Belfast is burning with...?

The violence on the streets of Belfast is a sad reflection of the fact that we still have a long way to go in the path to peace in this province. The easiest thing to do is to condemn the protagonists and hail the day when peace will come with couching words of piety and distance, as the Bishops of Down and Dromore and Connor did today in a hasty and ill thought out statement. The difficult thing is to try and understand the underlying grievances and hurt of a section of our community, and why they feel so disenfranchised that they would mobilise like this and take to the streets. Of course we all want peace; of course we all believe in a God who can transform everything and bring all things to himself. But we are God's agents on this earth and in this city, and these are our people. Condemning them outright and distancing ourselves from them will not change things one iota. Whether or not we can identify with the way they think or the way they express themselves, we cannot escape the fact that here is a section of our community which feels that they have no say in their own destiny in their own land. If history teaches us anything, then it is that we ignore them at our peril. At the moment, it seems to me that they are like sheep without a shepherd. We may content ourselves with beating them off the street for the time being, but one day some one or persons will step into the breach and unleash something more terrible and plunge us into another time of "troubles". Hysterical? Overly dramatic? I don't think so. Just look at the history of this province. If we in the Church cannot provide leadership without, I hasten to add, being partisan, then someone else will, and that is guaranteed. We have made great strides in recent years to modernise the way we outreach and evangelise, and also the way we worship, but the one great thing we have yet to realise is that we cannot just put a few guitars and keyboards and a screen in front of the Church and think that we have done everything to be relevant. Our Kingdom is not of this world, we proclaim, in deference to our Lord, and so it isn't. But we are charged with building God's Kingdom right here on earth - seeking justice and peace and love - Kingdom values right here in our own context. We have failed and are failing a sizeable section of our own people by keeping them outside, through our attitudes, our statements, our pronouncements, our judementalism and in some cases denying them a way into the Church through the sacraments. Let's begin a process of listening. Let's get to the heart of the problem and lead our people forward, out of this horrible situation. "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."

Israelis or Palestinians

20th November 2012 I am aghast once more at the images that are coming in from the "Holy Land" this past week. Being from Northern Ireland I am acutely aware that there are two sides to each conflict - although the balance of power may be one sided, TWO sides are aggrieved. I find myself at a loss as to who I should be supporting. Some of my co-religionists, who also happen to be norn irish prods state that in their view the state of Israel can do no wrong. They are biblically destined to be chosen by God and always do the right thing (it never occurs to them that this line of thought is intensely unbiblical!) My friends also use the norn irish card - terrorism cannot go unanswered. 'You have to come down hard and heavy on those who are trying to destroy society and kill innocents; you can't make them think that violence pays - just look at what 30 years of soft soaping got us!' Other brothers and sister in Christ are more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. 'The Gazans are boxed in, trapped in what must be the largest concentration camp in the world, due to the Israeli blockade, which has been in operation since 2007. They have zero standard of living and suffer horrendously due to the blockade. In addition Israel is using military weapons - air, navy, army against a people who have no means to defend themselves - no army, airforce, air defences.' What is the right response? I can sympathise with both sides, and I mourn with both sides as they are deadlocked in this seemingly endless round of tit for tat and people die. The disproportionate response of the Israeli military angers me, yet I know that if Hamas and their allies could produce more accurate rockets that don't mostly land harmlessly in the desert, but hit Israeli cities and kill Israeli civilians, they would have no hesitation in doing so and using them. For the Israeli living in Southern Israel, despite the relative impotency of the rocket attacks, living with the constant threat of one actually getting through, is a daily hell. As the sirens go off, they must wonder if this spells death or injury for them. For the Palestinian locked within their own borders with a blockade against them, and being sitting ducks as the Israeli airforce pound Gaza with impunity teh feeling of helplessness and danger and frustration must be overbearing. The sides are unequally matched in this conflict, the balance of power is heavily weighted on one side, yet ordinary people are the victims. Israeli civilians and Palestinian civilians, who have little or no say over what those who purport to lead them do. "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem," the psalmist says. A wise sage of antiquity, who saw and foresaw that the holy city is only holy in name. Pray for the Holy Land and all its wonderful people

We will remember them

I always look forward to Remembrance Sunday, not least because it means that I am guaranteed to have a full Church that day. I believe that it is so important to remember all those who served in the armed forces of our nation in the two world wars and subsequent conflicts, and also those who died in the 'troubles' of this province. People who are not normally churchgoers, come to Church on Remembrance Sunday because something inside them is stirred, when they think of the sacrifice of men and women of the armed forces in fighting our common enemy in defence of peace and justice and freedom. There is a deep spiritual dimension to their remembrance which is not sated by simply watching the grand remembrance ceremony at the Albert Hall or the London Cenotaph ceremony. Something draws them to Church to do something tangible in remembrance of those who gave their lives for their country. Something draws them to pray, to give thanks,to sing praises. On that day they want the traditions of the Church, rather than some twee, dumbed down parody of liturgy. They want ritual, solemnity, respect. That's why our church was full to capacity last Sunday morning. One of the things I notice every year is that, akin to the Christmas celebrations, the poppies come out weeks beforehand. The television presenters on the main channels, and their interviewees and guests, are almost compelled to wear the poppy as an example to the nation to show their gratitude to the veterans financially by purchasing a poppy in support of he Royal British Legion. While it may be a good thing to encourage the nation to remember and be grateful, we have to remember also the need to afford the nation the same freedom that was won for us at such a cost. I also notice an increase of what I would call 'poppy nazi-ism'. Some of our politicians and other community leaders seems to spend an inordinate amount of time criticising others for choosing not to wear a poppy. Surely the veterans fought for freedom and that includes freedom to wear a poppy or not to. Choosing not to wear a poppy should not automatically be interpreted as disrespect, but I'm afraid that some of our community leaders wish to interpret it as so and bring in the sectarian card. Personally I only wear a poppy on Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday. That's my choice, and just because I do not wear it at any other times doesn't mean that I am being disrespectful. I wear my poppy with pride and in remembrance and respect of those who died, at times of my choosing. If others want to wear their poppy at all times, everywhere, that's ok with me too. I also refuse to wear a poppy on my liturgical robes. That has caused a few arguments with a few individuals, but I still exercise my right and follow my belief that no symbol of any kind should be worn on liturgical robes. As a compromise in the past couple of years, I have carried a little poppy cross in procession. This year I noticed that one of my parishioners, who had been in the Navy, did not wear a poppy, and when asked about this by myself, simply said that he was exercising his freedom. I have no doubt that he remembered his colleagues, who had fought alongside him in WW2, for I saw the tears welling in his eyes during the Act of Remembrance. This man fought against Nazi-ism. Let's honour him and the others by ensuring that Nazi-ism does not creep into our society at Remembrance time.