we share a commitment to caring for country, expressed in our statements on earthcare. We thank Aunty Carolyn for her welcome and pay our respects to the elders of the Kulin nation, past, present and future.

YM15.2: Opening worship

Out of the silence of opening worship, the Presiding Clerk Julian Robertson read a passage written by the editor of The Australian Friend in 1981 and republished in this we can say 2.40: Different ways of understanding the divine life may occur among us. These differences should not be ignored for the sake of superficial unity. They should be recognised and understood so that deeper and more vital unity can be reached. Convictions which may divide and disrupt a meeting can, through God's grace, help to make it creative and strong. Friends should keep their faith and fellowship with each other, waiting in the Light for that unity which draws them together in the love and power of God.

YM15.3: Welcome to those participating in Yearly Meeting

The Presiding Clerk welcomed Members and Attenders by asking those from each Regional Meeting to stand in turn. A full list of all those registered for YM15 will be printed in Documents in Retrospect. Those not in membership who are participating in YM15 and who have been approved by Regional Meetings or by Young Friends will be listed on a noticeboard during this Yearly Meeting. The Presiding Clerk welcomed visitors from overseas: Machiko Takeda, our FWCC Asia West Pacific visitor, has brought greetings from Japan YM. Murray Short, Aotearoa/New Zealand YM representative, is here with his wife Niwa. Rosie Remmerswaal (Aotearoa/New Zealand YF rep) attended the YF Camp. Gretchen Castle, FWCC General Secretary, will be introduced and welcomed tomorrow. Paul Barnier (Japan YM); Mark Lockwood, Margaret Calvert (Britain YM); Ray Dawkins (Singapore); Mark Wotherspoon and Clemence Overall (Camden Friends Meeting, Delaware, USA) are also present.

YM15.4: Assistant Clerk

We note the appointment of the VRM Co-clerks Alan Clayton and Gerry Fahey as Assistant Clerks for Yearly Meeting 2015, as recommended by Standing Committee.

YM15.5: Appointments for the duration of YM15

Standing Committee noted the names of Regional Meeting elders appointed as elders for the duration of YM15: CRM: Christine Larkin, Michael Searle, Jenny Spinks, Lorraine Thomson NSWRM: Liz Field, Anne-Maree Johnston, Rae Litting QRM: Abel Siboniyo SANTRM: Jenny Stock TRM: Madeleine Ball, Margaret Bywater, Felicity Rose, Pamela Leach VRM: Kelvin Kerney (VRM) convener, Helen Irvine, Bev Polzin WARM: Ruth Watson, Ann Zubrick Standing Committee noted the names of the Pastoral Care Committee for YM15: • CRM: Heather Herbert, Dorothy Broom • NSWRM: Suellen O’Brien, Dennis Stanton • QRM: Frances Long • SANTRM: Elizabeth Kwan • TRM: Kerstin Reimers, Sue Walkom • VRM: Bevianne Fitch, Dale Hess WARM: Lesli Grant Young Friends: Gabbie Paananen Standing Committee noted the names of Child Protection Contact Friends present at YM15: Dorothy Broom, Jim Neely (CRM); Garry Duncan (NSWRM); Julian Robertson (TRM), Kevin Spratt (VRM); Margaret Woodward (WARM), Callista Barritt and Mielikki Spratt (YF Pastoral Care Persons) Standing Committee noted the names of Respectful Relationships Contact Friends present at YM15: David Purnell (CRM), Elizabeth Mitchell (NSWRM), Judith Pembleton (QRM), Robin McLean (TRM), Beth Harcourt (WARM), Connor Chaffey and Mielikki Spratt (YFs). Standing Committee noted the recommended names for Clerks for Preparatory Sessions at YM15: Right Holding of YM: Julie Walpole QPLC and Peace & Social Justice Committee: Lyndsay Farrall Earthcare: Harold Wilkinson Handbook entries: Ann Zubrick Australian Friend and Publications: Topsy Evans QLA: Nelson File Respectful Relationships: Ronis Chapman Ethical Investment: Roger Sawkins Backhouse Lecture: David Purnell Friends in Stitches: Cathy Davies & Tessa Spratt First Nations Peoples Concerns: Wilma Davidson FWCC: Maxine Cooper IT Interest Group: Michael Searle QSA: Wies Schuiringa Ecumenism & Interfaith: Liz Field Children & JYFs and Child Protection: Helen Bayes Friends Peace Teams: Jo Jordan

10 YM15.6: Timeframe for greetings from Yearly Meeting

Regional Meeting Clerks were asked to give the YM Assistant Clerks the names and addresses of Friends to receive greetings from this Yearly Meeting. Cards for these greetings will be displayed for signing from Tuesday 6 January to Friday 9 January and then will be processed for posting.

YM15.7: Yearly Meeting timetable and agenda a. Changes to the timetable Friends were asked to note the following additions to the timetable published in Documents in Advance, page 4: The new edition of Adventures in the Spirit will be launched by the Presiding Clerk Julian Robertson and Children & JYF Coordinator Jenny Turton at the YM bookshop at 1.45pm on Monday 5 January. An outing to the Islamic Museum has been arranged on Wednesday afternoon 7 January. The Ecumenism and Interfaith Interest Group will be held from 7.00 to 7.30pm on Thursday 8 January. A group photo will be taken at 5.45pm on Friday 9 January. b. Change to the content for the Preparatory Session on Handbook Changes Of the proposed changes to the Handbook of Practice & Procedure 6th edition (2011) published in Documents in Advance, three were grouped for consideration at a Preparatory Session scheduled for Monday 5 January, 4.00 to 5.00pm. These relate to sections on: 1. Testimonies and the Dictionary of Australian Quaker Biography (proposed by the AYM Secretary, pp. 16 – 18) 2. AYM Hosted Committees (proposed by CRM, pp. 24 – 25) 3. Silver Wattle Quaker Centre (proposed by the AYM rep on the SWQC Advisory Committee, p.71)

Standing Committee noted that the responses from Regional Meetings to (1) and (3) indicated general support, with suggestions for minor changes. However, two Regional Meetings, TRM and NSWRM, submitted detailed changes in response to (2). Standing Committee has recommended that only items (1) and (3) be considered at YM15 and that consideration of (2), changes to AYM Hosted Committees, be deferred. Standing Committee has asked that the AYM Nominations Committee bring forward names for an ‘expert’ AYM committee to consider and bring recommendations about (2) to the July 2015 Standing Committee. We agree to this recommendation. c. Meeting for Remembrance The Meeting for Remembrance will be held on Wednesday 7 January, 8.30 – 9.30am. The YM Assistant Clerks will read to us a list of those Friends who have died since YM14. d. Arrangements for the reading of testimonies Abridged copies of the Testimonies will be read during Yearly Meeting. Copies of the full Testimonies are available in folders at the Help Desk and in the Quiet Room.

Formal Session Testimony Reader

Tuesday, 6 January, 9.30am Compilation of Testimonies of Margaret Bywater

Eve Masterman, Frances Stephanie Farrall Parsons and Pamela Wendell Felicity Rose Smith (TRM)

Wednesday, 7 January, 9.30am David Lance (CRM) Katherine Purnell

Thursday, 8 January, 9.30am Compilation of Testimonies of Rhoda Dorrell Sylvia Brown and Kaye Frances Long Throssell (QRM)

Thursday, 8 January, 2.00pm Compilation of Testimonies of Elizabeth Field Florence Mann and Aina Ranke (NSWRM)

Friday, 9 January, 9.30am Elizabeth Stevenson (SANTRM) Jo Jordan

YM15.8: AYM Nominations Committee

The AYM Nominations Committee has brought forward the following names: • Garry Duncan, Beth Harcourt, Katherine Purnell, and Atticus Toyne as the Epistle Committee for this Yearly Meeting • Tessa Spratt as the AYM representative to Aotearoa/New Zealand YM (appointed using the urgent decision-making process, Handbook of Practice & Procedure s5.2.3) • Jo Jordan as the incoming Presiding Clerk, from the end of YM16 to the end of YM19.

We accept these recommendations and make these appointments.

YM15.9: Letters and media releases sent on behalf of AYM

(a) Letters sent on behalf of Australia Yearly Meeting We noted the following letters signed by the Presiding Clerk since Yearly Meeting 2014:

22 January General Secretary, FWCC Letter of thanks for greetings to YM14 2014 Gretchen Castle

22 January Clerk, Friends Peace Teams Letter announcing decision of AYM to join 2014 Council Tom Martin Friends Peace Teams Council and appointment of Maxine Cooper as AYM representative.

31 January Commissioner, Australian Human Letter of congratulations on new role. 2014 Rights Commission Tim Wilson

6 March 2014 Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Request to take up with Israeli Government its Bishop occupation policies in Palestine.

4 June 2014 Prime Minister Letter about reduction in overseas aid in Tony Abbott Federal Budget 2014/15.

6 June 2014 Sneh Chetsingh Letter of condolence to Sneh Chetsingh on death of her husband Dilawar Chetsingh, AWPS visitor to YM06.

5 August 2014 Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Letter of congratulations on diplomatic work at Bishop UN Security Council re international investigation into Flight MH17 that crashed in Shadow Minister for Foreign

Affairs Tanya Plibersek Ukraine.

6 August 2014 Prime Minister Letter expressing concern about policy on Tony Abbott; Leader of the asylum seekers and refugees. Opposition Bill Shorten; Minister for Immigration Scott Morrison; Shadow Minister for Immigration Richard Marles

2 September Prime Minister Letter urging government to resist any request 2014 Tony Abbott for military involvement in Iraq and Syria.

2 September Navi Pillay Letter of thanks for work as UN Commissioner 2014 for Human Rights.

3 October 2014 Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Letter commending Australian Government Bishop initiatives to support women and girls in Iraq.

9 December Treasurer Joe Hockey Request to reconsider decision to make 2014 further cuts to Australia’s aid program.

The Society, over the signature of the Presiding Clerk, added its name to: ‘Facing the Challenge of Climate Change: a shared statement by Quaker groups’ prepared for the UN Climate Change Summit in New York, September 2014 ‘Open Letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop concerning the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, 8 – 9 Dec 2014’ initiated by ICAN, 24 November 2014 Letter to ABC Chairman about budget cuts to Specialist Religious Programming on the ABC, initiated by Uniting Church, 2 December 2014. A folder containing copies of the letters and responses, where applicable, is available from the Help Desk. (f) Media releases on behalf of Australia Yearly Meeting

22 August Quakers highlight dissent, courage and conscience in World War 1 centenary 2014 exhibition.

YM15.10: The Friends’ School Board appointments

Standing Committee heard that the Association of The Friends’ School Inc. met on 9 December and made the following minute: Nomination of Elective Directors We consider the nominations brought forward by the Board of Governors and TRM and we agree to recommend to Standing Committee that AYM appoint: • Craig Stephens, as a Board of Governors nominee, for a second term of four years beginning in May 2015. • Siobhan Harpur, as a nominee of TRM, for a third term of four years beginning in May 2015. • Sally McGushin, as a nominee of TRM, for a term of two years beginning in May 2015. We note that this fixed term is to coincide with the time at which Sally would have completed her initial term as a previous Board of Governors nominee. • Natalia Urosevic, as a Board of Governors nominee, for a first term of four years beginning in May 2015.

Lyndsay Farrall

Presiding Member Board of Governors, The Friends’ School, Hobart Standing Committee has recommended these appointments go forward to Yearly Meeting. Yearly Meeting accepts the recommendation and makes these appointments.

YM15.11: Dictionary of Australian Quaker Biography (DAQB) Online Project

Standing Committee heard from DAQBOP Coordinator Roger Sawkins that the web version of the DAQB is nearly complete and that back-up files have been created. Future updates will be added to the DAQB website www.bios.quakers.org.au from which the information can be downloaded. Standing Committee discussed whether we need to continue updating the printed versions of the Dictionary presently held in Regional Meeting libraries and a small number of libraries here and overseas. Standing Committee agreed that the printed versions of the DAQB, other than the version held by the AYM Secretary, no longer be updated; and that existing owners and future researchers be referred to the DAQB website from which files can be downloaded; or to the AYM Secretary, who may be able to supply additional information. We endorse the decision of Standing Committee.

YM15.12: Backhouse Lecturer 2016

Standing Committee heard that the Backhouse Lecture Committee wishes to nominate Margery Post Abbott (USA) as the 2016 Backhouse Lecturer. A member of Multnomah Meeting, Oregon, USA, Margery has a wide range of concerns and experience, including prophetic ministry, spiritual discernment, and the link between faith and social justice. She has been Presiding Clerk of the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) and has written a theological reflection on Quaker lobbying. She is currently working on a book on Quakers and prophetic ministry. Margery would travel with her husband Carl, an urban historian, well versed in Quaker history. AYM would be expected to cover the costs for Margery only, and she and Carl would pay the additional costs for Carl’s travel and accommodation. Standing Committee has recommended that the name of Margery Post Abbott go forward to Yearly Meeting; and that Regional Meetings consider hosting Margery and Carl during their time in Australia. We accept the recommendation. Formal Session 2: 7.00pm Sunday 4 January

YM15.13: State of the Society address: minute of record

We have heard the State of Society Address to Yearly Meeting 2015, written and presented by Helen Bayes (VRM). Helen reminded us of the origins of the State of the Society address in the question of early Friends: How does the truth prosper among you? She challenged us with the query from London Yearly Meeting 1926: What is the religious state of your meeting; and is there among you evidence of growth in the truth? We thank Helen for these thoughtful insights into Quakerism in Australia in 2015, as reflected in the reports in Documents in Advance. The full report will be published in Documents in Retrospect and will be submitted to the editorial committee of The Australian Friend.

YM15.14: Introductions and greetings to YM15

Yearly Meeting welcomed Gretchen Castle who serves as General Secretary for Friends World Committee for Consultation in the World Office in London. We heard greetings from • FWCC Asia West Pacific Section Clerk Patricia Macgregor • Friends in Aotearoa/New Zealand • Northern Rivers Local Meeting (NSWRM) • Roger Keyes (SANTRM) • Michael Bayles (CRM) YM15.15: AYM Nominations Committee

Nominations Committee has brought forward the following names: • Elizabeth Field and Kerstin Reimers as minute checkers for YM15 • Roger Sawkins for a fourth term as AYM Treasurer until the end of YM18 • Madeleine Ball as the AYM rep to the FWCC AWPS Business Meeting in Hong Kong, 20 – 25 January (appointed using the urgent decision-making process, Handbook of Practice & Procedure s.5.2.3) • New appointments to the AYM Nominations Committee o Connor Chaffey (YF) to the end of YM16 o David Purnell (CRM) to the end of YM18 o Julie Walpole (TRM) to the end of YM18 o Charles Stevenson (SANTRM) to the end of YM18 o Andrew Bray (VRM) to the end of YM18 o Ann Zubrick (WARM) to the end of YM18

• NSWRM to continue to host the Australian Friend Committee for a further three years to the end of YM18, with Garry Duncan, Rae Litting and David Swain as committee members and Wies Schuiringa as convener.

We accept these recommendations and make these appointments. Because all but two members of the AYM Nominations Committee commence their terms at the end of this Yearly Meeting, we ask RM Nominations Committees to consider staggering the appointments of their representatives.

YM15.16: Request that Regional Meetings establish and maintain standard registers of all commitment ceremonies, including marriages

Standing Committee heard that VRM Registering Officer Tessa Spratt wishes to lay down the Concern that Regional Meetings establish and maintain standard registers of all commitment ceremonies, including marriages. Although generally supportive of standardizing the way they record marriages and commitment ceremonies, Regional Meetings felt many matters required further discernment (Minute SC7.14.19). Standing Committee has asked Jo Jordan and Roger Sawkins to maintain a watching brief on changes to marriage legislation and to report to a future Standing Committee. Standing Committee hopes that legislative changes in the future will enable us to see a clear way forward. We hope this will be done.

15 YM15.17: Nominating authorities of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

Standing Committee heard that the Marriage Law and Celebrants section of the Attorney-General's Department (Cwlth) holds a list of 'nominating authorities of the Religious Society of Friends'. It appears that RM clerks were once considered the appropriate ‘nominating authorities’, as registering officers are appointed by Regional Meetings. However, RM clerks have not been informing the Department when new Clerks take over. The Department has confirmed that one ‘nominating authority’ for the whole of Australia would be acceptable. Standing Committee has recommended that the incumbent Presiding Clerk be listed as the sole 'nominating authority' of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia; and asks the AYM Secretary to register a change of name with the Attorney-General's Department whenever a new Presiding Clerk takes over. We note that Registering Officers for marriages continue to be appointed by Regional Meetings. We agree with this recommendation and ask Regional Meeting Clerks to keep the AYM Secretary informed of the names of their registering officers.

YM15.18: NATSIEC donations

Standing Committee heard that for many years the Society has made an annual donation to the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC), a commission of the National Council of Churches of Australia (NCCA). The NATSIEC donation of $300 allocated for 2013 – 14 was held over because NATSIEC appeared to no longer be active. A further $300 has already been allocated in the 2014 – 15 budget. We ask that the donations allocated for NATSIEC be paid as a gesture of support for the continuation of NATSIEC and ask our Friend Wies Schuiringa, Vice-President of the NSW Ecumenical Council, to report on NATSIEC activities.

YM15.19: AYM Presiding Clerk’s Report

(Documents in Advance, pages 13 - 14) We accept the AYM Presiding Clerk’s report as provided in Documents in Advance and thank him for his service.

YM15.20: AYM Secretary’s Report

(Documents in Advance, pages 14 – 18) We accept the AYM Secretary’s report in Documents in Advance and thank her for her service. We note that the AYM Secretary has proposed changes to the Handbook entries on Testimonies to the Grace of God (s.4.8.5) and the Dictionary of Australian Quaker Biography (s.5.5.3), which will be considered during the Preparatory Session on Monday 5 January, 4.00 – 5.00pm, along with further changes as a result of Minute YM15.11.

YM15.21: AYM Treasurer’s Report

(Documents in Advance, pages 18 – 19) The AYM Treasurer reported that, since publication of Documents in Advance, the AYM loan to Canberra Regional Meeting has been repaid. We have heard that the question of AYM continuing to use the Commonwealth Bank for its banking requirements will be raised in the Investments Preparatory Session.

In response to queries raised in Documents in Advance: (a) We have heard that Tasmania Regional Meeting has installed solar voltaic cells and a solar hot water system at its Meeting House and wishes to be considered for offsetting AYM’s carbon use on air travel. (b) We receive the Treasurer’s Report and accept the 2013 - 14 audited accounts, which are displayed during Yearly Meeting and are available from the AYM Treasurer. We approve the budget for 2014 - 15, which was accepted at Standing Committee July 2014 (SC7.14.3). (c) We agree to reappoint AH Jackson & Co. as auditors for 2014 - 15 financial year.

YM15.22: Acceptance of reports which have no matters for consideration at YM15

Yearly Meeting accepts the reports in Documents in Advance from the following AYM committees, working groups and associated bodies, which have not brought matters for consideration by YM15. • The Australian Friend Committee (p.36) • Australian Friends Fellowship of Healing (p.36) • Australian Quaker Narrative Embroidery: Friends in Stitches (pp.36 – 37) • Backhouse Lecture Committee (p.37) • Ecumenism and Interfaith Reports (pp.44 – 45) • Friends Peace Teams - Australia (p.50) • The Friends School, Hobart (pp.51 - 52) • Information Technology Committee (p.53) • Morrow Bequest Committee (p.56) • Publications Committee (p.58 - 59) • Silver Wattle Quaker Centre Advisory Committee: Report from AYM representative (p.70) [The proposed entry to the Handbook of Practice and Procedure will be considered during the Preparatory Session on Monday 5 January, 4.00 – 5.00pm] • Thanksgiving Fund Committee (p.72) • Yearly Meeting Planning Support Committee (pp.72 - 73) • Young Friends (p.73) Formal Session 3: 9.30am Tuesday 6 January

YM15.23: Testimony

A compilation of the Testimonies to the Grace of God in the lives of Eve Masterman, Frances Parsons and Pamela Wendell Smith (TRM) was read by Margaret Bywater, Stephanie Farrall and Felicity Rose (TRM). We hold in the Light Colin Wendell Smith who is with us at YM15. Formal Session 4: 9.30am Wednesday 8 January

YM15.24: Meeting for Remembrance

During the Meeting for Remembrance, the names of Friends who had died during the past year were read: Jenny Bosse, David Lance (CRM); Marea Gazzard (died 2013), Florence Mann (NSWRM); Sylvia Brown, Elizabeth Sharp (QRM); Peter Daughtry, Andrew Duguid, Dean Hull, Diana Lorking, Christopher Nordin, Ray Mylius (SANTRM); Alan Lester, Eve Masterman, Joy Mitchell, Frances Parsons, Pamela Wendell Smith (TRM); Anne Baulch, Brenda Binks, Rick Holden, Fiona Reddaway (VRM); Peter Whitaker (WARM).

YM15.25: Testimony

The Testimony to the Grace of God in the life of David Lance (CRM) was read by Katherine Purnell (TRM).

YM15.26: Summary of Epistles

Ray Brindle (VRM) presented a Summary of Epistles received from Yearly Meetings around the world. The full text of this summary will be in Documents in Retrospect. We note that epistles from Yearly Meetings around the world, including Australia, are posted on the FWCC website. We ask that when sending our Epistles to other Meetings around the world, we consult with Friends who have come to Australia as refugees about whether they would like to contribute an accompanying message to be sent with the epistle.

YM15.27: Right holding of Yearly Meeting

[Commenced in Formal Session 3 and continued in Formal Session 4] (Documents in Advance, pp. 67 – 70) 1. Timing of future Yearly Meetings We have heard a report from the Preparatory Session, at which Friends looked forward to the implementation of changes to the timing of Yearly Meetings and Standing Committees as recommended by Mid-year Standing Committee (minute SC7.14.10). We have heard from Young Friends that they ‘support the proposed trial change to the timing and location of Yearly Meeting, understanding that there will be a review at YM19.’ [Minute YF1.15.3] We accept the recommendations of Standing Committee in relation to future Yearly Meetings, as set out in Documents in Advance, that AYM: • continue to hold Yearly Meeting on an annual cycle • change the timing of Yearly Meeting to the July school and university holidays, commencing with YM16 • commence in July 2016 the trial of holding Yearly Meeting at The Friends' School every third year • hold Yearly Meeting at venues in other Regional Meetings in the years in between.

The proposed pattern would be: • YM16: 2 - 9 July, The Friends' School, Hobart • YM17: July, Adelaide • YM18: July, NSW • YM19: July, The Friends' School, Hobart

We ask the Right Holding of Yearly Meeting Working Group to arrange monitoring of the trial changes to Yearly Meeting and Standing Committee and report to the mid-year Standing Committee in February 2018. We heard from Philippa Albrecht and Nansen Robb on behalf of Junior Young Friends that, while they understand that it is more practical to move YM from January to July, the move will present difficulties for the majority of JYFs in the 16 and 17 year-old age bracket who have assignments to complete during the school holidays. The JYFs reported that they would like to have a voice at Yearly Meeting to contribute to the business of the Society. We encourage them in this vision. The JYFs proposed a separate JYF and YF camp in January. We heard a number of further suggestions: extending the Easter family camp at Silver Wattle Quaker Centre to include more 18

JYFs as well as YFs; a summer gathering (similar to the Aotearoa/New Zealand YM model), which included a program for JYFs; a week-long all-age event on the model of Friends General Conference, with a focus on nurturing of the spirit. We ask the Children & JYF Committee to continue consultation with the JYFs, to consider these suggestions and bring a proposal to Mid-year Standing Committee 2015. We note that Regional Meetings have taken into consideration the need to assist children and JYFs to maintain contact during the long gap between YM15 and YM16. 2. Timing of future Standing Committees We accept the recommendations of Standing Committee in relation to future Standing Committees, as set out in Documents in Advance, that AYM: • hold 'mid-year' Standing Committee in February each year, in conjunction with the AGM of Australia Yearly Meeting Inc. to meet our reporting requirements as an incorporated association. In addition to Standing Committee members being able to attend, other members of Australia Yearly Meeting will need to attend in order to achieve a quorum of 30 members from at least three Regional Meetings. • consider the annual budget at the July 2015 meeting and then at the pre-YM Standing Committee 2016 - 19.

The proposed pattern of Standing Committees would be: • 16 – 18 July 2015, Hobart, face-to-face meeting to include consideration of the AYM budget • 26 – 28 February 2016, Adelaide, face-to-face meeting, including the AYM AGM • February 2017, WARM has offered to host this meeting.

3. Exploration of alternative ways to conduct business (a) Consideration of alternatives to the nominations process We note the response from the AYM Nominations Committee in Documents in Advance (pp. 68 - 69) and their openness to explore alternatives to our present nominations process. We support the concept of developing clear definitions of the roles Friends are asked to undertake in their service to the Society. We remind Friends that each Regional Meeting, as well as Young Friends, has a representative on the AYM Nominations Committee who can receive suggestions of names of Friends to serve on AYM committees. We affirm that spiritual discernment of all the names that arise for consideration for service is central to our Quaker ways. (b) Consideration of Aotearoa/New Zealand YM processes of conducting business The Preparatory Session heard a report from our Aotearoa/New Zealand YM visitor Murray Short about the three types of discernment processes used in their Yearly Meeting • Distributed decision-making, using the Clerk’s Newsletter • Discernment by Standing Committee • Discernment by Yearly Meeting in session, through the system of White Papers and Gold Papers.

The report will be published in Documents in Retrospect. (c) Consideration of alternatives to face-to-face meetings of Standing Committee. We support the efforts of the AYM Information Technology Committee to explore technologies that will enable Standing Committee and other AYM committees to conduct meetings other than face- to-face meetings.

