大象传媒

Please Note

This script cannot exactly reflect the transmission, as it was prepared before the service was broadcast. It may include editorial notes prepared by the producer, and minor spelling and other errors that were corrected before the radio broadcast.

It may contain gaps to be filled in at the time so that prayers may reflect the needs of the world, and changes may also be made at the last minute for timing reasons, or to reflect current events.

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Radio 4 opening announcement

大象传媒 Radio 4. Sunday Worship this morning marks 50 years since the founding at the height of the troubles of a community in Ballycastle on the Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland to overcome religious and social division. The service is introduced by the Corrymeela Community Leader

笔谩诲谤补颈驳 脫 Tuama
Welcome by Community Leader 笔谩诲谤补颈驳 脫 Tuama. ( recorded outside )

Good morning.听 and welcome. Corrymeela is sometimes said to mean 鈥淗ill of Harmony鈥� but it鈥檚 more likely that it actually means 鈥渓umpy place鈥� - bad for crops, good for talking. So wWelcome to Corrymeela, a centre for peace and reconciliation . on the north coast of Ireland that. Here, for fifty years, relationships have been built across divides, enemies have met and become friends, fruitless arguments have become fruitful arguments, meals have been shared. We鈥檙e celebrating our anniversary with a festival this is superfluous info unless you tell us more鈥�or is the Festival called 鈥楬ill of Harmony鈥�?. Corrymeela means 鈥渓umpy place鈥� - bad for crops, good for talking.听 Hill of Harmony?I don鈥檛 understand where this phrase 鈥淗ill of Harmony鈥� comes from or fits in鈥�. Over ten thousand people a year are welcomed here. We鈥檙e going into the Cro铆, our place of prayer, named after the Irish word for 鈥渉eart鈥�, where our associated community choir today, 鈥淰oices Together鈥� will sing a prayer with words听 by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Music 1
Choir听听 (choir unaccompanied): :Prayer of Desmond Tutu
[Words: Desmond Tutu; music: James Whitbourn. Time: 1鈥� 10鈥欌�橾听听

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Padraig picks up 鈥�
Goodness is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate. For so long, Northern Ireland was known as a place of division, especially religious division. Corrymeela was started in 1965 to be an open village for all people of good will, a place where people could find love that went deeper than political or religious opinion, and could share in goodness with each other for our society. 3 of our community share their own stories.

Yvonne Naylor:
There听听Corrymeela in 1965 鈥楾he open village鈥� where all might
then鈥μ鼵onversations with our founder, Ray
When everyone could have a say
There鈥μ齀n work camps, summer programmes听
Schools and youth, and all age projects
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And then鈥μ齌he conflict, remembering, healing
听听Understanding, learning, being
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Here鈥μ齀n this lumpy crossing place
听听A resting and wrestling, inclusive space

And now鈥μ齋haring stories that we might better
Be and learn to live well together

Here鈥� 听Seated together in the Croi
听听To walk together the road of faith听听
And now鈥μ齋till on the road to finding peace, 听听
Wholeness, salaam, shalom, grace

Here and now鈥� we pray as one
That we may keep on keeping on

Rachel Gibbs:
I have no memory of a life without Corrymeela....it is my home in many ways, my place of growing, exploring and of welcome.
It is, without question, the place where I have had more moments of insight into my own humanity than I care to mention.
Corrymeela as a place of diversity is hugely important for my whole family as many of us have worked or lived in various countries. I watch my children connect with volunteers from all over the world, with people with disabilities, with members of all ages, with those laden with and those full of life and feel deeply privileged.

Beth Randall: As a small child at Corrymeela I made best friends for the weekend and fell in love with a red swing. A few years later I borrowed a friend鈥檚 skateboard for the first time - and broke my arm. And the community gathered round and cared for me and gave my mum directions to A&E as an ex-missionary doctor splinted my arm.听 As a teenager I discovered that spirituality and talking about big important things could be fun. As an overly serious young woman I found out that having fun was still a big important thing, and I made friends for life. My siblings and I once told my mum that we knew Corrymeela was somewhere that was safe, where we could just be ourselves. It still is.Sentence 1 (Yvonne Naylor: Corrymeela as a place of belonging for the past 50 years听
Sentence 2 (Rachel Gibbs: Corrymeela as a place of diversity after having returned to Ireland after years working in Tanzania)
Sentence 3 (Beth Randall: Corrymeela as a place of diversity that gave me a space to explore my life, my faith and my talents)

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Padraig听
Corrymeela has sought to build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live- the theme of our gathering hymn
Music 2 Gathering Hymn (with piano): Let us build a house where love can dwell
Let us build a house where love can dwell
And all can safely live,
听[Words and music: Marty Haugen.) Time: 3鈥� 30鈥欌�橾Could omit verse听听听听听 2.45听

Padraig听 Prayer
God of encounter
We are in the Cro铆, the place of the heart, the place of encounter.
Help us to encounter each other and to love each other.
So that we may be changed. So that we may love.
Amen.

