Hey everybody. I know it’s been a long time since I last blogged so I’ll try and make this one count. Life has been pretty good around here. We’re really busy trying to get things ready to move back into the church sanctuary for Easter Sunday. In case you didn’t know we have been having Sunday services in the church hall since we arrived in September, so this is a pretty big thing not only for the congregation but for us as well. Personally I’m excited because they’re putting in a decent sound system, so the guitar group (which is sort of becoming a worship team) will be able to practice properly (there’s a hint of Northern Irish lingo for you). Things are starting to wind down over here. We just had our Boy’s Brigade (sort of like scouts, but more military themed) display night on Friday. All of the parents turned out to see the show we’d put on. The kids did a really decent job, and I won the “stick of doom” competition (a progressively rising bar one has to clear by jumping off of a small trampoline). Thanks to all of my practice on the trampoline at home I can jump higher than anyone else in Tigers Bay. We also had our last official Youth Club of the year on Saturday night. Needless to say the schedule is clearing up nicely and I’ll have a bit more time to spend on un-official business. I’m hoping to be able to spend some time around Tigers Bay just hanging out with our youth club kids, and spend a night a week at a park in case anyone wants to learn to play ultimate!
Tonight is our first Palm Sunday Community Service at Holy Family Parish Church (the local catholic church). We’re really hoping for a good cross-community turnout. I’m really excited about it. I get to play in a real praise band for the first time since I’ve been here.
We could definitely use some pray in the finishing strong category. Homesickness has been pretty heavy this week. It would be really easy for us to simply quit trying now that some of the programs we’re involved with are slowing down for the summer, but we really want to stay present here, however difficult it may be. Needless to say we’re really looking forward to seeing all of you when we get home. July 28 in case you were wondering. We’ll be hanging around New London for most of August so make sure to come and see us!
Peace out Playas.
Kevin
This past weekend, we had the privilege of attending a peacemaking conference put on by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. I believe that Jess has also written a bit about this so I’ll apologize ahead of time if our thoughts overlap.
The conference basically did two things. It gave different churches who are doing cross community work (work between unionist (protestant) and nationalist (catholic) communities) an opportunity to share what they’ve been doing and how its been successful.
The second was to allow people to ask questions about the cross community work that different churches are doing, the problem of peace in Belfast, and general issues relating to the troubles. One of the questions posed to the panel of experts (including the head of the Corrymeela Community, a catholic priest, and a gentleman who runs a cross-community center) was about how, from what they’ve seen, “catholic’s seem more willing to do cross-community work than protestants do”. The panel speculated that it could be due to many protestant’s belief that catholics are not Christians. Although this is true, I don’t think it really speaks to the heart of the matter, simply because the issue between protestants and catholics here is not religious, but political (see Jess's blog for an explanation of this). I think that the question is entirely unfounded and that there are just as many protestants (not)willing to explore cultural and political diversity as there are catholics. In Northern Ireland because one is protestant or catholic, society forces them into a specific mold. Protestants and catholics here (stereotypically speaking) watch different news programs, go to different shops and schools, read different newspapers, have different perspectives on social issues, and live in different communities. Because of this a protestant, who sees primarily unionist people, religious or not, all day long knows that many more unionist people than they do catholic. One of the only reasons they would know someone in the catholic/nationalist community is if that person broke the mold. The only catholics/nationalists a protestant/unionist would interact with would be one who was willing to do cross-community work; whereas, on an everyday basis the same person would see and interact with at least a handful of protestant/unionists who would despise the catholic/nationalist community.
Perspective is an interesting beast to tackle in this context. Everything is influenced by one’s perspective, and the two groups that are at odds have entirely different perspectives on just about everything. I am convinced that the only thing that can bring people on both sides together, for a lasting relationship, is love and commitment to Christ. This “catholics aren’t Christian” talk has to stop, and we need to reach across the divide with the same amount of love and compassion and self sacrifice as God did for us on the Cross.
Orientation has been quite good. Honestly though, I'm kinda sick of talking about our year in Northern Ireland. I just want to be there and begin to experience it.
Jess wrote a whole lot about the details of orientation, so I'm not gonna go into it too much. I think that we've been really well prepared by everyone here, so don't worry about us to much. We finally got to talk to a former YAV that was placed in Northern Ireland last night. The whole week there's been someone here for everyone from all the other sites to talk to about there experience in their countries, but no one for us. That being said, it was a real relief to talk to someone who has physically, emotionally, and mentally walked the same road that we're going to. She set aside a few of our fears, some false expectations, and basically told us we are going to have an amazing year.
I'm gonna get back to packing now. Skype us if you want to hear more.
Kevin
This is my blog. Check in semi-regularly for updates about my life. Jess just created this today and is really excited (and I'm quite proud of her). Because of that this first entry will be quite short as she really wants to use her blog.
Keep us in your prayers and thoughts as, although we are really excited about our upcoming trip, there are a lot of unknowns floating about.
Blessings, Kevin.
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