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Hammersmith Buildings Manager
by Wendrie Heywood June 8, 2023

June 8, 2023

Hello Friends, Hammersmith LM are looking for a non-resident buildings manager: https://londonwestquakers.org.uk/ Do you care about reducing carbon emissions? Could you market Quakers newest and most energy efficient Meeting House? Hammersmith Quakers are looking for a Buildings Manager to take up an imaginative approach to increase the lettings of this unique, flagship building. You will be based in Hammersmith and be the face of Quakers in the building during the working week. We are open to flexible working, although occasional out of hours work may be required. *Closing date: *14th June 2023 *Contact: * Hammersmith Quaker Job <office(a)londonwestquakers.org.uk> *Download:* Recruitment Package <https://www.dropbox.com/s/eb68yghs2nr8ger/2023%2005%20Hammersmith%20Job%20D…> Please do circulate to anyone who might be interested. Yours in peace, Wendrie Heywood she/her MindfulBusinessServices.com Book a meeting with me <https://calendly.com/mindful-business-services>

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Electricity prices
by Saffron Walden Quaker Meeting Friends Meeting June 1, 2023

June 1, 2023

I might be behind the curve on this one, so please excuse me if I am. My meeting has been with Good energy for a long while. My assumption was that we might well be paying a small premium for all the ethical niceties but when I looked at our charges I was shocked. Good Energy's billing has been a nightmare with bills coming at irregular intervals and often having refunds so it has become difficult to work with. My assumption was that their per-unit rate would be followed pretty universally but found that while Good Energy are charging 51.16p/kWh; Octopus on their Green Energy Tariff are charging 27.57p/kWh Their standing charge is cheaper too. (Our meeting house is entirely electric and so this should reduce our bills from somewhere just over £12k to around £7k. This is not a small premium and we are changing. It is also worth bearing in mind that the daily standing charge is so high because we have such high electricity use, it scales back depending on usage and can be as low as about 50p/day, but you should probably do the comparisons, I have pasted the chart to show where the break points are for the tariff bands. Our treasurer is going to be doing it because it involves setting up a DD but the process itself seems very easy by filling in an online form at octopus.energy/business though it would be good to know your annual consumption and you will need your bank details to complete the form. I hope this is of use to someone and that I am not just being the last meeting to do such an exercise. In Friendship, Karl Saffron Walden [image: image.png] [image: image.png][image: image.png]

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Use of Quaker Library
by Ann Turner May 22, 2023

May 22, 2023

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Meeting House Matters - Friday, 19 May at 2pm
by Oliver Waterhouse May 19, 2023

May 19, 2023

Oliver Waterhouse Quaker Life Hello everyone, There will be a Meeting House Matters online discussion meeting today at 2pm. This month the theme topic is tensions in our governance structures. Tension in governance was a theme at Yearly Meeting this year and has also been part of the thinking at the Quaker Centres' Gathering which took place this week. Find the Zoom link below. * Join Zoom Meeting: https://quaker.zoom.us/j/81586087624?pwd=VHk3MW9sTHJUVDdsMFlTMUN3WEpmUT09 * Meeting ID: 815 8608 7624 * Passcode: WT-online There are still two in-person Meeting House Matters events planned this year at the times and places shown below. * Tuesday, 18 July at Carlton Hill LM Leeds * Tuesday, 14 November at Westminster LM London Please register in advance if you wish to attend either of the in-person events. The registration form is here, https://forms.quaker.org.uk/mhm-23/. I look forward to seeing you this afternoon if you can join. In friendship, Oliver Oliver Waterhouse (he/him) Quaker Life Team Leader, Local and Area Governance Quakers in Britain 020 7663 1007 (Direct) oliverw(a)quaker.org.uk<mailto:oliverw@quaker.org.uk> | www.quaker.org.uk<http://www.quaker.org.uk/> Follow Quakers in Britain on Twitter<http://twitter.com/BritishQuakers>, Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/BritishQuakers>, YouTube<https://www.youtube.com/quakersinbritain>, and Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/britishquakers/>. CLERKS OF TRUSTEES: Please send TARA documents to supportmeetings(a)quaker.org.uk<mailto:supportmeetings@quaker.org.uk> All Quakers in Britain staff can be contacted using their usual email addresses or phone numbers. They may be working from home, in Friends House (London), in the Yorkshire Centre (Leeds) or at a base local to them. The Quaker Centre Bookshop and Café<https://www.friendshouse.co.uk/quaker-centre/> (Friends House, London) are open to the public. If you would like to support our work, you can give online at www.quaker.org.uk/donate. Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Registered charity number 1127633 | Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BJ ________________________________ Quakers say: Religion is about the whole of life.

