lion&lamb: Back Issue

Editorial: "Know Thyself"
Alwyn Thomson

Comment: Illiberal Democracy
Alwyn Thomson

From the Director: Good News People?
David W Porter

Balancing on the Edge
Tony Davidson

Grateful to God
David McMillan

Space & Freedom
David Hewitt

Imaginative Engagement
Keith Getty

No longer at ease with this dispensation?
Mike Wardlow

Living with our deepest differences
Os Guinness

Deep Questions
Johnston McMaster

Steady presence
Cecelia Clegg

No longer lonely
Joseph Liechty

Something to give
Ingri Sakaria

Bible study series: Faith in the future
David W Porter

Review: The Elusive Quest, Reconciliation in N I by Norman Porter
Bill Brown

Review: Journeying Towards Reconciliation, A Song for Ireland by Ruth Patterson
Lynda Gould

Review: Islam in Conflict:Past Present and Future by Peter G Riddell & Peter Cotterell
Alwyn Thomson

Review: The R Option - Building Relationships as a Better Way of Life by Michael Schluter & David John Lee
Anna Rankin

Review: Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman
Glenn Jordan

Summer School Poetry
Various

For God and His Glory Alone:
Study 6: Truth

For God and His Glory Alone:
Study 7: Servanthood

< Past Issues Archive

TRANSFORMATION 2003
ECONI Summer School at Greenmount

A central event in ECONI's overall programme, Summer School offers a four day experience providing opportunities for learning, reflection and personal growth and continues to be a significant event in people's lives. This year we returned to the beautiful surroundings of Greenmount College in Antrim. Peter Martin from Youth For Christ joined us to co-facilitate the "Back to the Future" strand with Lynda Gould. We are also grateful to John Dickinson, minister of Carnmoney Presbyterian Church, for leading us in Bible study on three mornings.

The event is always demanding as participants commit themselves to four days of exploration into the theological, cultural and political realities that shape life in Northern Ireland and beyond. Workshops in art, poetry and batikmaking gave creative expression to the many experiences absorbed during the course of the weekend. Artist Gillian Cooke and poet Paul Hutchinson each accompanied a strand field trip on the 12th July and gave their own expression to their experiences and reflections on the day.

TRANSFORMATION truly is an experience that can alter your life. Plan to join us in 2004.

"I came to the Summer School as a southern Irish evangelical who has lived for several years in Northern Ireland, though only recently in an almost totally Protestant context. I have long given up ever trying to do more than 'mind understand' this culture, my gut will always be different. At times I am profoundly uncomfortable with what are often valid expressions of community. How can I best live with this tension? What are the issues which I as an 'outsider' can validly question and challenge? I find it hard to 'leave well alone'. I came hoping that this would be a place where I could ask and discuss.

Over the Summer School, there has been a host of experiences, from meeting other participants to the 'bonefire' and the Twelfth parade, from discussions to quiet prayer. Different parts have touched different people in unexpected ways. Perhaps the most important experience for me is that I haven't had to hide my own cultural identity and could voice some of my deepest frustrations with the intertwining of faith and particular cultural identities in this province. I can understand how they have come about, but it can be difficult when your cultural/faith mix is unusual! We were a very mixed bunch and I learned a lot from other participants about where they were coming from as well.

One of the images reflecting the theme of transformation in the Summer School was that of the butterfly. There are several stages in becoming a butterfly – first the egg hatches and the caterpillar eats all around. Then it becomes a cocoon, a safe place of change. When it emerges, it sits in the sun to dry out its wings and then it flies off. For me Summer School has probably been a time of sitting in the sun, a chance to reflect on the eating and the changing, hopefully a precursor to being more effective in what I am called to be. Only time will tell."
Strand 1 participant.

STRAND 1: BACK TO THE FUTURE
Lynda Gould & Peter Martin

The timing of the Summer School is geared towards creating a focus for this strand, using the annual "Demonstration" of 12th July as a window on Orangeism and Protestantism. "Back to the Future" offers participants a unique opportunity to engage with Protestant identity as it is being defined in Northern Ireland in 2003.

