Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est

Less than 12 hours

2011-07-26T14:25:00.001-07:00

With less than 12 hours left in Northern Ireland, this is my last posting from Belfast. (I will be putting up a few more upon my return home, including some pictures!)

This past week has been brilliant.

There has been a special visit by a certain YAV who had been serving in Kenya, there were lots of delicious goodbye meals with wonderful people, and the weather cooperated for my last few trips to the North Coast, the Mournes, and Cave Hill.

My departure brings mixed emotions that I can best sum up as this:

I am satisfied that my year as a volunteer has come to a successful completion, I am excited to drive again, I am sad to leave all of the wonderful friends that I have made in Belfast, I am so looking forward to catching up with everyone in the U.S., but I am also conscious that I am not the same person I was when I left for my YAV year.

What a crazy, wonderful, and slightly overwhelming place to be in.

But for now, as surreal as it is to type this, in grace and peace,

a northern ireland yav-alumnus.

Rainy and grey

2011-07-18T03:26:00.000-07:00

Well, the weather here is like something out of a Hemingway novel.

It's cold. It's rainy. Lots of goodbyes are being said.

Emotional wringing of my soul.

However, as Annie reminds us, the sun will come out tomorrow. (Well, maybe not in Northern Ireland, but it sounds like it's sunny throughout most of the U.S.)

Last week was really interesting. I went to one of the 12th July parades and visited Galway with two people from EBM (Aran Islands! Cliffs of Moher!). Pictures to be posted, I promise.

This week is full of lasts: last Friendship Circle outing, last Sunday morning service, last gathering of the YAVs, last hiking trip into the Mournes, last dinners with lots of people.

But there is a lot of happiness in those occasions.

It's been a great year with the wonderful people of East Belfast Mission, great memories have been made with the YAVs, and so many great discussions/reflections/lessons that have been had and learned during this time in Belfast.

Words in this blog really can't capture the effect that this year has had on me...

But I am getting excited to see you all very shortly.

Just wanted to touch base with you all in a short post.

Stay tuned for pictures and more stories in the next few days.

In grace and peace. :)

The Final Month!!!!

2011-07-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhh, so hard to believe that it is the start of my final month in Northern Ireland.

June was absolutely wonderful and flew by so quickly.

From Mama Foltz visiting to the YAV retreat on Iona to traveling to New Orleans for the Fund for Theological Education conference, what a full month.

All of my regular activities around EBM have wrapped up for the year. July is very much the travel month for people in Belfast. (Vacations are timed to get out of town during the parade season.)

Speaking of parade season, I saw my first parade in Belfast last night.

It was one of the early 12th parades... in memory of the WWI battle, the Battle of the Somme.

The parade passed by on the street off of which we live and was definitely a unique experience.

Orange orders from all over Belfast and other cities in Northern Ireland were out marching in full glory - from uniforms to pipe and drum bands to colorful orange banners.

Definitely a taste of what to expect on the 12th coming up...

For those of you in need of a history lesson, let me recap the significance of the 12th:

William of Orange (yes, of William & Mary fame) fought the Catholic James II at the Battle of the Boyne on July 1st 1690.

Due to James II's Catholic faith, parliament had invited William to take the throne... Not entirely random as his wife, Mary II, was the daughter of James II.

And you thought you had family problems.

Well, the Battle of the Boyne pitted James II's Irish supporters (and some French support) against the Protestant supporters of William.

William won the day, and in effect, ensured British control of Ireland for the next couple hundred years.

So, Orange orders (similar in practice to Masonic Lodges/ Elk Lodges/ name any male-dominated orders lodges) were first formed in 1796 and are extremely pro-Unionist (aka pro-British).

So, while the battle of the Boyne took place on July 1st in the Julian calendar, it is now celebrated today by the dates of the Gregorian calendar - July 11th into the 12th.

Not sure what the 12th has in store this year, but from the bonfires currently being constructed (many of them having large quantities of tires) and the recent skirmishes suggest that it could be a really interesting day.

In the meantime, I am trying to enjoy my last moments in Belfast and make the most of continuing opportunities to reflect on how to bring peace to a divided society.

It was really interesting to hear Irish President Mary McAleese's thoughts on the matter when she came to visit EBM last week. Yes, I did get to shake her hand!!!

