What follows is firstly the overview as sent out to the world Quaker community, followed by samples of the proceedings, as they become available.

Epistle, to Friends everywhere:

Epistles from Yearly Meetings throughout the world have informed us of the blessings received in visits and communications from other Quakers. We would very much like to hear from more Yearly Meetings. We long to hear from you and of your progress in the truth we also seek.

We welcomed representatives from other churches and other faiths to an opening ceremony for our new administrative offices in Dublin. The premises include a purpose built historical library for the safe keeping of manuscript and printed records which themselves can serve as a part of outreach in the present time. The year has also seen the completion of a Quaker conference centre at Moyallon in Northern Ireland.

Much of the business of this Yearly Meeting has concentrated on the consideration, begun in 1998, of a successor to the 1962 printing of our book Christian Experience. Our deliberations showed Ireland Yearly Meeting's determination to see to what extent it would prove possible to produce a new book that would truly express our positions in the journey of faith - but not compromise faith as it is presented in the Bible. We should not settle for or be satisfied with comfort zones prompted by personal opinion only. Hallowed religious language embodies, for some, religious truth and should not be readily disposed of for doubtful novelties. It must be recognised that the living truth will forge a way to inform our lives. Faith must rewrite our lives and not our lives rewrite our faith, and we need not compromise true insights.

Forthright exchanges on cruxes of belief important to Friends led to appeals that we should take stand-aside positions that would let other Friends honestly define the place they stand - rather than insisting on the deletion of writings that do not command universal acceptance within our Society. We were reminded of the wide spectrum of traditions and views held within Ireland Yearly Meeting, that rich diversity is God-given and can be Ireland's gift to the wider world of Quakers as a sign that different views can exist within a fellowship of love under the governance of the spirit of Christ.

The question whether to include or not any reference to homosexuality in the new proposed book has been a matter of deep concern. The contemporary world gives sexual gratification and fulfilment a central position. It was felt that undue emphasis on such themes might unbalance consideration of the wider corporate concerns of the Yearly Meeting. There can be no ministry to others on the need for God's healing grace if we cannot communicate openly and lovingly with those whose views and lifestyles may differ from those that we as individuals find or believe to be acceptable. Instead of judging each other, we should leave judgement to God.

At the heart of Ireland Yearly Meeting is the Ministry and Oversight Meeting, where Elders and Overseers share in a public way with the wider membership. It focussed on the consideration of the meaning embodied in certain Queries. A sense of renewing insight emerged, that we seek to be open to and obedient to the life of Jesus Christ within. We are part of the rich web of humanity implicated in the banality of evil, but yet can pray for the building up of the church in faith, hope and love and to bring all the world under the ordering of the gospel of love and peace, to proclaim Christ's message and to seek his leadings.

Our Friend Helen M S Haughton in the Yearly Meeting Public Lecture gave us an account of her spiritual journey and the impact of the Book of Ecclesiastes, of the Gospels and of George Fox on her life and work.

We heard from Barbara Flynn of Pacific Yearly Meeting of the work of Friends in Bolivia where the large Quaker community and other people are being helped by Irish Friends and many others in improving their health and welfare by the provision of a hospital, together with education and agricultural services.

We have been blessed by the presence of many young people, children and young adults. The children enjoyed a programme of reflective and athletic activities. The young adults have made a notable contribution to our sessions. We thank God for their bright presence and the feeling of assurance that it gives us for the future of our Society.

We look forward to welcoming the Triennial Meeting of Friends World Committee for Consultation to Dublin in 2007.

Signed on behalf of Ireland Yearly Meeting,

Rachel M Bewley-Bateman / Clerk

Ministry and Oversight 20/4/06

Janice Johnston introduced the first query - "Do you individually pray that you may be preserved in humble dependence upon our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and in earnest concern for the conversion of sinners and for the building up of the church in faith, hope and love?"

At our last meeting of Dublin Elders, this query was read during our opening period of worship. It provoked strong feelings in the meeting generally that the "wording was old-fashioned and that we needed an updated translation". However one Friend felt equally strongly that those of us who had difficulties should consider that such difficulties were theological rather than linguistic. I am grateful for that Friend's words. They have been of considerable help as I have searched to formulate my own answer to this query. I am grateful to the Clerk of this Meeting for asking me to do this. It has been somewhat challenging. As one of the Friends who had difficulty with the wording, I have been trying to sort out where my difficulties are and have come to the conclusion that, yes, they are not merely a matter of translation.

There are three parts to this query;

Do you individually pray

• that you may be preserved in humble dependence upon our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
• and in earnest concern for the conversion of sinners
• and for the building up of the church in faith, hope and love?

