We will add EcoQ-relevent items as we receive them.

We give first, on a separate page, a record of some of the eco-concerns which were introduced to the general body of Friends, mainly via the Yearly Meeting in 2009.

We give here additionally, in reverse chronological order, some background notes on the pre-history of the EcoQ Committee. RJ Ed.

Preliminary Newsletters:

Issue 2: November 2008

We also considered contacts with external bodies/events, in particular, the "Slow is Beautiful" gathering (held on 14-16 Nov. at the Drumalis Centre, Larnei; see following item), an approach from Progressio Ireland (a Catholic-based NGO concerned with third-world development and environmental matters) and Eco-Congregation Ireland. The latter body (on which Natasha Harty is the IYM representative) is currently engaged in a tree planting programme, an ecumenical Global Day of Action on Climate Change on 6 Dec and encouraging churches to use green electricity. It was agreed that the members of the Interim Committee would continue to take forward the various plans and projects and report to our next meeting.

Interpreting 'Slow' (Tony Weekes, South Belfast Meeting):
The gathering 'Slow is Beautiful' took place at Drumalis retreat centre in Larne from 14-16 Nov 2008. About 60 participants gathered to interpret the word 'slow', asking questions such as: What are we doing 'too quickly' ? and why does this matter? Is 'slow' always beautiful? ('No' - some things we need quickly!). What has 'slow' to do with 'sustainability'? (A great deal!)

Alma Clavin, a research student from Co Westmeath, Simon O'Rafferty, a Dubliner presently working with the Ecodesign Centre in Cardiff, Jules Pretty, author of a wonderful book "The Earth Only Endures", and John Woods from Friends of the Earth were our guest speakers. Their presentations gave us much to discuss and reflect on. One participant reminded us that a sustainable society is a substantial contribution to a peaceful and convivial society. The meeting was a great success. It's a theme which needs more thought and action.

We had excellent support from the resident Sisters at Drumalis, and the house and gardens provided an appropriate venue. On Sunday morning, around 25 people attended a Quaker Meeting for Worship - a new experience for all but 6 of us.

A Question of Paradigms (Tony Weekes, South Belfast Meeting):
The World Congress on Basic Income took place in UCD in June of this year. In the opening session, Sean Healy and Brigid Reynolds of the Conference of Religious in Ireland presented a paper pleading for a new approach to economics. It is well written and readable; the full text can be accessed at:

http://www.cori.ie/images/pdf/biencongress08/chapter4.pdf.

The motivation behind the paper is the fact that "...[the] conventional economic vision of the future is unattainable. Environmental degradation, encroaching deserts, unemployment, starvation, widening gaps between rich and poor, are the global realities being faced in our world today."

After giving an overview of some current economic issues in Ireland - income, poverty and unemployment; participation and exclusion; sustainability - the authors argue that our economic policy is guided and judged by a paradigm, or framework, whose underlying assumptions and ethics are implicit and remain unquestioned. For example, one unquestioned assumption is that the 'engine' which drives our economies must be 'growth' - in the crude meaning of that term. But - over 40 years ago - the Quaker academic economist Kenneth Boulding cautioned us about the consequences of unrestrained growth.

Over time, paradigms - whether scientific, economic or social - can and do shift, and the authors suggest that we are now living in a time when such a shift is sorely needed. They offer ten principles which might form the basis of a new paradigm: providing a basic guaranteed income for each citizen; broadening the view of useful work beyond only paid employment; strengthening participation; making sustainability the core of policy, not just an 'add-on'; 'measuring what matters', and dropping our obsession with 'growth'; reclaiming time currently spent on work and commuting for ourselves, our families and our communities; promoting health rather than simply treating illness; refocusing education; controlling advertising; and, finally, promoting active citizenship.

There is clearly much common ground between these principles and many of our Quaker social testimonies. The Eco-Quaker movement is concerned with much more than 'the environment'. Part of our task is to see the links between global and local problems and the wider issues of social and economic justice. In this sense, the increasingly urgent need to respect the Earth and establish a healthier balance in our lives provides us with a chance to get back in touch with the very roots of Quakerism.

Since the UCD conference in June, the economic prospects for Ireland are widely held to have deteriorated. It is timely for us to study and reflect on the ideas presented in this paper.

Members of the EcoQuaker Ireland Interim Committee: Gillian Armstrong (Rathfarnham), Denise Gabuzda (Cork), Natasha Harty (Cork), Roy Johnston (Churchtown), Tony Weekes (South Belfast), and Ian Woods (Dublin). After helping with its initial organisation, Helen Fanning (Churchtown) is retiring from the Committee pro temp due to other commitments.

The EcoQuaker Ireland website can be accessed at:

www.quakers-in-ireland.ie/ecoq/ecoq.htm

To receive this Newsletter by e-mail, please send your contact details to:

gabuzda at caesar dot ucc dot ie

Items for inclusion in the Newsletter can also be sent to this address.

