This story and photo may be seen here:
http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2007/07715.htm
07715
November 2, 2007
Love neighbor, love self
PC(USA) Northern Ireland missionary sees signs of lasting peace
by Jerry L. Van Marter
Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE The very long peace process in Northern Ireland
after decades of The Troubles seems to be taking root, but
much remains to be done, says Doug Baker, who has served as
a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission worker there for 28
years.
I sense a significant turning of the corner in Northern
Ireland, Baker told the Presbyterian News Service in early
October while he was here preparing for Mission Challenge
07 a month-long effort to reconnect PC(USA) missionaries
with presbyteries and congregations for spiritual,
communication and financial support. Some 48 missionaries
have itinerated in 144 of the denominations 173
presbyteries.
Trust has built up, Baker said of the often-violent
conflict between majority Protestants (mostly Presbyterians)
and minority Catholics in the troubled British province.
Previous power-sharing involved only the moderates, leaving
the extremes on both sides to bring it down.
Now the extremes are in so lasting peace seems real. The
new government seems to be working.
But that is only the beginning, Baker said. Reconciliation
of the two communities is still a distant dream, leaving
most neighborhoods and schools strictly segregated. A vast
majority of the murders from the Troubles are unsolved and
theres no consensus about reconciling the past, he said.
Theres a danger that people will be content with separate
Protestant and Catholic areas and schools which will still
leave Northern Ireland divided in so many ways, he said.
That falls far short of biblical shalom and long-term
stability.
And so the church has its work and ministry cut out for it.
The church needs to take on the role of pushing for
something more, Baker said. Theres still lots of apathy
and its hard to motivate people when things are going well
and the violence is way down.
Young people are the key to Northern Irelands peaceful
future, he said. We need creative approaches such as youth
sports programs where kids learn the sports of the culture
and thereby learn each others traditions.
Economic development is another key factor in building a new
culture of peace in Northern Ireland, Baker added. We have
gone from 20 percent unemployment 15 years ago to less than
4 percent today, he said. If people have work and a
livelihood, they tend to feel more positive about everything
and peacemaking becomes more possible.
Peacemaking is central to the Gospel, Baker insisted, so we
need a ministry thrust of building peacemaking issues and
activities into the mainstream of church life. The Irish
church has developed a program called Hard Gospel.
Through a variety of means, it seeks to deliver the simple
but much-needed Christian message in this long-troubled
land, Baker said, Love neighbor, love self.
During Mission Challenge 07, Baker is itinerating in the
presbyteries of Baltimore, Blackhawk, Detroit and Lake
Huron.
http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2007/07715.htm
07715
November 2, 2007
Love neighbor, love self
PC(USA) Northern Ireland missionary sees signs of lasting peace
by Jerry L. Van Marter
Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE The very long peace process in Northern Ireland
after decades of The Troubles seems to be taking root, but
much remains to be done, says Doug Baker, who has served as
a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission worker there for 28
years.
I sense a significant turning of the corner in Northern
Ireland, Baker told the Presbyterian News Service in early
October while he was here preparing for Mission Challenge
07 a month-long effort to reconnect PC(USA) missionaries
with presbyteries and congregations for spiritual,
communication and financial support. Some 48 missionaries
have itinerated in 144 of the denominations 173
presbyteries.
Trust has built up, Baker said of the often-violent
conflict between majority Protestants (mostly Presbyterians)
and minority Catholics in the troubled British province.
Previous power-sharing involved only the moderates, leaving
the extremes on both sides to bring it down.
Now the extremes are in so lasting peace seems real. The
new government seems to be working.
But that is only the beginning, Baker said. Reconciliation
of the two communities is still a distant dream, leaving
most neighborhoods and schools strictly segregated. A vast
majority of the murders from the Troubles are unsolved and
theres no consensus about reconciling the past, he said.
Theres a danger that people will be content with separate
Protestant and Catholic areas and schools which will still
leave Northern Ireland divided in so many ways, he said.
That falls far short of biblical shalom and long-term
stability.
And so the church has its work and ministry cut out for it.
The church needs to take on the role of pushing for
something more, Baker said. Theres still lots of apathy
and its hard to motivate people when things are going well
and the violence is way down.
Young people are the key to Northern Irelands peaceful
future, he said. We need creative approaches such as youth
sports programs where kids learn the sports of the culture
and thereby learn each others traditions.
Economic development is another key factor in building a new
culture of peace in Northern Ireland, Baker added. We have
gone from 20 percent unemployment 15 years ago to less than
4 percent today, he said. If people have work and a
livelihood, they tend to feel more positive about everything
and peacemaking becomes more possible.
Peacemaking is central to the Gospel, Baker insisted, so we
need a ministry thrust of building peacemaking issues and
activities into the mainstream of church life. The Irish
church has developed a program called Hard Gospel.
Through a variety of means, it seeks to deliver the simple
but much-needed Christian message in this long-troubled
land, Baker said, Love neighbor, love self.
During Mission Challenge 07, Baker is itinerating in the
presbyteries of Baltimore, Blackhawk, Detroit and Lake
Huron.