The journey is largely experiential with some inputs from guest speakers. A visit to Fernhill House in Glencairn tells the story of the Shankill Road and its people, reflecting on industry, sport, the Royal family and the way of life experienced in the 20th Century. The museum's extensive galleries explore the signing of the Ulster Covenant in 1912, the Orange Order and the involvement of people from the Shankill in the Armed Forces, past and present.

The museum holds the key components of a Protestantism that is being defined outside of a religious identity. It is interesting that there are only 2 or 3 references to the role of church shaping life on the "Road" in all the exhibits – surprising given how many churches there actually are on the Shankill Road. Viewing the wall murals on the lower Shankill, we again saw how these have been used to tell the story of a community. There were fewer murals this year as some have been removed because of the feuding between paramilitaries. This set the scene for the bonfire, the Parade and the "Field" which have to be experienced to be understood. Something different happens as you walk beside those who own this day as the highlight of their year.

For many participants it was a valued opportunity to re-engage with aspects of their own identity that they had suppressed and to some degree denied. What does it mean to be Protestant in 2003? The emerging identity, devoid of a religious core, challenges evangelicals to consider what this means for the faith community as it tries to reconnect with a community no longer interested in religion.

STRAND 2: A SPIRITUALITY FOR SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
Derek Poole & Glenn Jordan
A need to cultivate a deeper spiritual life to sustain a long-term commitment to their work is expressed time and again in our conversations with people involved in peace and reconciliation work. This year thirteen participants took time out of their busy lives to look at what kind of spiritual vision and practice is needed if Christians are to prophetically engage with the problems of a divided community. Through a series of interactive workshops, reflective studies and group discussions we sought to define the nature of biblical spirituality and how the disciplines and practices of our faith tradition inform our commitment to peace, justice and reconciliation. During our four days together we considered many pertinent questions, including:
What responsibilities do Christians have for the transformation of society?
What is a biblical spirituality and how does this influence our social concerns?
What kind of spirituality is needed for meaningful social engagement?
What kind of vision and practice will sustain a longterm commitment to social change?
How do the spiritual practices of prayer, meditation and biblical reflection nurture social compassion?

A day field trip to Nendrum and Saul in Co Down created an opportunity for participants to discuss the legacy of the Celtic Church. The challenge was to consider the spirituality and mission of this tradition to see if there are insights and experiences that might inform a contemporary spirituality for social engagement.

Comments from participants in Strand 2:
"The spiritual disciplines taught were life changing; I got out of this strand far more than I ever would have expected."

"The week was outstanding; I was grateful to get a chance to spend time in a community where there were no rigid expectations; it was encouraging and challenging to have been gently pushed into trying new things."

"I knew in theory that my personal relationship with God needs to be connected to a wider commitment to Christian mission. I have been greatly helped to see the connection between spirituality and concern for reconciliation, evangelism and social justice."

STRAND 3: KILLING FOR GOD
Alwyn Thomson & Helen Smith
Eleven people opted to participate in the new strand "Killing for God". They spoke with a variety of accents, belonged to different age groups – and hailed from the outer regions of this country and others. We were going to look at different areas of conflict in the world where killing and religious fervour were both present – the task ahead of us was huge: to try to deal with Northern Ireland, North America and the Middle East in four days is some undertaking.

The content of this strand meant that most of its subject matter was provided in the form of a series of comprehensive talks by Alwyn, supported through handouts and followed by group discussion. Quotations and pictures accompanying each talk were posted around the room to stimulate questions and issues for participants to consider at the beginning of each session. Given the volume of new information there was to absorb people were perhaps still a little shell-shocked as we moved into discussion.

However, participants came away stimulated to read more and become better informed, some even changed their thinking about some of the issues raised.

On the twelfth we went to see a parade typical of a more rural setting at Rasharkin where the intermingling of religious imagery with cultural heritage is still strongly evident.