She actually grew up in Belfast, and her husband grew up in Short Strand, the Catholic neighborhood of East Belfast.

She is an extremely intelligent speaker, and it was great for all members of the community represented (from paramilitary leaders to community workers) to hear the reminder that while there is much work to be done, there is hope.

In peace and grace.

Summer Tensions

2011-06-21T16:32:00.000-07:00

I arrived back in Belfast on Monday afternoon to 60 degree weather that felt wonderful after the 110 degree heat index in New Orleans.

I will post another response soon on the YAV trip to Iona and my trip to the Fund for Theological Education conference in New Orleans...

I just wanted to post a quick word that, if you have been following the recent headlines for the UK, Belfast has been making the news.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13869210

The flashpoint is about 1/4 of a mile from where I work and about a mile from where I live. (I can hear the helicopters buzzing around as I type this.)

The summary on the site covers it all:

The riot in east Belfast was another reminder that Northern Ireland has a peace process but it does not have peace.

The number of walls between Protestant and Catholic areas has risen in recent years rather than fallen.

Outbreaks of violence are relatively rare these days, but tension in some areas continues to simmer.

One night of rioting normally leads to another in Northern Ireland. The challenge facing the police is to stop an isolated problem escalating.

So, no need to worry about me - I don't live near the flashpoint.

But please pray for the people that do. Pray for the cross community women's group whose poetry presentation tonight had to be postponed; pray for the cross community youth gathering which was canceled.

Trust takes time to build and all too easily crumbles when the uncertainty of violence and mob rioting brings flashbacks to times of fear.

The 'peace walls' remain and are added to in number. 'Peace walls' such as the one that provides the landmark for the current site of the rioting. '

So many factors playing into the current tension that there is no simple answer to 'why now?', just the general response of heavy sighs and shrugs of shoulders.

Pray for the parents, pensioners, and children who can't sleep with helicopters buzzing overhead and petrol bombs bursting nearby.

Pray for the people in the area - both victims and abusers - that all might come to know peace with themselves and with others in the place they live.

In grace and peace.

Traveling Mercies

2011-06-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

Well, it's back to 'normal' life in Belfast... But not for long!

My visit with Mama Foltz was absolutely fantastic. Absolutely.

Our trip to London was awesome. We did the tourist-y stops: everything from Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral (yes, we made it up to not just the Whispering Gallery, but even up to the Stone Gallery: http://www.stpauls.co.uk/Cathedral-History/Climb-the-Dome... thought Mama Foltz might not make it down with her heart still beating.); we also visited the Globe Theatre (such a good feel to the place - it's definitely on my list to see a performance there!), Kensington Palace, Hampton Court Palace, the Courtauld Gallery, the National Gallery, the Handel House Museum, the Churchill War Rooms, the Tower of London, and so much more.

We also got the chance to get tea with one of my W&M friends who had been studying in London and enjoy a dinner with my second cousin who is also a student in London.

We sat two feet away from the choir during Evensong at Westminster, took a boat from the Tower of London to Westminster, and wandered in the light rain around Hyde Park/ Kensington Gardens.

Overall, a simply splendid holiday that I got to enjoy with my mom. :)

She was a trooper who kept up with my fast paced walking, absolutely clicked with the people of EBM as she tagged along to activities with me, and even spent the night in Newark last night as her plane to St Louis was delayed until this morning. She is a superstar.

Yesterday and today have been busy catch-up days at work full of e-mailing, catching up on some smaller projects, leading a Bible study last night, and general planning of activities.

This next week marks the conclusion of most of the children and youth programs at EBM until summer schemes later in the summer.

Unfortunately, I will not be in Belfast this next week for these activities.

A little bittersweet: I am sad to be missing the epic end of the school year festivities, but there are adventures awaiting!

The YAVs head out for our last retreat of the year to IONA, SCOTLAND. For those who are unfamiliar with Iona, it is a small island off of Scotland which holds tight to its early Celtic Christianity roots.

The group will then head to Edinburgh for a couple days there, but I will be catching a plane back to the United States...

I applied to a fellowship program through the Fund for Theological Education called 'Volunteers Exploring Vocation.' I was accepted to the program which comes with monetary support and also the opportunity to meet with other soon-to-be seminarians who have also done a year of service.