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TV licence for MH.
by Vicki May 18, 2023

May 18, 2023

Dear all. We have had a letter from the TV Licensing body warning us that we are being investigated because we have a TV but no license which is correct. We (Quakers) only use the TV for blended meetings on zoom so a TV license is not needed and at the time we got it (during the pandemic) there were no groups coming into the MH. Now we have various groups coming in and have no idea what they may be watching on it. I would be grateful for the thoughts of others. Is it enough to put a sentence into our hiring agreement and a notice on our telly and will this cover us? Many thanks, Vicki Ross Warden. Taunton Quaker Meeting

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Re: TV licence for MH.
by Judi Brill May 17, 2023

May 17, 2023

Dear Vicky Here is a notice we display in Horfield Meeting House: Judi Brill Resident Warden Horfield Quaker Meeting 300 Gloucester Road Horfield Bristol BS7 8PD ///beyond.always.proof Tel: 0117 942 9142 Mob: 07967 558615 horfield.warden(a)bristolquakers.org.uk https://bristolquakers.org.uk/room-hire/room-hire-at-horfield/ -- *bristolquakers.org.uk* <http://bristolquakers.org.uk> Bristol Area Quaker Meeting is registered at Companies House as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation No CE011904 and is Registered Charity No 1175435 Registered Office: Horfield Quaker Meeting House, 300 Gloucester Road, Bristol, BS7 8PD

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Corporate Memory Webinar
by Wendrie Heywood May 12, 2023

May 12, 2023

Hello Friends, We're holding a webinar on 'Corporate Memory' on 31st May. This is aimed at Trustees, but also volunteers and committee members especially Premises. We want to give a space for people to share good practice, what tools they've found that worked for them, share the free versions of the tools Mindful Business Services (MBS) recommends with tips on how to use them (which includes the Meeting House handbook from Quaker.org.uk) and then tell people about the accompanied courses we're launching. Accompanied here, means you commit to creating your operations manual, or corporate memory plan and then have regular check ins and mentoring within a group. All the details and the link to book a free ticket in our newsletter which was sent out this week. If you didn't get a copy you can read it here: https://buff.ly/3VRcNGG You can sign up to get the newsletter on our website, linked below in my signature. Yours in peace, Wendrie Heywood she/her MindfulBusinessServices.com Book a meeting with me <https://calendly.com/mindful-business-services> Yours in peace, Wendrie Heywood she/her MindfulBusinessServices.com Book a meeting with me <https://calendly.com/mindful-business-services>

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Tips / advice on paid management?
by Room Lettings April 27, 2023