19 4. Yearly Meeting Planning Support Committee We note that the Yearly Meeting Planning Support Committee, formed at YM14, has commenced work and we encourage them in their plan to update the online manual, The A to Z of Planning a Yearly Meeting.

YM15.28: AYM Nominations Committee

The AYM Nominations Committee has brought forward the following names: • Judith Pembleton (QRM), Roger Sawkins (QRM) and Michael Searle (CRM) to serve on an ‘expert’ AYM Information Technology Committee to the end of YM18 • Alan Clayton (CRM) as AYM representative to the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC) • Bevan Wiltshire to replace Taisoo Kim Watson as QRM representative on The Friends’ School Quaker Values Committee until 2019 • Judith Pembleton (QRM), Robin Sinclair (SANTRM) and Elizabeth Mitchell (NSWRM) who have been appointed by their respective regional meetings to the Respectful Relationships Committee. Acey Teasdale will remain as an advisor to NSWRM Respectful Relationships until another Contact Friend is appointed.

We accept these names and make these appointments. We encourage the YF Nominations Committee to bring forward the name of a Young Friend to join the AYM Information Technology Committee.

YM15.29: Quaker Peace & Legislation Committee and Peace & Social Justice Fund Committee

We have heard a report from the Peace Preparatory Session, covering matters raised in the reports of the Peace & Social Justice Fund Committee and the Quaker Peace & Legislation Committee, as well as peace activities in which Friends have participated in the past year. This report will be in Documents in Retrospect. We have heard of the importance of raising money and supporting the work for peace undertaken by these two committees. Regional Meetings are asked to consider making contact with their local Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and joining them in celebrations for the centenary of WILPF on 28 April 2015. We remind Regional Meetings that the World War 1 Centenary travelling exhibition, ‘World War 1: Quaker witness to peace and nonviolence’ is available to tour, and encourage them to contact Jenny Madeline [email protected] to make arrangements. Peace & Social Justice Fund Committee report (Documents in Advance, pp.56 – 58) We note that in addition to the grants reported in Documents in Advance, the AYM Peace & Social Justice Fund Committee made a grant of $15,000 to Abel Siboniyo for his work with refugees from the African Great Lakes Region who now live in South East Queensland. QRM will administer this grant. The AYM Clerk, Secretary and Treasurer and one other member of Standing Committee approved the grant, which exceeded the limit for a single grant (10% of the capital). We agree to accept the changes to the second last paragraph of section 5.6.4 of the Handbook Present Handbook entry (section 5.6.4) Grants from the Fund of up to $4000 can be made directly by the committee. Larger grants can be made if approved by Standing Committee or Yearly Meeting. This limit does not apply for the Peace & Legislation Committee and the Peace Testimonies Committee. These committees can support applications of whatever size directly to the Fund, whether

for Quaker projects or not, and without requiring Yearly Meeting or Standing Committee approval. Proposed entry to replace the present entry (with new wording underlined) Grants from the Fund can be made directly by the committee. A single grant of more than 10% of the Fund’s capital requires the agreement of the Presiding Clerk, the AYM Secretary, the AYM Treasurer and one Regional Meeting Clerk or the agreement of Standing Committee. Grants of more than 20% of the Fund’s capital in one calendar year also require the agreement of the AYM Presiding Clerk, the AYM Secretary, the AYM Treasurer and one Regional Meeting Clerk or the agreement of Standing Committee. Quaker Peace and Legislation Committee report (Documents in Advance, pp.60 – 63) We accept the QPLC’s suggested changes to section 5.3.6 of the Handbook with the addition of the word ‘ethical’ to the phrase ‘from other sources’ so that it would read ‘from other ethical sources’. (new wording underlined) The Quaker Peace & Legislation Committee aims to monitor international and national legislation, and government policies and actions regarding matters of particular interest to Friends. The purpose is to keep Quakers informed of issues by circulating briefing sheets indicating basic details and possible action by Friends locally and beyond. The committee can also make representations to government or parliament on behalf of Friends, or propose such action to the Presiding Clerk, Standing Committee or Yearly Meeting. The committee may initiate particular peace projects, including in cooperation with Regional Meetings, to enhance the involvement of Friends in peace concerns. Financial support for the committee’s work comes from the AYM Peace & Social Justice Fund (5.6.4), from Regional Meetings, and from other ethical sources. Formal Session 5: 9.30am Thursday 7 January

YM15.30: Testimony

A compilation of the Testimonies to the Grace of God in the lives of Sylvia Brown and Kaye Throssell (QRM) was read by Rhoda Dorrell and Frances Long (QRM).

YM15.31: Earthcare

(Documents in Advance, pp.43 – 44) We have heard from Phillip Toyne (CRM) the background to the proposal to make Earthcare a stand-alone Testimony. In the absence of an AYM Earthcare Committee, Phillip has carried forward the Concern of Earthcare during the past year. We have heard that the Preparatory Session endorsed the Standing Committee recommendation that, in section 1.4.2 of the Handbook, the words ‘and environment (concern for each)’ be removed so that the fourth entry reads as ‘Community’ and that a separate entry for ‘Earthcare’ be added. We agree to this recommendation. We are reminded that we are called to live our testimonies. We have heard that the informal email network of Friends with a Concern for Earthcare, formed at YM14, has not been sustained. WARM Friends have offered to explore the possibility of their Regional Meeting hosting an AYM Earthcare Committee. There was strong enthusiasm for this initiative. We look forward to a report of WARM’s deliberations at Mid-year Standing Committee. Our attention has been drawn to the statement, Facing the Challenge of Climate Change: A shared 21

statement by Quaker groups prepared by QUNO Geneva in 2014, which AYM, as well as other Yearly Meetings around the world, have signed. We accept this statement and ask that it be circulated to Meetings and Worshipping Groups for wide dissemination.

YM15.32: Investment Concern

(Documents in Advance, pp.54 – 56) We have heard that the Preparatory Session contained extensive discussion of such matters as changing banks and aspects of ethical investment. Information about useful reports, resources and websites was shared. Caroline Le Couteur, Executive Officer of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, reported on the success of ACCR's actions in 2014 to improve disclosure about how much carbon is financed. We ask the Finance Committee to look at finding a more suitable bank for AYM's accounts (possibilities mentioned include Bendigo Bank and Bank MECU). Friends with additional suggestions are asked to send them to the AYM Treasurer. We encourage individuals and Regional Meetings who wish to do so to join the national Move Your Money initiative scheduled for Global Divestment Day, 14 February, and that an identifiable Quaker presence (perhaps via a photo to be taken this week) form the basis of publicity and outreach. We encourage individuals and Meetings to write letters to the bank they are divesting from and the bank they are moving to, explaining the reasons for the change. In response to discussion of the need for an expert individual or group to advise individual Friends and Regional Meetings who wish to take further action, we ask Regional Meetings if they have individuals who feel led to do this. In the meantime, we hope that CRM will maintain a watching brief on these issues on behalf of AYM. We have heard of an Oxfam campaign to discourage the big four banks—Commonwealth, National Australia, Westpac and ANZ—from financing ‘land grabbing’. ‘Land grabbing’ is a term used to describe the buying or leasing of large pieces of land in developing countries by domestic and transnational corporations, governments and individuals. Although welcomed by some as contributing to agricultural investment and development, other NGOs and commentators argue that it has had negative impacts on local communities. Friends are encouraged to learn more about this campaign (‘Banking on Shaky Ground’ on the Oxfam website) and support it as they are led. We ask that a media release be prepared from YM15 and ask our representative on the ARRCC to report our decision for possible inclusion in the ARRCC newsletter. Formal Session 6: Thursday 8 January 2.00pm

YM15.33: Testimony

A compilation of the Testimonies to the Grace of God in the lives of Florence Mann and Aina Ranke (NSWRM) was read by Elizabeth Field (NSWRM).

YM15.34: First reading of the Epistle from YM15

Katherine Purnell, on behalf of the Epistle Committee, read the first draft of the Epistle from YM15. Friends who wish to suggest alterations and additions are asked to write their contributions on the draft, which will be on the Minutes noticeboard.

22 YM15.35: Proposed new entry in the Handbook for Silver Wattle Quaker Centre

(Documents in Advance, pp. 70 - 72) We have heard that Ann Zubrick (WARM), Susan Addison (AYM Secretary), David Johnson (recent Co-Director of SWQC) and Anne Felton (Clerk of the Board of SWQC) have further refined the proposed new entry for Silver Wattle Quaker Centre at the request of the Preparatory Session. The revision below takes into account the RM responses to Documents in Advance and suggestions from the Preparatory Session. Silver Wattle Quaker Centre (SWQC) is a place for retreats, learning and healing. In response to a leading to establish a Quaker centre in Australia, following three years of discernment (2007-2009) and an 18 month trial period (2010-2011), SWQC was established in 2011 at a former sheep-grazing property on the western edge of Weereewa (Lake George), 40km from Canberra. The Centre is independent of Australia Yearly Meeting and is managed by the Board of Directors of Silver Wattle Quaker Centre Ltd, a company limited by guarantee (ABN 201 467 232 02). The Board is advised and supported by committees. All Board members are Quakers and the Board devolves operational control and management to Centre Director/s and staff. Silver Wattle Quaker Centre aims to: • Have an atmosphere of prayer, simplicity and gratitude before God • Be willing to encounter deeply First Nations Peoples’ spirituality and care of this land and its peoples • Welcome the spiritual presence in all who come to Silver Wattle • Embody Quaker practice in all its aspects and activities • Reflect a way of life that is spiritually, physically, environmentally and economically sustainable in Australia.

SWQC promotes social and religious education, witness and service, and is a place for: • healing and rest • training and ministry for all who seek lives of service • leadership and prophetic ministry • listening to and learning from First Nations Peoples • learning and sharing Quaker spirituality and heritage • experiencing a practical, Spirit-led, sustainable community.

SWQC runs regular workshops and retreats on various subjects relevant to Friends from Australia and overseas, and welcomes participation from all spiritual seekers, whether or not they are part of a faith tradition. The Centre facilities are available for hire, for activities that are compatible with Silver Wattle’s vision. Australia Yearly Meeting nominates a person to serve on the Silver Wattle Quaker Centre Ltd Advisory Committee for a term of three years. We acknowledge that the AYM representative to the Advisory Committee is our formal link to SWQC and that the addition of a brief role description of the AYM representative would be valuable. However, we recognise that the role is still evolving and we are not yet ready to provide a role description. We accept this draft and ask the AYM Secretary to insert the section in the Handbook within section 5.4 AYM service and collaboration, along with entries for Quaker Service Australia and The Friends’ School. We ask the AYM representative on the Advisory Committee to bring a proposal for an additional paragraph on the role description to a future Yearly Meeting.

YM15.36: Proposed changes to Handbook sections on Testimonies to the Grace of God (s. 4.8.5) and Dictionary of Australian Quaker Biography (s.5.5.3)

(Documents in Advance, pp. 16 – 17) The AYM Secretary explained to the Preparatory Session that the impetus for making changes to the section on Testimonies was that customs for writing Testimonies were not widely known, or followed; and for the Dictionary of Australian Quaker Biography, that all information will soon be online. We have heard that this year more than 300 entries will be uploaded to the website www.bios.quakers.org.au covering entries relating to Australian Friends who lived in Australia before 1862 as well as the Testimonies and minutes brought to this Yearly Meeting. Although the AYM Secretary will no longer be sending out updates for the print versions, RM and other libraries are able to print out from the website copies of information of particular interest to them. Changes to section 4.8.5 Testimonies to the Grace of God The Preparatory Session addressed a number of questions raised by Regional Meetings in relation to changes to section 4.8.5, Testimonies to the Grace of God. We note that, in the context of the Handbook of Practice and Procedure, the word 'Friend' covers both Members and Attenders, so Attenders do not need to be mentioned as a separate category for whom Testimonies may be written. We ask that in paragraph 1 the words ‘to become a Memorial Minute’ be deleted, so the sentence reads: ‘The minute may be brief and factual, or extended.’ We ask that the word 'children' be retained, and not replaced by ‘offspring’. We have heard that NSWRM was concerned about the 'legalistic language' in paragraph 4 on p.17. We ask the AYM Secretary to make the proposed changes to section 4.8.5. We ask NSWRM, if so led, to bring proposed rewording to paragraph 4 in Documents in Advance, p.17, to a future Yearly Meeting. Changes to section 5.5.3 Dictionary of Australian Quaker Biography (Documents in Advance, pp.17 - 18) We ask that the entry, as proposed, go ahead, with the following changes to reflect minute YM15.11: Deletion of the words ‘and distributes’ [line1, p.18]; and ‘either in print or’ [line 1, para. 3, p.18] Substitution of ‘have been’ for ‘are’ [line 2, para 4, p.18]. Addition of a final sentence: ‘The print versions, apart from the one held by the AYM Secretary, are no longer updated, since all the information is accessible online.’ We ask the AYM Secretary to make the proposed changes to section 5.5.3 of the Handbook.

YM15.37: The Australian Friend and AYM Publications Committee

(Documents in Advance, pp.36, 58 – 59) We have heard the report of the Preparatory Session, and note that changing The Australian Friend to an online publication has resulted in savings of $5,000 per annum and a subsequent reduction in RM quotas.

We remind Friends who have difficulties reading The Australian Friend online that they can still request to be on the mailing list for print copies. We heard a request for a revival of the ‘Know One Another’ articles and ask the AYM Nominations Committee to assist in finding a Friend to coordinate this page. We are pleased that NSWRM is willing to continue to host the Australian Friend Committee. We appreciate that the monthly AYM Secretary’s Newsletter complements the reflective articles in the quarterly journal, The Australian Friend, by covering current news and events. We note that Friends can buy AYM publications, such as this we can say and all Backhouse Lectures since 2008, through Interactive Publications http://ipoz.biz/Titles/Quakers.htm. Pauline Books and Media, which has provided books for sale at Yearly Meeting in recent years, now stocks a range of Quaker books in its outlets in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide or through its online bookshop [email protected]. Quaker books may also be purchased as e-books or in print from online bookshops such Friends General Conference Bookshop and the Quaker Centre Bookshop in London. The Quaker Centre Bookshop suggests Australian Friends order e-books to avoid the high cost of postage from England to Australia. The AYM Secretary will arrange for a reprint of the AYM edition of Advices and Queries early in the year and will contact Regional Meetings to confirm orders.

YM15.38: Respectful Relationships

(Documents in Advance, pp.66 - 67) We have heard that the Respectful Relationships Committee is revising and updating the Respectful Relationships Guidelines (including a description of the role of a Respectful Relationships Contact Friend) and that a draft will be completed by Mid-year Standing Committee 2015. The Respectful Relationships Committee asks RM Nominations Committees to stagger the replacement of the Respectful Relationships Contact Friends so that newly appointed Contact Friends can be supported in the role. We remind RM Clerks to inform the AYM Respectful Relationships Committee convener when new Contact Friends are appointed. Young Friends have recently appointed two Respectful Relationships Contact Friends and we encourage Contact Friends to offer support to these Young Friends. We note that $1000 is allocated in the AYM Budget to assist Contact Friends to attend the annual workshop, and that some Regional Meetings offer additional financial support to those attending. We ask all Regional Meetings to supplement the funds provided by AYM for workshop attendance. We agree that it is appropriate to hold separate workshops for Respectful Relationships and Child Protection Contact Friends. However, we are also concerned about the cost of holding an annual workshop and suggest that, in future, the workshops be held every two or three years, supplemented by regular online meetings. We have heard that the committee is considering appropriate ways to record the work of Respectful Relationships Contact Friends and the incidents that are addressed. A recommendation will be brought to Mid-year Standing Committee 2015. We encourage Regional Meetings to hold an information session on Respectful Relationships once a year. Support material is available from the committee.

25 YM15.39: Quaker Learning Australia (QLA)

(Documents in Advance, pp.54 - 60) The QLA Committee, hosted by Tasmania Regional Meeting, has established a lively and active committee that has close connections with the Meeting for Learning facilitators and coordinators from Queensland where the September retreat was held in 2014 and will again be held in 2015. QRM shared how powerful the impact of Meeting for Learning has been for all Friends, especially isolated Friends. We have heard that the QLA website is being updated and new pages added, including links to web-based resources and learning materials. We have also heard about the possibility of sharing these resources with Friends in the AWPS region. The committee has made a commitment to contact people who are not connected to the Internet and invites Friends to share ideas on how this can be respectfully achieved. We also heard how social media sites serve to connect Friends in their spiritual understandings. Victoria Regional Meeting has offered to host the Meeting for Learning retreats in 2016 and 2017. The committee looks forward to providing them with assistance in terms of template letters, budget and action notes.

YM15.40: Refugees and asylum seekers

Friends with a concern for refugees and asylum seekers met during YM15 to share sources of information, and news of actions they are taking individually and collectively to support refugees and asylum seekers. Suggested sources of information mentioned include: the websites of the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce, ‘We are Better than This’, and of Julian Burnside. The document published by Australia 21, Beyond the Boats: building an Asylum and Refugee Policy for the Long Term is also recommended. We note that the QPLC Watching Brief ‘Forced migration’ (November 2014) is available on www.quakers.org.au. We ask that the following letter be sent to the Minister for Immigration over the signature of the Presiding Clerk and that individual Friends, as well as Local and Regional Meetings, consider using it as a guide for writing letters to the editor or to members of parliament. We ask Regional Meetings to send copies of the letter to ecumenical and interfaith groups with whom they are in contact. [Date] Dear … Members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) have discussed the Australian Government’s policy and practice concerning people seeking asylum in Australia. We believe that any such policy should treat these persons with respect and compassion. We consider any other approach to be inhumane and unacceptable, and potentially in breach of international law. We also believe that our present treatment of asylum seekers is alienating us from our neighbours and is counter-productive for safety, wellbeing and peace in our region. The disparity between our nation’s stability and that of neighbouring countries results in many people wishing to come to Australia. This calls for a positive long-term solution, not the present unpredictable and often brutal policy. The cost of Australia’s onshore and offshore detention system is the equivalent of over half of the entire budget of UNHCR for all its projects. The UNHCR spends AUD 5.8 billion each year to support 51.2 million people of concern worldwide, while Australia spends over AUD 3.3 billion on the detention of several thousand asylum seekers. The current Australian policy is not only inhumane, but is financially unsustainable in the light of the present pressing financial situation of Australia. We have read the recommendations from the November 2014 Australia 21 round table report Beyond the Boats, and ask that their findings be implemented. The report states that Australia’s three-fold goals should be:

1. To retain appropriate order and control over the immigration program by tackling the problem of people smuggling and preventing deaths caused by unsafe journeys at sea; 2. To be sensitive to the regional implications of our policy choices; and 3. To manage the cross border movement of people in a way that respects the human rights of asylum seekers and is consistent with international legal obligations towards refugees and others at risk of harm.

We look forward to your reply. In peace Julian Robertson Presiding Clerk Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia Inc. Formal Session 7: Friday 9 January 9.30am

YM15.41: Testimony

The Testimony to the Grace of God in the life of Elizabeth Stevenson (SANTRM) was read by Jo Jordan (SANTRM). We hold our Friend Charles Stevenson in the Light.

YM15.42: First Nations Peoples Concerns

(Documents in Advance, pp.45 – 48) The Preparatory Session heard that Regional Meetings were concerned about definition and language in the document, ‘Ways Forward for Quakers and other concerned Australians’, jointly prepared by First Nations Peoples and Friends at the March 2014 SWQC gathering and published in Documents in Advance, pp. 47 – 48. We have heard that the document was completely redrafted at the First Nations Peoples Concerns Summer School in order to make the language more acceptable to Friends, and to clarify how Friends could support First Nations Peoples. We are reminded that there is not one group of First People in Australia; rather, many First Nations and clans with different cultures, language and history; and that we must be mindful of this. Suggested ways that Quakers can support First Nations Peoples included: • Talking softly with local First Nations Peoples, and listening well to them, sitting with them, working with them, going beyond being sorry; • Asking Regional Meetings to report back to Yearly Meeting what is happening in their local area; • Fostering long-term respectful relationships with local groups and individuals; • Adopting a habit of respectful listening, remembering that the way forward is self-determination; • Adopting the goal to 'walk with us, where we are' (e.g. with permission, learning local languages); • Being aware of different views and avoiding taking sides; • Honouring the importance of art and culture, and sharing our art and culture; • Ensuring at YM gatherings that Wednesday excursions include connection with local First Nations and clans /individuals/places of importance.

We have heard that, although the concept of sovereignty is not mentioned in the redraft, we need to recognise First Nations Peoples’ sovereignty to have any chance of developing a shared vision for this country. The document, as revised at YM15, reads as follows:

27 Ways Forward for Quakers and other concerned Australians to support First Nations Peoples Preamble This we can say: Millennia before Britain occupied Australia there were many complex indigenous relationships to country, which included the entire continent and its surrounding seas. First Nations Peoples (FNP) were unlawfully and immorally deprived of their lands and liberties through force of arms, by the application of legal fictions such as terra nullius and the ignoring of specific articles from the British Crown for the protection of FNP rights. The ongoing trauma felt by FNP as a result of past and continuing policies and attitudes of Australian governments and many non-FNP Australians, will be felt for generations to come. It will take time, love and support for the healing of all. Reconciliation between FNP and non-FNP can only happen when we engage in compassionate listening, acknowledge past wrongs, and work together to create a process where the need for self-determination is acknowledged and respected. The basic building block of a reconciliation process is created when trust, respect and deep relationships are undertaken by people engaging with each other, and learning from each other at all levels. We believe that the process to achieve national reconciliation, freely agreed between FNP and non-FNP, should be supported by Quakers. This may include but not be limited to appropriate amendments to the constitution; and treaties, agreements and reparation documents at both national and regional levels. Quakers will seek to create opportunities for FNP and non-FNP Australians to come together to develop a process of reconciliation and will bear witness to ensure fairness and equality for FNP if they choose to follow this course. Role of Quakers in support of First Nations Peoples Involvement in the reconciliation process. What actions? • Acknowledge our advantage and our responsibility to educate ourselves with regards to history, culture, and spirituality • Individually and collectively reflect on right relationships with FNP • Make contact at a local level • Identify and offer tools, for example, AVP and other modes of non-violence training, governance, mediation and negotiation skills; and provide facilitation if and when requested.

We ask Regional Meetings to report to AYM about their work with FNP, reflecting on these questions adapted from Reconciliation Australia: • What might I do differently and what might Quakers do differently to build better relationships with the First Nations Peoples of Australia? • What might I do differently and what might Quakers do differently to have and show respect for the First Nations Peoples of Australia? • What might I do differently and what might Quakers do differently to bear witness to the ongoing conditions of First Nations Peoplesʼ health, education, land rights and other areas related to self-determination? Supporting quotes from Quaker documents All our actions and hopes are grounded in our Quaker way. Specifically, we refer to our testimonies, to the postscript to the 1656 epistle from the elders at Balby, to Advices & Queries, and to the Bible.

Luke 6:42 How can you think of saying ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye’ when you can't see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye. New Living Translation (www.biblehub.com) Advices & Queries 18 For thousands of years before 1788, this country was lived in by various Aboriginal peoples, at one with the land. Through colonisation, much of their land and culture has been lost to them, and their children have been taken from them; they have suffered the injustice of racism, and material, psychological and spiritual deprivation. Can we acknowledge with sorrow the loss of life and the ongoing destruction of their languages, families and communities, appreciate the depth and strength of Aboriginal beliefs and values and learn from Aboriginal people and accept the gifts they have for all of us? Can we all, as Australians, work towards living together as equals with mutual understanding and respect? Advices & Queries 46 The land of Australia is not our possession. We are no more than temporary guardians of it; neither the first nor, probably, the last. In the brief time of European settlement, vast areas of this country have been damaged. Do you try to live in harmony with the land, knowing that you are part of it? Do you protect and husband its water and other resources? Do you look with respect on the claims and rights of others to share in the wealth and freedoms of Australians? this we can say 5.28, p.260 At a meeting on cultural diversity I was shocked to hear myself accused of racism. Me? The most tolerant of souls, I had fondly thought. The issue was my preoccupation with getting on with the job. It took me some time to accept that some cultures find this task-orientation oppressive, ignoring as it does the value of process, of giving things due time. Further, that people of other (more process-oriented) cultures could feel consistently devalued because of the domination of this value system in Australian society. Laurel Thomas 1997 this we can say 5.34, p.264 For reconciliation to be effective, it must become more than a cosy word that makes us feel good. Real reconciliation reflects actual relationship. It demands the honesty and courage of self- knowledge, and the letting go of many previously held attitudes. To work for real reconciliation, we shall need to summon fresh Light to help us face what we must about ourselves and our culture. We shall need a spiritual awareness that challenges our comfortable parameters, and a faith strong enough for us willingly to go where we may never have ventured before. In our desire to redress the wrongs done to Aboriginal peoples, we have focused on alleviating their material suffering with measures we consider appropriate—better housing, education, health-care, greater representation in our whitefella political structures, more jobs, more money. We want to be fair; we want to be generous; we want to include them in our life here. It is often hard to accept that, as long as our ecocidal practices continue, our well-meant offerings are frequently experienced as a continuation of the genocidal policy of assimilation. How can we discover what Aboriginal peoples need if we consider ourselves to be the hosts in this land? How shall we ever listen to the Earth's needs if our own desires clamour above our ability to hear? Susannah Brindle, 2000 this we can say 5:35 Finding Connections, p.265 During 2001, our Brisbane Meeting explored points of connection between Quaker spirituality and that of the Indigenous peoples with whom we share this country … To prepare a framework for the discussions, Susan Addison and Lynne Laver, as co-convenors, met with Mary Graham, a Kombumerri person who is also affiliated with the Waka Waka group. Together, we identified much common ground including: • Appreciation of silence • Sense of awe in nature • Caring for the land (e.g. our meeting house rainforest) can be a spiritual act • Respect for the whole person, including those who are different • Deep sharing in circles • Simplicity through non-hierarchical, non-competitive, non-materialistic society 29

• Decision-making by general agreement and concord • No priests as intermediaries—the individual contributes his or her abilities or gifts for the benefit of the whole society • Spirituality permeates the whole of life—no holy days, everyday life is sacred. Susan Addison 2001

Ho'opono'pono - Hawaiian Healing Process I'm sorry Please forgive me I love you Thank you

1(a) Yearly Meeting accepts the above document, Ways Forward for Quakers and other concerned Australians to support First Nations Peoples, and asks RM clerks to disseminate the document to Meetings and Worshipping Groups. (b) We ask Regional Meetings and Friends, both individually and corporately, to study and think seriously about the matters raised in the document, and try to act on them. 2. We ask Regional Meetings to report to AYM about their work with FNP, reflecting on these questions adapted from Reconciliation Australia: • What might I do differently and what might Quakers do differently to build better relationships with the First Nations Peoples of Australia? • What might I do differently and what might Quakers do differently to have and show respect for the First Nations Peoples of Australia? • What might I do differently and what might Quakers do differently to bear witness to the ongoing conditions of First Nations Peoples’ health, education, land rights and other areas related to self-determination?