I will be in NEW ORLEANS, LA, from Wednesday to Sunday for a conference during which we will have the opportunity to do a service project within the community off of which we will base many of our discussions for the weekend.

It should be absolutely fascinating... and hot.

I received an e-mail a few days ago with the main packing requirement being 'hot weather clothes.'

So, I will be going from chilly 50-degree Belfast/Iona to humid 100-degree New Orleans.

This is going to be a fun packing job. :)

So, adventures are in store; never a dull moment in the life of a YAV.

Traveling mercies are much needed.

In peace and grace.

LONDON!

2011-06-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

Hey all -

It has been a very full week since Mama Foltz arrived!

Along with sightseeing Belfast, she has been tagging along with me to my weekly activities - getting to experience Friday Fusion, Kids GAP, and Friendship Circle, to name a few.

It's been great!

My mom, unfortunately, did get to experience the chaos of last Friday when there were 14 bomb threats made throughout the Belfast area, in effect, bringing all traffic coming in and going out of the city to a complete stand still.

[For more details, see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13576820]

I thought the excuse of 'I was late to work because of the bomb threat' was a thing of the past. Unfortunately, it was the truth as we rushed to make it to Friday Fusion on time. (And I say 'rushed' - sat on a bus in standstill traffic for an hour on what would otherwise be a 15 minute journey.)

On a much happier note though, this weekend, we are off to LONDON! We fly over tomorrow morning at 7 a.m.!!! (I have never been to London before; so this is very, very exciting especially since it's with my mom!)

Also, happy 100th anniversary to the Titanic! In East Belfast on May 31, 1911, 150,000 people lined up for the launching of the Titanic down a slipway into the Belfast Lough. It was then floated into a dry dock to be outfitted further.

So good night, and I will post further reflections upon my return.

In grace and peace.

A Time to Pray

2011-05-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

"And after the storm,
I run and run as the rains come
And I look up, I look up,
on my knees and out of luck,
I look up.

Night has always pushed up day
You must know life to see decay
But I won't rot, I won't rot
Not this mind and not this heart,
I won't rot.

And I took you by the hand
And we stood tall,
And remembered our own land,
What we lived for.

And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,

With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair."

-- After the Storm (Mumford & Sons)

I have been listening to Mumford & Sons a lot recently.

I love their lyrics; I love their musicality; I love the depth of their ruminations on life.

It's been a heck of a Spring in Northern Ireland, and there is a lot to ruminate on.

The murals depicting masked gunmen recently put up in East Belfast, whatever the motives, are the most visible reminder of where I am.

Multiple high-profile bomb threats and scares - from a bomb planted on a bus going into Dublin prior to the Queen's visit to a coded bomb threat which interrupted the main part of a major motor bike race on the North Coast - serve as further reminders that the extremist Nationalist groups of Northern Ireland are still active.

And as part of preparations being made for the 12th of July (the celebration of Protestant William of Orange defeating Catholic James II), the extremist Unionist groups are also hard at work: Union Jacks are being strung high, curbs are being given a fresh coat of red, white, and blue paint, and bonfires are already massive.

Sectarianism is in full bloom.

If there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens,

then this is a time to pray.

("And after the storm, I run and run as the rains come. And I look up, I look up, on my knees and out of luck, I look up..")

So! Would you pray with me from wherever you are?

Get a piece of paper and some pens (aka markers).

Now, it's time to pray in color.

As you pray, simply 'doodle' on the page - whether writing words, drawing pictures, or simply creating patterns on the page.

And ponder these words as you do so:

"And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,

With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair."

[Can I get an amen?]

Through the thistle and weeds, the buds of hope still appear.

The Queen spoke in Irish during her visit!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13447236

And despite ash clouds and tornadoes, Mama Foltz is on her way to Belfast. :)

And so we stand, hand in hand, united in what we stand for. Let this be a land where the time for peace, love, mending, embracing, dancing, laughing, building, and healing is now.

In grace and peace.

- on the side of a pub in Belfast-

Pictures!

2011-05-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

Here are a few images from the past month in Belfast:

Picture 1: The Seder meal at East Belfast Mission that I helped to organize!

