IYM News

Irish "Friends Of Brummana"

01/11/21 13:18

Thanks to all the Friends in Ireland Yearly Meeting who have supported the students and the school at Brummana near Beirut through our Bursary Appeal.

As Friends will know, the collapse of the Lebanese economy, following on from the country's long political problems and the terrible explosion at the port, have left the school, its teachers, the 1250 students and their families in a terrible position, at the same time as Covid has hit. Teachers' salaries are worth very little, and many are struggling to feed their families. It is really hard to imagine the size of the crisis. For the school, essentials such as text books and computers are impossibly expensive, since they have to be paid for foreign currency, and it is difficult even to get petrol for teachers to get too and from school.

Against this frightening situation, David Gray, the Principal, his team of teachers and the Lebanese Board of Governors are doing an incredible job. The school keeps running well, producing great results, and the students are absolutely delighted to be back on campus, learning together. For them, it is a haven in which they can have a childhood that is being stolen from them. As David Gray says, "Education is key, and perhaps the last hope for Lebanon’s long-term future. If our schools collapse the country has no future."

Many Old Scholars have rallied to support the school, but the school is now digging into its hard-earned reserves to cover deficits of the last two years, $500,000 in 2020 and $750,000 in 2021, and to pay staff a living wage.

At the same time, we in The Quaker International Educational Trust (QuIET) are seeking to get as much support as possible for bursaries, to help keep the finances going. And we know that this is going to have to continue for a long time. Lebanon's grave problems will take years to address.

We in QuIET, and the school, have now launched the "Friends of Brummana", to Quakers and others interested in the future of the school, and supporting the progressive younger generation in the Lebanon. Recently over 20 Quakers, through Zoom, held an inaugural meeting. Each "Friend of Brummana" will use their time to address local Meetings and research other sources of funding, to ensure that this Quaker school survives.

Would you like to join this group, joining the online meetings, hearing who is happening in Brummana, meeting teachers and students on line, and seeing how you can support the school? If so, please email me at willdahaire@aim.com and I will link you in.

In doing so you would be in a long tradition of Irish Friends. In 1869 as the school started to develop, four Quakers visited Beirut to see how they could support. Two of these were for Ireland - Richard Allen and Charles Wakefield. Further, three of the school's Principal, Robert Davidson, John Henry Turtle (one of the founding Members of South Belfast Meeting) and Kenneth Clay - who together led the school from 1932 to 1947 - came from Ireland, all with very strong links to Friends School Lisburn. And as a Jane Richardson, a Moyallon Quaker, wrote, during her visit in 1887, the people of Brummana "like the Irish, are kind-hearted, generous...; very clannish among themselves, but always hospitable to strangers."

It is so important that we continue and deepen this relationship, at this terrible time. As David Gray recently said, "BHS is a school which celebrates freedom of thought and expression and lays the ground rules of any happy, prosperous society. It must continue to do so and to send out its students in the future as leaders of countries and professions as it has done in the past."

Will Haire
South Belfast

Welcoming Our New IYM Youth Support Worker

08/09/21 17:38

Hello Friends!
My name is Alex Collins, I’m a member of Enniscorthy meeting but am currently living in Belfast. It’s a pleasure to have been appointed as the Youth Support Worker for Ireland Yearly Meeting. This is a new post for IYM and in the coming months I hope to be able to take this new role and take it in a constructive direction.
Over the first lock down I started a regular game night with some fellow young Friends online, which was a great way to keep up connections. Now, within this role, I hope to bring more young Friends online and connect them across the whole island, also keeping them updated about relevant and interesting upcoming events. In addition, I will be organising a programme for young people at IYM.
I’ll also be looking at ways of connecting those working with young people online, so that we can pool together our various strengths. When everyone runs events for young Friends in their region they will have the best tools, resources and support that the Society can offer, which will include being the Designated Child Safeguarding Officer and carrying out vetting of those getting involved.
I look forward to working with you all in the future. If you have any queries, you can contact me at +353 87 134 7114 from September 13th or at Youthsupport@quakers.ie.
In Friendship, Alex Collins

IYM Job Opportunity

30/04/21 09:08

Applications should be submitted to iymec@quakers.ie no later than Friday 21st May 2021.
See https://quakers-in-ireland.ie/youth/youth-coordinator/ for more information.

Job Opportunities

04/09/20 10:32

JOB DESCRIPTION FOR THE PART-TIME POSITION OF YOUTH CO-ORDINATORS WITH THE IRELAND YEARLY MEETING OF THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIEND
JOB TITLE: Youth Co-ordinator x 3

RESPONSIBLE TO: Yearly Meetings Committee in Ireland, through the Youth Co-ordinator Support Group

HOURS: There are 6 hours allocated per week to be worked flexibly over the year to meet the requirements of the post ie. some activities will require greater time while other times of the year will be quiet

JOB PURPOSE:

The Youth Co-ordinators within the Yearly Meeting of Ireland will work in partnership with parents and Preparative Meetings to support the spiritual growth of our young people. They need to be sensitive to all viewpoints among Friends and as such need to be able to promote the spiritual journey and exploration for all. The outcome of a Youth Co-ordinator’s work should include the nurturing of our young people both socially and spiritually in an environment of openness and integrity which we hope will strengthen the Yearly Meeting in Ireland’s future.

Key Tasks

Develop consistent and regular contact with Young Friends in Ireland, identifying their needs and responding to these through the provision of events, gatherings and other opportunities for them to feel and be part of the Society of Friends in Ireland.
To provide space for the spiritual development and exploration of Quakerism among Young Friends.
To attend relevant meetings of the Youth Support Committee, Education committee and IYMC on a rotational basis
To be a leader on ensuring our responsibilities re Child Safeguarding are followed
To facilitate and provide training to young adults, parents and others who wish to become youth leaders
To assist with national events, including Youth Programme at IYM and other residentials, ensuring Young Friends from all over the country get to meet, have fun and explore their Quakerism in an open, trusting and fun way.
To ensure all records and administrative tasks are carried out including providing reports when required.
To liaise with the other two co-ordinators in the carrying out of this work.
To establish links with other Churches, organisations and relevant agencies
Informal enquires should be made to: Sheilagh Reaper Reynolds : hillcott12@gmail.com

Application form is available by downloading here.

Closing date for receipt of application forms and cover letter is: Friday 25th September 2020

Statement of Friendship & Unity

28/01/20 21:49

The Clerk of Ireland Yearly Meeting, Denise Gabuzda, and the Clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting, Clare Scott Booth, have issued the following statement ahead of #Brexit reaffirming our shared friendship and unity and commitment to peace >> https://bit.ly/2GI5zPD

Social Media & IYM Newsletter

07/07/19 08:55

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The Quakers in Ireland site shared this thought graphic from the Church of England Bishop of Oxford, on their facebook page today.

In addition to this, the IYM newsletter for this week is available to download here

UPDATE - also included the 12/07/19 newsletter here

IYM Update

29/06/19 20:36

Our IYM Recording Clerk would like to draw our attention to both the flier above and to the fact that the latest edition of the IYM newsletter is available for download here - IYM Newsletter 28-06-2019

IYM Newsletter

23/06/19 07:20

Download the latest newsletter below:

IYM Newsletter 21/06/2019

Eco Congregation & IYM Newsletters

10/06/19 21:38

Both the Eco Congregation Ireland Newsletter and the Ireland Yearly Meeting Newsletter are available for download in the two links below:

Eco Congregation Newsletter - May 2019

IYM Newsletter - Week Ending 7th of June

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

South Belfast Meeting is part of the larger