To begin with, I don't like the word "preserved" here. I associate it with making jams and pickles. (Which I like doing, incidentally!) But a thing preserved has stopped growing, is as it was put in the jar, or whatever, in juice, vinegar, aspic, ice, formaldehyde. These processes have their uses, but I like to think my relationship with God is more alive and dynamic than that.

...in humble dependence upon our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ....

Does that accurately describe the way I feel about Jesus? This is where theological difficulties begin.

I count myself as a Christian. I was brought up steeped in a Biblically based Christian tradition, which I look back on with love and gratitude, to my parents as well as the Congregational church community who nurtured me with love. I am grateful too, to my scripture teacher in school, a biblical scholar and deaconess in the Anglican Church in Wales who taught me how to love reading the Bible without the need to believe every word literally, without having to suspend disbelief in the face of what we were learning in our science and history classes. Jesus is still central to my faith. I feel I can address him affectionately with the hymnist:

"Jesus my shepherd, brother, Friend, my prophet, priest and king..." (although I may have a bit of difficulty with the word "king". I prefer the idea of him as my choir-conductor) For me there is no substitute for the gospel of love as preached by Jesus. I had a period when I had argued God out of existence in my life. After some years my spiritual hunger became so unbearable that I climbed aboard the life raft offered by Friends, having accepted that, as Jocelyn Burnell has said, you cannot prove God exists but you can accept him as a working hypothesis. Like Jocelyn I have felt no need to change that hypothesis since. However, Jesus for me is thoroughly human I cannot believe in the physical resurrection. I cannot see how Jesus had to shed his blood to atone for the world's sins. I can't see how it works!

For me Jesus is human, oh so human, passionate, compassionate, loving, vulnerable. He is Son of God in that he shows us a challenging way of living which we can follow, much more credibly (to my mind than if he were a divine being). He shows us that the Spirit that was available to him with its transforming power is available to all of us, as it was to him, to George Fox, to John Woolman, to Elizabeth Fry, and, more recently, to Tom Fox, to Martin Luther King - to non Christians too, Ghandi and others. For I cannot believe that the inward light of the Spirit is necessarily not available to those of other faiths or of no faith. My step-daughter is a Buddhist and she has a lot to teach me about spirituality, as have many of my friends who profess to have no faith. Friends are a bridge people, it has been said.

So rather than pray that I may be "preserved in humble dependence upon our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" implying a theological belief which I find I cannot understand, I find myself praying that I may be obedient at all times to the light of Jesus Christ within me

...and in earnest concern for the conversion of sinners...

Well of course when we look at the state of the world we live in, the pain and suffering of humanity, the greed of the few which keeps so many millions in grinding poverty, the potential annihilation of all life, if not by nuclear war, then through the destruction of what makes life possible on this planet, of course I pray and try through my living of the testimonies to peace, truth and simplicity, to put an end to all that.

And yet? I have another difficulty with the wording here. Who is this "I" who prays for the conversion of "sinners"? Is this the Pharisee thanking God that I am not as other people? I have a mental image of a hedge here. I and my crowd on this side, Us, praying for Them on the other side of the hedge, the Sinners.

I'm uncomfortable with that. I am part of the web of humanity, which is making the world the way it is. I continually fall short of what God demands, through my own greed. A few weeks ago a speaker from South Africa, who had worked in the Truth and Reconciliation commission reminded me of the "banality of evil". It is like bacteria, he said. The huge evils of the world are a massive accumulation of the small amounts of contamination. The anti-apartheid system flourished because people like you and me, turned a blind eye to what was going on because to attend to it would have meant a sacrifice of some sort. We are all implicated in the great evils of this world and need to ask the light continually to search out the darkness in us. In praying for the conversion of sinners we include ourselves.

...and for the building up of the church in faith, hope and love?

Yes, perhaps I have no difficulty with this, if it implies a broad enough Church. I need Jesus, as someone who was born into a Christian culture. I feel that it is for some purpose that I was born into a Christian home so the most appropriate path to me is through Christianity, but I cannot believe that other faiths are not appropriate paths to God for other peoples.

I find myself humbly offering alternative wording for this query:

Do you individually pray that you may be obedient at all times to the light of Jesus Christ within you, that that same light may search all hearts and lead all of humankind away from sin and darkness to bring the world under the ordering of the gospel of love and peace.

Marge Lamb introduced the second query - "Do you use the spiritual gifts entrusted to you faithfully and to the honour of God?"

Why was I given this query? The Lord has a sense of Humour - I am a lover of one liners. The queries are to challenge us as individuals and corporally.