3. We ask Friends who are so led to explore ways of participating in First Nations Peoples processes aimed at having sovereignty for First Nations Peoples acknowledged. 4. We ask that the First Nations Peoples Concerns Committee continue under the care of VRM. We ask the committee to report to Mid-year Standing Committee 2015 as to whether it wishes to continue in its present form or to invite new membership.

YM15.43: Australian Friends Fellowship of Healing

We have heard that the Australian Friends Fellowship of Healing was allocated a very accessible room as a healing space at YM15 and that it was well used. Cards were there for signing, and at 5.00pm each day well-attended healing meetings were held. The AGM of the Australian Friends Fellowship of Healing, which included the report from the Australian Friends Fellowship of Healing Charitable Trust, was held on 8 January at 3.30pm. Two of the three trustees were present.

YM15.44: Australian Quaker Survey: minute of record

We have heard that a summary of results from the 2014 Australian Quaker Survey was presented at a Share and Tell session during YM15. The preliminary summary of results from the survey is available on the Members section of www.quakers.org.au. We thank Peter Williams (CRM), who coordinated the survey, for his service. We give him permission to offer the results for publication in The Australian Friend, and also in relevant academic journals, as has been done with the Britain YM survey. We hope there will be further analysis of the rich source of comments from Friends included in the report.

We hope the working party of Topsy Evans, Kerry O’Regan (SANTRM) and Ronis Chapman, Christine Larkin, Erica Fisher and Geoffrey Ballard (CRM) will continue to advise on further analysis of the results and promote their dissemination to all Friends for ongoing consideration. Formal Session 8: Friday 9 January 2.00pm

YM15.45: Second reading of the Epistle from YM15

Garry Duncan, a member of the Epistle Committee, read a second draft of the Epistle from YM15.

YM15.46: Quaker Service Australia (QSA)

(Documents in Advance, pp.63 – 64) We accept the report in Documents in Advance. 1. QSA AGM We have heard a report from the QSA AGM held on Thursday 8 January during YM15. At the request of the QSA AGM, we confirm the following Friends as members of QSA until YM16: Garry Duncan, John Dundas, Tom Dundas, Chloe Mason, Michael Morrissey, Jackie Perkins and Audrey Wilson (NSWRM); together with the names of the following Friends who have been appointed by their respective Regional Meetings to membership of QSA: Mardi Naulty (CRM), Glyn Naunton (NSWRM), Marian James (QRM), Priscilla Jordan (SANTRM), Barbara Wilde (TRM), Helen Irvine (VRM), and Christina Lyall (WARM). We confirm these appointments. We note that the AYM Presiding Clerk and the AYM Secretary are ex-officio members of QSA. We note that the QSA office-bearers are: Michael Morrissey (convener and public officer) and Garry Duncan (treasurer). 2. Report from the Preparatory Session for QSA We have heard that the QSA convener received a copy of correspondence from an RM QSA Management Committee representative to the Presiding Clerk dated 30 November 2014, expressing a number of areas of concern. These were: • QSA’s relationship to AYM, including the process of transferring QSA to another host RM, should that be required; • QSA current and future governance, addressing both the structure of the Management Committee and the question of whether QSA be an incorporated association or a company; and • Length of time to complete the restructure review.

We have heard that the QSA convener proposed a timetable for addressing the issues raised, which was sent to the Presiding Clerk to assist discernment at the January 2015 Standing Committee meeting. Standing Committee asked that the timetable be discussed at the QSA Preparatory Session. The QSA Preparatory Session has recommended the following timetable to address the concerns: • that the QSA Management Committee be asked to expand the Rules of Association Subcommittee, with the inclusion of a non host RM QSA Management Committee representative; • that the expanded Rules of Association Subcommittee prepare an interim report based on all of the issues raised in the correspondence and reviewed by the full QSA Management Committee. This report is to be included in 2015 Mid-year Standing Committee papers; • that feedback from Regional Meetings and Mid-year Standing Committee inform discussion 31

with the full QSA Management Committee meeting, now planned for later in 2105; • that a final issues paper be developed by the full QSA Management Committee and presented to the February 2016 Standing Committee meeting for further feedback and advice; • that a reviewed Issues Paper, based on feedback and advice, be taken to YM16 for discernment of the most appropriate governance structure for QSA; and • that the QSA Management Committee trial a process like the gold papers and white papers system as used in Aotearoa/ New Zealand YM for this process.

We accept these recommendations.

YM15.47: Backhouse Lecture: minute of record

The presentation of This we can do: Quaker faith in action through the Alternatives to Violence Project was a rare and lively history of the origin and development of experiential AVP workshops around the world. Using elements of the workshop, Sally Herzfeld and her team explained how activities involving listening, speaking, reflection and fun helped liberate and empower participants in prisons, schools, youth groups and communities to find peaceful ways of resolving conflicts. The process engaged and delighted the audience in the crowded auditorium. The lecture challenged Friends to renew their involvement in AVP and encouraged AVP facilitators to understand AVP’s Quaker roots. Print and e-book copies of the lecture can be bought from Interactive Publications: http//ipoz.biz/Store/orders.htm. A videotape of the lecture, copied to a USB stick, is with the AYM Secretary. Regional Meetings interested in having a copy should contact the AYM Secretary.

YM15.48: Ecumenism and interfaith

The Preparatory Session noted that the only ecumenism and interfaith reports in Documents in Advance were two regarding the NCCA. As an update to the NCCA report in Documents in Advance, we note the appointment of Elizabeth Delaney, a Sister in a Catholic order, as the new NCCA General Secretary. We have heard that Regional Meetings are participating in ecumenical and, more particularly, interfaith events and organisations. These included a Jewish-Christian dialogue and an interfaith forum in Canberra, and interfaith meetings organised by a Buddhist group in Toowoomba. We heard about a religious festival held at MONA in Hobart, at which Friends had a stall with information about Quakers, and a Meeting for Worship was held. JYFs took part in this festival, which gave them opportunities to learn about other faith traditions. State ecumenical bodies were reportedly more active and lively in some states than others. Wies Schuiringa (NSWRM) is Vice-President of the NSW Ecumenical Council. Sue Ennis (VRM), secretary of the Melbourne-based Religions for Peace group, reported that the group has organised interfaith forums and an interfaith conference at Griffith University. It conducts teleconferences to disseminate information on such issues as chaplaincy in hospitals and schools, domestic violence, and readings in Parliament. Its website is www.religionsforpeaceaustralia.org.au We hope that Friends will share their ecumenical and interfaith activity through their Local and Regional Meeting newsletters or The Australian Friend, so that the RM Clerks will have information to report to future Yearly Meetings.

32 YM15.49: Recognition of Australia’s Frontier Wars in Anzac Day ceremonies: request for a letter to the Prime Minister and others

We have heard a request from the Share and Tell Group that saw the David Bradbury film Waging Peace. The film recorded the nonviolent actions of Quakers and others on Anzac Day 2014 in Canberra. Police interrupted an attempt by people carrying banners acknowledging Frontier Wars in Australia to join the Anzac March to the Australian War Memorial. The group asks that AYM take up the concern for official recognition at Anzac ceremonies of those involved in resisting occupation of their land. We see such recognition of Frontier Wars as a contribution to reconciliation. We ask the QPLC to prepare a letter for the Presiding Clerk to send to the Prime Minister, the RSL, the Director of the Australian War Memorial and other appropriate leaders.

YM15.50: Nominations

The AYM Nominations Committee brought forward the following names: • Lorraine Thomson (CRM), Wies Schuringa (NSWRM) and Pamela Leach (TRM) for the committee to review proposals to revise the Handbook entry on ‘hosted committees’ • Pamela Leach and Julie Walpole (TRM) as coordinators for the ‘Know One Another’ page of The Australian Friend • Sue Parritt (VRM) and David Tehr (WARM) to serve on the Backhouse Lecture Committee to the end of YM21. [Mark Macleod (NSWRM) has laid down work on this committee.] • Margaret Bywater (TRM), Jenny Stock (SANTRM), Brian Harlech-Jones (CRM) to serve on the Publications Committee until YM18. • On the AWM FWCC Committee: o Madeleine Ball (TRM) has agreed to serve a further term to YM19 o Replacing Mary Grbavac (QRM) is Marian James (QRM) to end of YM19 o Replacing Anna Wilkinson (VRM) is Dale Hess (VRM) to end of YM19 o Ronis Chapman (CRM) to serve to end of YM17, in addition to her ex officio role as FWCC AWPS Secretary.

We accept these names and make these appointments.

YM15.51: AYM FWCC Committee

We have heard a report of the FWCC presentation at which members of the AYM FWCC Committee and overseas visitors to YM15—Gretchen Castle, Machiko Takeda and Murray Short and Niwa Short—were introduced. Gretchen Castle spoke of the vision of FWCC, of her work as General Secretary, and of practical ways we can support the work of FWCC. Machiko Takeda presented a very comprehensive picture of Quakerism in Japan. We thank Paul Barnier, also of Japan YM, who acted as interpreter for Machiko. The text of her presentation will be included in Documents in Retrospect. The meeting expressed a deep interest in developing dialogue with Friends in Japan on peace issues. A panel of Friends—Margaret Bywater, Sieneke Martin and Murray Short—spoke of highlights of their FWCC year. We were reminded that attending FWCC events promotes a sense of belonging to the worldwide family of Friends and that it is important to encourage different people to attend them. We were reminded that FWCC belongs to us all. We ask the FWCC Committee to continue consultations with Young Friends about the possibility of inviting a Young Friend from the AWPS region to future Yearly Meeting gatherings.

The AYM FWCC Committee has recommended that AYM invite a representative from a Monthly Meeting in Korea as the AWPS Visitor to YM16. We ask the committee to make further enquiries about the appropriate Monthly Meeting in Korea to approach and to notify the AYM Secretary so that a formal invitation may be sent. Formal Session 9: Saturday 10 January 9.30am

YM15.52: AYM Children’s and Junior Young Friends Committee

At the Children and Junior Young Friends (JYFs) Preparatory Session, Justine Shelton reminded us that the way in which we include and provide for our children and JYFs is about the way we see ourselves in community. AYM Children & JYF Coordinator Jenny Turton reported on her work during 2014. The presence of 17 children and 32 JYFs at this Yearly Meeting demonstrates the strong support she has provided for these age groups through her newsletter and consultative visits. David Albrecht (VRM) is helping Jenny to provide more resources on the AYM website, including links to overseas Quaker and interdenominational sources. The committee plans to offer training workshops for children’s and JYF meetings in Regional and Local Meetings. The committee asks Regional Meetings to invite Jenny to plan and provide workshops, with timing and content that suits their needs. She can provide training on such issues as centering, holding intergenerational worship, and being ready for children who come unexpectedly. Regional Meetings are encouraged to nominate someone to work with Jenny, and to provide the necessary travel and accommodation for both. We were urged to remember the needs of children who come to meetings from non-Quaker families. We were reminded that the Aotearoa/New Zealand YM Summer Gathering is a wonderful event for families. JYFs Susan Albrecht and Emily Bray reported that JYFs wish to offer service during their camps, perhaps to homeless people, refugees, or hospitalized children, or on jobs at Silver Wattle Quaker Centre. We encourage them in this vision. We have heard that, following a successful review, AYM has contracted Jenny Turton to continue to coordinate activities and resources for children & JYFs from 1 January 2015 to 1 January 2016. The Children and JYF Committee has asked that the Children and JYF coordinator position be maintained until one month after YM16 (i.e. August 2016) and that funding be continued thereafter. We encourage Regional Meetings to contact the Children’s and JYF Coordinator Jenny Turton if they wish her to conduct training workshops in their meetings, and to provide the necessary travel and accommodation for both Jenny and another Friend to work with her. We ask that the Children and JYF Coordinator position be maintained until August 2016 and that the committee bring a recommendation to Standing Committee 2015 as to how the position can be maintained as a permanent position.

YM15.53: Child Protection

(Documents in Advance, pp.37 – 39) At a combined Preparatory Session with the Children and JYF Committee, Alan Clayton (VRM) reported on the revision of the AYM Child Protection Policy and Procedures by the Child Protection Committee. We thank Angie Were (VRM) who brought her professional experience in child protection to the task. The revised document is on the open section of the AYM website. Alan Clayton also reported on the resolution of the 1966 sexual abuse incident said to have occurred on the property of the Quaker meeting house in Adelaide. He highlighted the manner in which the processes adopted in handling the claim were guided by and reflected our testimonies, 34

particularly that of integrity. At no time was the bona fides of the claimant or the veracity of the claims challenged, and these instructions were conveyed to the solicitors acting on our behalf. The investigating police officer acknowledged the valuable assistance of Adelaide Friends who searched Quaker records in the archives and ensured that no possible piece of evidence was overlooked. A report of how the Society handled the claim, prepared by the AYM Secretary, is available in the Members section of our website. We heard that Dorothy Scott, through her professional expertise and practical experience as a VRM Child Protection Contact Friend, has identified nine areas of the AYM Child Protection Policy and Procedures requiring examination by the Child Protection Committee. A copy of her report will appear in Documents in Retrospect. She drew attention to minute YM14.54(e) which asked Local and Regional Meetings [to] review their child protection processes, their list of approved carers … at a Meeting for Worship for Business once a year. It is suggested that this is done early in the calendar year. Only one Regional Meeting appears to have complied with this request. Dorothy Scott noted that such a failure potentially leaves children vulnerable and also exposes the Society to a serious risk of legal liability. Accordingly, she recommends that as a matter of urgency, each Regional Meeting needs to conduct an annual audit of their child protection practices. If this cannot be conducted within the Society, she recommends that AYM appoint an external auditor to perform this function on an annual basis. Ronis Chapman reported briefly on the training workshop held in Hobart from 31 October to 1 November 2014. A minute of record of the workshop will be in Documents in Retrospect. We heard concerns from the workshop about the care and protection of those 16 and 17 year olds who choose to attend YF camps. The child protection requirements are a heavy responsibility for Young Friends, the main issue being accidents and injury. We heard a minute from Young Friends stating that they value the flexibility of allowing 16 and 17 year olds to continue to attend Young Friends camps, if they choose, as a gradual transition between JYFs and YFs. 1. We ask Regional Meetings, as a matter of urgency to conduct annual audits, using the VRM template developed by Dorothy Scott, and to fully comply with the Society’s policy and procedures as well as legal requirements. 2. We ask the Child Protection Committee to (a) consider if, and under what circumstances, the transitioning group of 16 and 17 year olds could continue to take part in YF gatherings, taking into consideration the AYM Child Protection Policy & Procedures, as well as insurance and legal requirements; and to propose ways forward; (b) consult with relevant committees (Young Friends, Child Protection, Children & JYFs, and Respectful Relationships); and (c) bring recommendations to Standing Committee in 2015 or 2016.

YM15.54: Friends Peace Teams

(Documents in Advance, pp.48 – 50) We have heard a request that, in recognition that Friends Peace Teams is a Quaker organisation working for peace, AYM provide a line item in its budget of $1,000 as a support donation. This would be for the use of the Friends Peace Teams Asia West Pacific working group. We agree to this request.

35 YM15.55: Information Technology Committee

(Documents in Advance, p. 53) We have heard a report from the Information Technology interest group session held during YM15. The group recognised the need for the IT committee to undertake the following tasks, which substantially constitute its brief: • Enhance our capabilities in online presence, via website and social media • Redevelop our capabilities for YM registration • Improve the facilities of our membership list • Investigate technological ways of holding dispersed meetings • Investigate aids to electronic sharing of YM papers during YM in session, in addition to existing paper dissemination • Investigate live-streaming. The IT Committee invites Friends who have skills in these areas to contribute, either in the committee or to any of its projects, and asks them to contact the committee convener Roger Sawkins. Regional Meetings will soon be receiving a suggestion from the IT Committee that they review the back-up arrangements for essential information held by officers of their meeting.

YM15.56: Friends in Stitches: A snapshot, January 2015

We have heard a request from Friends in Stitches Coordinators Tessa Spratt and Cathy Davies that the publication they are preparing for their visit to Aotearoa/New Zealand YM in May 2015, Friends in Stitches: A snapshot, January 2015, be an AYM publication. Photographs and text are already prepared. We ask the AYM Publications Committee to facilitate publication. Friends who wish to order copies are asked to contact Tessa Spratt [email protected].

YM15.57: Silver Wattle Quaker Presentation: minute of record

During the Silver Wattle Quaker Centre presentation at YM15, we heard of the challenges and milestones of the Centre’s first five years of operation in the light of several concerns expressed at Yearly Meetings during this period. On-screen photos showed the work done to improve what was considered the ‘degraded’ landscape of the property. We heard that weed control is underway and a major re-vegetation project has started in conjunction with Greening Australia. We heard about the connections made with First Nations Peoples in the area, and of three Australia-wide workshops facilitated by the First Nations Peoples Concerns Committee that have been held at Silver Wattle. We also heard of the gift of the sacred fire, and how this is cherished at Silver Wattle. We were told of the various income streams of Silver Wattle, the work of the bookkeeper, that there have been four clear audits in the black and how the financial turnover has increased over the five years. Careful oversight of the financial matters is an important aspect of the work of the Board and Centre Director. We heard about recent repairs and improvements to the building, including the rainwater tanks, installed to help Silver Wattle’s sustainability. Work done during gardening weeks and working bees has resulted in more vegetables and fruit being produced on-site. We were also told of the many spiritual benefits that Friends and others have received from their stay at Silver Wattle, the inspiration and healing qualities of the land itself being important aspects of this.

We heard of the ongoing negotiations between The Australian Friends Fellowship of Healing Charitable Trust and Silver Wattle Quaker Centre Ltd in relation to the building of the Olaf Hodgkin Unit, an Australian Home of Healing. Among the operational aspects briefly explored were the 2015 program, how it was developed, and how the courses are classified; and the introduction of the Meeting Passes to all Meetings in Australia and how they have been used. We heard about the opportunities offered for voluntary staff at Silver Wattle, including Friends in Residence, cooks, and other opportunities to help according to a person’s interests and gifts. Tracy Bourne (VRM) told us of her strong leading to apply for the directorship at Silver Wattle, her family’s joyful acceptance of this opportunity for service, and her hopes for 2015 at Silver Wattle.

YM15.58: The Friends’ School: minute of record

Nelson File, Principal of The Friends' School, gave a presentation at YM15, structured around the questions raised in an earlier presentation by Helen Bayes. Of central importance was the formation of the new Quaker Values Committee and its role. Nelson and Maddy Walker, Quaker Coordinator at the school, then answered questions from the Meeting. Ronis Chapman (CRM) described her day with Grade 5 students, during which she and three other Friends ran an AVP session for children, part of the HIPP program.

YM15.59: Summer Schools: minute of record

The theme for YM15 and Summer School was Life in the Light. The Summer School was held on Sunday 4 January from 9.30am to 5.00pm. Ten different groups related to the theme were offered: • A day of silence to contemplate life in the Light • Life in the Light: viewing the non-traditional Quaker colours • Celebrating 70 + • Quakerly inquiry processes • Celebrating the centenary of Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and the contribution of Quaker women • The evidence of spiritual reality • First Nations Peoples’ sovereignty and life in the Light • Quakers and business in the Light • Lifelong learning in the Light • Mandalas and mindfulness

YM15.60: Quakerly inquiry processes

We have heard that members of the Quakerly Inquiry Processes Summer School have offered to communicate the emerging Quakerly Inquiry methodology through channels such as The Australian Friend. They have also offered practical assistance on Friends’ projects and activities. The group has already received requests to assist in gathering feedback from Summer School, and in conducting the periodic review of the trialing of mid-year Yearly Meetings.

YM15.61: Share and tell sessions at YM15: minute of record

We have heard that Friends had difficulty in choosing between Share and Tell sessions because of the rich variety offered. On Thursday, the following sessions were offered:

• The Dictionary of Australian Quaker Biography (Roger Sawkins) • Plants and Space (Lloyd Godman) • Stitching Together a Pilgrimage to Iona and A National Quaker Conference in a Circus Tent? (Lisa Wriley and Beth Harcourt) • Preliminary Results of the Australian Quaker Survey (Peter Williams) • Want to hear about the ‘Kindlers’? (Margaret Calvert, Britain YM) • Screening of the film Waging Peace (Dawn Joyce) • Friends in Stitches (Tessa Spratt)

On Friday, the following sessions were offered: • Quakers and Nonviolent Communication (NVC) (Jo Temme and Susan Clarke) • Sharing my concerns through fiction (Sue Parritt) • The lady on the five-pound note—Elizabeth Fry (Barry Fry) • Justice and re-investment—drug law reform (Peter Dwyer) • Treaty of Waitangi Relationships (Murray Short, Aotearoa/New Zealand YM) • Putting Earthcare into effective action (Phillip Toyne, Andrew Bray) • AVP energizer activities (Sally Herzfeld) • BEND eco-neighbourhood in Bega (Jenny Spinks) • FWCC worldwide (Ronis Chapman and Gretchen Castle) • Quaker songs (Helen Gould) • Quakerly processes (Yoland Wadsworth)

We ask the organisers of future Yearly Meetings to consider spreading Share and Tell opportunities across more days of the Yearly Meeting, rather than only two days.

YM15.62: Nominations Committee

The AYM Nominations Committee has brought forward the following names: • Bev Polzin as AYM representative on the NCCA Faith & Unity Commission to YM18 • Callista Barritt to replace Elizabeth Field on the NCCA Executive Committee to YM18

We accept these names and make these appointments. We thank the AYM Nominations Committee convener Stephanie Farrall and those on the committee whose term was completed at YM15. We note that Julie Walpole has agreed to act as convener of the AYM Nominations Committee.

YM15.63: Closing minute

As YM15 in Melbourne ends and we set homeward courses, let us give thanks for the unique community that has been ours for this past week. This was a diverse community, united by Quaker ways of worship, of process, of practice and of relationship. The spirit of love, of truth, of trust was amongst us. We give thanks to those, known and unknown, who have held us in the Light this week and we send our loving thoughts to those who could not be with us during YM15. We are mindful of the considerable amount of time and effort spent in the planning, preparing and running a Yearly Meeting. We thank our hosts, Victoria Regional Meeting, the members of their Yearly Meeting Organising Committee and the many volunteers who have taken much care of us, and we thank them deeply. Our appreciation extends to the staff at Queen’s College, who assisted without hesitation in response to our, sometimes quirky, requests. We met ‘one with another’ in a spirit of goodwill and friendship, and our business was undertaken

in a worshipful manner. Our children led us in worship, and their playful energy was uplifting. The Junior Young Friends, a larger group this year, enjoyed an active program which included a three- night camp, and participated in a Formal Session. It was a pleasure to observe the close bonds of friendship amongst them, particularly after their return from camp. We thank the adults and Young Friends for their service in providing the program for our younger people. This year Yearly Meeting had an Elders Committee, and the settling influence of the quiet presence of elders from all Regional Meetings was felt by many. In conclusion, I offer this extract from Truth of the Heart, by Rex Ambler. It is a George Fox quotation, slightly adapted to modern English. The theme is inwardness. 1.23 Stay inside. And when they say, Look here, or Look there is Christ, don’t go out there, for Christ is inside you. And those who try to seduce you and draw your minds away from the teaching inside you are opposed to Christ. For the portion is inside, the light of God is inside, and the pearl is inside, though hidden. And the word of God is inside you and you are the temples of God, and God has said he will make his home in you and walk with you. So why go to the temples of idols outside you? Epistle 19 (1652), Works 7:27

Julian Robertson Presiding Clerk

Appendices to the Minutes Aotearoa/New Zealand YM ways of conducting business

[See minute YM15.27.3(b)] Background The primary reasons for introducing new ways of conducting business were threefold: • Yearly Meeting ‘in session’ was becoming increasingly unmanageable with a long agenda and what seemed at times, interminable consideration of some topics. • Decision-making was slow, in the sense that for some decisions it was necessary to wait for YM ‘in session’ even though some decisions could be made by Standing Committee. • We also observed that the number participating in YM ‘in session’ was low and there tended to be a subset of people who attended which was quite different from those who attended, by way of example, Summer Gathering.