Picture 2: a wonderful crowd turned out for the delicious meal and Seder celebration

Picture 3: A trip to Dublin! While March was daffodil month, April was the month for exquisite beds of tulips!

Picture 4: No trip to Dublin would be complete without a visit to the Guinness factory. Whether you adore Guinness or think it tastes foul, it's a fascinating tour!

Picture 5: White Park Bay!

Picture 6: EBM's church weekend away was held at a hostel overlooking White Park Bay, located on the North Coast of Northern Ireland.

Picture 7: The following day, upon my return from White Park Bay, I proceeded to walk the Belfast City Marathon with Allison and Doug!

Picture 8: Belfast City Hall was our starting point!

Picture 9: The starting line.

Picture 10: Following 7 hours of walking 26.2 miles, we are still alive and smiling. And we got medals!

Politics

2011-05-09T09:51:00.001-07:00

If you've been following the BBC this past week, you would know that it's been election time in the UK.

In Northern Ireland, it was time for both parliamentary and council elections.

Thankfully, unlike in the U.S., the campaigning period is only for a short period of time during which politicians put up billboards and general campaign signs around neighborhoods.

The signs put up in neighborhoods provide better dividing lines than any mural or flag. If you weren't sure before, you knew then whether you were walking through a neighborhood inclined toward Sinn Fein or the DUP.

To break that down further, let me explain the basic political party divisions in NI.

In this election for residents of East Belfast to elect 3 members of parliament, they had a choice from 17 candidates of 13 different parties.

For a full list of them, see here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/election2011/constituency/html/36710.stm

Political parties still carry a lot of unfortunate ties to the times of the Troubles. Sinn Fein is now recognized as a political party but for many years was not allowed any voice at all in Northern Ireland. (When showing footage of Gerry Adams, the BBC wouldn't actually play his own voice; they would have a BBC reporter read from a transcript of his speech.) Sinn Fein is primarily left-wing and republican.

When I asked one Protestant whether they could ever vote for a Sinn Fein candidate, even if they agreed with their left-wing politics, the response was that they could not vote for a party that invented kneecapping.

The Democratic Unionist Party likewise rose out of a side of the Troubles. As the name suggests, the party's main platform is unionism, and it's roots are primarily in right-wing, fundamentalist Protestantism. Similar to Sinn Fein, the party has had ties with Unionist and Loyalist paramilitaries through the years. Most Northern Irish political parties are similarly implicated.

The other primary parties in this election that have roots in the Troubles are the Social Democratic & Labour Party (which has a platform of reunification/ nationalism), the Traditional Unionist Voice, and the Ulster Unionist Party.

The main non-sectarian party is the Alliance Party, who did not win a seat in Westminster in a general election until May 2010.

So even though there is a diverse group of political parties to choose from, the political parties are so tied to sides of the Troubles, that one's choice is basically limited according to the community or on which side of the conflict in which one grew up.

But through all of the political happenings, life goes on in East Belfast.

The recent development have been the new murals going up along the Newtownards Road, just down the street from EBM. Here is a news article about it:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13335641

Through all of the devolved governments, power sharing treaties, and the semblance of peace, there is still so much tension, distrust, and prejudice underneath the surface of Belfast.

In peace and grace.

Sunburned in Northern Ireland

2011-05-04T01:51:00.000-07:00

Well, for those of you who were wondering, I successfully walked the Belfast City marathon!!!

Doug Baker, my flatmate Allison, and I walked the 26.2 miles in just over 7 hours, averaging 16.5 minute miles. Whew!

While my feet didn't blister, there were definitely some hot spots of friction, and my joints were extremely sore when we got home that evening. A hot shower has never felt so good!

My commentary of the marathon would go something like this:

The marathon route itself was probably the most challenging part. Our first loop was out to East Belfast which was easy enough except for the hordes of people we were walking with. (It's difficult to set a pace when you are surrounded by people doing the fun-walk of only 9 miles.) Then, we broke free of those slackers, headed out to West Belfast, and walked through the peace walls there. That was really interesting until the second half of West Belfast/ into the first part of North Belfast was extremely uphill. (And this is about the point when lunch time should have been happening... And the nutrition stations were all out of food, aka oranges. Walking through the runners' cup and orange peel rubbish was subpar.)

