SOUTH BELFAST QUAKERS

That of God in everyone

Our Groups
Some of the regular activities taking place within the meeting
WORSHIP SHARING GROUP
A group which meets monthly and usually focuses on a specific biblical passage
The Worship Sharing group started in South Belfast over nine years ago with a small group of Friends and attenders. At first it followed the traditional method of Worship Sharing with each contribution being usually limited to one per person and surrounded by silence. However, as the group grew together, another pattern emerged. Also it was considered that a focus was needed. For a period of several years that focus was the psalms.

We often found that the psalms ‘spoke to our condition’. The psalmists were dealing with worship, joy, pain, doubt, hope, fear both for the individual and the community, and as individuals and communities we are all dealing with a world that is demanding, often in surprisingly similar ways. We repeatedly found that their experiences, and their response to them, echoed and challenged our own.

But eventually we agreed to move to the Gospel of John, but with the freedom to refer back to passages in the Old Testament when it seems helpful. Early Friends approached scripture not to do a critical analysis but as fellow travellers with experience of seeking and attempting to live in obedience to the leading and love of God. Our years with the psalms have shown the truth of their experience and this awareness continues and grows as we consider John and other passages together.

The time now begins with a period of 20 minutes silent worship after reading from the chosen passage together around the group, frequently from widely ranging translations. After that we talk and listen together, finally ending with another short period of silence.

[The group normally meets on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm and the passage to be read together can be found month by month]


FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT MYRA SKIPPER
SOUTH BELFAST ECO QUAKERS
South Belfast eco group seeks to support South Belfast Meeting to be as sustainable as possible through educating members, supporting practical environmental actions, and keeping sustainability high on the agenda of the Meeting as often as possible.
The produce of the earth is a gift from our gracious creator to the inhabitants, and to impoverish the earth now to support outward greatness appears to be an injury to the succeeding age.
John Woolman 1772. Britain Yearly Meeting, Quaker Faith & Practice 25.01
 
South Belfast eco group seeks to support South Belfast Meeting to be as sustainable as possible through educating members, supporting practical environmental actions, and keeping sustainability high on the agenda of the Meeting as often as possible.
 
Over the years South Belfast Meeting:
·         Has developed a Sustainability Plan in line with the request from Ireland Yearly Meeting 2016
·         Introduced recycling and compost bins in the meeting house
·         Uses environmentally-friendly cleaning products to clean the meeting house
·         Has a small allotment and fruit garden in the grounds of the meeting house
·         Uses ceramic crockery for events
·         Is replacing broken lights with energy-efficient LED lights
·         Has introduced motion sensors for lights so they turn off automatically when no one in rooms
·         Holds at least one ‘After Meeting Conversation’ each year on different sustainability themes
·         Introduced a ban on the use of single use coffee cups and plastic bottles in the meeting house
 
South Belfast Meeting endeavours to recycle as much as possible. Currently we recycle the following:
·         Clothing collection for Quaker Care (box under the table in Foyer)
·         Old inkjet printer cartridges to Quaker Bolivia Link (envelopes in the box in the hall)
·         Used postage stamps via Quaker Care (small brown bin in the hall)
·         Nearly new clothes, bric a brac, toys, books, games, old spectacles via Quaker Care
·         Donations of tinned and dried food for Storehouse (monthly collection in Kitchen)
THE BOOK GROUP
A monthly book discussion group. Meeting from September through to May
The Book Group came together from an idea brought forward at Quaker Quest. It has proved useful for new Attenders to get to know others in a less formal setting but with the purpose of enjoying the challenge of reading and discussing books they may not have normally considered reading.

The Group meets on the 3rd Wednesday of the Month at 7.30pm in the Meeting House from September to May. We start with a ‘cuppa’ and biscuits followed by a lively discussion about the book we have read. We try to take it in turns to pick a book but this isn’t a rigid rule and if someone has read something of particular interest we may go with that. The only proviso is that the book is available in Libraries and that the person choosing the book should come on the night and be responsible for bringing milk and biscuits!

The book to be read each month is advertised on the Library page of the website. It is also included in the Meeting Notices by the Clerk. Everyone is welcome to attend and the contact people are Colette McGinnity should you require further information.
QUAKER WALKING GROUP
With a range of walks throughout the year of varying difficulty
The walking group usually meets every second Sunday of even months. We are an energetic group of walkers and we usually go down to the Mournes. The best way to find out when the next walk is and where it is heading to, is to speak to Alice Clark after meeting or you can email her at the following address aclark45@hotmail.com and she will be happy to answer any questions you might have
KIDS' VEGETABLE PATCH
An opportunity for the kids to enjoy the pleasure of growing their own vegetables
Behind the Meeting House we have a little patch of land which has become our tiny allotment and is part of the Meeting's way to address the issues of sustainability.  Every early Spring a band of kids spends at least one Sunday morning weeding.  This is no small task!  We then plan what we are going to grow and sow some seeds indoors and plant them out when they are healthy plants.  We have had great success with peas and beans and in the summer the kids are able to crop these and take them home.  Potatoes also seem to be happy in our little plot.  This Spring we surprised ourselves by digging up a large number that we missed the previous summer.