M&O September Update

17/09/21 09:56 Filed in: SBQM Update

We do not know what George Fox looked like. But I do like Robert Spence's portrayal of George, showing him well dressed against the cold and wet he so often encountered.

Well, we will need to remember George's thick clothing in the coming months. To protect us all, our Meeting House must be well ventilated, with as many open windows and doors open. So please remember to come to Meeting not just with heart and mind prepared, but well wrapped up!

242113150_3105125609814538_5942760841609482856_n

242113150_3105125609814538_5942760841609482856_n

And while we about protecting everyone, it has been agreed that our young people will not come in to Meeting for the last 15 minutes, so we do not mix indoors, keeping in separate bubbles. In that way more of us will be safe if anyone one test positive for the virus.

Looking forward, we will be bringing to Preparative Meeting the results of the survey many of you completed earlier in the summer, seeing how we can best go forward together as a Meeting. We want as many as possible to stay for this discussion, to hear your further thoughts and see what practical actions we can take. One of the ideas suggested we are very keen to take forward is a short series of discussions on the topic of “Pathways for Attenders: Quaker Basics" and we will be developing these in the coming months.

We have also been discussing how we raise awareness about our Meeting's interfaith involvement, such as the City of Sanctuary, the Interfaith Forum and South Belfast Inter-Church Group. We will be seeing how we can get regular reports on these activities, and also have an "after meeting conversation" when we can safely organise these to begin again. Likewise we want to ensure that Meeting is kept up to date with the work of our very active EcoQuaker group.

Finally, on 3rd October we have WORLD QUAKER DAY. We are seeing if we can mark this with a short Meeting for Worship in a nearby public park. We will keep you updated with our plans.

The Ministry and Oversight team - Felicity, Jonathan, Kerry, Marie, Michael, Sylvia and Will

SOUTH BELFAST QUAKERS

Quakers (or the Religious Society of Friends as they are also known), have held Meetings for Worship in Ireland since 1654. After a previous failed attempt to establish a lasting Belfast Meeting around 1665, the first permanent Belfast Quaker Meeting was established in 1799, and in 1810 it moved to Brewery Lane, now known as Frederick Street. It wasn’t until 1956 that a second Meeting was approved for Friends who lived in Belfast, this time based in the south of the city. South Belfast Meeting House is an active Meeting with approximately 45 adult members and attenders who worship together each Sunday. Children & Young People also play a large part in our meeting, and we have on average 22, 1-18 year olds joining us for the last 10 mins of our worship, after their own activities.

Meeting for Worship takes place at 10.45am each Sunday at our meeting house ( see address and directions on the contact page )

Alternatively you can join us on Zoom with the following details:

Meeting iD: 4613195026
Pass: 143412

South Belfast Meeting is part of the larger Ireland Yearly Meeting (see details of Quakers in Ireland below)