The Pan London Governance Group approved a set of papers which supported an Invitation to Commit to joining a London Area Meeting. These papers were approved in June 2023 and issued to the AMs and to LQPT.
TITLE OF PAPER
Paper A The Invitation to commit
Paper B Need for change & what we might become
Paper C Summary of the proposal
Paper D Governance Model for a London AM
Paper E Clusters within London AM
Paper F Towards a centralised finance function for LAM
Paper G LAM staff proposal
Paper H Estimated cost of change
Paper I Roadmap
Paper J Summary_of_AM_consultation + responses
Paper K Nonjoining AMs
The seven Area Meetings of London have responded to an Invitation to Commit to forming a single Area Meeting for London. Six AMs committed in principle to form one London AM though KWAM minuted that ‘more discussion is needed about the details'. NETAM did not commit, but agreed to move forward as part of the project, and suggested another model. It is clear that there is much worship, threshing and discernment still to be done among all the Friends of London as we develop this proposal further.
(Note: These are only the parts of the minutes which record the main decision of each AM. The complete minutes are also available, in a longer paper.)
KWAM:
“We agree to commit to the formation of a London Area Meeting in principle, which would incorporate London Quakers Property Trust and London Quakers. However, we feel that more discussion is needed about the details of the scheme and feel that the implementation group is better seen as a development group to take things forward.....We feel that this could be an exciting way forward for Quakers in London if due care and attention is given to detail and if London Friends are fully involved in discussions on the way forward.”
LWAM:
“London West Area Meeting is ready to give its firm support and commitment to the set of proposals that have now been presented by the Pan-London Group. We note that there are still many details to be worked out, around communications and fellowship, and in ensuring a seamless transfer of responsibilities from the current area meetings to the new body.”
NETAM:
“As an Area Meeting, we know we urgently need to make changes and simplify our structures as currently there are just too many roles with not enough Friends able and willing to serve.
We are also clear that changing our structures is not just a practical question but a spiritual one. Today we heard we very much wish to be part of the spiritual change that needs to happen across London.
We agree in principle to move forward. However, we do not feel we can agree to the draft minute as set out in Paper A for the following reasons:
We feel that a single AM would be too large to build and maintain relationships that are the building blocks of Quaker worship and witness. Also, the relationship between one large AM and LMs could feel very distant, and it is not clear how clusters would fill this gap.
The proposed timetable feels too pressured and is contrary to the recommendations of the change management consultants.
The complexity of joining all 7 AMs, LQPT and London Quakers plus changing governing documents of many other London charities needs careful planning, setting up LQPT took 5 years of work.
We would like to see a pan London charity, with a single Trustee body as a first step, with perhaps the 7 AMs joining together more slowly in 2 or 3 AMs initially.”
NLAM:
“We now commit in principle to joining with the other Area Meetings in London,
London Quakers Property Trust and London Quakers to form a single area meeting
and charity.....We wholeheartedly support the Pan-London proposals and understand that next steps will be discerned at a meeting of the Pan-London committees on the 12th October.”
NWLAM:
“We commit, without complete unity, to join the proposed London-wide area meeting. We have reservations and questions and look forward to joining with Friends across London in resolving those together.”
SELAM:
“We now commit in principle to joining with the other Area Meetings in London, London Quakers Property Trust and London Quakers to form a single area meeting and charity.”
SLAM:
“We agree to the proposal for a Pan London Area Meeting.
We now commit in principle to joining with the other Area Meetings in London,
London Quakers Property Trust and London Quakers to form a single area meeting
and charity.”
(Retrieved by Judith Roads, sorted and slightly augmented by Peter Daniels)
Process
- Concerns about pressure of the timeline that has been proposed – ‘over ambitious’ and not what was recommended by the change management consultants.
- Finance of process: LQPT budget and authority for spending; concern about complexity making huge legal costs.
‘Clusters’
- No one is very happy with this term, meaning the existing AM groupings, or other groupings of meetings operating within the London AM
- ‘Needs more work’. Concern about how all the current functions of area meetings, spiritual, social and practical, will continue. Some functions e.g. pastoral care need local organisation.
-Clusters necessary because ‘the relationship between one large AM and LMs could feel very distant’. How will they be supported?
Community
- Concern about the break-up of existing relationships and community in current AMs built over many years, that are the building blocks of Quaker worship and witness.
-The relationship between one large AM and LMs could feel very distant, with the risk of fragmentation.
- The size of the AM seems too large to build and maintain relationships with meetings.
- Good communication with LMs is essential, to not let them become too disconnected and ensure wide participation. Physical distance: we need to enable all Friends travel to the London Area Meetings wherever they are held.
- Does the new structure mean we have more time to undertake outreach and strengthening our communities?
Spiritual authority
- We need to ensure that trustees and all staff see the work of the Area Meeting as spiritual, with a governance document that ensures continuation of our Quaker principles and provides for putting them into practice, and a relationship between area meeting and trustees such that Area Meeting in session remains that ultimate authority.
Details
- More discussion is needed about the details of the scheme, with opportunity for local meetings to engage with looking at both benefits and risks. There is the complexity of joining all 7 AMs, LQPT and London Quakers – setting up LQPT took 5 years of work. It needs clarity about governance, the relationship between area meeting and trustees, and the area meeting and the local meetings.
Participation
- We need to ensure wide participation. It needs more detail about how appointments will work. To what extent will it genuinely free up Friends’ time?
Finance
- More detail about finance [not specified, but presume this covers financial structure within new AM in relation to previous ones]
Staff
- Employment of paid non-Quaker staff and ensuring they are led by the Area Meeting’s discernment.
LQPT
- [Not mentioned by AMs except in passing, but LQPT has to continue functioning while its status in relation to new AM structure is worked out]
October 2023