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News and Events

Ireland Yearly Meeting 2021

It was wonderful to see so many faces from near and far for Ireland Yearly Meeting, which took place online from 8 – 11 April 2021.

The theme was ‘A Time to Act Together in Faith and Hope‘ and many different topics were explored, including faith, peace, social justice, migration and sustainability.

It was encouraging to hear how Meetings across Ireland have adapted during the pandemic to online meetings for worship, business meetings, coffee mornings and socials. Friends of all ages have conquered technical challenges and discovered that spiritual comfort, fellowship and community can take place online or via platforms like WhatsApp. It takes more than a pandemic to stop the Spirit at work!

It was also heartening to hear how Sunday Schools, youth clubs and other get-togethers for younger Friends have all adapted to the world of Covid-19 .

We heard updates from Quaker Service and Irish Quaker Faith In Action (IQFA) and from two campaigns that reflect our Peace Testimony – Stop Fuelling War and the Campaign To Stop Killer Robots.

We agreed to sign an inter-faith statement that urges UN member states and all people of goodwill to commit to preserving meaningful human control over the use of force, and to enact a pre-emptive ban on fully autonomous weapons.

To quote from the IYM Epistle agreed on the last day: “Our gathering is testament to the way we have adapted to changed circumstances since the cancellation of 2020 IYM last April and demonstrates the many positives we have been able to draw from adversity. While we agree that online meeting cannot replace the fellowship of meeting in person, it has allowed many more to join us at Yearly Meeting and has saved many hundreds of carbon miles of travel!”

You can read the Epistle here.

The Public Lecture, which was delivered by Eoin Stephenson of Limerick Quaker Meeting, was on the topic ‘Resurrection and Personality’. You can read the script and watch a recording of the lecture at this link.

News and Events

Quakers and Ethical Investment booklet

Eco Quakers Ireland and the Ireland Yearly Meeting (IYM) Investment Committee has produced a booklet to promote an ethical investment policy for Quaker Meetings in Ireland and for IYM Funds.

The Quakers and Ethical Investment booklet, which arose out of a widespread concern among Friends in Ireland about the investment of funds under Friends’ care, is designed to give broad guidance on investment within the ethical framework which Friends have set.

In a letter accompanying the booklet, the Investment Committee and Eco Quakers Committee urges Friends responsible for the investments of Meetings and Funds to view afresh the strategy that is being pursued.

“Monies are only useful if they are used for a purpose which is well thought out,” the letter states. “If, as a result of a review exercise, you do plan to change some of your investments, do take into account that stock markets can be very volatile as we have seen in early 2020.

“We are investing for the long term and should not be over affected by short term movements. Advice is available, both from within the Society and from outside – do seek it and take it into consideration!”

The letter may be read in full here and the booklet at this link.

The booklet is initially being launched in digital form and hard copies have been made available to all Meetings. A small number of hard copies are still available on request by emailing ecoquakersireland@gmail.com.