Virtual Methodist

28 years ago I headed off to university in Edinburgh kicking the dust of Northern Ireland off my proverbial sandals, never intending to return, like many of my generation, particularly on the Protestant/Unionist side of the divide. I had had enough of the Troubles in my native statelet... they had been going on for most of my life, and by that stage I felt, quoting the words of my least favourite Shakespeare play "A plague on both your houses." 3 years later, however, a group of people some of whom I knew, most of whom I didn't, came together as Evangelical Contribution on Northern Ireland (ECONI) to draft and release a document entitled "For God and his Glory Alone". The title was a conscious and direct challenge to the motto of the UVF and mental framework of many Ulster protestants brought up on the mythologuy of Carson and the Somme etc - "For God and Ulster", which too often got reversed in practice with people putting Ulster (or at least the s...

Here's this morning's Thought for the Day on Good Morning Ulster , prompted by last week's superb BBC NI documentary about Alec Reid's role in the dramatic events of 25 years ago and how this prompted his ongoing efforts at peacemaking. As noted in the comment below the image to the left apparently originated from the camera of Sam Knox. Check out his other work on   www.shotbysam.com . Apologies to the artist for the previously unauthorised use... Although yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day, it was a mixed weekend for Irish rugby fans – The women won their first ever grand slam, but their male counterparts slumped to ignominious defeat. Yet despite the Celtic gloom that enveloped me I reminded myself that it’s only a game… and, that no-one had died. Because all through Saturday my mind kept going back 25 years. I was studying in Edinburgh then, having deliberately left behind a Northern Ireland riven by hatred and violence. That year, like this, Ireland had...