April 27, 2023

Hello Friends, I - and the rest of Premises Committee at Wandsworth MH - am looking for advice and/or tips from experience of paid management of a MH. Wandsworth QMH is a historical, Grade ll listed, building in a busy part of SW London. It is in an excellent position right on the High Street with lots of bus routes passing the door, opposite the Town Hall and near to a large shopping centre BUT the facade on the road is not the MH itself - that is set back, up a passageway - and people go past without realising we're there because it doesn’t look like a religious building at all. And our rooms and facilities don’t match up to more modern buildings. So our hirers largely come from word of mouth or vague connections to the meeting. We have the Main Meeting Room (18th century, wood panelled with its original benches), the Library (similarly wood panelled and bare floorboards) and the Children’s Room (recently refurbished), an outdated kitchen and loos (one accessible). We WERE gearing up for a huge refurbishment and modernisation but then along came Covid ……. The room lettings side of things was very haphazard until I took on the job - voluntarily, from home (which is a 45 minute journey away on public transport) - nine years ago. The first thing Premises Committee wanted to do was to set into action a 5year plan to get all our hirers onto a standardised scale of hire charges, so we could be fair, honest and transparent. That was not easy, but with careful negotiation and plenty of personal contact we got there, didn’t lose anybody and managed to keep everyone happy. At first we had resident caretakers; their responsibility to the meeting was basically cleaning and opening up for hirers in the evenings (we had few daytime hirers). Gradually we went over to a key and fob secure system of getting in and out, which meant that each hirer could have their own keys - by which time both our caretakers had full-time jobs. But that has meant that I’ve had to get new keys cut, have had to initiate a system to enable me to keep track of key holders, and have had to make that long one and a half hour return journey just to show potential hirers around the MH. Our flat is now let out to a family with absolutely no connection to the meeting (not what we wanted - that decision come from LQPT, London Quaker Property Trust, who own all of the QMHs in Greater London) so we have had to find, and pay, a cleaner. Liaising with her has fallen to me, but because we have no resident caretaker we have also had to make alternative arrangements for buying stocks of cleaning equipment etc. and the disposal of our rubbish (nobody there to put out the bins on bin day). A few years ago we installed a system enabling the heating to be programmed remotely by wifi; that job fell to me as it needs to be dovetailed with the MH diary for users of the building and, for that very reason, it needs to be re-set every week because we don’t have a regular pattern of room usage. Of course, Covid kept me busy drawing up plans, making labels, moving benches and lots of communication with Friends re 2m, then 1m, distancing etc etc. Pre-Covid we’d gradually increased our room lettings to the point where we could contribute a healthy amount annually to LQPT. Post lockdowns we’re a long way from that; our regulars are still with us but people have become used to using Zoom and the amount of face-to-face room hire has dramatically decreased. After 9+ years I have decided to relinquish my role but the trouble is that the job has grown and no-one else at meeting is willing to take it on voluntarily. LQPT wants us to produce a business case for employing a paid administrator ….. and that’s where any advice, tips from your experience etc would be most welcome! I must say I’m not a trained administrator, and it may well be that a professional person would be able to deal with booking enquiries, the diary, invoices, liaising with the treasurer etc, more efficiently and quicker than me. But we are also worried about losing that personal connection between myself and our hirers (and cleaner too) - which puts a face to Quaker values. And if LQPT decides it’s not financially feasible to pay someone to administer the hiring as it is now …… what is our listed Quaker Meeting House saying to, or doing for, our local community? Sorry for the long explanation. Hoping for some enlightenment! In Friendship, Kate Bone Bookings Manager Wandsworth Quaker Meeting House

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Recommendations for folding tables
by Vicki April 26, 2023

April 26, 2023

Hi. I would appreciate some advice about what folding tables people have found which are good. At the moment we have Mogodirect 3'x3' tables which are a good size for us, easy to put up and store but are coming apart . They have lasted well given how much use they get, but the steel legs screw directly into the plastic table top and after 5 years (3 really because we closed for most of 2 years due to the pandemic) are tearing through. Not particular keen on the plastic top either. Just wondering if anyone has recommendations for anything stronger that might last longer. Non plastic would be preferable; foldable is essential as we have little storage space. Many thanks, Vicki Ross. Warden Taunton Meeting.

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Notes from Meeting House Matters on 18 April
by Oliver Waterhouse April 26, 2023

