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Articles, News and Events

Bloomfield Quaker Care Centre celebrates 200 years

Over 100 people attended a special event held at Bloomfield, Stocking Lane, Dublin on 28 November 2012 to celebrate 200 years of Quakers caring for mentally ill and frail elderly people in Ireland.Friends from throughout the country were joined at the special celebration by politicians, healthcare workers and members of the local community.
 Since its foundation by Friends in 1812, Bloomfield has sought to provide person-centric mental health and nursing home care to elderly people and those with dementia. The original aim was to bring about a seminal change in the nature of care from restraint to ‘moral treatment’ and the Society proved to be pioneering in its care and treatment of both the elderly and mentally ill.
Bloomfield moved from its original Donnybrook site to its current location in Rathfarnham in 2005. In 2006 the Jewish Home of Ireland and in 2007 Kylemore Clinic (established by the MethodistChurch in Ireland) were also incorporated into Bloomfield, with the stage-2 completion in 2009 bringing the total bed count to 152.
Olivia Mitchell TD planted an oak tree in the grounds to mark the 200th anniversary before Chairman of the Board, John McNeilly (Rathfarnham Preparative Meeting), assured guests that the original mission of the founding members of the Quaker community remained at the core of everything Bloomfield does today.
CEO Damien O’Dowd then outlined how Bloomfield would respond to the needs of people with dementia and mental illness over the next few years.
Robin Goodbody (Monkstown Preparative Meeting) summarised the highlights of the 200-year history before Professor Michael Gill, Professor of Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin, launched the newly-published book – ‘Bloomfield, A History 1812 – 2012’. The book, which literally arrived hot off the presses, is the result of great teamwork and painstaking research by Glynn Douglas (Monkstown Preparative Meeting), Robin Goodbody, Alice Mauger and John Davey.*
Prof Michael Gill, keynote speaker for the evening, spoke about “exciting advances” in genomic medicine and how this was being applied in psychiatry, with particular emphasis on alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, autism and epilepsy.
He said Trinity was delighted to be associated with Bloomfield: “I have visited Bloomfield on quite a few occasions and I‘ve been really amazed by what has been happening here. Bloomfield is an important resource for the College for teaching medical and healthcare students and for offering research opportunities and we look forward to continuing our relationship into the future.”
Damien O’Dowd, CEO of Bloomfield Health Services, said: “The marking of 200 years of providing treatment and care by Bloomfield is a significant achievement for the organisation and is a tribute to the steadfastness of the original mission to provide person-centred quality care to those with mental health needs and to frail elderly. The change in society over that period of time has been immense but our mission and the focus of our service provision has remained strong.
“Today at Bloomfield our commitment to our patients and residents, and the treatment and care provided to them, continues to be our focal point and the core of our mission. As we look towards the future, our continued desire to meet the expanding needs of our older generation is to provide a greater scope of services to include families and supported by the most progressive education and research.”
John McNeilly, Chairman, said Bloomfield was constantly balancing its desire to provide leading edge person-centred care while meeting the constantly changing and developing standards from the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) and the Mental Health Commission (MHC).
“Bloomfield’s strategic plan for years 2013 through 2015 is suggesting a slight change of direction, with a re-balancing of our nursing home and approved centre beds to allow for the development of new services around day care provision, respite, acute services and the provision of rapid assessment clinics,” said John. “To reflect the new services being offered, Bloomfield Care Centre will now be known as Bloomfield Health Services incorporating BloomfieldHospital and New Lodge Nursing Home.”
“Bloomfield Health Services has partnered with Trinity College Dublin, giving students the chance to spend time in Bloomfield, to develop hands-on experience and learning opportunities with our residents, all under the strict monitoring and tutelage of our medical and nursing teams. Bloomfield has also partnered with the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland, with the commencement of a ‘Tuesday Club‘ and ‘Alzheimer’s Café‘ within our facility.
“Bloomfield has engaged more closely with our surrounding community by starting a series of public lectures, with topics ranging from “Diagnosis of Dementia: Where to From Here?”, “Keeping it All Together” and “Relaxation for Everyday Living”. Attendance has been very encouraging and the feedback has been very positive. A repeat series is being considered for the Spring/Autumn of next year. We are also engaging with local medical professionals, mainly aimed at GPs and members of health care teams in our area, offering an educational lecture from our consultant psychiatrist and other guest speakers.”
After the speeches everyone enjoyed a splendid meal provided by Compass Group and Olivia Mitchell TD cut a specially-commissioned cake, supplied by Superquinn.
Kathleen Lynch TD, Minister for Disability, Equality, Mental Health and Older People, had hoped to attend the celebration but due to work commitments in the Dáil was unable to attend on the evening. She did, however, send a message of congratulations in which she recognised the commitment and dedication of Bloomfield to people with mental health problems and older people.
“The delivery of mental health care services has come a long way since Bloomfield first opened its doors back in 1812 and Bloomfield itself has been very much part of that change,” she said. “Even today, we see that this important service is continuing to develop and adapt for the benefit of all their clients and family members.”                 Fiona Murdoch

*‘Bloomfield, A History 1812 – 2012’ is a beautifully-presented book which captures the life of Bloomfield over the years. A small number of copies are available for purchase at €20 from Bloomfield reception.  Also available by mail order from qhist@eircom.netat €20.65 including post and packing.

 

Articles, Events, General Archives, News and Events

Temple Hill Burial Ground appeal

Since 1860, Dublin Quakers have been laid to rest in the beautiful cemetery that lies between Blackrock and Monkstown.  Under the shade of ancient trees, the burial places are marked by uniform simple headstones, giving brief details of the life of the deceased.  A great effort goes into maintenance of the grounds so that mourners at the funerals and casual visitors alike can share the sense of peace and tranquility.  From time to time funding is a problem and an appeal was launched in the spring of 2012.  Contributions can be sent to The Office, Quaker House, Stocking Lane, Dublin 16.

The property situated between the villages of Blackrock and Monkstown, was purchased by Dublin Monthly Meeting from the owner Robert Gray in 1859.  A Minute of Sixth Month 1859 reads:  Report is made on behalf of the trustees appointed in 12th month last that the purchase of ground prepared for the new Burial Ground has been effected, and the sum of £1,000 has been paid for same…..

The Burial Ground was opened on the 6th day of Third Month 1860.  The first person to be interred was Hannah Chapman of 3 William Terrace Booterstown who had died on 3rd March 1860.  Sixty-three years later, in January 1923, Monthly Meeting was informed that there had been 959 interments, the Register was full and a new one provided.

Burials of Dublin Quakers had taken place in Cork Street since 1698 but that was rather a long way from the new Meeting House in Monkstown and a proposal was made in 1834 to open a new burial ground on the Friends’ property there.  This scheme was abandoned the following year and no further steps were taken until 1849 when a committee of thirty Friends was set up to find a suitable piece of land.  Four years later they reached an agreement to purchase a plot near Donnybrook – but this fell through at a very late stage.  It took five more years to conclude the search, with the acquisition of the plot between Blackrock and Monkstown.

At the end of 1858 plans were drawn up for the layout of the enclosure of the cemetery and a decision was taken to build a cottage for a caretaker.  In June the following year the need for a small meeting house was noted.  In the same month Friends agreed on the naming of the place as ‘Temple Hill Burial Ground’ and set a fund-raising scheme in motion.  By the end of 1861 the caretaker was in residence and, early in the following year, the meeting house had been built by Gustavus Hudson at a cost of £174 – 15 shillings.  Friends subscribed a total of £1,597 and the greater part of the balance was transferred from ‘Apprenticing funds’.

After the initial problems in finding a suitable piece of land, the matter seems to have proceeded smoothly and the greater part of the Monthly Meeting Minutes comprise annual reports which give details of the numbers of burials, the state of the finances and the appointment of committee members.  From time to time increasing costs led to agreement on increases in the fees.  Troubles were few – an exception was recorded in First Month 1925:

Some trouble has been experienced when opening graves by the finding of large masses of rock near the surface.  These have to be removed before the grave can be dug to a proper depth.  Before the war this was done by blasting, but now it has to be done by boring and splitting which takes more time.  In one case a second grave was opened and in another the funeral had to be postponed for a day.

The state of the caretaker’s cottage deteriorated over the years and a decision to rebuild rather than repair was taken in the 1930s.  The meeting house was enlarged by the addition of the porch in the 1920s.  Records over generations have seen frequent references to the devoted work of the care-takers and individual committee members who have kept Temple Hill in its state of beauty and tranquility.  The 21st century has seen a renewal of effort and continued improvements.

Christopher Moriarty
Friends Historical Library
June 2012

 

Articles, News and Events

Rathfarnham Meeting Get Eco-Congregation Award

Rathfarnham has become the first meeting to receive an Eco-Congregation Ireland (ECI) award in recognition of its environmental endeavours.

Rathfarnham Quaker Meeting Win Eco Award
Sr Catherine Brennan, chairperson of Eco-Congregation Ireland, presents an award to members of Rathfarnham Meeting eco committee. Pictured from left: Gillian Armstrong, Fr Hugh O'Donnell (award assessor), Sinead Brady, Sr Catherine Brennan, Fiona Murdoch, Erica Calder and Patricia Garland.

Since setting up an “eco” committee three years ago, the meeting has planted fruit trees and a herb garden. Part of the lawn has grown into a wild meadow that is now home to three beehives.  Junior meeting sessions often incorporate environmental issues. Earthcare for Friends has been a valuable resource (published by Quaker Earthcare Witness 2004 ISBN 1-881083-10-1).

The meeting has signed up to Airtricity (to support renewable energy), uses energy-efficient light bulbs where possible and has clearly-labelled bins for recyclables.  All cleaning products, soap, toilet rolls etc. are environmentally-friendly brands and containers have been put in the toilet cisterns to save water.  Fairtrade tea and coffee is always used – crockery rather than disposable cups and plates.

Presenting the award on 4th December, ECI chairperson, Sr Catherine Brennan, said, “In all the “eco” work here, which covers many of the topics in the ECI resources, there is no sense of striving, or trying to achieve, or of it being hard work.  I feel sure that your approach in all the work flows from your quiet meditation.  Only constant and consistent meditation and prayer can help us live the simplicity of Jesus.”

Sr Catherine had read the Quaker testimonies of peace, integrity, simplicity and justice and could see how the meeting had linked each of these to God’s creation.  She was impressed that the meeting had considered whether earthcare should be a fifth testimony.   She said:  “The one that touched me most deeply is simplicity.  This testament is evident in all your “eco” work here – from the planting of the herb garden and fruit trees, the development of the natural meadow to the installation of the water butt, to name but a few.”

“The variety of work done by the Junior Meeting is truly impressive – planting, studying, creating, raising money for the poor … You are truly living out the Chinese proverb –

“Tell me, I forget
Show me, I remember
Involve me, I understand.”

Topics covered in junior meeting have included celebrating creation, recycling, living simply, insects, “eco” quiz, Fairtrade, water and globalisation.  The children and teenagers have helped plant seeds, bulbs, herbs and fruit trees and they have made a bug hotel and an Easter Garden from natural materials.  They have also organised a number of fundraising cake sales, with beneficiaries including VITA and Rainforest Concern.

One of the first steps Rathfarnham meeting “eco” committee took was to reflect on its eco initiatives to date, with the guidance of the Eco-Congregation Ireland checklist (see  Resources Section 1).  This helped them identify what the meeting had already achieved and to see what areas might be prioritised.

Last Spring the meeting invited the local community to join in a spring clean that was organised in conjunction with Rathfarnham parish “eco” group.  Members of the meeting have also been encouraged to sign up to “The Litter Project” – a world-wide campaign that encourages people to commit to picking up a piece of litter every day.  One member of the committee also set up a Facebook page called One Piece of Litter a Day – Ireland.

Members and attenders have taken part in national Stop Climate Chaos campaigns and the Global Action Day on 10/10/10.

The assessment of Rathfarnham meeting was carried out by two independent assessors – Salesian priest, poet and author, Fr Hugh O’Donnell and Dean Eaton, environmental awareness officer at Dun-Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

In his report, Fr Hugh said, “This group of Quakers is dedicated to the spiritual dimension of the environmental movement.  It seems that, by nature, they find the God-space in Creation …. The Quaker ‘way’ works as a leaven – simply and effectively. They nicely stress the integration of faith and Creation. They hold an ‘oasis’ in trust for the local community, which has its own eco-resonance.”

Fr Hugh believed that the members of the meeting were living out a conviction “to live as a family with all creation.” “This aspiration comes from a spirituality that is essentially ecological,” he said.

Dorking meeting is the only meeting in Britain to have received an award from Eco-Congregation England and Wales (two awards, in fact!) although several other meetings in the UK have signed up to Eco-Congregation.

We would love to hear how other meetings in Ireland are incorporating earthcare into their worship and activities!

You can find out out more about Eco-Congregation Ireland from the website or contact Fiona Murdoch.

Articles, News and Events, Notices to Members, Youth Events

Quaker Youth in Ireland Yearly Meeting, June 2011

This article appears in the September-October 2011 issue of The Friendly Word the Irish Quaker bi-monthly magazine.

CAROLYN MCMULLAN, Youth Coordinator, Ireland Yearly Meeting, reports on a years activities:

On 1st July 2010 Ireland Yearly Meeting had their first Youth Coordinator take up post. This meant starting from scratch with the Young People aged between 10-30 years of age. The database which has now been set up tells us that there are just over 500 members and attenders within this age group.

My overarching aim is to raise the profile of our Young Friends in Ireland, to empower, enabling them to feel valued and a real sense of identity with The Religious Society of Friends here on this island.

How was I going to achieve this considering there were very real anxieties from many parents and some Meetings who did not know this new Youth Coordinator and there was a sense of too little too late!

First Objective – Youth Clubs

My first objective was to work on setting up some Youth Clubs I spent a lot of time working with parents and older young people to recruit helpers to enable the clubs to run effectively.

Over the year there have been 3 monthly youth clubs started up in various parts of the country. There are also 2 youth groups which meet every 2-3months. The regularity of these events reflects the wishes of the young people involved in the groups and my availability to organise and run them.

There has also been a worship and bible study evening on the first Sunday in the month. This was at the request of Young Friends.

The numbers of young people who have attended these occasions vary from 5 to 27.

Second Objective – Visit Meetings

It is planned that each Meeting be visited by the Youth Coordinator twice in the 3 year term. To date 16 Meetings have been visited. This has been an opportunity for members and attenders to meet with the Coordinator and find out what is happening with young people and how the youth of that Meeting can become involved.

Two Monthly Meetings have asked the Youth Coordinator to speak to them abou how things are going and how they can get involved in supporting the work being done.

Third Objective – Residential Events

The goal was to be involved with any existing or new residential events for young people in IYM. There have been a number of overnight events throughout the past year. These include Senior Moyallon Camp, Churchtown weekend, Over 18’s, JYM(arrangements and actual event), Yearly Meeting Youth Programme, Junior Moyallon Camp and Leadership Training Weekend.

Fourth Objective –  Work with Individuals

Part of the role has been to meet with individuals on a one to one basis just to touch base and bring encouragement both socially and spiritually. Involvement in planning and running group occasions has taken priority this year. None the less, if a young person asked to meet up the time was always made available.

Fifth Objective: Leadership Training Course

The Leadership Training was developed to help equip older young people to lead in a servant-hearted manner and yet be aware of health and safety and child protection issues. From the feedback it would appear to have been very helpful to all who attended. It is hoped that training of this nature will be an ongoing process throughout the 3 year term.

Sixth Objective: Programme for Young Friends at IYM

This proved to be a really successful time where we had loads of fun while addressing how we Quakers do business as well as playing many games and attending some of the main YM sessions. I know the more mature folk really enjoyed having up to 29 young people attending.

This has been a busy yet productive year, where a number of young people who were not actively involved in The Religious Society of Friends have been willing to attend get-togethers that have been organised.

The first year has been a time of learning, where the young people have openly expressed what it is they want from the Youth Coordinator. It has been my desire to implement their wishes to the best of my ability. I would hope that over the next 2 years there will be a strong network of Young Friends throughout Ireland who have a strong sense of Quaker identity and are committed to both the spiritual basis and social witness of the Religious Society of Friends in Ireland.

Articles

Irish Quaker Faith in Action Funded Projects 2010-2011

Irish Quaker Faith in Action (IQFA) has funded the following projects between June 2010 and June 2011:

Masizame Children’s Shelter, Prettenberg Bay, Republic of South Africa.  Since 1992 this early childhood development centre has been caring for deprived children from the streets and from dysfunctional families.  Masizame aims to get these disadvantaged children back into main stream education and society.  IQFA provided €2,000 in June 2010 to extend the shelter to accommodate the increased number of children (120 in June 2010).

Cork Penny Dinners: 4 Little Hanover Street, Cork, has been providing a nourishing mid-day meal to hungry diners in return for a small coin for many many years.  In June 2010 IQFA gladly supported this entirely voluntary charity by providing funds to upgrade a bain marie.  Take a look at Cork Penny Dinners excellent website for pictures and news.www.corkpennydinners.ie

Afri: 134 Phibsborough Road, Dublin 7. In June 2010 Joe Murray, Afri Coordinator applied for funding from IQFA for the cost of the production of an information booklet on depleted uranium and towards the cost of holding two public meetings. IQFA gave €2,300 towards the cost of producing the booklet. The booklet, with a foreword by Denis Halliday, has been published and politicians, including every TD has received a copy.

Relebohile: Day Care Centre, Tumahole, Parys, 9585 Free State, South Africa.  Relebohile means “we are grateful”.  It was established in July 2007 by a German organisation and run by Murray and Margaret McMillan since 2009.  The centre received €2000 for Christmas food hampers, school uniforms and other school needs, books, emergency food aid, blankets and medicines.  The centre cares for 220 orphans (June 2010) on a daily basis providing food twice a day and other supports.

Let Agogo: (meaning ‘Flowing Milk’) Dairy Project, Haiti, a Christian Aid project in association with local partner Veterimed, received €4,500 in 2010. Also in 2009, thirty women were provided with loans to purchase a cow. A small dairy supplies locally produced  pasteurised milk to schools; training is offered to breeders; herds are vaccinated; technician training in agroforestry and other agricultural techniques is also provided;  Although damaged by the earthquake the work continues and IQFA will again support the project in 2011.

Mutoto Friends Church, PO Box 365, Mbale, Uganda received £stg.500 in June 2010 in respect of an appeal following a landslide which happened on 1st. March 2010.  More than 340 residents of hamlets on the slope of Mount Elgon were swept away.  Many people lost everything and the funds were to provide essentials.

La Source Centre, Madagascar was founded in 1990 and registered since 1996; La Source is a specialised school and training centre for children and adolescents with learning disabilities. The centre is non-residential and families are consulted and helped so that there is an integrated approach to the child’s training and support  Activities include communication and general life skills, basic numeracy and literacy, adapted sport, vocational training in vegetable growing, poultry rearing, crafts.  A bakery funded by IQFA in the past is currently inoperative because of high cost of ingredients.  IQFA sponsored twelve children’s fees in 2010 which amounted to €2634.12

Maitiú Ó Murchú
Clerk – July 2011

Articles

Quaker Marriage

An article by J. Glynn Douglas

For the right joining in marriage is the work of the Lord only, and not the priests’ or magistrates’; for it is God’s ordinance and not man’s; and therefore Friends cannot consent that they should join them together; for we marry none; it is the Lord’s work, and we are but witnesses.
George Fox, 1667

George Fox circulated a paper to Friends in 1653. This, with an epistle of Margaret Fell in 1656 and Advices from various General Meetings, established the basis of Quaker marriage procedure early in the days of the Society of Friends.  The procedure stressed the three principles of adequate preliminaries, an open ceremony (including an exchange of declarations and the signing of a certificate), and an efficient method of registration.

Two years after the restoration of Charles II in 1660 came the Book of Common Prayer, the Act of Uniformity and the restoration of the Church Courts with their responsibility for proving Wills.  Quaker marriages were not legally recognised by the established church and their doubtful status was liable to be disputed by non-Quaker relatives anxious to prove the illegitimacy of children and thus claim an inheritance.  All marriages according to Friends usage are recorded in the registers which have been kept, along with registers for births and deaths, since the 1650s.In Ireland this started in 1669 with the setting up of Men’s and Women’s Meetings.

From 1661 onwards Friends had secured successive civil law judgements upholding their marriages as good in law. Nevertheless, the precarious position of Quaker marriage made Friends very careful to ensure that they could demonstrate adequate preliminaries, an open ceremony and efficient registration procedures.These early preliminaries were cumbersome: both parties had to appear before the Women’s Monthly Meeting and then before the Men’s Monthly Meeting and, if there was no objection, Friends were appointed to report on clearness from other engagements, on parental consent and if the man belonged to another Monthly Meeting on a certificate from that body.The couple had to appear and declare their intentions a second time.If there were objections to be overcome the couple might have to appear at ten or more meetings.When finally agreed the marriage could be solemnised at the mid-week Meeting for Worship in the Meeting House to which the woman belonged.

The social and legal problems associated with clandestine marriages in the 17th and 18th Centuries were notorious.Wealthy young men were plied with liquor and paired off with unsuitable girls. Unfortunate heiresses were abducted and married under duress to scoundrelly adventurers.Even Quakers were not immune. Mary Pike of Cork, became a cause célèbre in 1797 when subjected to this treatment.

Lord Hardwicke’s Act of 1753 regularised the situation in England and Wales.The Act provided that all marriages, other than those of the royal family or covered by special licence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, should be conducted in the parish church and publicity was ensured by public banns or common licence.There were two exceptions, the Act did not apply ‘to any marriage amongst the People called Quakers or Persons professing the Jewish Religion where both Parties to any such marriage shall be of the People called Quakers or professing the Jewish Religion respectively’.Quaker marriage was thus recognised implicitly in England and Wales and eventually explicitly in the Marriage Act of 1836.

Things were very different in Ireland.The Irish Parliament did not enact a similar act to Lord Hardwicke’s and the problem was to continue in Ireland for nearly another 100 years.At the end of the 18th Century some Friends protested against the increasing formalism of the Society in Ireland as evidenced in the numerous and unnecessary formalities associated with dress, language and Quaker marriage.They also disagreed with the reverential attitude to the Bible.In 1801 this led John Rogers and Elizabeth Doyle to publish their intention of marriage in the town of Lisburn and one month later, in the presence of 16 well concerned Friends at the school house on Prospect Hill, they took each other in marriage.For this rebellion against authority the two Rogers and most of the witnesses were disowned.The spread of the New Light opinions resulted in many resignations and disownments. All those holding the office of Elder in Ulster Quarterly Meeting resigned.The result for the Society was tragic: many able and thoughtful persons were lost to Friends and the effects were to be felt in the Society in Ireland well into the next century.

It was not until 1844 that an Act established the registration districts in Ireland, similar to those in England and Wales, and made Quaker marriages solemnised after 1st April 1845 ‘good in law’.The 1847 Act provided that Quaker and Jewish marriages solemnised before the Acts of 1836 and 1844 were to be ‘good in law’ provided that both parties were Quakers or Jews. The 1860 Act provided recognition for Quaker marriages solemnised in England, Wales and Ireland in accordance with Friends usages where only one of the parties is in membership provided that the other is ‘professing with Friends’.In 1872 the ‘professing with Friends’ clause was removed and replaced by a certificate of permission to marry from the Quaker Registering Officer involved.

The disestablishment of the Church of Ireland in 1869 had interesting repercussions.The Archbishop of Armagh, like the Archbishop of Canterbury, could issue Special Licences for a marriage at any time and place on behalf of the established church. The Act of 1870 extended this privilege to the heads of most of the other churches, including ‘The Clerk to the Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends in Ireland’.Irish Friends were seriously exercised by this development and the Yearly Meeting of 1873 ‘whilst gratefully acknowledging the kindly feeling manifested by the Legislature towards our Society’ minuted two pages of regulation to safeguard the privilege from possible abuse!The privilege applied only to marriage of member to member.

The setting up of the two jurisdictions in Ireland in 1922 did not affect marriage legislation and they both continued to use the 19th Century Westminster legislation.The Special Licence provision was modified in 1954 by Northern Ireland Parliament and in 1972 by Dáil Eireann so that it applied to marriages where only one of the parties was in membership.When the Clerk of the Yearly Meeting resided in the Republic of Ireland the NI regulations required that the Clerk appoint a deputy, living in Northern Ireland, to act in his/her place.

Irish Quaker marriage regulations have long been a source of wonder and concern to the Monthly Meeting Registering Officers, each revision becoming more complex than the one it replaced, and taking up one third of the content of the 1929 Christian Experience book. This growing complexity was in response to the changing legislation. Initially they were only for Quaker marrying Quaker, then Quaker to non Quaker was added, then neither party being in membership was allowed, then marriage by Special Licence had to go through the same procedure. Each revision of the regulations had to leave earlier clauses in place because the Act they referred to had not been withdrawn and thus new sections had to be added.

Traditionally Canon Law has prohibited the marriage of a man with his deceased wife’s sister although this was allowed by civil law. Ironically the 1836 Marriage Act, that gave recognition to Quaker marriages, referred to the Canon law prohibitions of affinity and consanguinity, thus suddenly making marriage with two sisters illegal.Amongst Friends opinion was divided on the issue.Some Monthly Meetings went as far as disownment, whilst others, reluctantly, accepted it as fait accompli.Jonathan Pim (1806‑1885) of Dublin published, anonymously, in 1860 Is it right for a Christian to marry two sisters? This was then countered by another Quaker leaflet, also anonymous,An examination into the scriptural lawfulness of marriage with a deceased wife’s sister and the principles and enactments of English law respecting such marriages. Repeated attempts to change the law were always defeated in the House of Lords and it was not until 1907 that the Deceased Wife’s Sister Marriage Act made all such marriages legal.Quaker Books of Discipline have always required Quaker marriage to comply with the law of the land but have not included a list of prohibited relationships.The Civil Registration Act, 2004, in the Republic of Ireland and the Marriage (Northern Ireland) Order, 2003, both set out in detail the allowable degrees of affinity and consanguinity which now govern all marriages on the island of Ireland.

As the Clerk of the Committee that drafted the marriage regulations in Organisation and Christian Discipline I am delighted that the complicated 31 pages of Chapter 14 have now been superseded and can be relegated to the Society’s Archives in the Historical Library. The new regulations are more easily understood and hopefully Friends and their families will find them less irksome than they have been in the past.I am indebted to Ted Milligan’s booklet, Quaker Marriage* and Irish Quaker Books of Discipline of the 19th and 20th centuries in the preparation of this article.

*Quaker Marriage by Edward H Milligan published 1994 by Quaker Tapestry Booklets, c/o Friends Meeting House, New Road, Kendal, CumbriaLA9 4AY

This article was first published in The Friendly Word: Ireland’s Quaker Journal
Jan-Feb 2009 Vol 26, No. 1, pp 13-15

Archive, Articles

Quaker Spirituality and the Sacraments

by Irene Ní Mháille

About the Author

Irene ní Mháille of Monkstown Meeting entered an Irish missionary order in 1952 and served as a missionary sister from 1959 to 1980, mostly in Africa but also for a five year period in a black community in North Central Philadelphia, then after 10 years working in Religious Education in Ireland she returned to Africa as a lay person 1991 to 1996.  This article is based on a talk she gave in January 2011 in a series on Quaker Spirituality at Eustace Street Meeting House in Dublin.

First Impressions

When I first visited a Quaker service of Worship in 2003, I was filled with many emotions of delight and wonder. There was no sacrament of the Eucharist! Way was made, instead, for the presence of God’s Spirit!

For much of my life, I was required to believe that in the sacrament of the Eucharist, I received the body and blood of Jesus who is God. This doctrine distorted both my understanding of Jesus, and of God. Release from this distortion brought great joy!

These emotions of delight and wonder grew as I attended discussions – between 2003 and 2006 – in preparation for the revised draft of the Irish Quaker book Christian Experience (1962). During these discussions I learnt how Quakerism, while letting go of sacraments as external rites, had preserved the many treasures of Christian spirituality that lie hidden in the deeper, mystical notion of sacramental. For Quakers, the word sacramental seemed to me to refer to the throbbing heart of the whole of creation as it carries the imprint of the sacred, in the whole of the secular.

Roman Catholicism and the Sacraments

I had participated, for well over three decades before that, in the often very inspiring, but ultimately, as I see it, unsuccessful, efforts of Roman Catholicism, to revive Christian spirituality. The finding again of the sacred, not in a separate supernatural world, but in the heart of the secular, was the method used to bring the external rites of the Seven Sacraments into line with what people really believed. This involved a re-look at the development of the practice and theology of sacraments throughout the centuries, not only in Catholicism, but also in all the other Christian churches. It also involved getting down to the business of re-creating Christian communities. It was a most exhilarating time, full of promise!

I cannot speak with authority of Quakerism as I am a ‘blow-in’ of only eight years experience. I can, however, speak out of the inspiration and blessing that my encounter with Quakerism was and continues to be for me, on my own personal journey of Faith. I hope to be excused for interpreting Quakerism through the eyes of my former Roman Catholicism, the only eyes I have!

Reformation in Roman Catholicism really started in 1943 with the publication of Pope Pius 12’s encyclical, “Divino Afflante Spiritu” (With the Holy Spirit Blowing ) This encyclical marked the acceptance by Roman Catholicism of the historical/critical study of the Bible that took place, at first, among Protestant scholars, from the 18th century onwards. From then on, a literary interpretation of the Bible was impossible without belittling human scholarship. The teaching that Jesus founded the sacraments of the church, was seen to be very unclear from Scripture and so it became possible for Roman Catholics to discuss sacraments, from all angles.

In trying to refashion the sacraments, Catholics turned to the model of the Adult Catechumenate (community of adult Faith) of the early Christian church. As the early church developed, the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist were received at the end of 1-3 years of Christian living. For early Christians, what was important was Christian living. Sacraments did not cause or effect this, they were simply celebrations of it.

Sacraments understood in this way, were part of the living adult community of Faith and were not divorced from the sacredness of all of life.

Theology of Redemption

Gradually, however, as the image of Jesus, as Redeemer, took over from the image of Jesus as teacher, a theology of Redemption started to underpin the sacraments. Christianity taught that a sinful, passive humanity, unable, of itself, to approach God, was bought back into God’s favour by the merits of the death of Jesus. As Saviour, this Jesus, we were taught, washed our sins away. A deposit of the merits won for us by Jesus, enabled the Church to distribute these merits through the sacraments. Gradually, Christians, in the modern world, were starting to question this doctrine, so a discrepancy between faith and practice was a constant threat.

Sacraments, underpinned by Redemption theology, became separated from the sacredness of life and lent themselves to being perceived as magical, supernatural acts. Clergy, who actively administered, were separated from laity who passively received the benefits of Christ’s Redemption, made available through the sacraments.

The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century was a very serious attempt to deal with this growing crisis. It had goals very similar to the reformations of Vatican Council 2, in Roman Catholicism, in late 20th century. Both represented a huge attempt to bring outward rites into line with inward experience.

Outward Rites, Inward Experience

But in both Protestant and Catholic churches, it seems to me, this struggle took place, only at the tactical level of structures and institutional conformity. Only gradually, in the 20th century, did more strategic questions, such as why Redemption theology, who is Jesus, what other doors are open to a vibrant Christian Faith, begin to surface for Catholics. Then, as strategic questions about people’s real beliefs surfaced, these were often crushed by clerical authority. And, alas for Catholicism, the hoped for reformation only happened in areas where clerical authority allowed it. That did not include Ireland!

The Difference with Quakers

Quakerism was different. Away back in the 17th century, it had asked, and answered, the most strategic question of all, do we need sacraments! But Christian history barely recognised this event! Was this strategic question too big a threat throughout past centuries? Is it still a threat today? Should it not be, today, at the heart of ecumenical discussion?

As part of the radical Protestant Reformation, the Swiss reformer Zwingli marked, it seems to me, an important milestone between institutional Christianity and Quakerism. He returned to the original meaning of the word “sacrament”.

The original Latin word “sacramentum” had a military use. It indicated the oath of allegiance that soldiers of the Roman army swore to the Emperor, before going to battle. This is hardly a word that would delight the heart of George Fox! But, wishing to rid the sacraments of their magical elements, Zwingli recommended bringing back this original idea of oath of allegiance.

Zwingli’s idea was that this oath should now be made, by a Christian, as a pledge of his faith in God. Thus, the reception of a sacrament would no longer be a passive act but an active renewal of an oath of fidelity to Christian Faith. Maybe, this is close to the idea of the early Christian catechumenate that stressed Christian living over sacramental rites. In the renewal of the oath of fidelity, Zwingli sought to deal with the problem of sacraments as merely outward rites, that lacked inward experience: over a century later, early Quakers claimed the inward experience without the external rite!

The Inward Experience

At the heart of Quaker spirituality is the inward experience, the inner light, the inner Christ, the eternal Shekinah of which the sacraments are but a sign. Living in tune with this inner Spirit is what constitutes religious life for Quakers. As long as one can have this inner experience of God, directly, of what use are the rites of the sacraments? Quakers ask. They are, therefore inessential.

Quaker worship is the place and time, par excellence, when Quakers seek the inner spirit but they, then, carry this dependence on the guidance of the spirit into all their activities. Worship in spirit and in truth replaces the Eucharist, the Mass or the Holy Communion services in other Christian churches. Quakers believe that human beings are capable of access to the divine without external intermediaries. They seek to find the divine within themselves first, and then in each other, and to live their lives in obedience to this belief.

This does not mean that access to the divine is seen as easy. George Fox taught that each human being must deal with this challenge of seeking and finding the divine life within themselves. He wrote:

“This worship in the spirit and in the truth, touches every man and woman: they each have to come to the spirit in themselves, and come to the truth of their own inner being. And this is public worship we are talking about, not private. If they are really to worship God in spirit and in truth, they have to surrender in spirit and truth and enter into them personally….They have to come to the truth in the heart, to the hidden self in the heart and to a humble and quiet heart.” (Epistle 222)
Finding the spiritual reality of which the sacraments are but a sign, requires a huge surrender, and is a constant sacrifice and challenge for each of us, as Quakers. I think the implication of what Fox means by, “the hidden self in the heart” is, that part of ourselves is hidden from ourselves but can be awakened by God’s spirit, particularly when we are gathered in communion of spirit, with others. Quakers use the lovely expression, “a gathered meeting” to express the outpouring of the spirit as it flows through the gathered group. This happens, not by receiving external rites, but by listening attentively to what our own being and that of others is saying in the silence, whether this is outwardly expressed or not.

A Bold and Colossal Claim

The Quaker book of Christian Experience (1962) carries this great quote (p.39), from A. Barratt Brown (1887-1947):

“It is a bold and colossal claim that we put forward – that the whole of life is sacramental, that there are innumerable “means of grace” by which life is revealed and communicated – through nature and through human fellowship and through a thousand things that may become, “the outward and visible sign” of an “inward and spiritual grace.”
In this quote, Barratt Brown does something wonderful for me. He takes the theological terms of sacraments as rites such as “means of grace”, “the outward and visible sign”, “inward and spiritual grace” out of the prison of theological discourse and releases them into the cosmos of God’s creation. Thus, the “bold and colossal claim that we put forward – that the whole of life is sacramental.”

There is further evidence of this movement from theology (sacramental rite) – to creation (life as sacramental) – in a beautiful passage from “Essays and Addresses” by John Wilhelm Rowntree(1868-1905), quoted in Christian Experience, p 40:

“To the soul that feeds upon the bread of life, the outward conventions of religion are no longer needful. Hid with Christ in God, there is for him but small place for outward rites, for all experience is a holy baptism, a perpetual supper with the Lord and all life is a sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. This hidden life, this hidden vision, this immediate and intimate union between the soul and God, this, as revealed in Jesus Christ, is the basis of the Quaker Faith.

“We do not make use of the outward rites of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper but we do lay stress on the inward experiences they symbolise. Our testimony is to the reality of this experience without the external act”
As an example of the inward experience, without the outward act, D. Elton Trueblood (1968) is quoted in the two revised draft copies of Christian Experience as describing baptism by fire as, “one loving heart setting another on fire”.

When I first met these quotations during discussions on the new draft of Christian Experience, I realised the full significance of Quakerism for Christianity. Jesus, the Jew, has for me the same message that early Quakers re-discovered; years of theological accretions have hidden its awesomeness.

Knowledge of the Heart

Knowledge, for Quakers, is knowledge of the heart. It is the gift of God’s Spirit and is born in the “inner light”. When we read Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, not literally, but through its eternal images, we find it full of this invocation to inner knowledge. When the Hebrew psalmist sings “deep calls unto deep”, it is of this knowledge of the heart that he speaks.

Yet in the course of the centuries this ability was weakened, as head knowledge, prevailed over heart knowledge and the message of Jesus was packaged for “fallen man”. How come that George Fox could allow full sway to the presence of God’s Spirit, at a time in England when Anglicans, Puritans and Roman Catholics saw Christianity in terms of the redemption of “fallen man”.

There is a mystical passage in George Fox’s Journal (p 27 ff, Nickalls) that helps me to understand this a little:

“Now was I come up in the spirit through the flaming sword into the paradise of God. All things were new and all the creation gave a different smell unto me than before, beyond what words can utter. I knew nothing but pureness and innocency and righteousness, being renewed up into the image of God by Christ Jesus so that I say I was come up to the state of Adam which he was in before he fell.”
Fox never denies darkness or evil but he does not see them as primary. This is evident in several of his Epistles, for example in Epistle 240, Fox refers to the power of God that “goes over the fall to the beginning, where all things are blest”. For Fox original blessing preceded original sin. In this extract from his Journal, it’s clear that he sees the state of innocence as primary, “the state of Adam which he was before he fell.”
The struggle between darkness and light leaves us always in a state of humble striving. But a return to a state of “pureness and innocency” beyond “the flaming sword” that guards paradise, is, rather, a mystical vision that we strive for and need to keep constantly before us as the goal towards which God’s Spirit is guiding us.

I am making the claim here, for 17th century Quakerism, that it moved Christianity forward, out of an image of Christ as redeemer and mankind as sinful, into a new paradigm change that took Christianity out of the Roman Empire and back into the simple teachings of the human Jesus. Jesus lived so intensely with God that he became known as the Christ, the one who is anointed by God’s spirit. This is how I understand Fox’s “inner Christ”. This opens up a very difficult, but a very dignified way to live as a human being. Though elderly now, I feel ever new on this road and am aware that I have a lot to learn every day!

Eco-Quakerism

Eco-Quakerism is today a new, yet old, way of expressing a hymn of joy for God’s creation that makes “springs gush forth in the valleys, giving drink to every wild animal”! (Psalm 104). The colossal claim of Quakerism that all of life is sacramental, infuses our world and all that inhabits it, with immeasurable value! It gives rise to a Christian vision that can address the present ecological crisis. It allows human beings to, once again, walk with God in the Garden of Eden and even, perhaps, share this privilege with the creatures of planets yet to be found!

Does inner experience ever need external rites and could that be the sacrament of silence?

Irene Ni Mhaille died on 11 September 2022.

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Ireland Yearly Meeting Epistle – April 2010

The Yearly Meeting Epistle is a traditional greeting, written in the course of each country’s Yearly Meeting and agreed to by all the participants.  The Epistle is sent to Yearly Meetings throughout the world.

RELIGIOUS  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS (QUAKERS)

IRELAND YEARLY MEETING

Quaker House Dublin, Stocking Lane, Dublin 16
Fax/Phone/Answering – 01 4956889
e-mail – office@quakers-in-ireland.ie

To Friends everywhere

Dear Friends

We send loving greetings from Ireland Yearly Meeting met in spring sunshine from 8-11 April 2010 in Lisburn.  The underlying theme which emerged was one of being true to our vision.  Our Testimonies are a vision of a way of living.  They express our beliefs in words which leads to action. Jesus taught us to think positively and to live our lives in God’s enabling love.

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