We tried initially to address this by combining YM with our Summer Gathering but that created other issues primarily because they are two very different events with different purposes. We therefore looked for new ways of doing business with the aim of: • Fostering more inclusive decision-making, i.e. involving those who traditionally attend YM, those who attend Summer Gathering and those who attend neither on a regular basis • Dealing with matters as they arise to the extent possible rather than accumulating most decisions for YM in session • Preparing people in advance for each agenda item so that less time was taken ‘in session’ and space was created for emerging and important concerns.

The framework We settled on a framework of three decision-making processes: • In session—preceded by consideration in Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups of Documents in Advance and White Papers • Distributed—using YM Clerks’ letter as the vehicle • Standing Committee (also distributed)—email exchanges to make decisions mostly on procedural matters.

The process YM ‘in session’ is generally held in May • Documents in Advance, which have been prepared in the standard way, are sent to Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups in early February. • Monthly Meetings hold session(s) to consider Documents in Advance and minute any decisions reached on matters identified for such decisions. Questions and issues that arise are also minuted. • Where unity is reached, those are recorded as decisions of YM. • Where there is no unity and questions or issues are raised, these are referred by the YM Clerks to the relevant committee or individual. • The Clerks compile White Papers to record the decisions on which unity was reached and to record the responses of committees and individuals to the questions and issues raised. Late reports and papers can also be included. • Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups then hold sessions(s) to consider White Papers and a similar process is followed as with the original Documents in Advance • The YM Clerks repeat the process for Gold Papers except these are not sent out to Monthly Meetings but provided to those who attend YM in session.

• This process leads to the identification of the matters that need further consideration at YM in session or that could be deferred beyond that. The Clerks can also specifically ask in White Papers for approval to include particular items on the agenda of YM in session.

Distributed YM decision-making • The YM Clerks prepare a monthly letter to Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups. • The content includes: - a list of matters for decision, each with the required background information, - a record of decisions made from previous YM Clerks’ letters, - revised job descriptions - notification of YM position vacancies - matters for noting such as appointments, events, testimonies, etc. • Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups consider the matters for decision and minute the result. • When there is unity on a decision it is recorded as a decision of YM and included with the minutes of the following YM in session.

Standing Committee • Functions by email in much the same way as in the past • Focuses on procedural matters.

How well does it work? Advantages • It does lead to a greater sense of ownership of decisions because everyone knows that they had several opportunities to be involved in the decision-making process, even if they didn’t take up those opportunities. • There has definitely been greater involvement of Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups in the business of the Society especially through the distributed decision-making via the YM Clerks’ letter. • YM in session has improved significantly and there is a much greater sense of worshipful discernment with less pressure of time. There has also been more space for a matter to emerge and be dealt with from within the deliberations in YM sessions. • People are generally better prepared for consideration of matters at YM in session.

Disadvantages • The extent of involvement in consideration of Documents in Advance and White Papers depends on how well each group encourages such involvement. At worst, the sessions are attended only by those who intend to go to YM anyway. At best, there is broad-based involvement of Members and Attenders. • Inevitably there is some variation in individuals’ use of the system. Some will attend YM in session without having attended any of the preparatory sessions in their Meetings and some won’t have read the preparatory documents. This is becoming less common as a result no doubt of such individuals being reminded of the process when their contribution at YM in session reveals a lack of preparation. • It is sometimes difficult to identify which matters can be effectively decided by distributed decision-making. Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups need background information in order to give proper consideration to a matter and sometimes the information provided is inadequate or unclear. There is a skill to preparing a discussion paper and clearly identifying decision options. • Once the distributed process identifies a lack of unity, it makes it difficult to have the matter further considered, no matter how strong the leadings of those with the concern.

41 Nominations The ANZ approach to nominations has several streams which are complementary rather than exclusive. • YM Nominations Committee can and often does identify individuals who have a gift for a particular position, approach that individual and if they agree, recommend the individual to YM • Nominations Committee can also ‘advertise’ a vacant position through the YM Clerks’ letter. They will often do this when they have been unable to identify an appropriate individual. This is an invitation to Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups to put forward names of appropriate people, rather than an invitation to individuals to ‘apply’. • If an individual expressed interest in a position, this would normally first be considered by their Monthly Meeting who would decide whether to put their name forward to Nominations Committee. • If an individual expressed interest in a position direct to Nominations Committee, that Committee would then go through their normal process of discernment which includes checking with the individual’s Meeting.

I would see the ‘advertising’ of positions as just another process to be used at times alongside all other processes and involving the same checks and balances. Murray Short Aotearoa/New Zealand YM visitor to YM15 Australia Yearly Meeting appointments

* Please note — • All email addresses in Italics end in @quakers.org.au • Appointments are listed as known at 15 January 2015. See Members Page of www.quakers.org.au for lists updated through the year. • Appointments run to the end of the Yearly Meeting in the year listed AYM Officers Role Names To Email * Presiding Clerk Julian Robertson, TRM 2016 ymclerk Incoming Presiding Clerk Jo Jordan, SANTRM 2019 Private email Secretary Susan Addison, QRM 2017 ymsecretary Treasurer Roger Sawkins, QRM 2018 ymtreasurer

Committees and Working Groups Role Names To Email * The Australian Friend Committee Garry Duncan, Rae Litting, Wies Schuiringa (convener), David Swain. 2018 AustFriend NSWRM ‘Know One Another’ coordinators: Pamela Leach & Julie Walpole, TRM. AYM Secretary’s Advisory Committee, QRM Duncan Frewin, Judith Pembleton, Roger Sawkins, Bevan Wiltshire 2017 Backhouse Lecture Committee Hannah Chapman-Searle, Young Friends 2017 bl Elizabeth Kwan, SANTRM 2017 Garry Duncan, NSWRM 2018 Sue Parritt, VRM 2021 Dawn Joyce, QRM 2019 David Tehr, WARM 2021 David Purnell, CRM (convener) 2019 Child Protection Committee 2016 Val Boyd, TRM; Ian Emerson, CRM; Henry Esbenshade, WARM; Angela Were, VRM.

Child Protection Contact Friends: Dorothy Broom & Jim Neely, CRM; Garry Duncan & Alison Irving, NSWRM; Oddur Augustsson & Heather Myers, QRM; Gillian Lewis, SANTRM; Jane Picton & Kevin Spratt, VRM; Tania Aveling, Henry Esbenshade & Margaret Woodward, WARM; Val Boyd & Julian Robertson,TRM

Children & Junior Young Friends Committee, Tracy Bourne (convener), Anne Brown, Kyrstie Crane, Justine Shelton, Meilikki Spratt, 2017 children VRM VRM; Jasmine Payget, NSWRM; Henry Esbenshade & Beth Harcourt, WARM; Eddy Greeves, Young Friends Children & JYF Coordinator: Jenny Turton, VRM Children & JYF Coordinator Support Group: Stephanie Farrall, TRM; Geoff 42

Greeves, SANTRM; Beverley Polzin, VRM RM correspondents: Raina Emerson, CRM; Jo Jordan, SANTRM; Carole McQueeney, TRM; Jasmine Payget, NSWRM, tba, QRM; Monica Sharwood, WARM Finance Committee, QRM Roger Sawkins (Treasurer), David Lowry, Helen Webb finance First Nations Peoples Concerns Committee Sharee Harper, Chris Hughes, VRM (convener); John McMahon, Margaret Spong, 2018 (formerly Indigenous Concerns Committee) VRM; David Carline, QRM; Aletia Dundas, NSWRM; Anthea Nicolls, SANTRM RM correspondents: Sue Doessel, QRM; Aletia Dundas, NSWRM; John Duguid, SANTRM; Harald Ehmann, SANTRM; Margaret Evans, CRM; Malcolm Firth, WARM; Jackie Perkins, QSA; Ruth Primrose, Central Australia; Quaker Peace & Justice Committee, TRM; tba, VRM Friends in Stitches; Australian Quaker Cathy Davies, NSWRM & Tessa Spratt, VRM (co-conveners); Garry Duncan, 2017 tapestry Narrative Embroidery, NSWRM NSWRM Friends in Stitches RM contacts: Catherine Dabron, CRM; Cathy Davies, NSWRM; Ruth Raward, TRM; Elizabeth Kwan, SANTRM; Robin Sinclair, SANTRM; Tessa Spratt, VRM; Mary Grbavac, QRM; Patricia Wood, WARM. The Friends’ School Board Lyndsay Farrall, TRM, Presiding Member, Board of Governors 2018 (Appointments until May in listed year) Siobhan Harpur, TRM, Deputy Presiding Member 2019 Ron Martin, TRM 2017 Sally McGushin, TRM 2017 Board nominees James Cretan, Presiding Member of Executive Committee 2018 Craig Stephens 2019 Karen Davis 2017 Louise Giudici, Staff nominee 2017 Robert Pennicott 2017 Elaine Stratford, TRM 2018 Natalia Urosevic 2019 Ex officio: Presiding Clerk Julian Robertson, TRM, and Principal Nelson File, TRM Quaker Values Committee: Garry Duncan, NSWRM; Lyndsay Farrall, TRM (convener); Nelson File, TRM (Principal, ex officio); Siobhan Harpur, TRM; Helen Irvine, VRM; Jo Jordan, SANTRM; Allan Knight, WARM; Ron Martin, TRM; Julian Robertson, TRM (Presiding Clerk, ex officio); Michael Searle, CRM; Maddy Walker, TRM (Quaker Community Coordinator, The Friends’ School); Bevan Wiltshire, QRM. Friends World Committee for Consultation Madeleine Ball, TRM 2019 fwcc (FWCC) Committee Connor Chaffey, Young Friends 2016 David Evans, SANTRM 2015 Dale Hess, VRM 2019 Aletia Dundas, NSWRM 2016 Adrian Glamorgan, WARM 2016 Marian James, QRM 2019 Ronis Chapman, CRM 2017 Ex officio AWPS Secretary Ronis Chapman Quaker United Nations Committee NY (FWCC appointee) Sieneke Martin AWPS Treasurer Geoff Greeves Handbook entry on ‘hosted committees’: Pamela Leach, TRM; Wies Schuiringa, NSWRM; Lorraine Thomson, CRM 2016 committee to review Information Technology Committee Judith Pembleton, Roger Sawkins, Michael Searle 2018 Nominations Committee Julie Walpole, TRM (convener) 2018 nominations David Purnell, CRM 2018 Charles Stevenson, SANTRM 2018 Andrew Bray, VRM 2018 Jackie Perkins, NSWRM 2016 Ann Zubrick, WARM 2018 Valerie Joy, QRM 2016 Connor Chaffey, Young Friends 2016 Peace & Social Justice Fund Committee, Dale Hess & Chris Hughes (co-conveners), Sieneke Martin, Jim Palmer, Dorothy 2016 psjfund VRM Scott Presiding Clerk’s Support Committee, TRM Lyndsay Farrall, Stephanie Farrall, Pat Firkin, Peter Jones, Jess Lund, Katherine 2016 Purnell Publications Committee Margaret Bywater, Brian Harlech-Jones, CRM; TRM; Judith Pembleton, QRM; Jenny 2018 publications Stock, SANTRM; Quaker Learning Australia, TRM Siobhan Harpur (convener), Stephanie Farrall, Alison Imbriotis, Pamela Leach, Robin 2017 qla McLean, Margaret Mollison, Jen Newton, Katherine Purnell, Jenny Seaton, Kevin Sheldon, Maggie Storr, Felicity Rose QLA Meeting for Learning facilitators Fiona Gardner, VRM; Catherine Heywood, VRM; Jenny Spinks, CRM; Sue Wilson, (appointed by QLA) QRM

Quaker Peace & Legislation Committee Harold Wilkinson (convener), Margaret Bearlin, Jeane Bicket, Ronis Chapman, 2016 qplc (QPLC), CRM Margaret Clark, Shelini Harris, Gareth Knapman, Greg Parkhurst, David Purnell. RM Correspondents: Greg Parkhurst, CRM; Martin Moore, NSWRM; Margid Bryn- Burns, QRM; Peri Coleman, SANTRM; Gill Paxton, TRM; Beverley Polzin, VRM; Ed Garrison, WARM Quaker Service Australia (QSA) Management Garry Duncan (Treasurer), John Dundas, Tom Dundas, Chloe Mason, Michael 2016 qsa Committee, NSWRM Morrissey (convener), Jackie Perkins, Audrey Wilson. AYM Presiding Clerk & Secretary (ex officio) Michael Morrissey (Public Officer) QSA Regional Meeting appointments Helen Irvine, VRM; Marian James, QRM; Priscilla Jordan, SANTRM; Christina Lyall, 2015 WARM; Mardi Naulty, CRM; Glyn Naunton, NSWRM;.Barbara Wilde, TRM. Respectful Relationships Committee (consists Margaret Moreton & David Purnell, CRM; Elizabeth Mitchell & Acey Teasdale respectfulrelatio of Contact Friends from each RM) (advisory role), NSWRM &; Kathy Damm & Judith Pembleton, QRM; David Barry nships (convener) & Robin Sinclair, SANTRM; Robin McLean & Chris Schokman, TRM; Beryl Homes, Cliff Picton, VRM; Beth Harcourt & Lili Bowes, WARM; Connor Chaffey & Mielikki Spratt, YFs. Right Holding of Yearly Meeting Working Presiding Clerk Julian Robertson; AYM Secretary Susan Addison; AYM Treasurer 2015 Group Roger Sawkins; Topsy Evans, SANTRM; Ros Haynes, TRM; Michael Searle, CRM The Sanctuary Management Committee, Miriam Goodwin (convener), Ruth Haig 2016 Sanctuary NSWRM Bill Brennan 2017 Thanksgiving Fund, TRM Lyndsay Farrall (convener), Sheila Given, Peter Jones, Ron Martin, Julian Robertson, 2016 Felicity Rose, Colin Wendell-Smith, Barbara Wilde Yearly Meeting Organising Committee Nelson File, TRM; Jenny Madeline, NSWRM; Michael Searle, CRM; Emily Walpole, 2017 ymorganisation YF; Julie Walpole, TRM; Anna Wilkinson, VRM; Harold Wilkinson, CRM Australia Yearly Meeting Representatives Role Names To Aotearoa/New Zealand Yearly Meeting Tessa Spratt, VRM 2016 Friends Peace Teams Council Maxine Cooper, VRM AYM rep on the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change Alan Clayton, VRM (ARRCC) AYM rep to attend FWCC AWPS Business Meeting Jan 2015 Madeleine Ball, TRM 2016 NCCA Heads of Churches meetings Presiding Clerk 2016 Presiding Clerk; Drew Thomas, SANTRM, Alternate to Presiding Clerk 2016 NCCA Executive Committee members Callista Barritt, NSWRM 2019 NCCA ACT for Peace Commission Sieneke Martin, VRM 2016 NCCA Faith and Unity Commission Beverley Polzin, VRM 2018 NCCA Social Justice Network Wies Schuiringa, NSWRM 2016 Silver Wattle Quaker Centre Advisory Committee Kerry O’Regan, SANTRM 2016 Young Friends’ Appointments Role Names To Email Clerk Larissa Barritt, CRM 2017 yfclerk Treasurer Mielikki Spratt, VRM 2016 yftreasurer Communications Eddy Greeves, SANTRM 2017 Nominations Gabbie Paananen, NSWRM 2017 yfnominations Callista Barritt, NSWRM 2016 yfnominations Larissa Barritt, CRM 2016 Alex Brosnan, TRM 2017 A/NZ exchange Gabbie Paananen, NSWRM 2016 YF Liaison with Silver Wattle Quaker Centre tba YF Respectful Relationships Contact Friends Connor Chaffey, VRM; Mielikki Spratt, VRM YF Pastoral Care Persons Callista Barritt, NSRM; Mielikki Spratt, VRM Associated bodies (Not appointed by Australia Yearly Meeting) Role Names To Rollo Brett, CRM; Richard Dening, QRM; TBA, SANTRM; Katherine Smith, NSWRM; Beverley Polzin, VRM; Alternatives to Violence Project N/A Jim Thom, WARM. Ruth Haig, NSWRM (Coordinator); Barbara True, SANTRM (Wholeness editor); Moira Darling, AFFH rep on Australian Friends Fellowship of SWQC Advisory Committee).

Healing (AFFH) Local Conveners: Lesli Grant, WARM; Heather Herbert, CRM; Mary Pollard, NSWRM; Barbara True, SANTRM; Maggi Storr, TRM; Don Tugby, QRM; Kaye Wright, VRM; Australian Friends Fellowship of Healing Charitable Trust (AFFH Trustees: Colin Wendell-Smith, TRM; Peter G Wilde, TRM; Margaret Woodward, WARM CT) Friends Peace Teams Australia Marion Sullivan, QRM, Clerk; Jan de Voogd, NSWRM, Asst Clerk; Valerie Joy, QRM, Secretary; Jasmine

Inc. Payget, NSWRM, Treasurer; Jim Palmer, VRM, Membership Secretary

FWCC Asia West Pacific Ronis Chapman (AWPS Secretary); Geoff Greeves (AWPS Treasurer); Sieneke Martin (QUNO New York) Section Tracy Bourne (director). SWQC Ltd Board: John Baker, Helen Bayes, Anne Felton (Secretary), David Johnson, Silver Wattle Quaker Centre Ltd Bev Polzin. Werona Users Group Anne-Maree Johnston (Secretary, Werona Management Committee) Preparatory Session Reports

Children and JYFs and Child Protection

Children and JYFs Justine Shelton reminded us that the way in which we include and provide for our children and JYFs is about the way we see ourselves in community. The Children and JYF Committee asks that the Children and JYF coordinator position be maintained to YM16 (August) at a projected cost of $19000. AYM Treasurer Roger Sawkins confirmed that this amount is available. Children and JYF Coordinator Jenny Turton’s current contract ends in January 2016 and will be reviewed at that time. The committee hopes that it is extended until August 2016 and that funding continues thereafter. A suggestion was put forward that the Coordinator position be funded continuously by a percentage of AYM income. Jenny Turton reported on her work during 2014. She was pleased to note that there are 17 children and 32 JYFs enrolled at this Yearly Meeting. This is a sign of strong support for these age groups, which are being encouraged and resourced through her newsletter and consultative visits. David Albrecht is helping Jenny to provide more resources on the AYM website, including ones from overseas Quaker and interdenominational sources. The next step being planned by the committee is to offer of training workshops for children’s and JYF meetings in Regional Meetings and Local Meetings. The committee asks Regional Meetings to invite Jenny to plan and provide workshops, with the timing and content that suits their needs. She can train on such issues as centering, holding intergenerational worship, and being ready for children who come unexpectedly. It would be helpful for the Regional Meetings inviting her to nominate someone to work with her, and to provide the necessary travel and accommodation for both. We were urged to remember the needs of children who come to meetings from non-Quaker families. We were also encouraged to remember that the Aotearoa/New Zealand Summer Gathering is a wonderful event for families. JYFs Susan Albrecht and Emily Bray reported to us that JYFs have a particular interest in having service opportunities at camps, perhaps to the homeless, hospitalized children or on jobs at Silver Wattle. Child Protection Alan Clayton (VRM) reported on the revision of the AYM Child Protection Policy and Procedures by the Child Protection Committee. He noted that this was undertaken by Angie Were, VRM, who has had decades of experience in assisting the Anglican Church deal with cases of misconduct in that institution. This revised document is on the open section of the AYM website. Alan Clayton also reported on the resolution of the 1966 sexual abuse incident reported to have occurred on the property of the Quaker Meeting House in Adelaide. In reviewing the processes that were adopted in relation to this claim, he highlighted the manner in which they were guided by and reflected our testimonies, particularly that of integrity. At no time was the bona fides of the claimant or the veracity of the claims challenged and these instructions were conveyed to the solicitors acting on our behalf. South Australian Friends gave complete and absolute assistance to the South Australian police investigating this claim and went to enormous lengths to ensure that no possible piece of evidence was overlooked, a process that involved tens of hours of search of archival material. The nature of this assistance was acknowledged by the investigating police

officer at the conclusion of his investigations. The AYM Secretary has documented every step of our response to this claim and that report is on the Members section of the AYM website. Dorothy Scott, one of the Child Protection Contact Friends in VRM, has compiled a report identifying issues emerging in relation to the AYM Child Protection Policy and Procedures. These issues reflected her role as a VRM Child Protection Contact Friend, her professional experience in the field of child protection of more than four decades and the Child Protection Workshop held in Hobart on 31 October and 1 November 2014. Dorothy Scott identified nine areas requiring examination by the AYM Child Protection Committee and a copy of her report will appear in Documents in Retrospect. She drew attention to the decision of YM14 requesting each Regional Meeting to review their Register of Approved Child Carers and their child protection processes early in 2014. It appears that only one Regional Meeting actually complied with this request. Dorothy Scott noted that such a failure potentially leaves children vulnerable and also exposes the Society to a serious risk of legal liability. Accordingly, as a matter of urgency, there should be an annual audit of each Regional Meeting’s child protection practices. If this cannot be conducted within the Society, then AYM should appoint an external auditor to perform this function on an annual basis. Ronis Chapman reported briefly on the Child Protection Training Workshop held in Hobart on 31 October - 1 November 2014. YF Clerk Callista Barritt read minutes from the pre-YM15 camp in response to each of three recommendations relating to Young Friends arising from the Child Protection Workshop: Recommendation1: To facilitate informed consent by the parent, we ask that the parental consent letter for YF camps be clear about activities; about who is assuming the guardian role for the under-18s; and about the extent of support and back-up for critical incidents (e.g. injury). We ask that the under-18s attending YF camps also sign the letter. YF response: We agree to update our parental consent letter for Young Friends under 18 years of age attending YF Camp. Any activities proposed in advance by the camp organiser/s not already listed on the parental consent form will be outlined on the camp information and registration form. However, due to the unprogrammed nature of YF camp, other activities may be engaged in, as agreed to by camp participants during camp, and permissible under our insurance obligations. It is our practice to disallow the consumption of alcohol at YF camp; however, if all camp participants are legal adults, then alcohol may be consumed subject to a consensus decision by the group present. All YFs over 18 will be encouraged to become registered Child Carers. Those in attendance who are registered and willing will be listed on the consent form as guardians and will share responsibility for any 16 and 17 year old Young Friends in attendance. All Young Friends attending camp will be encouraged to have first aid training, and the camp organiser will ensure that at least one YF over the age of 18 years attending the camp will have current first aid. Emergency contacts and procedures will be detailed on the camp information and registration form (including contacts and procedures in place for the property where the camp is held, if relevant, and/or a local adult Friend who could assist in case of an emergency. The consent form will be signed by the under-age YF and at least one of their parents/guardians, and will include the parent/guardian’s contact details. Recommendation 2: We ask Young Friends to discuss and bring a recommendation of the Child Protection Preparatory Session at YM15 on the issue of whether to continue to permit 16 and 17-year-olds to attend YF camps or whether to restrict attendance to those over 18 years of age. YF response: This decision is a very difficult and distressing one for us. It would be very hard for YFs to comply with the policy as it now stands, if 16 and 17 year old Young Friends are considered ‘children’ under the AYM Child Protection Policy and Procedures. This year, for the majority of camp, there were 4 YFs under 18 and only 2 over 18, only one of whom is a registered Child Carer, meaning it was nearly impossible for there to be 2 ‘guardians’ always present with all of the ‘children’. Nor do we find it desirable to have to constantly