April 26, 2023

Oliver Waterhouse Quaker Life Hello everyone, This was the first of three in-person sessions that we are running for Meeting House Matters in 2023. It was held at Bristol Central Quaker Meeting. The overall theme for the day was around the use of premises to live out Quaker values. There was a 'blended' part of the meeting between 2pm and 3.30pm with a topic of health and safety. The next online session will be on Friday, 19 May at 2pm. The joining details are below and will also be shared again by email nearer the time. * Join Zoom Meeting: https://quaker.zoom.us/j/81586087624?pwd=VHk3MW9sTHJUVDdsMFlTMUN3WEpmUT09 * Meeting ID: 815 8608 7624 * Passcode: WT-online The next in-person session is going to be on Tuesday, 18 July and will be in Leeds at Carlton Hill Meeting House. You can register your interest to attend using this online form, https://forms.quaker.org.uk/mhm-23/. How do we use our premises to live out Quaker values? Session 1 Introductions and topics for discussion. QF&P 13.33, https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/passage/13-33/ Support: * (QL) Quaker Life, Local Development workers - * Wardens Talking and e-group. * AM relationship and AM property and health and safety committee. Good and not so good * QLCC * Variety of confidence and experience * Links to role holders * Wardenship of virtual space * Dynamics of supporting users-chaotic and wonderful challenges - community partnerships Wardens * No Paid help. A second person in the mix is great. Friends covering to support. * Pair the real living wage * Resident/non- resident * Quaker/non- Quaker - what difference does it make? * Hiring officer and managers * Informing our own faith * Communities in decline - unsustainable * Property - powered-stewardship - decision making- process. Simpler * Meeting House as a community space- Mental Health- dispossessed-ex-offenders * Simpler meetings * Finding the joy * Reengaging the community * How to make the best use of our resources The Vision - the challenges of decision making. * The 'We' * Community partnerships * Visioning exercises * Threshing * Factions * Sell * Use to the full- stewardship and inheritance. * Grants * Being Radical * Challenges of decision making Using space to the full * H&S * Helping hirers to tolerate each other. * Using for outreach and promotion * Base money hirers good Maintenance * Investment needed. * Limited resources * Decorating * Health and Safety Pandemic * Legacy * Zoom and online here to stay. * Blended tech - setting it up well- getting it working well- available for hirers? * Use of grounds inc. burial grounds Session 2 Expressing Quaker Values through our meeting houses Is there a tension? - Real estate management - demographic time bomb Supporting worship and community * Relationships - with traders and staff show our truth and integrity - pay on time, this is critical and has implications for willingness to return to work for us- be good with the tea and biscuits. * Hospitality and welcome- make it as comfortable as possible - Love- Loving inclusive all age. Being present in your community. Use our skills, approaches and methods. * Use the building to show what Quakers are about. * Meeting Houses and their communities- Do it together - not just on Sunday - wardens are not wardens or managers of the meeting * How the quaker community inhabits the space. * How the wider community inhabits/uses the space- interfaith and chaplaincy. * Active- Sustainability and net Zero - supporting community groups- Fairtrade, wildlife management. Beware of partnerships but they can work Collaborative working and cooperative models of ownership * Well known and widely understood. - outreach - spirituality - offering our space Break out groups. Using property to the full - relationships, hirers, meeting etc. * Have an awareness of which meetings are breaking even. * Primarily a place of worship- e.g., no parties in worship space. Cancel hirers if necessary. * Having a balance between serving the community and generating income while having respect for the nature of the building. The building has impact even on passers by * Have different rates. * Keypads are an advantage. * How do you fill your spiritual bucket? Using technology * If we even have the equipment, are we really using our earths precious resources. * Confidence in using tech - in zoom itself - not many friends have the confidence to use- those that are tech savy are thin on the ground. * What works well - discrete smaller screens for small meeting houses. dedicated laptop. £150 for a basic or second hand * Wide angle camera * Instruction and training * A sound bar. * Speakers, remotes wall mounted. * A microcosm of meeting house use? * Are we sharing our toys- damage risk, security, easily stealable. How do we get locking a way working well. * AM and LM tensions - possessive friends v being available at all times. over specified tech, tech not being used. * And how do we do our Q process adapt to online elements. * Not recognizing diversity and importance in a changing world and help for disabled people. * Not accepting virtual MfW as a spiritual experience - not respecting discernment Visioning * Developing a vision - energy - Tools - support all needed- revisioning- a continual process. * Listening is v. important. * Holding difference - a middle way * Listening Space (Restoring Relations Quaker Listening Space - Restoring Relations<https://restoringrelations.org/quaker-listening-space/> Dragon dreaming Dragon Dreaming International - Everything is a temporary node