What spiritual gifts? Words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miracles, prophesy, discernment of spirits, speaking in and interpretation of tongues - all emanating from the Holy Spirit - 1 Corinthians 12: 4-10. Discernment of spirits - testing others, checking it out. Is it a spirit of love, compassion and caring or is it a spirit of greed or discrimination?

I feel like I need to go up on a mountain to pray!

Using our gifts unfaithfully or faithfully to the honour of God. I'm assuming that means that when we do exercise our gifts it makes people thank God as they witness the use of the gifts. Using them in the way God wants. Are other people being blest or is it just for ourselves? Do we exercise them in such a way that others are enabled to rise up in thankfulness to God or are we too busy to share them. We need to answer this individually. I do desire to use my gifts to help others which is how I interpret the command to love my neighbour as myself. I'm not so sure I have the right to state the nature or extent of success or otherwise. Every day is a spiritual journey - it is a moment by moment living in the presence and asking for strength and clarity to respond as I should. To sum up - You should love your God with all your heart, and with all you soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength and your neighbour as yourself. Challenging us to spend our lives letting love flow through us to bless others. After all, the greatest gift of all is the gift of God's love to us and the gift of our love for each other.

Martin Mail introduced the third query - "Are you diligent in attending your Meetings for Worship and Discipline, and careful to encourage the attendance of your families? Are you careful to keep a right balance between your outward concerns, your service and your spiritual life?"

'Are you diligent?' a word that smacks of duty rather than enthusiasm. (Diligent means attentive to duties.)

My early views on attending Meeting for Worship were in keeping with those of Elizabeth Fry (nee Gurney). At 17 she referred in her journal to Sunday morning meeting as 'disgusting' or simply 'dis'. Notably in 1797 the Gurney girls ridiculed Quaker worship when entertaining the Duke of Gloucester in 'Betsy's' room; Rachael, the pretty one, acted as 'the preacher'. Elizabeth wrote: "Rachel gave a capital sermon. I never saw anything so droll."

My brother Alan and I always went regularly but reluctantly, finding the silence very boring. I once said audibly; 'is it only the government that's allowed to talk'. Indeed the only remission from this hour of drudgery was vocal ministry usually delivered by a couple of very elderly male Friends whose contributions were always considered very inappropriate by our parents. However at least there was Crusaders to look forward to in the afternoon, with music, and lively worship and teaching.

It could be said that our attendance was only out of respect for our parents, and yet we seldom voiced objection. So mum and dad could have been said to have carefully promoted our attendance, since we knew they loved and cared for us, and we would not have wished to upset them. You might express it in a Victorian term 'we did our duty as obedient children'. Yolande Beckiles the educational guru on TV says we are hurting our children by not imposing discipline; she looks to her Caribbean heritage and says 'I don't do middle-class liberal'. For a few years when living in England our young family abandoned the Society of Friends. The small meeting we attended had an odd mix of elderly Friends and newcomers from disparate backgrounds, attracted by our openness and pacifism. The provision for children was quite poor; essentially a crèche. There was objection to the idea of Sunday school and religious teaching. Their reasoning was based on the idea that children should be able discover and find things out for themselves.

A few years ago I was regularly writing M&O reports using the intro that Meeting for Worship was the centre of the life of our Religious Society of Friends. Yet recently I have been made more conscious that the statement would not necessarily have been true of the early Quakers. Was Meeting for Worship their 'pit stop'? Being refuelled and strengthened by the Holy Spirit for the main task?

On Passion Sunday Joan and I attended a small church in Lorient, Brittany. On the front wall was colourful patchwork banner depicting the world, and under it the words 'Allez par toute la monde et precher la bonne nouvelle'; Christ's commission 'go in to the world and preach the Gospel'. That was George Fox's main task, his focus.

The two parts of the query seem, at a cursory glance, appropriate partners, yet it is disturbing that they might give credence to the concept that life is separated into the sacred and the secular; something that Friends rightly consider erroneous.

However there is a valid warning about priorities, we seem to be preoccupied with self. From the mid 20th century focus on the individual seems to have diminished collective responsibility. Duty and service are not politically correct words because they imply an accepted standard. Despite Government encouragement for the voluntary sector, many organisations are finding it increasingly difficult to enlist the help of younger and middle-aged folk. We are well aware in Friends of the struggle to find clerks and committee members.

Now in my 60s I look forward to Meeting for Worship. Although I sometimes feel a sense of guilt when enjoying the tranquillity of meeting as a refuge from the daily hustle and grind. Does Quaker worship risk that being carried away into another world? Obviously we all susceptible to daydreaming and enjoying a rest, but do we leave Meeting strengthened to proclaim Christ's message; the gospel.

