DOCUMENTS in RETROSPECT Yearly Meeting 6 – 13 July 2019
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The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia Inc. DOCUMENTS in RETROSPECT Yearly Meeting 6 – 13 July 2019 The Friends’ School, Hobart Tasmania Published by The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia Inc., Canberra Printed and distributed from Australia Yearly Meeting Office 119 Devonshire Street Surry Hills NSW July 2019 Contents ABBREVIATIONS, TERMS AND DEFINITIONS 5 YEARLY MEETING 2019 EPISTLES 7 2019 Yearly Meeting Epistle to Friends Everywhere 7 2019 Yearly Meeting Junior Young Friends Epistle 8 2019 Yearly Meeting Children’s Epistle 9 YEARLY MEETING 2019 MINUTES 11 Formal Session 1: 7.10pm Saturday 6 July 11 YM19.1 Opening worship 11 YM19.2 Welcome to Country Minute of Record 11 YM19.3 Welcome to those participating in Yearly Meeting 11 YM19.4 Appointment of Assistant Co-Clerks 11 YM19.5 Nominations Committee Report 11 YM19.6 Appointments for the duration of YM19 12 YM19.7 Yearly Meeting timetable and agenda 13 YM19.8 Timeframe for Greetings from YM19 14 YM19.9 Letters and media releases sent on behalf of AYM 14 Formal Session 2: 9.15m Tuesday 9 July 16 YM19.10 Testimony 16 YM19.11 State of the Society Address Minute of Record 16 YM19.12 Greetings sent to YM19 16 YM19.13 Backhouse Lecturer 2020 16 YM19.14 AYM Presiding Clerk’s Report 17 YM19.15 AYM Secretary’s Report 17 YM19.16 Acceptance of Reports that have no matters for consideration at YM19 17 YM19.17 Nominations Committee Report 17 Formal Session 3: 9.15am Wednesday 10 July 18 YM19.18 Meeting for Remembrance 18 YM19.19 Testimony 18 YM19.20 Summary of Epistles Minute of Record 18 YM19.21 Nominations Report 18 YM19.22 Peace Concerns Preparatory Session I 19 YM19.23 Earthcare Committee Preparatory Session I 19 YM19.24 IT Committee Preparatory Session Report 20 YM19.25 AYM Treasurer’s Report 20 Formal Session 4: 9.15am Thursday 11 July 21 YM19.26 Testimony 21 YM19.27 First Reading of the Yearly Meeting 2019 Epistle 21 YM19.28 Penn Friends Minute of Record 21 YM19.29 Friendly School Minute of Record 22 YM19.30 Backhouse Lecture Report 22 YM19.31 QSA Linkages Sub-Committee Preparatory Session Report 22 YM19.32 First Nations Peoples Concerns Committee Preparatory Session Report 22 YM19.33 Ecumenical, Interfaith and Multi-faith Concerns Preparatory Session Report 23 Formal Session 5: 1.45pm Thursday 12 July 23 YM19.34 Testimony 23 YM19.35 Nominations Report 24 YM19.36 The Friends’ School Board Appointments 24 YM19.37 Safe Quaker Community Preparatory Session Report 24 YM19.38 Publications Committee Preparatory Session Report 25 Formal Session 6: 9.15am Friday 12 July 26 YM19.40 Testimony 26 YM19.41 Second Reading of the Epistle 26 YM19.42 Backhouse Lecture Minute of Record 26 YM19.43 FWCC-AWPS Preparatory Session Report 26 YM19.44 Silver Wattle Quaker Centre Preparatory Report 27 YM19.45 Handbook Revision Committee Preparatory Session Report 28 Formal Session 7: 1.45pm Friday 12 July 28 YM19.46 Testimony 28 YM19.47 Minute of Appreciation 28 YM19.48 Nominations Committee Report 28 YM19.49 The Friends’ School Session Report 29 YM19.50 The Children’s and JYF Committee Preparatory Session Report 29 Formal Session 8: 9.15am Saturday 13 July 30 YM19.51 AYM Nominations Committee Report 30 YM19.52 Share and Tell Minute of Record 30 YM19.53 AYM Representative to YM of Aotearoa / New Zealand Report 31 YM19.54 Earthcare Committee Preparatory Session 2 Report 31 YM19.55 Right Holding of Yearly Meeting Committee Preparatory Session Report 31 YM19.56 YM19 Closing Minute 32 APPENDICES TO THE MINUTES 33 Australia Yearly Meeting appointments as at July 2019 33 State of Society Address 37 Summary of Epistles From Other Yearly Meetings 