‘supervise’ 16 and 17 year old Young Friends, who come to camp with the understanding that they are mature and responsible. We have a strong desire to include 16 and 17 year olds at our camps. We understand that each individual matures at different rates, and growing up is a gradual process, not a ‘magical’ transformation upon turning 18. YF Camp may not be suitable for all 16 and 17 year olds, but for many it is a very valuable experience. YF Camp is a community of equals who care for and support each other, and where younger YFs can start to learn the freedom and independence, and also responsibilities, of being part of the adult community of Quakers. There was strong concern that the current JYF program doesn’t adequately cater to many 15 - 17 year olds, and that with no other alternative to be involved in, some Friends within this age range would leave the Quaker community. We feel very sad at this possibility, as we enjoy the presence of younger YFs and are already struggling as a community because of our small numbers. We seek clarity from the Child Protection Committee and AYM on the precise requirements we must follow if we are to continue to include 16 and 17 year olds at our camps, as we wish to do, so that we can better discern whether it will be possible for us. Recommendation 3: We ask that Young Friends, in advance of each YF camp, supply the AYM Secretary with a record of where the camp is to be held and who has registered so that these may be kept in the AYM Office for a minimum of 50 years, as suggested by our insurer. Pre-YM15 Young Friends Camp was held from 27 December to 3 January at Baldessin Press, 90 Shaftesbury Avenue, St. Andrews, Victoria. Present for the entire duration of camp were Callista Barritt (23), Galen Barritt (16), Alex Brosnan (16), Gabbie Paananen (17) and Atticus Toyne (16). Present from 27 to 29 December and from 1 to 2 January were Valentina Schcedrina (20), Mielikki Spratt (21). Present from 28 December to 3 January was Connor Chaffey (25). Present from 1 to 3 January was Rosie Remmerswaal (21). As final attendance is not always known until the end of camp, we ask whether we can supply the AYM Secretary with this record after the conclusion of YF camp. Advance registration is not the most accurate record of camp attendance. We heard concerns about the care and protection of those 16 and 17 year olds who choose to attend YF camps. The legal requirements are heavy for Young Friends, the main issue being accidents and injury. Nevertheless the flexibility of allowing 16 and 17 year olds to attend YF camps, if they choose, is valued as a gradual transition. We ask Yearly Meeting to endorse a process of discernment by Young Friends, JYFs, the relevant YM committees and Regional Meetings as to whether 16 and 17 year olds will continue to be allowed to attend YF gatherings, and if so devise suitable arrangements that would be supportive of Young Friends and legally compliant. Helen Bayes, Clerk of Preparatory Session Issues emerging in relation to the AYM Child Protection Policy and Procedures Report by Dorothy Scott, VRM Child Protection Contact Friend, 24 November 2014 Reflecting on my role as a VRM Child Protection Contact Friend in 2014, my professional experience in the field of child protection and the child protection workshop held in Hobart on 31 October and 1 November, it occurs to me that there are several important areas in the current AYM Child Protection Policy and Procedures (‘the Policy’) which require examination by the AYM Child Protection Committee. 1. Process for updating legislative and policy changes in each jurisdiction While the stated role of the RM Child Protection Contact Friend is ‘…to be responsible for child protection matters and to ensure that the Society’s child protection procedures conform with the requirements of the relevant jurisdiction’, there is currently no mechanism for updating Child Protection Contact Friends and RMs on legislative and policy changes in their State/Territory. Such changes encompass: amendments to criminal law (e.g. new offences for churches failing to report child sexual abuse); amendments to child protection legislation (e.g. classes of persons

deemed to be mandated reporters in relation to suspected child abuse and the grounds on which reports need to be made); and legislation and procedures relating to Police Checks/Working with Children Checks (or equivalent) for paid staff and volunteers working with minors. These are all State/Territory responsibilities. It is likely that the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will make a number of recommendations to States and Territories for legislative and policy changes in this area. It is an onerous and unrealistic expectation that Child Protection Contact Friends have the capacity to stay abreast of such changes and to identify the implications such changes may have for how the AYM Policy is to be implemented in their jurisdiction. Relying on the advice of other churches in their jurisdiction has been suggested as a means to address this, but this could to be very problematic as there needs to be a congruence with our Policy, as agreed with the Society’s insurers. Recommendation: That the AYM Child Protection Committee, or Friends with relevant specialist expertise, be asked to inform the AYM Secretary and each Regional Meeting of legislative and policy changes in each jurisdiction on an annual basis. If this cannot be done ‘in-house’, then it is recommended that this service be sought on a commercial basis. 2. Role of Young Friends Pastoral Care Person There are no guidelines in the Policy on how the role of ‘Young Friends’ Pastoral Care Persons’ is to be implemented. This role is defined as ‘any person paid or unpaid over the age of 18 whose responsibility it is to ensure that in relation to any authorized Young Friends’ activity, the Society’s duty of care is fulfilled in ways that are mindful of legal requirements and respectful of the maturity of Young Friends aged 16 - 18’). Nor is there any mention of how YF Pastoral Care Persons are selected (e.g. what should be the nomination process and should those who hold this position be RM-approved child carers or at least possess a Working with Children Check or its equivalent?). There is also no reference to how those in this position might be best supported in carrying out their role. This is in contrast to the rest of the Policy where guidelines are provided in considerable detail. Recommendation: That in collaboration with Young Friends, specific guidelines be developed in relation to the duty of care to minors, especially in relation to minors participating in YF camps. 3. Auditing process The Policy has no provisions for an auditing process to assess the degree to which there is compliance with the Policy, despite the AYM Secretary being required to state in writing to the Society’s insurer each year that the practices of the Religious Society of Friends are in accord with the Policy. Without an auditing process, it is not possible to make such a statement and be in keeping with our testimony of integrity. It is not clear whether the request by YM14 that each RM review their Register of Approved Child Carers and their child protection processes early in 2014 has been done, and if so, whether it was done to a satisfactory standard. This potentially leaves children vulnerable and it also exposes the Society to a serious risk of legal liability. In undertaking the review for VRM it became apparent to me that the Working with Children Checks for a significant number of Approved Child Carers had lapsed. It took many months of persistent and extensive follow-up for these to be renewed. Recommendation: That an annual audit of each RM’s child protection practices be undertaken at the beginning of each year to determine compliance with the Policy over the past 12 months and that the results of this be reported to the Regional Meeting, the AYM Secretary and the AYM Child Protection Committee. This task should be included in the Policy as a core responsibility of RM Child Protection Contact Friends. A standard template should be developed which assists the audit process so that it is done consistently across RMs (see Appendix for suggested template). The audit process needs to be closely monitored centrally, and be the source of data for the AYM Secretary’s assurance to the insurer that the Society’s practices are compliant with its Policy. If the above recommended

process is not effective in achieving this objective then AYM should appoint an external auditor to perform this function on an annual basis. 4. Maintaining a register of current Working with Children Checks While the Policy contains considerable detail about the selection process for Approved Child Carers, and stipulates that a Police Check/Working with Children Check or equivalent is an essential precondition to being considered for this role, it does not outline a process for ensuring that Approved Child Carers maintain a current Working with Children Check as such checks are only valid for a specified period (e.g. five years). Moreover, while it is stated that the RM Register needs to include a range of information (person’s name, names of interviewers, names of referees, dates referees were contacted and the date the Working with Children Check was sighted), it does not specify that a copy of the Working with Children Check should be part of the records or that the expiry date of the Working with Children Check be recorded. As a result, there is no way to determine if those on a RM Register have current Working with Children Checks or their equivalent. This is a clear legal requirement in most jurisdictions and as such, is also a requirement of the Policy (as the Policy needs to comply with the laws of its jurisdiction). This poses a potential risk to children’s safety, and to the Society in terms of legal liability. Recommendation: That a copy of the Working with Children Check or equivalent be held in the records of the RM Register of Approved Child Carers and that the expiry date of the Working with Children Check be included next to each approved child carer’s name on the Register. Furthermore, that a centralized data base be created for all approved child carers and that an alert be automatically generated six months prior to the expiry date, and that the carer, the RM Child Protection Contact Friend and the RM Clerk be informed of the impending expiry. The Child Protection Contact Friend should clarify with the carer if he or she wishes to continue on the Register and if so, the person should be asked to renew his or her Working with Children Check or equivalent. If renewal is granted, the carer should be asked to send a copy of this to the Child Protection Contact Friend. The Child Protection Contact Friend should remove the name of any carer from the Register as soon as the Working with Children Check or equivalent expires, or renewal is not granted, and inform the former approved carer, RM Clerk, AYM Secretary and the LM clerk of this change. 5. Recording the names of children cared for at a Quaker Meeting/ event While the Policy recommends that a record of Child Carers on duty and the children in attendance be maintained, and any incidents that occur during the period of care be recorded, this is not stated as a requirement. The Policy is also ambiguous in relation to the necessity for contact details for parents and a child’s medical information and medication etc. to be recorded (stating that such information ‘should’ be recorded). Recommendation: That the Policy should stipulate that the above information must be recorded, and by whom it should be kept. 6. Record-keeping There has been some ambiguity at YM and other gatherings about when the Society is or is not in ‘loco parentis’. It needs to be very clear when the responsibility for minors is that of the Society and when it is that of parents or guardians. Recommendation: That there be an obligatory signing in and out process whenever the Society accepts formal responsibility for caring for a minor. 7. Confusion re mandatory reporter status The Policy (page 8) makes frequent references to ‘mandatory reporters’ and falsely assumes that approved child carers are in fact mandated (legally required) to report suspected child maltreatment. The classes of persons who are mandatory reporters and the grounds on which they are required by law to make a report to child protection authorities varies greatly across

jurisdictions. In some State/Territories, a paid or volunteer child carer would be mandated to report some forms of suspected abuse while in other jurisdictions this would not be the case. This wording creates confusion. Recommendation: That references to ‘mandated notifiers’ be removed from this section of the Policy and that the term used be more inclusive, such as ‘those reporting suspected child abuse….’. 8. Allegations of assault/ inappropriate behaviour On page 9 of the Policy, it is stated that ‘if an allegation has been made in relation to a Child Carer, that person will not continue to participate in the Society’s child-related activities until the outcome of all investigations is known.’ The same should apply to a Young Friends Pastoral Care Person and those assisting in child care under the supervision of an approved child carer (i.e. ‘helpers’ in the terms of the Policy). Recommendation: That the above additions be made to this section of the Policy. 9. Child Protection Contact Friends and Working with Children Checks While Child Protection Contact Friends do not need to be approved child carers within their Regional Meeting, as a matter of good governance it would be desirable if they had Working with Children Checks or equivalent. Recommendation: That all RM Child Protection Contact Friends seek a Working with Children Check or its equivalent. Appendix Suggested Template for Annual Audit of Child Protection Practices in each Regional Meeting It is suggested that a template be developed and include the following sections. A. The RM Approved Child Carer Register with the expiry date of the Working with Children Check (or equivalent as required in their State/Territory) recorded against each person’s name. Changes to the Register from the previous year (e.g. those no longer approved child carers and any new approved child carers) should be specified. In relation to new approved child carers, there should be a statement by the RM Child Protection Contact Friends that their process of selection conformed with the Policy.

B. The audit should involve contacting all Local Meeting and Recognised Meeting Clerks and Worshipping Group contact persons in the respective Regional Meeting in order to answer a set of questions such as the following: 1. Over the past 12 months, has care been provided for children on any occasion? 2. If yes, on how many occasions? 3. What are the names of those who have provided the care? 4. Has a record been kept on each of these occasions of children who are cared for, and the names of carers? 5. Have any incidents or concerns been expressed in the past year in relation to the care of children in the meeting/worshipping group? 6. Is there any other comment regarding the implementation of the Child Protection Policy?

C. In relation to any other activities under the auspice of the Regional Meeting in the past year which has involved children, including JYF activities and YF activities in which minors participated, was there compliance with the AYM Child Protection Policy? If not, what measures will be taken to ensure that this is addressed in the future?

D. Details of any incident occurring in the past 12 months, or reports which have emerged of incidents said to have occurred prior to the last 12 months, and the date on which the RM Clerk, AYM Secretary and insurer were notified of same.

Ecumenism and interfaith

Fourteen Friends attended this session. We noted that the only reports in Documents in Advance were two regarding the NCCA. The only addition we made to this part was to report the appointment of Elizabeth Delaney, a Sister in a Catholic order, as the new NCCA General Secretary. Participants in this session reported that there was much interest and participation in ecumenical, and more particularly interfaith, events and organisations in all of the Regional Meetings. These included a Jewish-Christian dialogue in Canberra, and interfaith meetings organised by a Buddhist group in Toowoomba. We heard about a religious festival held at MONA in Hobart, where Friends had a stall with information about Quakers, and a Meeting for Worship was held. JYFs took part in this festival, which gave them opportunities to learn about other Faith traditions. State ecumenical bodies were reportedly more active and lively in some states than others, and we learned that Wies Schuiringa is Vice President of the NSW Ecumenical Council which has had many difficulties but is now reviving itself under the enthusiastic leadership of Shenouda Mansour, of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Sue Ennis reported on the Religions for Peace Group, of which she is Secretary. This group, based in Melbourne, has links with groups in most states, and has organised interfaith forums and an interfaith conference at Griffith University. It conducts teleconferences to disseminate information on the many issues with which it concerns itself. These include chaplaincy in hospitals and schools, domestic violence, and readings in Parliament. Its website is www.religionsforpeaceaustralia.org.au and Sue Ennis has explanatory pamphlets which she made available to us. The time allotted was too short for more than a cursory sharing, but we would like to encourage all RM Clerks to ensure that they cover ecumenical and interfaith participation in their annual reports for Documents in Advance. We are aware that much of this is of an individual nature, of Friends following their leadings, rather than as official representatives of the Society. However, we hope that those Friends will share their ecumenical and interfaith activity through such things as their Local and RM newsletters or The Australian Friend, so that the Clerks will have information to hand for their reports. Elizabeth Field, Clerk of Preparatory Session

Earthcare

Handbook revision We noted, in Part B.1 of the Earthcare report in Documents in Advance (pp.43 – 44), the Standing Committee recommendation that a separate entry for Earthcare be added to the list of AYM testimonies with an added description of ‘Quakers honour the Earth and all living things, and endeavour to live in harmony with them.’ While most Regional Meetings supported this suggestion, some Regional Meetings and individuals present at the session had concerns about the wording of the additional text. Following further discernment, it was agreed that the heading of this testimony as ‘Earthcare’ stands alone as being self-explanatory. Regional Meeting reports Summaries of written reports of Earthcare activities were given by representatives from CRM, WARM, NSWRM and SANTRM. Representatives of VRM, QRM and TRM told us of a range of activities undertaken by their Regional Meetings. These wide-ranging endeavours involved changes in personal lifestyles such as reducing personal waste and water usage, working bees 51

and discussions on permaculture, increasing energy efficiency of our RM buildings including installation of solar panels, replacing meeting house lawns with Australian native plants, reinvesting RM funds ethically, protest action against coal seam gas mining, involvement in ‘Transition Towns’ initiatives, joining Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility and the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, and worship focused on love for the Earth. Earthcare Network At YM14, and informal Earthcare network was created. This provided opportunity for mutual support and exchanges of information for the early part of the year. This has not been as viable as was hoped. It was noted that there was no coordinator for this network. Future Earthcare initiatives Weis Schuiringa (NSWRM) and Robin McLean (TRM) outlined initiatives they have taken in gathering resource information on Earthcare concerns. It was suggested that the AYM website could be set up more effectively to assist with the aim of information-sharing. Jo Vallentine spoke of the interest she and others from WARM have in exploring the formation of an AYM Earthcare Committee with Quakers in WA. There was strong enthusiasm for this initiative. We look forward to a report of WARM’s deliberations at Mid-year Standing Committee. Harold Wilkinson, Clerk of Preparatory Session

First Nations Peoples Concerns Committee

The session began in silence and followed with acknowledgement of the Kulin Nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet. We paid our respects to their elders, past present and emerging. The clerk read out the responses to the report in Documents in Advance, pp.45 - 48, in particular to Part B, ‘Ways forward for Quakers and other concerned Australians’, created at the SWQC gathering. Many of the responses talked about the importance of such a document. However, there were many comments regarding definition and language. At the First Nations Peoples Concerns Summer School, the document was completely redrafted and this second version (see minute YM15.42) was distributed to all Friends attending this preparatory session. The authors of the redraft explained the reason behind the redraft and the expectations, including: • Although the redraft adopts the same principles as the original document, the language in this version is more acceptable to Friends; • Clarifying how Friends can support FNP, not only in the areas of health, education and land rights, but also in walking together, particularly at a local level.

Many friends contributed to the conversation, helping to answer First Peoples in the question What can Quakers do? We are reminded that there is not one group of First Peoples in Australia, rather many First Nations and clans with different cultures, language and history and we must be mindful of this. Suggestions included: • Talk with local First Peoples, listen to them, sit with them, work with them, go beyond being sorry; • Ask RMs to report back to YM what is happening in their local area; • Foster long-term respectful relationships with local groups and individuals. Adopt a habit of respectful listening, remembering the way forward is self determination; • Move away from the speed and style of 'whitefellas'; slow down, take it at an Aboriginal pace; • Adopt the goal to 'walk with us, where we are'. For example, some Friends, with 52

permission, are using the learning of local languages to help do this; • Be aware of different views and avoid taking sides; • Honour the importance of art and culture and share our art and culture; • Ensure at YM gatherings that Wednesday visits include connection with local First Nations and clans /individuals/places of importance.

Sovereignty It was noted that although sovereignty is not mentioned in the redraft, this was more about where Friends focus their input, rather than dismissing the concept outright. David Johnson suggests a meeting of FNP Sovereign Union leaders with Australian Faith leaders to help explain the rightness of Aboriginal Sovereignty and to start allaying our western cultural fears of this topic. We need to recognise Aboriginal Sovereignty to have any chance of developing shared vision for this country. This suggestion was viewed favorably by Friends. We are reminded of the organisations, Australian Partnership of Religious Organisations (in Canberra), Together for Humanity and Religions for Peace, with links in most States, which may be a positive starting point for this proposal. We honour and thank the committee for its hard work and commitment and ask Yearly Meeting's approval of the following recommendations: 1. We ask AYM and Friends, both individually and corporately, if so moved, to adopt the processes and actions outlined in the Ways Forward document, which is adapted from the original, developed jointly with those First Nations Peoples in attendance at March 2014 workshop held at Silver Wattle. 2. We ask that a meeting of FNP Sovereign Union leaders with Australian Faith leaders be held to help explore the concept of the rightness of Aboriginal Sovereignty and to start allaying our western cultural fears of this topic. 3. We ask that the First Nations Peoples Concerns Committee continues and a decision is made whether it continues as is or invites new membership, and that appropriate funding is made available. Wilma Davidson, Clerk of Preparatory Session

Friends Peace Teams

Friends Peace Teams (FPT) is a Spirit-led organisation working around the world to develop long- term relationships with communities in conflict, to create programs for peace-building, healing and reconciliation. FPT’s programs build on extensive Quaker experience, combining practical and spiritual aspects of conflict resolution. Maxine Cooper spoke to the first report in Documents in Advance (pp. 48 – 50), and Marion Sullivan to the second report (pp.50 – 51). An AGM of FPT took place on Wednesday 7 January where it was decided that FPT Australia would be laid down because the most efficient way forward was to encourage the incorporation of FPT Asia West Pacific. Maxine Cooper has been appointed as the AYM representative on the FPT Council, the governing body, which meets face-to-face once a year in the USA. In addition, there are monthly online meetings of representatives throughout the world, very early in the morning Eastern Standard Time in Australia. Vidya, Judith Simpson, John Michaelis and Valerie Joy each gave PowerPoint presentations of their work, conducting AVP workshops in partnership with local facilitators, with children, teachers, parents and community leaders. They often go to remote, difficult places where there are communities of refugees and internally displaced people.

All Friends spoke with enthusiasm of the transforming effect that AVP has on the communities they have worked with. One said, ‘hearing peoples’ stories and watching them grow is a rich blessing.’ Because FPT works on establishing good relationships, there are sometimes opportunities for further service. An example given was offering low-cost water filters to households in communities where only high-cost bottled water from profit companies was for sale. How can you become involved? • Receive the newsletter AWPOffice@Friends Peace Teams.org • Join an online support group meeting on the first Wednesday of the month • Make a donation towards the work • Become an FPT AWP Sustainer, donating $500 pa, which assists in planning • Visit with a travel coordinator to Nepal, Indonesia, Philippines, Palestine or South Korea.

Two visits have been organised this year: • John Michaelis, 21 February to 3 May 2015, to Nepal • Valerie Joy, 24 June to 20 July 2015, to the Philippines.

Jo Jordan, Clerk of Preparatory Session

Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) Presentation

FWCC Session Maxine Cooper welcomed all, particularly our overseas guests, to the FWCC presentation, held on Wednesday evening, 7 January. Despite the very hot day we had just had, many people came along to hear about our worldwide family of Friends. The AYM FWCC Committee is made up of a representative from each Regional Meeting. In attendance were Adrian Glamorgan, WARM; David Evans, SANTRM; Anna Wilkinson, VRM; Madeleine Ball, TRM; Geoff Greeves, AWPS Treasurer; Ronis Chapman, AWPS Secretary and CRM representative. Gretchen Castle talked to us about the vision of FWCC and of her work as General Secretary. She gave us a number of quotes from Ben Pink Dandelion about being Quaker. Gretchen gave us a number of practical ways to support the work of FWCC. These included: • Be a champion for FWCC in your meeting; • Visit Friends whenever you travel; • Share your experiences of meeting Friends around the world; • Promote World Quaker day in 2015!

Machiko Takeda, our FWCC Asia West Pacific visitor to YM15 from Japan Yearly Meeting, gave us a very comprehensive picture of Quakers in Japan. [See article ‘Quakerism in Japan’ later in Documents in Retrospect.] With photos and stories Machiko introduced us to the members of Japan Yearly Meeting: the oldest person, Young Friends and ‘Middle Friends’. Machiko talked to us of the peace concerns of Japan Yearly Meeting and a number of Australian Friends expressed the desire to find a way for Australian and Japan Friends to support each other as we put our faith into action. Friends present were very appreciative of Machiko’s presentation and many questions were asked. A panel of Friends spoke of highlights of their FWCC year. • Margaret Bywater travelled to rural Myanmar with an English Friend, Fred Ashmore, to visit Muana Lathla. • Sieneke Martin spoke of the amazing work done on our behalf at the Quaker United Nations office in New York and Geneva and encouraged us to read about this work via the annual report and the website: http://www.quno.org

• Murray Short expressed appreciation for the welcome AYM has given to him and Niwa. He spoke to us of Gael Howell and the appreciation of the care expressed to Gayle and Robert by Australian Friends. Murray reminded us of the Christchurch earthquakes and the ongoing impact they have had on the life of the meeting.

A suggestion was made that AYM support a young person from the Asia West Pacific region to attend Yearly Meeting in Australia. The meeting expressed a deep interest in developing dialogue with Friends in Japan on peace issues. A Friend reminded us of the sense of belonging to the worldwide family of Friends that comes from attending FWCC events. We were reminded that FWCC belongs to us all and that it is important to encourage different people to attend international events. The AYM FWCC Committee will bring to Yearly Meeting a recommendation about the AWPS visitor to YM16. Maxine Cooper

Handbook entries: changes to 4.8.5, 5.5.3, new entry for Silver Wattle Quaker Centre

[The changes to the Handbook listed in the YM15 timetable in Documents in Advance included proposed changes to 5.3.6 AYM hosted committees. Consideration of 5.3.6 has been deferred until an ‘expert’ AYM committee brings a recommendation to Standing Committee in July 2015 (minute YM15.7b)] 4.8.5 Testimonies to the Grace of God (Documents in Advance, pp.16 ‒ 17) The RM responses were read. AYM Secretary Susan Addison outlined the rationale for the proposed changes: an observation that customs for writing Testimonies were not always known, or followed; and the need to facilitate the move to online entries for a Dictionary of Australian Quaker Biography. We confirmed that, in the context of the Handbook of Practices and Procedure, the word 'Friend' (used in para 1) also included Attenders closely associated with the Meeting. In response to a TRM suggestion, we ask that the following change be made to wording: Para 1. Delete ‘to become a Memorial Minute’ so the sentence reads: ‘The minute may be brief and factual, or extended.’ Para 3. We considered a VRM suggestion to replace the word 'children' in line 7 with ‘offspring’. The sense of the meeting was to retain the word 'children'. Para 5. NSWRM Friends, concerned about the rather 'legalistic language' in this paragraph, agreed to provide a possible alternative. No further revisions were suggested to the draft. 5.5.3 Dictionary of Australian Quaker Biography (Documents in Advance, pp. 17 ‒ 18) AYM Secretary Susan Addison provided an update on the move to the online entries and read a revised version of the proposed entry. In response to a question, ‘Could hard copies of revisions be provided annually to Regional Meetings for the library?’, we were informed that this coming year more the 300 new entries would be added. They would include entries for Friends who had died prior to 1862, as well as current entries. Regional Meetings may wish to print copies of Testimonies of particular interest to Friends in their Meeting. Para 2. Friends accepted that the words 'and distributed ' could be deleted from the first sentence.

DAQB Online Coordinator Roger Sawkins highlighted some advantages of accessing biographies online. Each time a name is entered, every entry containing that name will appear and can be accessed and read for further information. Silver Wattle Quaker Centre Handbook Entry (Documents in Advance, pp.71 - 72) Responses from each Regional Meeting were read aloud. SWQC Co-Director David Johnson spoke in response to each point raised in these responses, providing both further background and rationale. He reminded Friends that the entry needed to satisfy AYM purposes. It is not a SWQC document. We did not consider exactly where the entry should be placed in the handbook. We noted that SANTRM believe the new addition regarding SWQC should become part of the section 5.4 AYM service and collaboration. Para 5. An adaptation of SANTRM's suggested wording for this paragraph was seen as an improvement. The Centre is independent of AYM and is managed by the Board of Directors of Silver Wattle Quaker Centre Ltd, a company limited by guarantee (ABN 20 146 723 202). The Board is advised and supported by committees. All Board Members are Quakers and the Board devolves operational control and management to Centre Director/s and staff. Para 1. David Johnson confirmed that the wording in this paragraph should be as follows: Silver Wattle Quaker Centre (SWQC) is a place for retreats, learning and healing. In response to a leading to establish a Quaker centre in Australia, three years of discernment (2007-2009), and an 18 month trial period (2010-2011), SWQC was established in 2011 at a former sheep-grazing property on the western edge of Weereewa (Lake George), 40km from Canberra. Friends asked that a section on the role of the Advisory Committee, extracted from the SWQC Constitution, be included in the entry, along with a note that the AYM representative is the formal link between SWQC and AYM. We recognised the value of a brief role description for the purposes of the Nominations Committee and discernment regarding this act of service, while also recognising that the role was new and would evolve over time. We were not in unity about the best order for paragraphs in the entry and asked the AYM Secretary, David Johnson and Ann Zubrick to consider further, along with a refinement to ensure that the sentence, ‘SWQC … welcomes people of all faith traditions, or none’) is seen to be inclusive. Friends supported the entry going forward to a Formal Session. Ann Zubrick, Clerk of Preparatory Session

Investment Concern

David Purnell summarised the highlights from Part A (Documents in Advance, pp.54 - 55) We heard from Caroline Le Couteur, Executive Officer of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility. We note that Robert Howell (AYM's former Peace and Earthcare worker) was active in the foundation of ACCR. Caroline reported on the success ACCR's actions in 2014 to exert pressure on the big Australian banks to disclose how much carbon they finance. All four banks have improved their disclosure; however, disclosure is still inadequate. Mark Lockwood (Britain YM Quakers in Business group) described Britain YM's action on divestment and the formation of a Quaker Finance Trust, working toward the establishment of a Quaker bank. This prompted discussion of experiences many individual friends in seeking more ethical financial institutions for their banking and retirement needs.