The heart of the Religious Society of Friends is the Meeting for Worship. In direct communion with God, we offer ourselves for God's will. Our daily lives are linked with the Meeting for Worship, the Meeting for Worship with our daily lives.

Do you come to meeting with heart and mind prepared? I think we are sometimes too restrictive in our interpretation of how the Holy Spirit leads.

Carolyn McMullan introduced the fourth query - "Do you endeavour to live in the spirit of Christ's teaching in all your activities? Do you as a parent fulfil your responsibilities for the spiritual development of your family by your example and witness? Do you as a young person take seriously your responsibilities for your own life and towards those with whom you are in contact?"

Can I just say that I endeavour to do all that this Query asks and only wish I did it much more effectively. I realise it's a lot of me me me that's blocking this effectiveness.

1) What are some of the things Jesus taught us when he was on earth?

a.. Jesus showed and therefore teaches us that his love was and is unconditional it's not what we do that makes him love us it's who we are. Feeding the 5000.
b.. To love one another Story of Good Samaritan Not just those who are, in our mind or culture " easy to love"- To show love we need to reach out and touch someone's life
c.. Jesus taught and showed us that he is worthy of our trust He lived a life of integrity -
d.. He taught us how to be a follower/disciple and in doing so we would know good times and bad times but we would have him there supporting us and encouraging us.

I don't believe that these and other teachings from Jesus are just restricted to bible times. I feel strongly that they relate to us today and should guide the way we live our lives.

2) What things can we do as parents to encourage the spiritual development of our children?

a.. Spend quality time with them let them know you love them- get involved with what interests them both socially and spiritually
b.. Be a sounding board - where they can ask questions comfortably not feeling they are going to get your opinion and that's always right
c.. Pray with them and for them
d.. Let them know that God loves them no matter what
e.. Give guidance when its being sought perhaps through the bible
f.. Let them see how your relationship with God affects the way deal with issues.- If we tell our children that God would want us to do things a certain way, but in reality we do things contrary to Gods leading then they will quickly see through us and our faith.
g.. Ask your children how they are spiritually and tell them of your own spiritual walk - Are you having it tough or good
h.. Live a life that speaks to your children of Gods love

3) I feel this section is all about living a life of integrity that is honouring to God. What are some of the things that I see as integrity?

• Speaking the truth - This speaks for itself
• Keeping commitments - our word should be our bond; then people will know they can trust us to give of our best.
• Cultivate endurance - See things through to the end - not getting side tracked.
• Living humbly - not letting material items become our God - Not letting pride take control
• Guarding our tongue - it is such a powerful instrument - We should always think before we speak - we can be such an encouragement or such a discouragement by a few brief words.
• Trust in God - It's so easy to rely on ourselves rather than completely trusting in God. I find if I can remember that God sees the bigger picture then trusting him to lead and guide is slightly easier to do.

Junior Yearly Meeting Epistle

Junior Yearly Meeting is an annual event in which young Friends take time out to escape the pressures of everyday life and to make new and reinforce old friendships. It gives an opportunity for young Friends to discuss moral and spiritual issues in an atmosphere of understanding and encouragement.

JYM 2006 was held at the new Moyallon Centre in Co. Armagh from the 13th-17th April. Only twenty-one people attended including organisers and helpers. The theme of this year's JYM which was taken from the World Gathering of Young Friends 2005 was 'I am the vine you are the branches, now what fruit shall we bare'. This theme was explored through four sessions, 'The diversity of friends in Ireland and the World', 'In your shoes through my eyes', 'Actions speak louder than words' and 'How to solve the problems on my doorstep'. These four sessions focused our attention on discrimination, racism and stereotyping which are problems faced by young Friends in global communities. One session in particular we discussed how young Friends personally could deal with these problems in their local communities.

We welcomed Barbara Johnson who travelled all the way from Waterford to facilitate the session 'The diversity of Friends in Ireland and the World'. We thank Caleb Grubb and Andrew Lamb who filled the roles of Male organisers and cooks on very short notice which enabled JYM to continue for at least one more year.

Basegroups played an integral role within JYM which gave JYMers a secure and productive environment for sharing their personal views within an intimate group. Older JYMers expressed their experience of JYM and life through 'In the light of experience'.

This created a sense of security and trust amongst the wider group.

For us JYM is special, no one can find a greater sense of community created within such a short period of time. The unique style of friendship which exists in JYM allows people to pick up from where they left off and continues long after young Friends have left JYM. We conclude the young Friends could be catalysts for change in their local communities by altering individually our approach to life and the issues that are associated with it.

Signed on behalf of JYM,

David Quinn (Clerk); Claire Conboy Stephenson (Assistant Clerk); Jonny Poole (Assistant Clerk)