But, then we got to the downhill section. Wheeeee!

Well, little did we know, that after the couple miles along the Belfast lough (which was scenic enough), the industrial estate was waiting. One word for it: grim.
We got out of that though and headed back into city centre. We headed along the River Lagan towards Ormeau park. And lo and behold! We were walking into Ormeau park and could hear the crowds at the finish.

But don't be fooled, we still had 3 miles left to walk. So back out of the park we went and walked all away around it.

At last, we had reached the final 100m. So, Doug, Allison, and I ran it to the finish! Hoorayyyyyyyyyy. Time to finally eat, sit down, and stretch after 7 hours of walking.

A mile has never seemed so long.

Funny enough, the sorest part of my body when I woke up on Tuesday was the sunburn on the back of my neck!!! (I remembered to put sunscreen - or sun cream as it's called here - on my face and arms but forgot my neck!)

This past weekend up on the North Coast was absolutely wonderful. The company, food, scenery, and games of Uno were absolutely fantastic. Back to 'normal' work this week.

In grace and peace from sunny Belfast.

Post-Lenten Post!

2011-04-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! As we continue our journeys through this Easter season, I wanted to pause for a moment though and reflect back on the season of Lent.

If I were to pick two words to sum-up this Lent and my YAV year overall, it would be 'being' and 'grace.'

Being. This is something that I think everyone struggles with.

Just be yourself, right? But how does one begin to 'be'?

Making this even harder is that our interactions with other people are often based primarily around doing. Even when we meet someone, our first question is all too often, 'what do you do?'

While you can learn a lot about a person's interests by knowing what they do for a living, the question, at its most basic level, often implies that we must do something to begin to have an identity.

The YAV program though encourages volunteers to simply 'be' first and then 'do.'

This was brought full circle on the Monday of Holy week.

The YAVs visited a Benedictine monastery in Rostrevor, about an hour south of Belfast, and we attended the morning Eucharist service.

The homily was given by a Presbyterian minister, the brothers' chanting was absolutely beautiful, and it was truly an international service as five of the monks are French, one is Mexican, and the head of the monastery is Northern Irish.

We had the pleasure of talking with one of the French brothers after lunch time, and he talked about his journey to becoming a monk. His comment that stuck out the most to me was the fact that he could be a monk without being a priest, but he could not be a priest without being a monk. The focus of monks are to be - to be in community, specifically. And within that community, they are called to create a space of mutual respect and acceptance.

And this is where 'grace' comes in.

As part of being present with yourself and with other human beings, one needs grace.

Grace that accepts people just as they are, not needing feats of great accomplishment to receive praise. Rather, as Mr Rogers would suggest, you are liked just the way you are.

And it is through this grace, particularly this grace that we sang about on Easter Sunday, that we can begin to be in community with each other.

The Benedictine community is not a space for self-gratification, but rather the glorifying of God by simply being yourself, a child of God.

Simply put, just as much as we need God's grace, we also need to have our own grace for one another. To 'be' one must first have 'grace.'

So with this understanding of 'being' and 'grace,' I head off this weekend for EBM's weekend away up on the North Coast. White Park Bay, here we come!

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=white+park+bay&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1024&bih=673

Ohhhhhh yeah.

But first, the royal wedding is indeed tomorrow. I will be helping serve at the 'royal banquet' being put on at EBM's cafe. It should be an experience.

Then this Monday, it's time to walk the marathon!

Courtesy of my simple lifestyle this year and having the pleasure of walking everywhere (except for occasional public transportation), I hope to survive the challenge.

I, one of my flatmates, and the Northern Ireland site coordinator will all be walking it together. One of my flatmates is part of a team running different legs of the marathon, and my other flatmate is running the whole thing. Heck yes Bathgate residents!

Hope you all enjoy the royal wedding, and maybe lift up a few prayers for me this Monday... The race starts at 9 a.m., and I am hoping that we will have crossed the finish line before 4 p.m.

In grace and peace, may you simply 'be' this Easter season.

Palm Sunday Reflections

2011-04-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

"Christ you know I love you.
Did you see I waved?
I believe in you and God
So tell me that I'm saved."

In the musical 'Jesus Christ Superstar,' the crowd sings these lyrics as Jesus enters Jerusalem.

