大象传媒

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One of my happy memories of this summer was the 50th anniversary festival at Corrymeela, Northern Ireland鈥檚 oldest peace and reconciliation centre. Located on the stunningly beautiful North Antrim coast, the Corrymeela community听started before the 30 years of 鈥淭he Troubles鈥� and continues to work alongside fractured communities to this day. I remember in the 1970s being transported up to Corrymeela in a minibus along with other kids to get away from the violence in Belfast. It was a place of safety and respite at the height of the Troubles. At the festival this summer I read an extract from my memoirs recounting听my first visit to Corrymeela as a 12-year-old boy. Some of the volunteers who had organised fun activities for cheeky, longhaired Belfast children like me listened with smiles and tears on their faces. It was an opportunity for me to say thank you to people who were the quiet peacemakers during a time when it was easier to retreat behind the barricades with your own side.

In 1971 Coventry Cathedral presented Corrymeela with the Coventry Cross of Nails for its work of reconciliation.

It was on this day in 1940 that German bombers devastated Coventry.. Following the destruction of the Cathedral that day, the church made a commitment not to revenge, but to forgiveness and reconciliation. It was that same remarkable spirit of reconciliation that touched me deeply as a child visiting Corrymeela in 1975, and which still inspires me today.

In words from the Coventry Litany of Reconciliation:

Lord God, forgive the hatred, which divides nation from nation,
Inspire us to be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave us.

听

Amen