We have come to Cro铆 from many different backgrounds.
We came as different people and we will leave as different people. It is essential that the leader also says the response if it is to work on air (do you agree Bert?)

We believe that by encountering each other鈥檚 lives and stories we will change.

Love changes us.

Love changes the way we argue, it changes the ways we disagree. We still argue. We still disagree. But when we love each other, we can find love in the midst of our differences.

We came as different people and we will leave as different people.

We know that love is the deepest calling of humanity. Yet we fail. We are gathered here in a place of peace and a place of faith, and we know that we fail each other. We are complicit in the divisions that surround us.

Love changes us.

Jesus of Nazareth was interested in people. All kinds of people. People who came to him in secret, people who came to him in light. People with needs. People with questions. People in distress, people of generosity. People of power, people in pain. Different kinds of people. And his instruction was to love one another.

We came as different people and we will leave as different people.

Love changes us.

Music 3 Hymn (with piano): Put peace into each other鈥檚 hands
Put peace into each other鈥檚 hands
And like a treasure hold it,
听[Words: Fred Kaan; music: 鈥楽t Columba鈥�. Time: 2鈥� 30鈥欌�橾听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听

Reader听 Reading 1 1.00 Laurie Randall reading from the writings of Corrymeela founder Ray Davey.
Padraig
On the first day we came to this place,, fifty years ago, some three years before the Troubles beganRay Davey, the driving force behind the establishment of the Corrymeela Community had a simple prayer. . . 鈥渢hat Corrymeela would come to be known as the Open Village 鈥� open to all of good will, who were willing to meet each other, learn from each other and work together for the good of all. 鈥淭he vision he articulated is still at the core of Corrymeela. These are his words from 50 years ago:
Laurie Randall
鈥淚 am sure that in Ireland today there is nothing more relevant and meaningful than the Christian message of liberation and hope.听 It is here that Corrymeela has it most important contribution to make.听 Indeed if we fail here, we have nothing else to give.听 I should add that when we speak of the Christian message of liberation and hope, we also imply that great word 鈥淧eace鈥�, which means far more than a permanent 鈥渃ease-fire鈥�.听 It means all that makes for the total health and well-being of society.听 Social justice, recognition of the dignity and worth of each person and total consensus.听 In a word it means that we all must work for a new society based not on privilege or power but on the quality of people.鈥�
Padraig announces hymn.听 I fancy we can go straight into this hymn
Music 4 Hymnn (unaccompanied): O God of our divided world (WAREHAM)

Reader听 Reading 2 read by Marian Brady. 听Reading Ephesians 4 v 1-6 鈥�.NSRV
A reading from Ephesians 4, beginning at verse 1.
I therefore, Paul, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. 1.00

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Music 5 Choir Anthem Ukuthula (鈥楢frican prayer for peace鈥�)
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 [Words & music: traditional South African. Time: 3.00]听

Padraig Introduces Bishop Trevor Williams听听听听 Address听
For me the power of that Zulu song is the sense that comes from the experience of suffering and their yearning for Peace, for Redemption, for Victory, for Comfort. This year there have been commemorations of the Second World War, as well as continued memories of World War One. The sacrifice, the loss, the suffering of both wars has moved us. We can be deeply touched by all those who suffer.听听 Hearing their story can strip away, the comfortable distractions that fill our lives.听 And remind us of profound and simple truths so often neglected.

In our reading, St Paul speaks powerfully from his point of suffering, a prison cell. He is writing to people he loves - members of churches he founded. He writes with clarity and simplicity about what it takes to be a Christian community.听 鈥淢ake every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.鈥� 鈥楳ake every effort鈥� I like that. - Maintaining unity and building peace can be hard work.

Anyone who has tried to live in community knows it鈥檚 not easy.听 Certainly that鈥檚 our experience in Corrymeela.听 We are all different, with different personalities, gifts opinions, preferences.听 We come from different backgrounds with different customs and traditions.听 Clashes and conflict are inevitable. But as the daily news bulletins remind us the horrendous conflicts and wars in our world are evidence that frequently we fail to deal adequately with difference.

There is another way.听 God created each of us to be unique and different from one another, so that working together, we can augment one another as we unite for the common good.听 God鈥檚 plan is for Unity and Diversity.

Like Paul, Ray Davey, the founder of the Corrymeela Community, had been听 was also a prisoner. But Ray wouldn鈥檛 have wished the comparison with St Paul to proceed any further than that. Ray had a life changing experience as a prisoner of war.听 During the Second World War, he ran a community centre for the YMCA听 in Tobruk, in Libya, for those wearied by desert warfare.听 When Tobruk fell in 1942 he was taken prisoner of war. On New Year鈥檚 day 1944, he was brought to Hohnstein Burg, an ancient castle 15 miles from Dresden.听 He acted as a chaplain to the prisoners of war at the Castle and also in the surrounding areas. On the 13th February 1945 Ray was visiting POW鈥檚 in Dresden. The conditions were dreadful and he pleaded with his German guard to let him stay on to help those flocking into the city in terrible need.听 The guard insisted that they return to the Castle as was planned. That night from his prison cell Ray saw wave after wave of Allied bombers reducing Dresden to one massive fireball.听 At the end of the war Ray was released and returned to become a university chaplain in Belfast with the question why war? Sometimes war is a necessary evil. But Ray was determined to make every effort to build peace, a better society, a more equal and just society. That clarity of vision, forged in the crucible of Dresden鈥檚 destruction led to the creation of the Corrymeela Community.

