Cities of Sanctuary (and bridging the divide in Lurgan)

I attended a Community Relations Showcase Evening in Lurgan last night, which was one of many events being held this week as part of Northern Ireland’s Community Relations Week.  Lurgan is a former market town with an invisible (to outsiders like myself) line drawn down the middle of it – Catholic at one end and Protestant at the other with absolute segregation and very little overlap.  As a result of its split population, the town suffered much during the Troubles.  Last night was a platform to present the diverse array of work that local community organisations are doing there in an attempt to build relationships and bridge the divide.  We heard presentations from teenagers who spoke articulately of the youth groups they attend and the peacebuilding they’re involved in, we were entertained by a local cross-community choir, and we listened to Paddy and Jock – one Republican ex-IRA and the other Loyalist ex-army and UDR – who talked with humour and humility of their difficult personal journeys from hatred to cross-community work and friendship based on honesty, debate and respect for their differences.

The key-note speaker was Rev Dr Inderjit Bhogal, leader and CEO of the Corrymeela Community on the north coast of Northern Ireland.  He gave a six word summary of Corrymeela’s work – embracing difference, healing division, enabling reconciliation – and shared some thoughts on own his personal vision for the future.  He also showed us a video (see below) about the City of Sanctuary movement that he initiated in his former hometown of Sheffield Read the rest of this entry »