in a process of flow<https://dragondreaming.org/>- extern al facilitation * Balance between exploring possibilities and consensus around a way forward- a shared purpose brings energy. * Recognizing limitations in the group * How do we feel in AM/LM? What are the things that separate us? * I try and remember we are all human. * Communicate and be welcoming - give to others and share values. * Conflict can be peaceful but Anger/rage (not directed at a person) can also be energy. * Recognize what individuals have to offer gifts skills energy. * Process can include mistakes (Eggs, Omelets, Apples, Carts ) Session 3: Health and Safety Management Brian Sutleiff joined us from his company called Veilig to give us a presentation and answer questions on health and safety management. The presentation that Brian gave was share with follow-up notes after the session. If you would like a copy of the presentation email oliverw(a)quaker.org.uk<mailto:oliverw@quaker.org.uk> to be sent a copy. A film of the presentation was made and is available to be viewed on YouTube at the following link, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TySTb4ZsJk. The film is roughly edited from the recording made on Zoom which may affect the quality for some viewers. If you have questions that Brian wasn't able to answer during the session you can contact him by email at, Questions The following Does storage of hazardous substances need to be documented? How? * What is the risk? * If there is a fire is it in a contained space? * What quantity is there and is there a place to keep it safely? * Make sure to disposal of redundant materials. * Record to demonstrate that you have been acting with care. Meeting House is near to the hospital where people are often ejected at all times of the day and night. Should there be something in our policy about how to keep employees and Friends safe. * Yes, should be reflected in the policy and there should be a risk assessment. * Frequency likelihood of times that people are released when the MH is in use. * What is the severity or danger? * Can you get some training on dealing with the situations? * Additional security onsite? * Key thing is to have a balance of what is reasonable to protect people and what is affordable for the organisation. Often H&S comes down to good housekeeping and having people who are familiar with how the meeting house works. * Yes, all good and housekeeping is the right way forward. Comments on children's activities especially when the venue is not their usual meeting house? * Have to assess with children and other vulnerable groups in mind. * Supervision may be part of the mitigation. * Need to think about how to limit the access to things that might cause harm. * Need to pay attention to whether there are specific the rules are for a vulnerable group. Does including common sense in policies makes it all a bit fluffy? * Every organisation is formed of different individuals and we can't know what would seem like common sense to others. That's why the Health & Safety Executive says there's no such thing as common sense - but when estimating the likelihood of harm, you have to take common sense into account. Should we apply our lone worker policy to our self-employed / contracted cleaner? * You could ask the agency to take responsibility and insert something into their contract that says they need to have lone worker policy / support. * If the worker is self-employed you need to treat them as an employee in terms of lone working - which needn't be too onerous e.g. * ensure you know when they are going to be in the building. * ask them to text someone when they leave. * carry out a lone-worker risk assessment to see if there are other things that need to be covered. * If you are relying on mobile phone signal check that there are not weak-signal parts of the premises. * Lone working procedures need regular testing e.g. ask the cleaner to deliberately not text you when they leave sometimes. This will make sure you are aware and you have to put into practice your planned response. * Managers need to consider the mental health impact on themselves of having sole responsibility for monitoring lone working. In friendship, Oliver (on behalf of the MHM planning team) Oliver Waterhouse (he/him) Quaker Life Team Leader, Local and Area Governance Quakers in Britain 020 7663 1007 (Direct) oliverw(a)quaker.org.uk<mailto:oliverw@quaker.org.uk> | www.quaker.org.uk<http://www.quaker.org.uk/> Follow Quakers in Britain on Twitter<http://twitter.com/BritishQuakers>, Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/BritishQuakers>, YouTube<https://www.youtube.com/quakersinbritain>, and Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/britishquakers/>. CLERKS OF TRUSTEES: Please send TARA documents to supportmeetings(a)quaker.org.uk<mailto:supportmeetings@quaker.org.uk> All Quakers in Britain staff can be contacted using their usual email addresses or phone numbers. They may be working from home, in Friends House (London), in the Yorkshire Centre (Leeds) or at a base local to them. The Quaker Centre Bookshop and Café<https://www.friendshouse.co.uk/quaker-centre/> (Friends House, London) are open to the public. If you would like to support our work, you can give online at www.quaker.org.uk/donate. Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Registered charity number 1127633 | Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BJ ________________________________ Quakers say: Religion is about the whole of life.

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