Corrymeela鈥檚 vision is about Embracing Difference, Healing Division and Enabling Reconciliation.听 Here at our Centre we seek to provide open, safe and inclusive spaces for dialogue where together people can become agents in the creation of a more just society toward founded on positive relationships and respect for diversity. But our work isn鈥檛 confined to what we do in this beautiful setting in on the North Antrim coast. Over the years Corrymeela has built up a network of friends and colleagues throughout the world who in different ways are seeking to build peace through their work in universities, NGO鈥檚 and development agencies.听 Part of being a member of Corrymeela is to live out our commitment to reconciliation where we live. In some ways the story following speaks for itself and some of the material immediately beforehand could go, perhaps? A couple of months ago I was asked to visit Mali and speak to an inter-faith conference on the subject of Religious Leaders鈥� roles in building peace.听 I spoke about Corrymeela and what has been possible when a welcoming safe space is offered, and听 how meeting together, talking and listening to those with whom we differ, can transform attitudes and open new possibilities.听 I shared with the imams Imams and Christian leaders this story from the time I worked with Corrymeela.

A busy day was drawing to a close on one of Corrymeela鈥檚 youth residentials. The young people sat in a circle on the floor here in the Croi,听 around, around a small table with a Cross, a Bible and a Candle. During a simple act of worship there was space for anyone to mention a person or situation which was on their mind so that for a few moments the group would hold that person in their thoughts or prayers.听 One girl took the opportunity and said, 'I would like you all to pray for a man in prison tonight.听 He is very worried and his wife and children are also very worried. In the morning he is returning to court to receive his sentence.听 I would like you to pray for him'.听 As they left the Croi that night one of our Corrymeela volunteers asked her, who was it, you asked us to pray for?听 She said, 鈥楬e鈥檚 the man who murdered my father.鈥�

How can a young person befriend the person who has caused her such loss and pain鈥�.?听 The journey of forgiveness and reconciliation takes different paths for different people.听 And indeed it may take that young girl a lifetime to live into that prayer, but she said it, she meant it, she had started a remarkable journey. The memory of that girl has stuck with me down the years, because she has taught me that at the core of Peacemaking, at the core of reconciliation, is not a technique or skill, it is a costly commitment, a commitment to befriend the other.听

This is Good News to offer the world.听 As we follow Jesus the befriender, we are sharing God鈥檚 loving concern for a suffering world听 maintaining the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.鈥� AMEN听
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Music 6

Choir听听 A 鈥榩rayer for Corrymeela鈥�
Here be the place of those who do your sacred will;
听[Words: Ray Simpson; music: 鈥楧anny Boy鈥�.} Time: 1鈥� 25鈥欌�橾听

Padraig听 A prayer for Corrymeela, words by Ray Simpson.
+ 3 readers Pauline McCann, Maeve Walsh and Laurie Randall

笔谩诲谤补颈驳
听Corrymeela鈥檚 symbols are the Turf Cross, a lit candle and an open Bible. We turn now to prayer, using these symbols which are present here in the Croi.

Pauline As we see the Turf cross, we think of the land from which this turf came. May we, people of this beautiful and burdened land, find ways of living well together. May we who honour God, honour each other, honour the earth and honour our deepest humanity. Lord Hear us.
LORD GRACIOUSLY HEAR US

Maeve As we look at the candle, we think of how a small light can be a comfort for the lost and distressed.听 We pray for forgiveness for the times when we have caused despair and we pray for courage to confess our limitations and to light candles of hope in the hidden corners of our world.
Lord hear us.
LORD GRACIOUSLY HEAR US

Laurie As we look at the open bible, we think of the stories of the strangers in the gospels. Jesus treated strangers as if their lives were sacred texts. He touched those who had been marginalised, welcomed those who were excluded and listened to those who had been ignored. In this place of encounter, may we treat every story as a sacred text.
Lord hear us.
LORD GRACIOUSLY HEAR US

Padraig We turn now to the words of prayer, taught to us by Jesus.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallow'd be thy name.
Thy kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil
for Thine is the kingdom the power and the glory for ever and ever.听
AmenOur Father鈥�.

Lord鈥檚 Prayer听听听听听听听听听
Closing Hymn听 n (with piano): Be thou my vision [4 verses - time: 2鈥� 50鈥欌�橾 听 听

Padraig The Blessing听

In Irish, there鈥檚 a blessing for every ordinary moment, from dawn to dusk to dawn.

May we be blessed with friends, old and new
May we be blessed with forgiveness, given and received
May we be blessed with faith, to hold and to heal.

AMEN

Recessional Song: (unaccompanied): Come with me for the journey is long听 [Words & music: traditional South African.]

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