General Assembly report back and quick update:
Following a presentation of the letter from the Dean of the cathedral where he set out his reasons for taking the unprecedented step of closing the Cathedral, and the reading of the OccupyLSX press release initial response, the assembly had discussed in small groups the course of action. There were passionate contributions during the report backs with many questioning the official line from the Dean over health and safety.
Some said obviously that it would look bad with the cathedral closing, but that it was necessary to challenge this notion. There was overwhelming support for the camp to remain and to use the events planned over the weekend to highlight the issues behind the protest. There was consensus and a big cheer when they agreed to stay over the next days and try and resolve the situation.
The media team is preparing another press statement which includes supportive quotes from members of the clergy who were attending evensong.
The legal team noted that the camp is under no legal obligation to go, and that a series of legal steps would need to be gone through in order for an eviction process to be started.
The Faith working group has drafted a statement that faith groups can sign to support the occupation and an alternative sunday service will be held at 9am since the dean decides to close the cathedral to its normal service.
Various working groups have been meeting to discuss worst case scenarios and what to do in the case of a police eviction in order to ensure people are calm and that people have sufficient space to pack their things should they want to leave.
Tomorrow (Sat) sees the 'meet the movement' outreach day and the one week anniversary of OccupyLSX.
There's also a march tomorrow on Saturday, leaving OccupyLSX at 2.30pm, destination is a surprise! the activities and march tomorrow has been endorsed by the Unite trade union.
The tent city university lectures tomorow during the 'meet the movement' outreach day, will be a teach out - walking to the location at 2pm.
Recycling and waste management on site is going well, with the council remaking that the recycling they're been collecting is upping their figures for recycling in the area. Volunteers were requested for the weekend when there will be a lot of visitors who maybe aren't used to the recycling system, to ensure that collected waste is sorted into the right types.
The tranquility 'night watch' mediation team will be on duty 10pm-8am to address issues of noise and disturbance.
The main topics for discussion tonight at the assembly were then:
- a call to action?
- concrete proposalsof what to do next
- why we are staying
Original article on IMC London:
