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Introduction:
God's Sovereignty
David Porter
Comment:
Love Your Neighbour
Michael Wardlow
Wish
You Were Here
David McMillan
Victims
of Violence
David Bolton
Celebrating
the Past
Philip Johnston
FROM SUNNY
NORN IRON
Weather Fine, Violence Awful
Wish You Were Here
Planned your holidays for July? Booked your berth on the boat for the twelfth? If not- don't bother! Why not think about "sticking around this summer"? It has long been the tradition for many evangelicals to 'get offside' over the twelfth. Those who have little sympathy for, or interest in, the Orange prefer not to be around when the marching season is at its height but given the events of the last two summers is it not time that we began to re-engage with the community at its deepest need rather than bale out? While many Christians were 'burning up' on the beaches last July, Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland were just plain burning.
Included in the lessons we in ECONI have learned over the past few years are the need to listen and the need to build relationships. This was obvious when dealing with members of the Catholic and Nationalist community but not so apparent when dealing with those in Loyal institutions who, like most of us, come from the Protestant and Unionist community. Driven into action by an abhorrence of the association of the Gospel with an Ulster Protestant/Unionist culture the last thing some of us thought of doing was to spend time understanding, listening, and engaging with those in our own community with whom we disagreed. We assumed too much knowledge, built barriers rather than bridges and were perceived as shouting from the safety of the hilltop -just like other ecclesiastical figures - rather than getting involved at the coal face.
Over the past couple of years a number of us have returned to make the old pilgrimages to the bonfires and to the fields. Some of it is not very pretty - the drunkenness, profanity or sheer primal resonance of the fire and the drum - but none of it can be written off as irrelevant or obsolete. For those who participate it is real, contemporary and at the heart of their self-definition. So I think we should be there - to listen, witness and to engage in discussion first hand.
Many of our pulpits are 'vacant' or 'supplied' over the twelfth, the very time when congregations need to hear from their pastors what the Word of God demands from us in regard to our citizenship and Christian responsibility. The gospel needs to be heard, not just over the tannoy speakers of the open air preachers at the field, but from pastors in their pulpits at a time when our community could potentially be most disorientated and traumatised.
Practical
suggestions:
1. Concerned Christians should be at the parades and the fields reflecting
back to those they know within the institutions what they hear and see.
2. We should be seeking to understand the concerns of residents' groups objecting to parades and monitoring the behaviour of protesters, bands and lodges on the ground (but not pretending to be the saviours of the situation, becoming naive meddlers or voyeurs of violence).
3. You could forward to the ECONI office reports of behaviour of protests and parades, contents of speeches and material available at demonstrations. This will help us make informed assessments of what has been happening and allow us to engage with all involved parties better informed.
4. Churches could be organising special times of prayer in homes or halls especially if there are potential confrontations in the local areas.
5. Sign up for the ECONI residential over the 10-13 of July. See the details on page 12 of Lion & Lamb.
David McMillan
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