Wednesday and Thursday in Belfast

May 11, 2007 by Dottie Byers.

We have met some very interesting and hard-working people in the last few days. It has been a blessing and a privilege to meet those who work in the trenches each day of their lives. Father Jerry Reynolds of the Clonard Monastery has been for many years one of the most influential people in the peace and reconciliation movement here. We met him yesterday after a novena mass at the beautiful church that is part of the monastery. He is a Redemptorist priest and his uncle was a pioneer in reconciliation efforts in the late 1940’s and 1950’s. In fact, when he met Ian Paisley a few weeks ago for the first time the Reverend Paisley mistook him for Father Jerry’s uncle! He told us about beginning the prayer and bereavement work with Methodist minister Reverend Sam Burns where they work as a team to visit the families of the bereaved on both sides. He indicated that it was depressing work that for a time was taking place five or six times a week. Harry and Maura work with him as part of a Catholic reconciliation organization who visit Protestant churches. Harry brought tears to all of our eyes when he told us the story of being called from work to his home to find his wife Maura badly beaten and his daughter having barely escaped being murdered by gun. Two of their Catholic neighbors, angry that they were trying to work with Protestants had knocked on the door and demanded to see him. When he was not there, they prepared to murder a teenage daughter with a shot in the head. Still, despite these experiences, they are happy and optimistic people who consider Tuesday’s new government a “miracle” and are looking forward, forgiving and forgetting the past.

In the evening we met with members of Springfield Methodist Church and friends of the church in the community. We all told stories and listened to there’s. We were impressed with these older folks who continued to come to the church even when others were scared away. These people would walk in the midst of a riot to rescue a fellow women’s group member and get them to the church. They served us tea and biscuits afterwards and I even got a lift home with one of the women.

Yesterday we all got to listen to a history of the troubles in Ireland that go back to the 1100’s discussed by the Reverend Dr. Dennis Cooke, who is a retired president of the Methodist Theological College, a superintendent of the Methodist Church in Ireland and the author of a book on Ian Paisley. He, too, feels optimistic for the future.

This morning we planned a church service for the congregation on Sunday morning. We are doing the whole service. Fancy that! It is our gift to the congregation.

Today we are continuing to hear more guest speakers from the community, finish up some work in the building, and will be attending a crafts class conducted by the good sisters of the Curraugh Community next door. Then we are going out for an evening of Irish pub music.

We are well-taken care of and welcomed everywhere we go. It will be hard to leave these people next week. We already feel a bond, an attachment.

Time to move on and start this day. I hope it lightens up weather-wise. Not raining, but a bit overcast.

Peace, Dottie

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