56 Roger Sawkins presented a summary of RM responses to this item in Documents in Advance. We heard that the Summer School session led by Mark Lockwood attracted around 20 participants. Mark will provide a full report, including specific suggestions from the Summer School. Throughout the session, there was extensive discussion of such matters as changing banks, aspects of ethical investment (including arms trade and nuclear power), and sharing useful reports, resources and websites. Part B We ask the AM Finance Committee to look at finding a more suitable bank for AYM's accounts (possibilities mentioned include Bendigo Bank and Bank MECU). Friends with additional suggestions are asked to send them to the Treasurer. We encourage individuals who wish to do so join the national Move Your Money initiative scheduled for 14 February, and that an identifiable Quaker presence (perhaps via a photo to be taken this week) form the basis of publicity and outreach. In response to discussion of the need for an expert individual or group to advise individual Friends and Regional Meetings who wish to take further action, we ask Regional Meetings if they have individuals who feel led to do this. In the meantime, we hope that Canberra Regional Meeting will maintain a watching brief on these issues on behalf of Australia Yearly Meeting. Roger Sawkins, Clerk of Preparatory Session

Peace: Quaker Peace & Legislation Committee and Peace & Social Justice Fund Committee

Peace and Social Justice Fund Committee Report Dale Hess (VRM), co-convener of the Peace & Social Justice Fund Committee, spoke to the committee’s report in Documents in Advance, pp.56-58. He described the projects supported by the committee during 2014 and introduced the recipients of the funding grants who were present. These included Dawn Joyce (QRM) and Treena Lenthall on behalf of the team making a trailer of the film, War on Trial. War on Trial is a documentary about the trial of the peace activist Graeme Dunstan, who accompanied Brian Law when Brian attacked an RAAF attack helicopter with a mattock at Rockhampton in 2011 as a symbolic way of confronting the deaths caused by such weapons. The makers of the documentary hope to provide one alternative to the dominant narrative at the time of the centenary of World War 1 and the ANZAC campaign. Treena Lenthall then spoke to us about the trailer before showing it to us. Adrian Glamorgan (WARM) spoke on behalf of himself and Elizabeth PO’ about the outcome of their journey to Vienna to attend both the ICAN Civil Society Forum and the government conference hosted by the Austrian Government on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons in order to make video and sound documentaries about this matter. Abel Siboniyo (QRM) was introduced as the recipient of a grant to help in his work with African refugees who have settled in South East Queensland. Jo Vallentine (WARM) spoke briefly about the work of Love Makes a Way in its work on behalf of refugee children still held in detention centres. This work has also received a grant from the Peace & Social Justice Fund. We agreed to recommend to Yearly Meeting that the proposed changes to the second last paragraph of Section 5.6.4 of the Handbook be accepted and asked Dale Hess and Lyndsay Farrall to improve the clarity of the draft contained in Documents in Advance.

57 Quaker Peace and Legislation Committee Harold Wilkinson (CRM), convener of the committee, spoke to the report in Documents in Advance, pp.60 - 63. We heard of the committee’s appreciation of the work of the outgoing convener, Brian Turner, for his many years of service to the committee. We heard of the projects supported by small grants and of the committee’s continued work in producing Action Alerts, Watching Briefs and Discussion Papers. We also heard of continuing work representing AYM on the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) and in encouraging dialogue between Sri Lankans in Australia. Jenny Madeline (NSWRM) spoke to us about the World War 1 centenary exhibition put together by members of NSWRM assisted by a grant form QPLC. This exhibition is currently on display at YM15 and will be travelling to other Regional Meetings in the coming months. The exhibition highlights the concerns of Australian Quakers during the First World War about Australia’s role in the war and includes stories of Quakers who were jailed for their commitment to our Peace Testimony and of others who served in ambulance units or other non-combatant roles. Elizabeth PO’ (WARM) spoke to us about the QPLC-supported project in relation to Mayors for Peace and encouraged us to approach our own mayors about joining in this form of witness for peace. Dale Hess informed us about progress in relation to a Quaker-led peace pilgrimage to West Papua to attend the commemoration of the 160th anniversary of the Gospel coming to West Papua. The delegation will include several Australian Quakers and colleagues from the Pacific Conference of Churches, the Mennonite Church in the United States and the Catholic Archdiocese in Brisbane. This is in response to an invitation issued to Jason MacLeod (QRM) by the General Secretary of the Evangelical Christian Church in the Land of Papua in acknowledgement of Jason’s long-term commitment to West Papua. Margaret Bearlin (CRM) reminded us that 2015 is the centenary of the formation of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and informed us about plans to publicise and celebrate WILPF’s long-term commitment to peace. We agreed to recommend that AYM accept the committee’s suggested changes to Section 5.3.6 of the Handbook with the addition of the word ‘ethical’ to the phrase ‘from other sources’ so that it would read ‘from other ethical sources’. Present Handbook entry at Section 5.3.6 The Quaker Peace & Legislation Committee aims to monitor international and national legislation and government policies and actions regarding matters of particular interest to Friends. The purpose is to keep Quakers informed of issues by circulating briefing sheets indicating basic details and possible action by Friends locally and beyond. The committee can also make representations to government or parliament on behalf of Friends, or propose such action to the Presiding Clerk, Standing Committee or Yearly Meeting. Financial support for the committee’s work comes from the AYM Peace & Social Justice Fund (5.6.4) and from Regional Meetings. Proposed entry with changes to existing text underlined The Quaker Peace & Legislation Committee aims to monitor international and national legislation and government policies and actions regarding matters of particular interest to Friends. The purpose is to keep Quakers informed of issues by circulating briefing sheets indicating basic details and possible action by Friends locally and beyond. The committee can also make representations to government or parliament on behalf of Friends, or propose such action to the Presiding Clerk, Standing Committee or Yearly Meeting. The committee may initiate particular peace projects, including in cooperation with Regional Meetings, to enhance the involvement of Friends in peace concerns. Financial support for the committee’s work comes from the AYM Peace & Social Justice Fund (5.6.4), from Regional Meetings, and from other ethical sources. Lyndsay Farrall, Clerk of Preparatory Session

Publications

The Australian Friend The editors of The Australian Friend (AF) encourage Friends to contribute extended, reflective articles. Although some Friends expressed unease with the online format, the range of articles available online exceeds those in the print version. Friends are most welcome to request the hardcopy alternative. We were pleased to hear from the AYM Treasurer that the AF Online has resulted in a reduction of $5,000 in the cost of publishing online and also a reduction in the RM quota. Friends expressed interest in a regular article similar to the ‘Know One Another’ articles, coordinated by a ‘Know One Another’ editor, which appeared some years ago in the AF. Perhaps the AYM Nominations Committee might be able to bring a nomination for this position of ‘Know One Another’ editor, if necessary. We were pleased to hear that the author and cartoonist Michael Leunig gave permission for his work to be published in the AF and invites further requests. We appreciate the work of the AF committee and are pleased that NSWRM is willing to host this committee. We appreciate the AYM Secretary’s Newsletter, which focuses on current timely articles of local relevance to Friends. Quaker books Since the demise of Friends Book Sales, Friends have had to find alternative sources for Quaker books. Books can be purchased as e-books or ordered from online bookshops such as Friends General Conference Bookshop; and the Quaker Centre Bookshop in London. We heard that the Quaker Centre is willing to make available e-books online to avoid problems in posting books to Australia. Closer to home it is possible to browse religious and Quaker books at Pauline Books and Media shops in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. This bookshop has agreed to stock a range of Quaker books and delivers throughout Australia within a week. Over the past few years Pauline Books has provided Yearly Meeting with a range of books for Friends to purchase. We hope this arrangement will continue and that Friends will use the online ordering facility. For Backhouse Lectures after 2008 and this we can say, Friends need to place an order with Interactive Publications http://ipoz.biz/Titles/Quakers.htm The AYM Secretary will arrange for a reprint of the AYM edition of Advices and Queries early in the year. A large order will help keep the cost low, so Regional Meetings are encouraged to place their orders with the AYM Secretary soon. Topsy Evans, Clerk of Preparatory Session

Quaker Learning Australia

We were a gathered group of 40 or so Friends with several of the members of the QLA Committee hosted by TRM present—Siobhan Harpur, Felicity Rose, Stephanie Farrall, Katherine Purnell, Robin McLean and Pamela Leach. The Meeting for Learning facilitators—Fiona Gardner, Jenny Spinks, Catherine Heywood and Sue Wilson—were also present. We heard from the QLA Committee members that they have established a lively and active committee that has made excellent connections with the Meeting for Learning facilitators and the coordinators from Queensland where the September retreat was held in 2014. QRM shared the powerful impact that Meeting for Learning has had for some isolated Friends. The website has been updated and new pages added, including links to web-based resources and

learning materials. Current themes of Children at the heart of the Meeting, World War 1 Centenary and Quaker action and response, Earthcare and Climate Change have been adopted. We also heard of the commitment to contact people who are not connected to the Internet and invite Friends to share their ideas for how this can be respectfully achieved. We heard the RM responses to the questions posed in Documents in Advance. A number of ideas to deepen our spiritual learning, particularly where there is not an immediate geographical community, were shared from a recent WARM weekend gathering. These and other ideas suggested at the session included: • Internet—extending the Internet connections with personal blogs, experiences and poems; linking to existing online resources and courses such as at Woodbrooke and moodles that have been recommended as relevant and useful. Activate the Facebook page. • Resources—access to books and articles, and the Silver Wattle resources would be valued. • Spiritual Support—develop interfaith and interdenominational connections where there are fewer Friends nearby. Hearts and Minds, Quaker Basics are also useful learning opportunities in addition to Meeting for Learning. Connection with Silver Wattle is important and complementary to Meeting for Learning. There could be a Meeting for Learning extension group.

We are pleased that VRM has offered to host Meeting for Learning in 2016 and 2017, and the QLA Committee looks forward to assisting them with template letters, budget and action notes. We are delighted to hear firsthand experiences of people who have, or are currently participating in the Meeting for Learning program, the support and nurture received through these journeys, and to learn of the history and development of Meeting for Learning from the facilitators. Nelson File, TRM

Respectful Relationships

The responses from Regional Meetings to Part B of the report in Documents in Advance (pp.64 – 67) were considered and we bring to YM15 the following recommendations: We ask that RM Nominations Committees stagger the replacement of the Respectful Relationships Contact Friends so that newly appointed Contact Friends can be supported in the role. RM Clerks are asked to inform the convener of the AYM Respectful Relationships Committee when new Contact Friends are appointed. Young Friends have recently appointed two Respectful Relationships Contact Friends and we encourage Contact Friends, including those from their closest Regional Meeting to offer support to these Young Friends. We note there is $1000 in the AYM Budget to assist Contact Friends to attend the annual Respectful Relationships workshop. We note that some Regional Meetings also offer financial support to those attending the workshop and ask that all Regional Meetings offer to supplement the funds provided by Australia Yearly Meeting. It was agreed that it is appropriate for the workshops of Respectful Relationships Contact Friends and Child Protection Contact Friends to be held separately. However, we are also concerned about the cost of an annual workshop and ask the participants at the 2015 Respectful Relationships Contact Friends workshop to consider holding the workshop every two or three years in the future. The workshop could be supplemented by regular Skype meetings. Other matters discussed were: Record keeping The Respectful Relationships Committee is considering appropriate ways to record the work of

Respectful Relationships Contact Friends and the incidents that are addressed. A recommendation will be brought to Mid-year Standing Committee 2015. Respectful Relationships Guidelines The committee is also in the process of revising and updating the Respectful Relationships Guidelines (including a description of the role of a Respectful Relationships Contact Friend). A draft will be completed by Mid-year Standing Committee 2015. There was a difference of opinion expressed during the Preparatory Session. A concern was raised that Respectful Relationships Contact Friends should be able to address/solve issues that are raised with them by members of the Meeting. Role description of Respectful Relationships Contact Friends The meeting considered the current role description and agreed that this document needs revising. The role description needs to be shorter and clearer. We were reminded that the role of a Respectful Relationships Contact Friend is to inform and support. This means listening to issues raised with them, looking at options to address the issue/concern raised and offering support. It is not the role of the Contact Friend to solve the problem. We would like to remind Regional Meetings that it is helpful to organise awareness-raising sessions on Respectful Relationships. Such sessions include discussions of the Guidelines, the role of a Contact Friend and a discussion on confidentiality. It was also noted that any one of us may be approached by someone who feels disrespected. Respectful Relationships Contact Friends are one of many resources that can be used within Regional Meetings. We were also reminded during the meeting of the importance of Respectful Relationships Contact Friends working with their oversight/pastoral care committees. Ronis Chapman, Clerk of Preparatory Session

Refugees and asylum seekers interest group

A group of Friends who shared a Concern for refugees and asylum seekers met on Tuesday 6 January to share information and plan future action. What are we doing? Friends throughout Australia, both individually and collectively, are taking action to support refugees and asylum seekers. Some Meetings have set up funds to support particular people and families in need. The funds enable Meetings to give practical, emergency help, such as purchasing, storing and transporting essential furniture items, and assisting with education costs. Some Friends are able to offer translation and interpreting support. Most Meetings, in different ways, extend friendship and social support. A number of Friends serve as volunteers for the Australian Refugee Association. Most Meetings throughout Australia are taking part in protests, vigils and rallies to protest against the government’s response to asylum seekers and refugees. Some Meetings are preparing banners, both large and small, so they have ready placards which make a strong, visual statement and are easy to assemble and carry. Individual Friends and Meetings are writing letters of protest to members of parliament and seeking appointments for interview. Although the responses are usually as form letters, we were reminded that all correspondence to MPs is monitored and that letter writing is still worthwhile. A number of Friends have joined other organisations, such as Love Makes a Way and Grandmothers Getting Children out of Detention. We agreed that there is a need for each of us to be well informed about the issue and to take

opportunities to challenge the myths which are circulating among the general public. Recommended sources of information • Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce website • Julian Burnside’s website for advice about lobbying politicians • The document published by Australia 21 Beyond the Boats: building an Asylum and Refugee Policy for the Longterm (also downloadable) • We are Better than This website

What can we do? • We ask the Presiding Clerk to use our draft letter to write to Peter Dutton on our behalf • Take the letter to our Regional Meetings and Local Meetings as a guide for letter writing.

[See minute YM15.40 for letter as sent to Minister for Immigration.]

Right holding of Yearly Meeting

We have all read the report and the recommendations from Mid-year Standing Committee 2014 and the working group. All Regional Meetings and Young Friends have minuted support for a trial of YM gatherings held in July, commencing in 2016 and with a review after YM19. We agreed: We look forward to the implementation of these initiatives and a review in/after 2019. Roger Sawkins from the Working Group explained that the AYM AGM must by law be held within five months of the end of the Quaker Financial Year (30 September). The legal quorum for the AGM is 30 Members, including Members from at least three Regional Meetings. Therefore it is proposed that the February Standing Committee will include the AGM of AYM. Since Standing Committee consists of only 20 Friends—some of whom may not be in membership—other Friends (presumably from the local area) will be encouraged to join Standing Committee for such a session. The length of both February and July Standing Committees will probably change to suit the changes to their agendas. Nelson File, Principal of The Friends’ School, reiterated the school’s availability and willingness but stressed that dormitory accommodation at the school will not be available for Yearly Meetings held mid-year. Progress report: AYM Secretary Susan Addison reported that there was nothing further to report from the working group since the report to Documents in Advance. Nominations Process: We note the response from AYM Nominations Committee to the suggested adoption of Aotearoa/New Zealand YM nominations practices on page 68. We encourage all Regional Meetings and Young Friends to explore ways of assisting the Nominations Committee through their representatives on that committee. We have discussed at length ways that the AYM Nominations Committee can be helped in the processes of recognition of individual gifts and of spiritually discerning the appropriate Friends to serve AYM in our various roles and committees, and encouraging them to consider service. We support the concept of clear definitions of the tasks we ask Friends to undertake in their service to the community. We ask whether individual Friends are aware that they can suggest names for roles to their RM or YF representative on the AYM Nominations Committee. We affirmed that spiritual discernment of all names that arise for consideration for service is an essential part of our Quaker ways. We hear reports of the Aotearoa/New Zealand YM Clerk’s Newsletter which includes matters needing YM consideration, including descriptions of the service needed in various roles in the meeting. Murray Short, Aotearoa/New Zealand representative at YM15, spoke of the three types of

discernment processes in Aotearoa/New Zealand YM. [Murray’s presentation has been included in Documents in Retrospect.] AYM Information Technology Committee We have heard about this committee’s consideration of ways of holding committee meetings over the Internet. It is suggested that we wait to see the future developments in quality and reliability once the National Broadband Network is fully ‘rolled out’ and implemented. We were reminded of the successful live-streaming of the Backhouse Lecture in Perth in 2012. It was expensive and technically challenging for those concerned but greatly appreciated by those not able to be present. We are aware that successful Information Technology applications need champions with enthusiasm and ability (as well as funding). JYFs’ concern We hear from JYFs that they are concerned that the timing of YM in July is a problem for some of them. We note that 21 JYFs and 18 other Friends met at 4.00pm on Monday to hear JYFs express their concerns before these matters are brought to a formal session. We encourage the Working Group to continue their explorations on our behalf and look forward to their future reports. Additional matter foreshadowed to come to the formal session: With regard to the AYM AGM and the February Standing Committee meetings, that the first dot point be reworded to: hold ‘mid- year’ Standing Committee in February each year, in conjunction with the AGM of AYM to meet our reporting requirements as an incorporated body. Members of AYM who are not Standing Committee representatives will be needed at the AGM session in order to achieve the quorum of 30 Members from at least three Regional Meetings Julie Walpole, Clerk of Preparatory Session Summer School reports

The theme for YM15 and Summer School was ‘Life in the Light’. Summer School was held on Sunday 4 January from 9.30am to 5.00pm. A total of 158 people were allocated to the ten different groups, each related to the theme: • A day of silence to contemplate life in the Light • Life in the Light: Viewing the non-traditional Quaker colours • Celebrating 70+ • Quakerly inquiry processes • Celebrating the centenary of Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and the contribution of Quaker women • The evidence for spiritual reality • First Nations Peoples sovereignty and life in the Light • Quakers and business in the Light • Lifelong learning in the Light • Mandalas and mindfulness

The informal feedback was mostly very favourable and most of the groups met up again during the week at least once. The biggest problem we encountered was a shortage of available spaces suitable for the various groups. Three of the groups could only be accessed by stairs. Despite our best efforts, two people were unable to access their group of choice. Two groups were allocated to one large room but one of them, affected by the noise of the other, moved to the dining room which was not very quiet. One participant involved was quite upset.

The facilitators were happy with the size of their groups (11 to 26 people) and most were pleased that their groups were not larger. All participants are being sent a feedback form, the results of which will be circulated to the facilitators and will be available for the Summer School committee for YM16. Wendy Salter, VRM, convener of Summer Schools program Celebrating the Centenary of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and the contribution of Quaker women Fourteen Friends took part in a most successful workshop which continued, due to the enthusiasm generated by members of the group, for three further sessions. Our understanding of WILPF’s history in Australia and its significance was greatly assisted by the WILPF centenary posters, which will be available for use by Friends. We were greatly enriched as everyone shared their concern and experience in working for peace and social justice, including how Quaker women have made significant contribution to WILPF’s work worldwide. Margaret Bearlin, CRM A day of silence to contemplate life in the Light Ten Friends attended the ‘A day of silence’ Summer School, held in the home of Jim Palmer and Helen Bayes in Richmond. We had access to many spaces inside and out to reflect, read, journal, paint or whatever Friends chose to do. We had clearly marked packed lunches and easily accessible morning and afternoon tea provisions and also a clear information sheet from Jim and Helen, which meant noble silence could be fully maintained. We began with an introduction and sharing our goals and ended with worship sharing. I saw my role as facilitator including: thinking ahead, ensuring all was prepared to avoid the need to disturb the silence and to encourage reflection on the theme of 'living in the Light’. I also provided art material and books that may be useful to participants. Many participants spent much of the day reading booklets from the Kindler series. I found the atmosphere conducive to my regular silent day form of ministry and do think we achieved the ability for the group to be alone with the Spirit together. The surroundings and weather encouraged me to be in the present with the Spirit, which heightens for me what happens around me—the beauty of the trees, the sounds of the birds, the disappearing into a timeless space while painting mandalas. To be able to be silent in a gathered community, as I believe this was, is a rare gift. I find it interesting that Friends who have such a choice of Summer Schools feel the need to be separate, silent, and secure with the Spirit. This was affirmed in worship sharing at the end of the day. The group chose to meet daily and although only a few Friends came along, these Friends found having a place of stillness at the end of the day beneficial. Wilma Davidson, CRM The evidence for spiritual reality Sixteen of us explored the stepping-stones of our journey to where we are today, shared in pairs, and then in the whole group. It was good to have this experience that reinforced for us the reality that liberates, nourishes, empowers and guides us. Heather Herbert, CRM First Nations Peoples sovereignty After the whole group introductions, the larger group was split up into three groups, with a ‘report back’ session 20 minutes before the session breaks. The use of a set of readings to guide

participants through the day assisted the process. Allowing the groups to determine what they wanted to discuss and explore went well. The enthusiasm of the groups was very heartening. The decision to work on the ‘Ways Forward’ document assisted in crafting a document acceptable to a wide range of Friends at the Preparatory Session and its adoption as a guide for Friends to consider at the Formal Session. I hope it will lead to these Friends in attendance at the Summer School taking their desire to come into right relationship with First Nation’s Peoples back to their Regional and Local Meetings for action. Chris Hughes, VRM Lifelong learning in the Light The subject of lifelong education was developed by those attending with participants contributing in writing about themselves along the lines of ‘who you are, your personal philosophy, what you have done, and what you want to do’. It was a most constructive session. David Evans, SANTRM Mandalas and mindfulness The group was limited to ten, and included two Young Friends. We were most fortunate in having a large space for our artwork with loads of space for each person. Also there were no other groups or people nearby to cause distraction and the room was airconditioned. Everyone shared their experiences. Carol Holden, VRM Quakerly inquiry processes Twenty of us took our seats in the Cafe of Possibilities for our Quakerly Inquiry Processes day. In a spirit of adventurousness, in the morning, we heard of a new 'living systems framework' that Friends present thought might have much to offer Quakers. In the afternoon we explored connections between this and Quaker inquiry projects of which we'd been part, as well as thinking about traditional and new Quaker processes and methods. Summer School members were inspired to continue meeting throughout YM15 to examine mindfully how our Meeting was inquiring its way through the work of the various preparatory and formal sessions. One example was Presiding Clerk Julian’s narrative account of a Friend feeling that something was not quite right with the plenary room setup; then mention of this going to further Friends, until these observations and reflections connected up in a discerned move to unity in action. Thus a ‘high table’ was transformed into a ‘flat circular’ arrangement, honouring all testimonies. This was, we note, ‘happily and quickly done’! The Inquiry Processes summer school group continues to discern the nature of the underlying methodology of examples such as this. Members of the group would like to offer to communicate this emerging Quakerly Inquiry methodology through channels such as The Australian Friend, and also offer practical assistance based on these deliberations to the work of Friends’ projects and activities. Requests have already been received to assist the gathering of feedback from Summer School, and with the periodic review of the trialling of mid-year Yearly Meetings. Resonances have been expressed between the Quakerly Inquiry methodology explored in the Summer School and those of AVP, FPT and QSA. The group—which is open to all interested—looks forward to continuing to discern together these matters. We hope that the Quakerly nature and use of inquiry methods, designs and conceptual frameworks will be of practical use to Quakers. Yoland Wadsworth, VRM

65 Quakers and business/Quakers in business: living and working in the Light I felt led to bring a Summer School that would allow those Quakers with an interest in business, as well as those who acknowledge that many of our actions in the world relate to business, a forum to discuss how our Quaker values might inform such dealings, how they can be Spirit-led and how they can be a witness to our Quakerism. In all, 18 Friends gathered for what turned out to be a day full of enthusiasm for the topic of business. Our discussions were very wide-ranging as there was a rich diversity of business and Quaker experience in the room. Our discussions included: What makes a business Quaker? Discussion included consideration of the testimonies in many aspects of business, Quaker business method, transparency and more open forms of reporting, including the quadruple bottom line (not just financial reporting, but also social, environmental and spiritual). We explored the importance of being Spirit-led and that sometimes spiritual leadings are meant to fail. Silver Wattle Quaker Centre as a Quaker business. It is both successful in a financial sense and has a direct, positive impact on many people’s lives as well as the local community. We talked with the new Director, Tracy Bourne, about how it maintains its Quakerliness, is a resource for Quaker learning, is economically sustainable and an example of how a business can be well run using Quaker principles. Historical Quaker businesses were so successful in part because of their strong community networks. How can we share knowledge, experience and skills now, within the Society? How do AYM and meetings employ people e.g. contractors, wardens, cleaners, shop staff and volunteers? How do they ensure a duty of care? Could we as a group help those meetings looking to employ staff by being a central point of advice? Could this be taken forward as a concern? What can we do as individuals and as a Society to put into practice and live by the testimonies in relation to banking, investment (e.g. divestment), purchasing and working habits? Friends were eager to continue discussions as to how to move forward as a group, forming links with the British charity ‘Quakers & Business’ and the American group of the same name and informing our business decisions by identifying other Quaker businesses globally. The group continued to meet through YM15. Further information will be available through the AYM Secretary’s Newsletter and The Australian Friend about an ongoing group of interested Friends and a possible course at Silver Wattle Quaker Centre. I am looking forward to reporting back to Quakers and Business in the UK as well as helping as much as I can with ongoing developments and advice. Mark Lockwood, Chichester Meeting, Britain Yearly Meeting, Co-Clerk Quakers & Business Group Viewing the non-traditional Quaker colours Geoffrey Ballard and Peter Williams (CRM) facilitated a workshop, entitled ‘Viewing the non- traditional Quaker colours’. Nineteen people participated, two of whom told their non-traditional Quaker story. Over four sessions we looked at Quaker beliefs and how it affects what we do in Meetings for Worship, the implications of the 2014 Australian Quaker survey results, discussion of what quintessential Quakerism is now, that included trying to rewrite some of the Advices and Queries in inclusive language to reflect the diversity of beliefs within our Society. The plenary session discussed how we speak about ourselves to other Quakers, and present ourselves to the world; how do we feel living in the light that is made up of many 'colours', and do we need ongoing conversation? A suggestion was made of organising a conference, in the future, on spirituality that encompasses the diversity of belief, from theist to non-theist, faith and no faith. Participation in and feedback from the day was very encouraging and affirming.

