South Belfast Quaker Meeting is planning a follow-up ‘After Meeting Conversation’ and shared lunch on Sunday 18th February.
The focus of the conversation will be ‘Food & Friendship’ as these were two areas from the EcoQuaker booklet ‘Responding to IYM 2016: Living Sustainably and Fairly on this Earth’, that members haven’t explored in any depth yet at South Belfast meeting.
Under the heading of ‘Food’ they hope to explore issues around eating seasonably, Fairtrade, organic, sustainable, food miles, and looking at effects on soil. There will be a contribution from a younger member of the meeting who has chosen to become a vegan, and may hopefully inspire members to explore a more plant-based lifestyle. Under the heading of ‘Friendship’ they hope to explore what this means to the meeting – how do they build community – with other local churches and faith groups, and with those who are often excluded and marginalised by society such as immigrants and refugees.
This conversation seeks to build on a previous ‘After Meeting Conversation’ held in November 2016 when members explored areas such as Energy & Transport, Finance & Consumption, and Speaking Truth to Power. These ‘conversations’ were held to assist members of South Belfast Meeting respond to the commitment undertaken by Quakers across Ireland in April 2016 for meetings and members to become more sustainable.