41 PREPARATORY SESSION REPORTS 47 Children’s and JYFs Committee Preparatory Session Report 47 Earthcare Preparatory Session Reports I & II 48 Ecumenical, Multifaith, and NCCA Preparatory Session Report 51 First Nations Peoples’ Concerns Committee Preparatory Session Report 52 The Friends’ School and Quaker Values Committee Presentation Report 53 Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) Preparatory Session 54 Handbook Revision Committee Preparatory Session Report 56 IT Committee Preparatory Session 57 Peace Reports Preparatory Sessions I & II 59 Publications Committee Preparatory Session 63 Quaker Service Australia and QSA Linkages and Sub WWI-Committee Exhibition Preparatory Report Session 64 Right Holding of Yearly Meeting Preparatory Session 65 Safe Quaker Community Preparatory Session 68 Silver Wattle Quaker Centre Report Session 68 REPORTS FROM THE FORMAL SESSIONS 69 Greetings from the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) (Ref: YM19.12) 69 Report from Australia Yearly Meeting 2019 Representative to Yearly Meeting of Aotearoa / New Zealand 2019 (Ref: YM19.53) 70 Quaker Earthcare Epistle on Climate Emergency & Species Extinction (Ref: YM19.54) 73 Renewal Friendly School Reports: Summary 80 Share and Tell Session Reports: Summary 81 STANDING COMMITTEE MINUTES 82 SC7.19.1 Introductory Matters 83 Section A: Reports with financial implications 84 SC7.19.2 AYM Treasurer’s Report for the year ending 30 September 2020 84 SC7.19.3 Surplus Funds Working Group: Preliminary Report to Standing Committee July 2019 84 SC7.19.4 Suggested General Fund Budget for the year ending 30 September 2020 84 SC7.19.5 AYM Treasurer’s Supplementary Report for Standing Committee July 2019: AYM’s subsidy for YM2021 84 Section B: For decision and recommendation to Yearly Meeting 85 SC7.19.6 The Friends’ School Board 85 SC7.19.7 Changes to the AYM Privacy Policy 85 SC7.19.8 Queensland Regional Meeting’s Report on YM2021 85 SC7.19.9 AYM Information Technology Committee Report to Standing Committee July 2019 86 SC7.19.10 Appointments for the duration of Yearly Meeting 86 SC7.19.11 Participation of non-Members at YM19 88 SC7.19.12 Meeting for Remembrance at YM19 88 SC7.19.13 Changes to the timetable of YM19 88 SC7.19.14 Arrangements for reading testimonies at YM19 89 SC7.19.15 Statements on behalf of Australia Yearly Meeting 89 SC7.19.16 Greetings from Yearly Meeting 91 SC7.19.17 Future Mid-Year Standing Committees 91 SC7.19.18 Future Yearly Meetings 91 SC7.19.19 Visitors to Australia Yearly Meeting 2019 92 Part C: For noting 92 SC7.19.20 Yearly Meeting responsibilities 92 SC7.19.21 Friends in Stitches 2019 publication 92 SC7.19.22 Hospitality Minute of Record 92 Appendix 1 93 YEARLY MEETING 2019 REGISTRATION 93 YEARLY MEETING 2019 GROUP PHOTO 98 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: AYM 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’ (YM) 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.quakersaustralia.info/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/quaker-publications/ 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 provides online access to all DAQB entries, together with biographies of prominent Quakers from around the world. FNPCC: The First Nations Peoples Concerns Committee, 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. FWCC: Friends World Committee for Consultation is a worldwide body comprised of affiliated Yearly Meetings, Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups. 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 5 decisions. The current 6th edition was published in 2011, and is available on https://www.quakersaustralia.info/publications-0/handbook-practice-and-procedure JYFs: Junior Young Friends are aged 12 to 17 years.