Share and Tell Sessions

[For the full list of Share and Tell sessions offered at YM15, see minute YM15.61. See also Minute YM15.44, a minute of record from the Australian Quaker Survey Share and Tell session.]

Penn Friends

The Penn Friends afternoon tea was held on the lawn outside the children's venue at Queen's College on Tuesday 6 January 2015. This year it was held when the Junior Young Friends were on camp, so it was a smaller gathering than previous years, with the children and enthusiastic adults sharing food, games and talk. An existing Penn Friend connection was celebrated with both being present, at least four new Penn Friend connections were established, and one child wrote to her Penn Friend who was not present on the day. Geoff Greeves (SANTRM) conducted informal interviews and filmed existing and emerging Penn Friend connections. Penn Friends is a great opportunity for intergenerational links between younger and older Friends. They exchange letters and/or emails throughout the year, and hopefully manage to meet up in person at Yearly Meeting and other events. Sometimes this relationship can last for decades. If you haven't yet got a Penn Friend and would like to, contact Anna Wilkinson at [email protected] Jenny Turton, Children and JYF Coordinator State of the Society address

This annual address to Australia Yearly Meeting grew out of the old Quaker practice of Yearly Meeting Queries which were directed at Meetings at all levels, and were to be answered in writing at each yearly gathering. Many of us will recognise the familiar query: ‘How is the Truth prospering among you?’ It contains an expectation that we will regularly reflect and record how the Light is working in our consciences and how the Spirit is moving in our hearts and minds. In 1926, London Yearly Meeting expressed the question formally this way: ‘What is the religious state of your meeting; and is there among you evidence of growth in the truth?’ We have no such question in our Handbook. The Advices and Queries that we rely on and find so full of wisdom are exhortations that we contemplate individually. We have no queries specifically for Regional and Local Meetings, AYM Officers or AYM Committees. Indeed, in the Handbook, which describes the use of Documents in Advance, there is no guidance as to what the reports are to cover. So each report gives what noteworthy things have been done and what issues have come up during the year, including matters for YM decision. We do not hear how these have been a religious challenge, or how they are evidence of growth in the truth. So in trying to describe the ‘State of the Society’ in this address, I am also reflecting on what Regional Meetings, AYM Officers and Committees have and have not reported in Documents in Advance. There is much to read between the lines as well as along them. I am drawn, in this service, to try and answer the 1926 London Yearly Meeting question, as applied to Australian Quaker faith and community today. I hope it will be useful to you, to hear and reflect on the challenge of the old query, difficult though it is to find the words that truthfully express our contemporary responses and our seeking in these differently challenging times. So this is the question in my heart, and I offer it again to you: ‘What is the religious state of your meeting; and is there among you evidence of growth in the truth?’ Friends, I ask you to put aside, for the moment, any worries you have about the words religious and truth. Let’s just go with them!

What surprised me most in reading the Regional Meeting reports is that no mention is made anywhere of the work of Clerks, Ministry and Oversight, Finance, Property or Hospitality Committees. Yet we know that many Friends, in such committees, are continuously and quietly caring for the spiritual life and welfare of their meetings, their members, attenders and enquirers. What is there to say about those foundations of our religious society today? Is it assumed that these tasks simply get done without fanfare, like housework, or running a household? Is it only the unusual or innovative news that should be reported to Yearly Meeting? This seems to me a sorely depleted process compared with what was expected in earlier times. Our official roles and our core committees are the foundations of our community life and witness. They are religiously challenging responsibilities—the primary expression of our testimonies. They are shaped by the resources and technologies that come our way. And how they are done forms the bedrock of our faithfulness in community. But we are not told how—or whether—these Friends are upheld, prayed for, encouraged and comforted by their Meeting. There is one clue, however, in appreciative references made by the Presiding Clerk and our AYM Secretary to their support groups—a service not acknowledged in any other report! Friends, my impression is that support groups are a well-established practice among Australian Friends today; clearness meetings, too. They are offered to many Friends carrying a heavy load; for example, AYM officers, the Backhouse Lecturer, the Director of Silver Wattle Quaker Centre and Friends acting under Concern. Do they lessen the problem of burnout from unrewarding tasks, referred to by one Regional Meeting? While the process of support groups and clearness meetings is private, the practice is not, and its contribution to the state of our society and the growing of truth, has not been recorded. That said, I want to share some broader impressions prompted by the RM reports: • Isolation of small meetings is a worry. • Distance between meetings is regretted. • Low participation in business meetings is a sorrow. • Difficulties in filling RM appointments and committees is a burden. • Simplifying RM structures, or reducing what is expected of small meetings, might be the way to go.

In the past, worries about our numbers have prompted much conversation and effort towards ‘outreach’, with the aim of attracting people who would find the Quaker way interesting and relevant to their lives. But this year’s RM reports barely mention outreach. The one mention is Canberra Regional Meeting’s Meeting for Worship at the National Folk Festival each year, a massive and very sympathetic environment for us. We are actually very open to newcomers. We rejoice in hearing them say they have ‘come home’. We are still delighted to recognise some of us as ‘Compass Quakers’, because of the ABC TV Compass program in 2003, which interviewed various Australian Friends in such an effective way that some viewers came to a Meeting and stayed with us. But we seem to have lost confidence in local outreach through local public events and publicity. In striking contrast, however, the AYM Clerk and Secretary and the new Quaker Learning Committee see outreach being done through the AYM website, AYM publications and official statements of the Society. There is much on the web now, and some newcomers have already done their research, before arriving at a Meeting for Worship. So is the question, now, about how to care for them? The fact is that Australia Yearly Meeting is not growing, and there seems to be nothing much we can do about it. Our national numbers, as shown in the tabular statements, have not shown steady growth since I don’t know when. AYM membership hovers just below 1000. We have a slightly lower number of Attenders, around 850, and about 250 children. We can be sure of this, even though the figures in our latest tabular statement don’t add up, due to definition difficulties. I try to resist questions like ‘Why are we not keeping up with population growth, or at least growing by a healthy percentage?’ Perhaps the question now is: does it a matter to us? The Australian 68

Quaker Survey, conducted last year, will perhaps produce some interesting findings about our demography, our comings and goings, and our religious or theological patterns. Perhaps the most important question is this: What are Friends actually doing for each other? How is the Life, the Quaker way, prospering among us? It turns out that we are actually doing a lot! All Regional Meetings hold annual residential weekends, and last year’s themes included building community, strengthening friendships, getting to know one another in ways that deepen spiritual experience, and sharing how we live the testimony of Integrity. Residential weekends are also important for their inclusion of children and Junior Young Friends. Two Regional Meetings mentioned their weekly or fortnightly programs for children and JYFs. And one reported its use of all-age worship; and popular JYF sleepovers at the Meeting House. Meetings are offering Meetings for Healing, mid-week Meeting for Worship, Quiet Days at the Meeting House, and mutual support groups for spiritual nurture and grandparenting. At the sale of its home for 60 years, Friends House, Victoria Regional Meeting held a weekend of celebrations of its life and history, thus helping to heal the sense of loss. RM Newsletters got no mention. But we know they are produced faithfully in varying forms. One Regional Meeting has an active website as well. These services are a labour of love for inclusion and sharing of news and views. The AYM Secretary’s Newsletter attracted an appreciative comment. Nothing was said about The Australian Friend. One thing that puzzles me is the way the Young Friends’ report is filed with ‘committees’. I wonder why. Is it not more akin to a Meeting in the way it serves its members and attenders? YFs report that their activities are ‘an important source of friendship and spiritual strength for our lives’. They held their pre-YM camp as usual, gathered as part of the Easter Family Gathering at Silver Wattle, and sent a representative to Aotearoa/New Zealand YM. Looking at the reports as a whole, I am struck by the emphasis on giving local opportunities for Quaker learning by Meetings. Altogether, Friends have offered learning sessions on Advices and Queries, Quaker Basics, Quaker Fundamentals, Quaker Testimonies, Quaker Heritage, Quaker Bible Study, Hearts & Minds Prepared, Quaker Processes, Earthcare and Permaculture. These seem often to be held after Sunday Meeting for Worship or on Friday evenings. Opportunities for learning and spiritual nourishment at Silver Wattle were mentioned appreciatively by our Presiding Clerk and three Regional Meetings. Tasmanian Friends are bringing much enthusiasm for study and learning opportunities to the QLA Committee and Brisbane Friends are enjoying being the host meeting for Meeting for Learning. Another striking thing about this year’s reports, with both Meetings and committees, is how we are being changed by information technology. Its promise of easy communication by email, online meetings and websites gives hope about lessening the tyranny of distance, the isolation and smallness of many Meetings. Its use for outreach and access to learning is exciting us. The latest revisions of the Handbook can be readily checked. The Australian Friend and Dictionary of Australian Quaker Biography can be read online or downloaded. Our AYM Secretary sees herself as hearthkeeper, being a clearinghouse, a compiler of business documents, keeper of records and standard practices, and a conductor of AYM business. Through internet communication, these jobs can be done and kept up-to-date faster, and in a more inclusive manner than ever before. The website is an increasingly crucial and complex tool and we employ a technical expert to maintain and improve it. Some AYM committees may be able to meet and work through the internet, thus creating new possibilities in how they are shaped and what they are expected to do. These expanding horizons have prompted the establishment of an AYM Information Technology Expert Committee to steer us into effective use of our website, dropbox, social media, blogs and meetings by Internet—all possibilities unimagined by many of us, a few years ago. Another major change is the timing and location pattern of YM gatherings. This will affect our

annual rhythms at regional and local levels in many ways not yet clear. At the same time we are doing much work for child protection and respectful relationships in the Society, for peace and nonviolence, justice for First Nations Peoples, earthcare, climate change, human rights of asylum seekers, friendship across faith and cultural differences, abolition of nuclear weapons, overseas aid and international development. All this work is seen as rewarding and worthwhile. Helen Bayes, VRM 4 First Month 2015 Summary of Epistles from other Yearly Meetings

An Epistle articulates a collective sense of experience and how God has moved among Friends during a gathering… It is approved by that group during a meeting for business. It is typically shared with (other) yearly meetings so that they might read some of them out in meeting or publish some for people to read. It was historically, and continues to be, an important way for Friends and others to learn about each other in that which is eternal. They help us appreciate that we are part of a world family of Friends. (FWCC website) By my count, there are more than 90 Yearly Meetings and associations of Friends around the world (more than 20 in Africa, nearly 50 in the Americas, 11 in Asia-WP, 12 in Europe). We received epistles during 2014 from about one fifth of those; including a couple obtained through FWCC, we have 18 to hand: 10 from US Yearly Meetings (mostly in the ‘unprogrammed’ tradition), three from Continental Europe plus Britain and Ireland Yearly Meetings; and Bhopal (programmed), Japan and Aotearoa/New Zealand in our Asia-West Pacific section. There are none from Africa, Central America or South America. So the epistles that we received are a rather selective list. The near-absence of epistles from programmed and evangelical Friends, who make up about 90% of Quakers worldwide, is interesting and perhaps puzzling, even allowing for the fact that many in the Americas would issue their epistles in Spanish. I wonder about the rest, though. Is it because they do not have the ‘epistle’ tradition, or are there sectarian influences at work, I wonder—a tendency to share epistles only between Yearly Meetings with shared traditions? This overview of gatherings of Friends around the world is therefore somewhat biased towards ‘Friends like us’—those in the liberal, unprogrammed tradition. Keep that in mind when we observe that this collection of epistles from others in this ‘Religious Society’ of ours reflects an apparent reluctance to utter the Name of the Nameless one (God language alert). Only our Friends in Bhopal were comfortable with referring to ‘the Almighty’ and ‘Christ’. Only half of the epistles referred to God; there were more references to ‘Spirit’ or ‘Light’ or ‘the Divine’, and even then not very often. Four of the epistles made no reference at all to the Ineffable One by any name. I note in passing, without making any judgment or drawing any conclusions, that we also have avoided mentioning ‘God’ in at least our last four epistles, and referred to the Spirit only twice and Light three times. So we are in like-minded company. No doubt we would get a different picture from epistles from Friends in Africa, Latin America and most of the Asia-West Pacific section, had they come to us. Similarly, nearly all of the gatherings that gave rise to the received epistles sounded like ours. There was a familiar range of underpinnings, concerns and preoccupations: • faith and practice • reference to the testimonies • concerns about children, their care and spiritual nurture and the roles they can play in meetings • climate change and caring for the Earth • peacemaking, of course

• Indigenous concerns (not many) • structures, organisation, ways of doing things with small numbers of people • self-reflection on issues such as membership, futures, dealing with difficulties.

No great anxieties or difficulties were reflected in this batch of epistles. Indeed, one new Yearly Meeting in the USA expressed relief that they had, in the great American schismatic tradition, separated from their former Yearly Meeting. Even so, Friends everywhere have a talent for crafting quotable quotes and pithy summaries. For example: On membership: ‘Coming into membership of the Religious Society of Friends (said Britain YM) is not simply arrival at a comfortable place; it is also a point of departure: a commitment to the Quaker community and to a life-long process of learning, together with others. What matters most in this community is the quality of our relationships.’ On faith and practice: Britain YM quotes Ben Pink Dandelion: ‘We should rekindle a strong sense of our Quaker identity, our clarity about who we are, and we should reclaim the spiritual. Our “love in action” is not an alternative to the spiritual life; we need to be both Martha and Mary.’ Northern YM adds: ‘For some of us, Spirit seems to be saying, “Wait. Listen. Be patient.” Others hear the urging, “Well, what are we going to do about it?” Some of us hear both.’ Netherlands Friends considered a practical question: How would they ‘answer that of God’ in extreme Right politicians? On Testimonies: Netherlands Friends pondered the question ‘who God is to us now’, and added ‘what or whoever this is, we are the hands and feet to do the work’. Britain YM was on a similar theme: ‘What would our world look like if we truly lived out our testimonies?… Whatever you are called to do, be faithful to your calling. God has no hands but ours.’ Intermountain YM remind us that ‘The Peace Testimony is not so much a philosophical position but the fruit of an inward spiritual journey.’ On World War 1 commemorations: Britain YM tells us that they ‘reclaimed the white feather as a symbol of peace and created with our feathers a dove of peace’. On faith and hope: ‘How can our light make a difference in a broken world?’ (Ohio Valley YM). ‘In the face of our distress at the darkening of the world, we are renewed in the hope and love that is also part of our faith.’ (Britain YM). ‘Rather than feeling helpless in the world, we are called to find our voice as part of our witness,’ suggested North Pacific YM. Ohio Valley YM offered a poetic analogy: ‘The light given each of us is like a screen made up of many pixels that alone do not look like anything, but taken together form a beautiful picture. From our individual gifts we have a role to play, however small, that is our part of the whole. We were given encouragement, tools, and opportunities to put our gifts and testimonies into practice.’ Southern Appalachian Friends asked themselves ‘how tuning into the Spirit can help lead humanity safely out of our impasse. Can diving deeper into the Inner Light open our eyes to our connection with the entirety of life, move us to a new understanding of our place in nature, and liberate us from complacency and confusion over how to meet the challenges of the 21st Century?’ On a lighter note, but probably no less profound, Junior YM in Ireland had the theme ‘21st Century Fox: What would George say?’ On structures and processes: North Pacific YM report: ‘We made a change in structure that invites participation rather than requiring it, hoping that more voices will be heard … We are still wrestling with the tension between approaching our business worshipfully and having enough time for all of our business.’ We are not alone. On how we relate to each other: Northern YM were asked ‘if perhaps one gift we can offer each other is help in talking more openly about difficult topics’. Switzerland YM was encouraged by the familiar words of Rufus Jones: ‘I pin my hopes to quiet processes and small circles, in which vital transformations take place.’ And finally, on the family of Friends: Ohio Valley YM ‘were reminded that we are not alone in this enterprise. Others join with us to bring growth in each one of us, much as plants grow toward the light. An awareness of the problems of our world could not be avoided but seeds were planted that 71

can only bear fruit if we care for ourselves, our families, our meetings, and the communities where we live, breathe, and have our being.’ Intermountain Friends end by saying, ‘We enjoy acknowledging the threads of connection we have and cultivate in the complex Quaker web, and send our greetings and encouragement to you.’ What a rewarding family we are part of! To finish on a practical note: Our own epistle writers might like to note that the average length of the epistles we received was about 500 words (range 219 – 839). The last four AYM epistles had an average length of 635 words; the one we accepted in 2013 was almost half the length of the one from the year before. Is brevity the soul of inspiration? Which prompts me to stop there. Ray Brindle, VRM Quakerism in Japan FWCC Asia West Pacific Visitor’s address

The beginning of Quakerism in Japan dates back to 1886 when two missionaries, Joseph and Sarah Cosand of Kansas YM, commenced their evangelism. They had been sent out the previous year by the Women's Foreign Missionary Association of Philadelphia. Afterwards many remarkable Friends have faithfully watched over the activities of Japanese Friends. They will long be remembered. Besides them, many Friends from the USA, Canada, Great Britain, and, in recent years, increasingly from Europe, Asia and the West Pacific Region, have been coming to visit and live among the Japanese people. All these Friends have been a source of strength and support in the growth of Quakerism in Japan. Japan YM was established in 1917, and has carried on since. We did have a seven-year break during the Second World War though. And today, Japan YM consists of five Monthly Meetings: Mito, Tsuchiura, Shimotuma, Tokyo and Osaka. The first four meetings are in the Kanto region in Japan, and Osaka is just slightly away in south. In terms of membership, we have 125 registered. Tokyo Monthly Meeting is the largest of the five Monthly Meetings, with membership of 61. Also, for those who are curious, there are 45 male members, and the rest—80 of us—are women. Those figures were taken as of September last year. Japan YM has the officers of Clerk, Secretariat, and seven Standing Committees. They are Ministry, Publication, Peace and Social Concerns, International Relations, Finance, Friends Center and Nomination. Japan YM is held on the third weekend of November. The gathering is both spiritual and informative, as well as a reunion of old and new and far and near Friends. The reports of the Clerk, Committee and Monthly Meetings are presented. Through these reports, those attending the Yearly Meeting can gain information of Friends in Japan and their concerns. The Nitobe Memorial Lecture commemorating the life of Inazo Nitobe, a pioneer among early Friends in Japan, is one of the highlights of Yearly Meeting. The lecturers have been not only Japanese but also visiting Friends from overseas: Elizabeth G Vining, Douglas V Steere, Canby Jones, Lewis Benson, Kenneth E Boulding and Herbert Hadley. The lectures have been published in booklets in Japanese. Last year, the Nitobe Memorial Lecture was ‘Justly Fear’, given by Kazuma Momoi, a photographer. He talked about the importance of controlling desires which cause conflicts in the world. Japan YM publishes Tomo (Friends) three times a year and Monthly Meetings put out their own newsletters regularly. Retreats have been a consistent part of Friends in Japan. Ministry Committee is organising the YM Retreat. Monthly Meetings also have their own retreats. Japanese Friends’ Concerns have always been peace, temperance, education for disabled and handicapped people, and care for aged people. The Peace and Social Concerns Committee has been actively working for peace. It is important that Friends should continue to proclaim our Peace

Testimony in the Society. It is also equally important for us to maintain peace consciousness within the group. There are several organisations affiliated with Japan YM. Friends Girls’ School, which has 800 students, aims to provide an academically high standard of education based on Quaker spirit. AI-YU-EN is Friends’ Home for Aged People. Two kindergartens, one in Mito and the other in Shimotsuma in Ibaraki Prefecture, have been serving the community for more then 100 years respectively. Friends Center in Tokyo is available for accommodation for short- and long-term stay visitors. It has been under direct management of Japan YM since 1971. Friends are taking care of numerous activities at the Center. Friends from overseas are warmly welcomed to visit our meetings. Machiko Takeda, Japan Yearly Meeting Australian Friends Fellowship of Healing Report for 2014

The Australian Friends Fellowship of Healing (AFFH) started the year at YM14 at Griffith University, Nathan campus, Brisbane. Brisbane members were not able to be much involved as they were so busy with Yearly Meeting or not well, but they had set up a Healing Room for us which, though not central, was a quiet, special place of retreat. Our AGM and the meeting of the Charitable Trust were held at the Ecology Centre, which closed early. As a result, our Healing Meeting was held after breakfast in the main Meeting Room. It was well attended as there were no conflicting meetings. Trish and David Johnson, Co-Directors of Silver Wattle, and Colin Wendell Smith, a trustee of the Charitable Trust, were very helpful in bringing us up to date with what was happening with the Olaf Hodgkin Healing Unit. The Trust and Silver Wattle have worked hard to deal with the complex legal matters involved so that the investment by the Trust is protected. Having waited so long to establish a healing unit, it needs great care. As an occupational therapist, Sue Doessel (QRM) has been most helpful in practical suggestions to the Board. Moira Darling (VRM), as our representative on the Advisory Committee to the Silver Wattle Board, has been generous in her time, attending Planning Gatherings and virtual meetings. Ruth Haig (NSWRM) also attended the Silver Wattle AGM. Barbara True (SANTRM) has edited Wholeness as well as being a central contact person with Moira Darling and Ruth Haig. The AFFH Gathering at Silver Wattle, 17 – 21 October, was a watershed time for the Fellowship. Never before had Australian Friends involved in healing from all Regional Meetings been able to meet together as a worshipping community for four days. Lesli Grant, all the way from Western Australia, was our Elder in Residence. Our Friend in Residence was just-retired oncology specialist nurse Margaret Calvert from Manchester. Kaye Wright (VRM) arrived early and stayed late and did wonderful holding of our time together. She also prepared the many cards sent to those who could not be with us. We learned so much from each other as we opened to the Spirit, which provided so many learning opportunities. Those present now hold each other in the Light as well as those needing special prayers on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning. We have Bevianne Fitch (VRM) to thank for determining our timing and she also introduced us to Peter Roberts’ reverie harp which is used in aged care, hospice and hospital healing. Our cook, Maxwell Ketels (VRM), led the group in a joyous musical healing evening, involving lots of laughter. David Johnson, Co-Director of Silver Wattle, led us to greater awareness of the Olaf Hodgkin Unit, and Margaret Woodward, Olaf’s grand-daughter-in-law, helped us to be part of his deep spiritual leading which was responsible for the Charitable Trust. David also showed us the U-tube video by John Calvi from Vermont who shared about his decades of involvement with the Ministry of Healing and how so much relates to violence. Jill Ezzy, Dorothea Field, Ruth Lee Bowie (via Chris

Madsen), Ivanka Belic, Moira Darling, Chris, Peter King, John McMahon and Barbara True all shared of their healings and their healing forms. We were blessed with older Friends Don Tugby and Margaret Bearlin who had their own special wisdoms to impart. We left inspired and committed to the Healing Ministry and to each other and the development of the Olaf Hodgkin Healing Unit as we like to call it and to Silver Wattle. We are in the process of organising a similar Healing Gathering at Silver Wattle the four days, Friday 23 to Tuesday 27 October 2015. We need to find a new coordinator who is committed to the Fellowship and the development of the Olaf Hodgkin Unit to take over from me at YM16. Ruth Haig, coordinator, AFFH

Standing Committee 1.15 Minutes 12.30 – 4.00 pm, 3 January 2015

Queen’s College, University of Melbourne, Melbourne

AYM Officers Presiding Clerk Julian Robertson Past Presiding Clerk Maxine Cooper Treasurer Roger Sawkins Secretary Susan Addison Standing Committee representatives CRM Kay de Vogel (Clerk), Lorraine Thomson (Asst Clerk) NSWRM Garry Duncan, Mark Macleod (Co-clerks) QRM Frances Long, Taisoo Kim Watson (Clerk) SANTRM Jo Jordan, Topsy Evans (Treasurer) TRM Robin McLean, Felicity Rose (Clerk) VRM Gerry Fahey (Co-clerk), Alan Clayton (Co-clerk) WARM Adrian Glamorgan, Ann Zubrick (Co-clerks) YFs Callista Barritt (Clerk), Connor Chaffey

Introductory Matters SC1.15.1: Opening Matters (a) A Short Period of Worship During the opening period of worship, the Presiding Clerk read Advices & Queries, no.7: Be aware of the spirit of God at work in the ordinary activities and experience of your daily life. Spiritual learning continues throughout life, and often in unexpected ways. There is inspiration to be found all around us, in the natural world, in the sciences and arts, in our work and friendships, in our sorrows as well as in our joys. Are you open to new light, from whatever source it may come? Do you approach new ideas with discernment? In reading the passage a second time, the Presiding Clerk substituted ‘the presence of love and truth’ for ‘the spirit of God’. (b) Acknowledgment of Traditional Owners Standing Committee acknowledged the traditional owners of the land on which we are worshipping and meeting. We have heard that we will be welcomed to country this evening by Aunty Carolyn Briggs of the Boonwurrung people who, along with the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, have claims on the land occupied by the University of Melbourne, where we are meeting and worshipping. We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and future. (c) Introduction of committee members The Presiding Clerk invited members of Standing Committee to introduce themselves.

