The Church an ideal vehicle to bring us together

The Minister said a myriad of people from both communities had lost their lives, while a multitude would carry the visible and invisible scars of conflict to their graves: “We have hurt each other and we have been hurt by each other. Notwithstanding, we must move forward and Lord Saville’s Bloody Sunday Report has opened a door of opportunity allowing Roman Catholics, Protestants, Nationalists, Unionists, Republicans and Loyalists to see how it is time to turn to each other, not turn on each other.”

He said “co-existence and not co-annihilation” was what was currently needed and the Church was “the ideal vehicle to encourage people of all ages to love their neighbour, respect difference, promote good relations and contribute to building a better-shared society”.

“Every community is characterised by a particular set of dynamics and Derry/Londonderry is no exception. Consequently, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland could not easily overlook the long-standing civic protocol of including church and state dignitaries at city-based events. Choosing to disregard so widely an accepted custom and practice would be an impediment to the fostering of good local relationships within the walled city. Therefore, the decision to make available an additional twenty invitations to the local Presbytery for the Opening Night of the 2013 General Assembly in Derry/Londonderry is constructive.

“The General Assembly’s decision to deviate from the normal venue of Belfast and to decamp not to Dublin, the second most frequented venue, but to Ireland’s fourth city, Derry/Londonderry is to be warmly welcomed. The island’s largest Protestant denomination last converged on the Maiden City for its Annual Assembly in 1933.

Aside from the predictable routine business sessions associated with the various Departments of the Church’s work and witness throughout Ireland and overseas, there must be programmed opportunities for Presbyterians, during their week in the city, to engage with Derry/Londonderry’s population. This could take the form of specific activities/events/exhibitions etc. that would enable the largely Nationalist citizens of Northern Ireland’s second city to acquire a greater understanding of and appreciation for Presbyterianism. “Simultaneously, by their interaction and participation in bespoke ‘fringe ventures’, Presbyterians could become better acquainted with people, made in the image of God and equally loved by God, but who have a different cultural, political and religious identity,” he said.

“While it will never be possible, this side of heaven, to achieve unison amongst the various Churches and acknowledging how there will always be theological differences between the various Churches, it ought, at the very least, to be an aspiration of every Church, to seek after greater Christian harmony. If by God’s grace we can live in harmony with one another, this will surely assist us, with one voice, to glorify the same God and Father of the same Lord Jesus Christ.”