Issue 1: October 2008

The organisational committee that was established had its first meeting on 2 August 2008, where it was decided to publish a monthly EcoQuakers Ireland Newsletter, of which this is the first issue. We intend to distribute the newsletter to all Quaker meetings on the island, to Young Friends groups, and also to the wider community of interested Friends in Ireland.

Planned Visits to Meetings on the Island.
One of the outcomes of the meeting of the Eco-Quakers Ireland Committee was a resolution that a small group will visit each Preparative Meeting on the Island to make a presentation about the need for concern and action in connection with the current ecological crisis facing the Earth. Meeting Clerks should expect to hear from a representative of EcoQuakers Ireland sometime in the near future about these visits.

Slow is Beautiful - a weekend gathering at Drumalis Retreat Centre, Larne, Co Antrim, 14 - 16 Nov. 2008.
Ecclesiastes 3, vv.1-2 reminds us that: “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to sow, And a time to reap.” Yet we have set speed as the measure by which our affairs are judged. In consequence, we are running down the gifts of nature faster than they can be replenished, leading to such serious prob-lems as climate change, the energy crisis, the financial crisis, overwork and personal stress...

Over the last few years, the idea of 'slow' has been developing - 'slow' food, 'slow' cities, 'slow' design. This implies reclaiming our time: for recreation, family, social encounters, enjoying what we have, improving where and how we live. Our guests Alma Clavin, Jules Pretty, Graeme Kidd, Simon O’Rafferty and John Woods will help us to interpret ‘slow’ in relation to ourselves and our communities. There will be time for informal encounters and for recreation and quiet.

The gathering will begin on Friday evening and end after lunch on Sunday. Participation on the Saturday only is also an option. Accomodation is avail-able. There will be an opportunity to meet Friends working with EcoQuakers Ireland and a Meet-ing for Worship on Sunday morning.

Drumalis is a large ecumenical retreat overlooking Larne Lough, about 15 minutes walk from Larne train station, to which there is service from Belfast Central. For public transport information, visit:

http://www.translink.co.uk or phone +44 (0) 28 90 666630.

Further info can be obtained from: www.drumalis.co.uk/Slow_is_Beautiful.htm, by telephone +44 (0)28 28272196 or by e-mail:

drumalis at btconnect dot com

Inaugural Meeting of ECO-QUAKERS IRELAND

An Interim Committee of seven Friends agreed to take matters further, including the setting-up of a Newsletter and the intention to inform Friends in Ireland of developments through the Irish Quaker website.

It was hoped to involve Meetings throughout IYM in raising awareness of sustainable living, and to increase contact with other faith groups working in this field, in particular Eco-Congregation Ireland. Also to make contact with Quaker Eco-Interest groups in the UK, Europe and further afield, and to consider over a period how Irish Quakers might 'Speak Truth to Power' to government on these topics.

Those attending the first meeting were:
Natasha Harty (Cork) *
Tony Weekes ( South Belfast ) *
Helen Fanning (Churchtown) *
Gillian Armstrong (Rathfarnham) *
Denise Gabuzda (Cork) *
Roy Johnston (Churchtown) *
Ian S. Woods (Eustace Street) *
Wendy R. Goodbody (Monkstown)
Valerie A. O'Brien (Churchtown)
Hans Borghmans (Frederick Street)
Paul Bates (Frederick Street)
Margaret M. King (Churchtown)
Penny Butler (Drogheda)
Robin B. Goodbody (Monkstown)
T. David Kingston (Churchtown)
Janice W. Johnston (Churchtown)
Douglas J. Harrison (Rathfarnham)

* denotes member of Interim Committee

For further information, or to express interest in this work, please contact the Secretary, Denise Gabuzda, at

gabuzda at caesar dot ucc dot ie

who is concerned to develop linkages with like-minded organisations with these concerns.

See also her recent article in The Friendly Word which is of interest in this context.

Eco Congregation Ireland, Cork Quaker Report, May 2008

During 2007 we had a series of information meetings about environmental issues at our meeting house. These included a wonderful talk by Rev. John Purdy about what his Methodist community was doing in their ECI project in West Cork. A showing of Al Gore's film, a night on energy and a talk on Graveyards full of Life also took place.

The highlight of the year was a public meeting on ECI and related topics to which we invited as many clergy and nuns as we could contact as well as the general public. About 60 attended and the people who came were just thrilled to hear each other and meet each other. Out of the meeting we have an e-mail list for notifying people of events, and supplying snippets of information.

Activities planned for this year include a visit to the Nano Nagle Centre near Mallow, where the Presentation nuns are promoting sustainability at their founder's birthplace. We have also decided to promote the Trocaire Climate Change post card campaign, and so highlight that problem, and its solutions. In our burial ground in Cork we have drawn up a plan for a Garden of Eden project, and will be planting food trees and bushes in the autumn.

This year I was very pleased to be invited to address our annual Quaker gathering, Ireland Yearly Meeting, and out of that we are meeting this week in Dublin to see if we can set up an all Ireland Quaker environmental initiative.

Natasha Harty, Ireland Yearly Meeting Representative to Eco-Congregation Ireland
Tel 021 4652 429, e-mail thehartys@eircom.net.