75 Matters for decision ‘One task of the SC meeting is to approve the agenda for Yearly Meeting, ensuring that all Concerns arising in AYM committees and from Regional Meetings are brought to Yearly Meeting for consideration.’ [Handbook of Practice & Procedure, 6th edn, Appendix D] SC1.15.2: Report on Dictionary of Australian Quaker Biography Online Project (DAQBOP) Standing Committee has heard from DAQBOP Coordinator Roger Sawkins that the web version of the DAQB is nearly complete and that back-up files have been created. Future updates will be added to the DAQB website www.bios.quakers.org.au from which the information can be downloaded. Standing Committee discussed whether we need to also update the printed versions of the Dictionary presently held in Regional Meeting libraries and a small number of libraries here and overseas. We agree that the printed versions of the DAQB, other than that held by the AYM Secretary, be no longer updated. We agree that existing owners and future researchers be referred to the DAQB website www.bios.quakers.org.au from which files can be downloaded; or to the AYM Secretary, who may be able to supply additional information. SC1.15.3: Backhouse Lecturer 2016 Standing Committee has heard that the Backhouse Lecture Committee wishes to nominate Margery Post Abbott (USA) as the 2016 Backhouse Lecturer. A member of Multnomah Meeting, Oregon, USA, Margery has a wide range of concerns and experience, including prophetic ministry, spiritual discernment, and the link between faith and social justice. She has been Presiding Clerk of the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) and has written a theological reflection on Quaker lobbying. She is currently working on a book on Quakers and prophetic ministry. Margery would travel with her husband Carl, an urban historian, well versed in Quaker history. AYM would be expected to cover the costs for Margery only, and she and Carl would pay the additional costs for Carl’s travel and accommodation. We recommend that the name of Margery Post Abbott go forward to Yearly Meeting. We encourage Regional Meetings to consider hosting Margery and Carl during their time in Australia. SC1.15.4: Handbook changes Standing Committee has heard that among the proposed changes to the Handbook of Practice & Procedure 6th edition (2011) in Documents in Advance, three have been grouped for consideration at a Preparatory Session. These relate to sections on: 4. Testimonies and the Dictionary of Australian Quaker Biography (proposed by the AYM Secretary, pp. 16 – 18) 5. AYM Hosted Committees (proposed by CRM, pp. 24 – 25) 6. Silver Wattle Quaker Centre (proposed by the AYM rep on the SWQC Advisory Committee, p.71)

The responses from Regional Meetings to (1) and (3) indicate general support, with suggestions for minor changes. However, two Regional Meetings, TRM and NSWRM, have submitted detailed changes in response to (2). Standing Committee recommends that only items (1) and (3) be considered at YM15 and that consideration of (2), changes to AYM Hosted Committees, be deferred. We ask the AYM Nominations Committee to bring forward names of an ‘expert’ AYM committee to consider and bring recommendations about (2) to the July 2015 Standing Committee.

SC1.15.5: Request that Regional Meetings establish and maintain standard registers of all commitment ceremonies, including marriages Standing Committee has heard that VRM Registering Officer Tessa Spratt wishes to lay down the Concern that Regional Meetings establish and maintain standard registers of all commitment ceremonies, including marriages. Although Regional Meetings were generally supportive of standardising the way they record marriages and commitment ceremonies, they felt many matters required further discernment (Minute SC7.14.19). Standing Committee asks Jo Jordan and Roger Sawkins to maintain a watching brief on changes to marriage legislation and ask them to report to a future Standing Committee. We hope that legislative changes in the future will enable us to see a clear way forward. SC1.15.6: Nominating authorities of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Standing Committee has heard that the Marriage Law and Celebrants section of the Attorney- General's Department (Cwlth) maintains a list of 'nominating authorities of the Religious Society of Friends'. It appears that, in the past, RM clerks were considered the appropriate ‘nominating authorities’, as Regional Meetings appoint their own registering officers. However, RM clerks have not been informing the Department when new Clerks take over. The Department has confirmed that one ‘nominating authority’ for the whole of Australia would be acceptable. Standing Committee has recommended that the incumbent Presiding Clerk be listed as the sole 'nominating authority' of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia; and asks the AYM Secretary to register a change of name with the Attorney-General's Department whenever a new Presiding Clerk takes over. We note that Registering Officers for marriages continue to be appointed by Regional Meetings. SC1.15.7: NATSIEC donations Standing Committee has heard that for many years the Society has made an annual donation to the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC), a commission of the National Council of Churches of Australia (NCCA). The NATSIEC donation of $300 allocated for 2013 – 14 was held over because NATSIEC appeared to no longer be active. A further $300 has already been allocated in the 2014 – 15 budget. Standing Committee recommends that the allocated donations to NATSIEC be placed on hold until we hear from our NCCA representatives. SC1.15.7: Request from the WARM QSA group for report to be considered at QSA Preparatory Session Standing Committee has considered a report from a meeting of the WARM QSA group held on 30 November 2014, which was presented to the WARM Meeting for Business in December 2014. We note that Regional Meetings have not had an opportunity to consider this report through Documents in Advance. We have heard that the QSA Management Committee received and responded to the report on 30 December by offering a timetable to work towards a proposed restructure of the QSA Management Committee that would allow for consideration by Standing Committee and Regional Meetings. We support the QSA Management Committee in this process. We note that QSA Management Committee convener Michael Morrissey intends to present a proposed timetable for addressing the concerns raised in the report from the WARM QSA group at the QSA Preparatory Session. We hope that all the concerns will be addressed.

SC1.15.8: Changes to the timetable of YM15 Standing Committee considered requests to move the timing of the Preparatory Session for the QPLC and Peace & Social Justice Fund Committee on Monday 5 January, 11.30am to 1.00pm, to another time so that participants who wish to attend the First Nations Peoples Vigil (scheduled at the same time) could do so. We agree that, in principle, only minimal changes be made to the timetable published in Documents in Advance, and that the QPLC and Peace & Social Justice Preparatory Session remain on Monday 5 January, from 11.30 to 1.00pm. We note that the Peace Preparatory Session may be able to reconvene late in the afternoon of Monday 5 January. We ask the organisers of YM15 to publicise the vigil and the transport options available for those who wish to attend. Standing Committee noted the following additions to the YM timetable: The new edition of Adventures in the Spirit will be launched by the Presiding Clerk Julian Robertson and Children & JYF Coordinator Jenny Turton at the YM bookshop at 1.45 pm on Monday 5 January. An outing to the Islamic Museum has been arranged on Wednesday afternoon 7 January. The Ecumenism and Interfaith Interest Group will be held from 7.00 to 7.30pm on Thursday 8 January. The group photo will be taken at 5.45pm on Friday 9 January. SC1.15.9: Arrangements for reading of Testimonies at YM15 Standing Committee asks that the following timetable for the reading of Testimonies be publicised at YM15.

Formal Session Testimony Reader

Tuesday, 6 January, 9.30am Compilation of the Testimonies Margaret Bywater of Eve Masterman, Frances Stephanie Farrall Parsons and Pamela Wendell Smith (TRM) Felicity Rose

Wednesday, 7 January, 9.30am David Lance (CRM) Katherine Purnell

Thursday, 8 January, 9.30am Compilation of the Testimonies Rhoda Dorrell of Sylvia Brown and Kaye Frances Long Throssell (QRM)

Thursday, 8 January, 2.00pm Compilation of the Testimonies Elizabeth Field of Florence Mann and Aina Ranke (NSWRM)

Friday, 9 January, 9.30am Elizabeth Stevenson Jo Jordan (SANTRM)

SC1.15.10: The Friends’ School: nomination of elective directors Standing Committee has heard that the Association of The Friends’ School Inc. met on 9 December and made the following minute: Nomination of Elective Directors We consider the nominations brought forward by the Board of Governors and TRM and we agree to recommend to Standing Committee that AYM appoint:

• Craig Stephens, as a Board of Governors nominee, for a second term of four years beginning in May 2015. • Siobhan Harpur, as a nominee of TRM, for a third term of four years beginning in May 2015. • Sally McGushin, as a nominee of TRM, for a term of two years beginning in May 2015. We note that this fixed term is to coincide with the time at which Sally would have completed her initial term as a previous Board of Governors nominee. • Natalia Urosevic, as a Board of Governors nominee, for a first term of four years beginning in May 2015.

Lyndsay Farrall Presiding Member Board of Governors, The Friends’ School, Hobart Standing Committee recommends these appointments go forward to Yearly Meeting. Matters for noting SC1.15.11: Use of urgent decision-making process since Mid-year Standing Committee The AYM Secretary has reported three occasions on which the urgent decision-making process (Handbook of Practice & Procedure s5.2.3) has been used since Mid-year Standing Committee: • The appointment of Tessa Spratt to be the AYM visitor to Aotearoa/New Zealand YM15. • The appointment of Madeleine Ball as AYM representative to the FWCC AWPS Business Meeting in Hong Kong, 20 – 25 January 2015.

[The AYM Nominations Committee convener will report both appointments during YM15.] • Approval for the AYM Peace & Social Justice Fund Committee to make a grant $15,000 to Abel Siboniyo for his work with refugees from the African Great Lakes Region, the grant to be administered by QRM. Approval was requested because $15,000 exceeds the limit for a single grant (10% of the capital).

[The AYM Peace & Social Justice Fund Committee will report this grant to YM15.] SC1.15.12: Australian Quaker Survey: First Summary of Results We note that the Australian Quaker Survey: First Summary of Results has been posted on the Members Pages of our website. The survey was conducted this year by Peter Williams (CRM) in consultation with a working group of Topsy Evans and Kerry O’Regan (SANTRM); and Ronis Chapman, Christine Larkin, Erica Fisher and Geoffrey Ballard (CRM). Peter Williams will convene a ‘Share and Tell’ session about the survey results on Thursday 8 January, 4.00 – 5.00pm. SC1.15.13: Matters relating to YM15 The following matters relating to YM15 were read and agreed: (a) Appointments for the duration of Yearly Meeting Standing Committee noted that the host Regional Meeting, Victoria, has brought forward the names of its Co-clerks Alan Clayton and Gerry Fahey to share the role of Assistant Clerk. Standing Committee will advise Yearly Meeting of the names. Standing Committee noted the names of Regional Meeting elders appointed as elders for the duration of YM15:

CRM: Christine Larkin, Michael Searle, Jenny Spinks, Lorraine Thomson NSWRM: Liz Field, Anne-Maree Johnston, Rae Litting QRM: Abel Siboniyo SANTRM: Jenny Stock TRM: Madeleine Ball, Margaret Bywater, Felicity Rose, Pamela Leach VRM: Kelvin Kerney (convener), Helen Irvine, Bev Polzin WARM: Ruth Watson, Ann Zubrick. Standing Committee noted the names of the Pastoral Care committee for YM15: • CRM: Heather Herbert, Dorothy Broom • NSWRM: Suellen O’Brien, Dennis Stanton • QRM: Frances Long • SANTRM: Elizabeth Kwan • TRM: Kerstin Reimers, Sue Walkom • VRM: Bevianne Fitch, Dale Hess • WARM: Lesli Grant • Young Friends: Gabbie Paananen. • • Standing Committee noted the names of Child Protection Contact Friends present at YM15: Dorothy Broom and Jim Neely (CRM); Garry Duncan (NSWRM); Julian Robertson (TRM); Kevin Spratt (VRM); Margaret Woodward (WARM); Callista Barritt and Mielikki Spratt (YF Pastoral Care Persons). Standing Committee noted the names of Respectful Relationships Contact Friends present at YM15: David Purnell (CRM), Elizabeth Mitchell (NSWRM), Judith Pembleton (QRM), Robin McLean (TRM), Beth Harcourt (WARM), Connor Chaffey and Mielikki Spratt (YFs). Standing Committee noted the recommended names for Clerks for Preparatory Sessions at YM15: Right holding of Yearly Meeting: Julie Walpole QPLC and Peace & Social Justice Committee: Lyndsay Farrall Earthcare: Harold Wilkinson Handbook entries: Ann Zubrick Australian Friend and publications: Topsy Evans QLA: Nelson File Respectful Relationships: Ronis Chapman Ethical investment: Roger Sawkins Backhouse Lecture: David Purnell Friends in Stitches: Cathy Davies & Tessa Spratt First Nations Peoples Concerns: Wilma Davidson FWCC: Maxine Cooper QSA: Wies Schuiringa Information Technology Interest Group: Michael Searle Ecumenism & interfaith: Liz Field Children & JYFs and Child Protection: Helen Bayes Friends Peace Teams: Jo Jordan.

(b) Participation of non-Members at YM15 Regional Meeting Clerks have provided a list of those not in membership of Australia Yearly Meeting who have been given permission to attend YM15.

The following collated list of those attending who are not in membership will be displayed during Yearly Meeting. Yearly Meeting gives those on that list permission to participate. Members of overseas Yearly Meetings: Gretchen Castle, FWCC General Secretary; Machiko Takeda, Paul Barnier (Japan YM); Murray Short, Niwa Short, Rosie Remmerswaal (Aotearoa/New Zealand YM); Mark Lockwood, Margaret Calvert (Britain YM); Ray Dawkins (Singapore). CRM: Heather Herbert, Sierra Sharman, Jim Neely, Aaron Toyne, Daniel Neely, James Cole. NSWRM: Tony Etherington, Richard Gibbons, Myra Hutton, Charles Litting, Gabbie Paananen (YF), Liam Paananen (JYF), Jasmine Payget, Catherine Smith, Malcolm Smith, David Swain, Paul Tollan, Stephen Joseph, James Wright (JYF), Sam Wright (child). QRM: Dawn Joyce. SANTRM: Chloe Evans (JYF); Ping Kwan; Rowena, Michael & Lachlan Vnuk (JYF); Joelle Nininahazwe (YF), Melissa (JYF) and Restina Nininahazwe (child); Milli Stein (Southern Marches Monthly Meeting, Wales), Yarrow Andrew (Hong Kong Meeting). TRM: Matilda Bowman, Alex Brosnan, Vivian Imbriotis, Eva Schroter, Olive Walker (JYFs); Adrian Robertson. VRM: Beth, Susan, Philippa and David Albrecht; Alex and Lizzie Bingham; Emily, Miles and Rosie Bray; Sofie Brown; Ian Burness; Ellena Cooper; Nadia Covacci; Josh and Kaidan Crane; Bonita Dowell; Tess Edwards; Matt Godding; Lloyd Godman; Carmel Harty; Aidan and Caitlin Hendy; Anne Kane; Maxwell Ketels; Asher and Felix Lloyd; Jason and Sally McIlroy; Marceline Minani; Patricia and Renata Officer; Eve Pasipanodya; Katherine Phelps; Kim Pickering; Dawn Rowan; Wendy Salter; Mahalia Shelton; Clancy and Elizabeth Shield; Elizabeth Smart; Margaret Spong; Jo Temme; Maya Tran; Jenny Turton; Eve Viduka. WARM: Joy Moore (child); Elizabeth PO’; Nansen Robb; Catherine and Tamika Reid; Elva Verity. Young Friends: Galen Barritt; Connor Chaffey; Rosie Remmerswaal (Aotearoa/New Zealand YF representative); Valentina Shchedrina; Atticus Toyne. • Guests: Yusuf, Khadijo and Eemann Omar (child) [Sue Ennis of VRM will accompany]; Caroline LeCouter [David Purnell will accompany]. (c) Visitors to Australia Yearly Meeting during 2014 RM Clerks were asked to let the AYM Secretary know of any visitors to Australia Yearly Meeting in 2014. Margaret Calvert (Britain YM) attended Queensland Regional Meeting and Silver Wattle Quaker Centre. (d) Names of Friends who have died since YM14 to be read during the Meeting for Remembrance at YM15 CRM: Jenny Bosse, David Lance NSWRM: Marea Gazzard (died 2013), Florence Mann QRM: Sylvia Brown, Elizabeth Sharp SANTRM: Peter Daughtry, Andrew Duguid, Dean Hull, Diana Lorking, Chris Nordin, Ray Mylius TRM: Alan Lester, Eve Masterman, Joy Mitchell, Frances Parsons, Pamela Wendell Smith VRM: Anne Baulch, Rick Holden, Fiona Reddaway West Australia: Peter Whitaker

(e) Statements on behalf of Australia Yearly Meeting Standing Committee noted the following letters signed by the Presiding Clerk since YM14. A folder containing copies of the letters and responses, where applicable, is available from the Help Desk.

22 January 2014 FWCC General Letter of thanks for greetings to YM14 Secretary, Gretchen Castle

22 January 2014 Friends Peace Teams Letter announcing decision of AYM to join Council Clerk Tom Friends Peace Teams Council and Martin appointment of Maxine Cooper as AYM representative.

31 January 2014 Australian Human Letter of congratulations on new role. Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson

6 March 2014 Minister for Foreign Request to take up with Israeli Government Affairs Julie Bishop its occupation policies in Palestine.

4 June 2014 Prime Minister Letter about reduction in overseas aid in Tony Abbott Federal Budget 2014/15.

6 June 2014 Sneh Chetsingh Letter of condolence to Sneh Chetsingh on death of her husband Dilawar Chetsingh, AWPS visitor to YM06.

5 August 2014 Minister for Foreign Letter of congratulations on diplomatic Affairs Julie Bishop work at UN Security Council re international investigation into Flight MH17 Shadow Minister for that crashed in Ukraine. Foreign Affairs Tanya Plibersek

6 August 2014 Prime Minister Letter expressing concern about policy on Tony Abbott; Leader of asylum seekers and refugees the Opposition Bill Shorten; Minister for Immigration Scott Morrison; Shadow Minister for Immigration Richard Marles

2 September 2014 Prime Minister Letter urging government to resist any Tony Abbott request for military involvement in Iraq and Syria.

2 September 2014 Navi Pillay Letter of thanks for work as UN Commissioner for Human Rights.

3 October 2014 Minister for Foreign Letter of support for Australian Affairs Julie Bishop Government initiatives to support women and girls in Iraq.

9 December 2014 Treasurer Joe Hockey Request to reconsider decision to make further cuts to Australia’s aid program.

The Society, over the signature of the Presiding Clerk, added its name to: ‘Facing the Challenge of Climate Change: a shared statement by Quaker groups’ prepared for the UN Climate Change Summit in New York, September 2014 ‘Open Letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop concerning the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, 8 – 9 Dec 2014’ initiated by ICAN, 24 November 2014 Letter to ABC Chairman re. Specialist Religious Programming on the ABC, initiated by Uniting Church, 2 December 2014. (f) Media releases on behalf of Australia Yearly Meeting

22 August 2014 Quakers highlight dissent, courage and conscience in World War 1 centenary exhibition.

Copies of the letters and media releases are available in a folder on the Help Desk. (g) Greetings from Yearly Meeting Friends were asked to give to the Assistant Clerk names and addresses for greetings from this Yearly Meeting. Cards for these greetings will be displayed for signing from Tuesday, 6 January to Friday, 9 January, and will then be processed for posting. SC1.15.14: Host Regional Meeting reports on future planning We note that firm dates for future Yearly Meetings and Mid-year Standing Committees depend on Yearly Meeting’s consideration of the ‘Right Holding of Yearly Meeting’ working group’s report. Future Yearly Meetings YM in 2016 Hobart YM in 2017 Adelaide: We ask David Evans to work with Yarrow Andrew in seeking a suitable venue for YM2017 [SANTRM Minute 13(iii) of 7 December 2014] YM in 2018 to be hosted by NSWRM Future Standing Committees Proposed for 16 – 18 July 2015, Hobart, face-to-face meeting to include consideration of AYM Budget. Proposed for 26 – 28 February 2016, Adelaide, face-to-face meeting constituting AYM AGM. Standing Committee in 2017: WARM is prepared to host Standing Committee in Perth in February 2017 [minute 1-11/14, 2 November 2014]

Standing Committee concluded with a period of silent worship.

YM15: list of participants

Georgina Adams Susan Clarke Tricia Fitzgerald Susan Addison Alan Clayton Emm Forte David Albrecht James Cole John Gare Philippa Albrecht Maxine Cooper Sharon Gear Susan Albrecht Andrew Cooper Astrid Gerrits Beth Albrecht Ross Cooper Richard Gibbons Kate Alessia Helen Cotton Adrian Glamorgan Yarrow Andrew Nadia Covacci Matthew Godding Steph Atkinson Jeannie Cozens Lloyd Godman Madeleine Ball Joshua Crane Helen Gould Geoffrey Ballard Kaidan Crane Lesli Grant Ronald Baneth Kyrstie Crane Marion Green Leith Banney Leo Cullen Geoffrey Greeves Paul Barnier Moira Darling Ruth Haig Ellise Barritt Wilma Davidson Beth Harcourt Callista Barritt Catherine Davies Brian Harlech-Jones Helen Bayes Raymond Dawkins Marie Harlech-Jones Margaret Bearlin Kay de Vogel Sharee Harper Helen Beeby Rhoda Dorrell Cindy-lee Harper Dorothy Benyei Dennis Dorwick Molly Harriss Toyne Lizzie Bingham Bonita Dowell Carmel Harty Alex Bingham Garry Duncan Caitlin Hendy Regan Bleechmore John Dundas Ellena Hendy Tracy Bourne Aletia Dundas Bruce Henry Matilda Bowman Peter Dwyer Heather Herbert Andrew Bray Madeleine Edwards Alison (Sally) Herzfeld Emily Bray Tess Edwards Dale Hess Rosie Bray Renee Ellerton Catherine Heywood Miles Bray Julie Ellerton Margaret Hodgkin Ray Brindle Sue Ennis Rose Dorothy Broom Sabine Erika Carol Holden Alexandra- Catherine Errey Beverlie Hopkins Brosnan Rose Anthony Etherington Elspeth Howard Anne Brown Halcyon Evans Chris Hughes Sofie Brown David Evans James Hurley David Buller Chloe Evans Myra Hutton Ian Burness Eleanor Vivian Imbriotis Evans Margaret Bywater (Topsy) Helen Irvine Margaret Calvert John Evans Felicity Jeffery Gretchen Castle Gerry Fahey Tonya Jensen Connor Chaffey Lyndsay Farrall David Johnson Ronis Chapman Stephanie Farrall Patricia Johnson Hannah Chapman-Searle Elizabeth Field Anne-Maree Johnston Emily Chapman-Searle Nelson File Josephina Jordan Margaret Clark Bevianne Fitch Valerie Joy 84

Anne Kane Paula Paananen Malcolm Smith Barbara Kearney Liam Paananen Jenny Spinks Kelvin Kerney Gabbie Paananen Tessa Spratt Maxwell Ketels Jim Palmer Kevin Spratt Ian Kirby Jill Marion Parris Anastasia Spratt Ping Kwan Susan Parritt Alexander Spratt Elizabeth Kwan Eve Pasipanodya Mielikki Spratt Charlie Lane Jasmine Payget Dennis Stanton Christine Larkin Judith Pembleton Millicent Stein Pamela Leach Jackie Perkins Charles Stevenson Rae Litting Katherine Phelps Jenny Stock Charles Litting Diana Pittock Peggy Storch Asher Lloyd Barrie Pittock Marion Sullivan Felix Lloyd Mary Pollard David Swain Mark Lockwood Beverley Polzin Machiko Takeda Frances Long Lauren Porter Acey Teasdale Rosemary Longhurst Saskia Powles Joanna Temme Frances Love Eli Powles Lorel Thomas Mark Macleod Gina Price Lorraine Thomson Jenny Madeline Katherine Purnell Margaret Tonkin Christian Madsen David Purnell Phillip Toyne Sieneke Martin Peter Raisbeck Atticus Toyne Michaela McCarthy Tamika Reid Aaron Toyne Jason McIlroy Cathryn Reid Maya Tran Sally McIlroy Kerstin Reimers Jenny Turton Robin McLean Rosie Remmerswaal Jo Vallentine John McMahon Nansen Robb Elva Verity Cate McMahon Adrian Robertson Eve Viduka John Michaelis Julian Robertson Lachlan Vnuk Marceline Minani Greg Rolles Rowena Vnuk Elizabeth Mitchell Felicity Rose Michael Vnuk Joy Moor Dawn Rowan Yoland Wadsworth Peter Morris Brenda Roy Madeline Walker Michael Morrissey Wendy Salter Mikah Olive Walker Rosemary Morrow Roger Sawkins Anne Walker Frances Nall Eva Schroter Adrian Walker Glynis Naunton Wies Schuiringa Sue Walkom Jim Neely Michael Searle Julie Walpole Daniel Neely Sierra Sharman Robin Walpole Susan Nelson Justine Shelton Ruth Watson Marie-Joelle Nininahazwe Mahalia Shelton Taisoo Kim Watson Melissa Nininahazwe Elizabeth Shield Frank Watson Restina Clancy Shield Julienne Webb Nininahazwe Paula Niwa Short Peter Webb Samantha Nolan Murray Short Colin Wendell-Smith Suellen O'Brien Abel Siboniyo Angela Were Clemence Overall Elizabeth Smart Harold Wilkinson Ian Paananen Katherine Smith Anna Wilkinson 85

Peter Williams Heather Williams Sue Wilson Mark Wotherspoon Samuel Wright James Wright Lisa Wriley Lylah Yates Ann Zubrick TOTAL= 285