As it's Palm Sunday, we pointedly reflect on that entrance.

A Messiah that entered Jerusalem on a donkey and not a war horse, a Messiah that brought a message of peace and not violence, a Messiah that didn't come to conquer Rome for himself but rather to question the oppressive empire, the oppressive norm, the militaristic empire.

The crowds that were so welcoming during his entrance lost any sign of loyalty or enthusiasm by the end of the week.

How fickle are human beings!? (And thus, how fickle am I!?)

On that note, my apologies for the lack of regular updates recently. When it's a busy stretch, I have so much to write about, but no time. When I have free time, I don't feel that I have anything to write about. Oh the fickleness!

But this is not a post of lamentations but rather a letter of correspondence.

As we draw to the end of Lent and into Holy week, I will use this space to reflect on and give you a glimpse of what Lent has been like in Northern Ireland.

Different traditions from what I would have experienced at home.

Protestants here didn't recognize Ash Wednesday by putting ash on their foreheads.

Easter is even more commercialized here... The Easter chocolates have been flowing for the past month and a half. It's sickening even to me who is a chocolate fanatic!

People here struggle just as much with Lenten practices: give up something? take on something? But life is so busy, how difficult it is to stick to something; Easter seems so far away!

Some Lenten practices that I have found that I have enjoyed while being here:

- I gave up 'sporcle' for Lent. It's the first time that I have ever given up something! I partly gave it up as I was procrastinating a lot by doing quizzes on sporcle.com. It's brilliant, but I found that going without it has been a positive thing. Each time I thought about typing the link into my internet browser, instead I thought about what better ways I could spend my time. And as cheesy as this might sound, it forced me to think about God... Or at least think about thinking about God. And sometimes this theology-logy is the start of Lenten disciplines. Because the other part of giving up sporcle is that it made me more conscious of the amount of time I was spending on my laptop. So usually when I had exhausted my list of regular websites and was about to go to Sporcle, I would instead shut my laptop and do something else. I was more conscious of how I was using my time! And I do have to say that I have been reading a lot more during Lent.

- Another discipline was Thursday evening bible studies. Mark Sweeney and I were planning the studies using a Methodist Lenten study. Having the regular prep and reflection time during the week, plus getting to have a dialogue about the topics with other people, has been brilliant. Having a regular pattern of devotional time makes such a difference.

Lent has been busy as well with various projects. As I mentioned in a previous post, for Friday Fusion (the youth club), we had a performance two Fridays ago: Fusion Factor. I choreographed a dance for the older group and also taught and danced 'Evolution of Dance' (youtube it, if you aren't familiar) with the leaders. It was a great, great success on all accounts - great audience, the kids were a hit, and despite the demanding nature of the dance, the leaders totally rocked it.

Then this past Friday, Friday Fusion finished up with some origami Easter basket making lead by yours truly.

Due to most schools getting two weeks off for Easter (they don't really have a Spring break), the next two weeks will be quieter.

Holy-week wise, I am helping to plan a Seder meal for this Thursday. It will hopefully be a multi-generational gathering during which we use a Haggadah that I have put together (many thanks to resources passed on by my mom!!!) and get to have a proper meal with it courtesy of some cooks in the church.

Topping it all off, the past two Saturdays have been rather full as well.

Last Saturday, one of my flatmates and I went to see a Henryk Ibsen play, 'Ghosts,' at the Millhouse Theatre in North Belfast. Getting to/from it was an adventure... I am so ready to have access to a car again!!!

Yesterday, we then headed down for a day trip to Dublin.

Having taken the 6.50 a.m. train to Dublin, we walked around the city most of the day and were thoroughly exhausted by our 8.50 p.m. train back.

Besides enjoying the Guinness factory, we wandered around a lot of the city, making full use of the gorgeous parks (complete with beds and beds of tulips) and visiting a Georgian house that exemplified the cool Georgian architecture of much of the city.

Overall, a fantastic whirlwind of a day. I am excited to go back and see more of Dublin!

It's interesting to note the difference in culture between two areas in just a 2 hour train trip: Belfast is not in Ireland.

Very, very few signs in the North would be in Irish. The majority of signs in the South would have both Irish and English.

Belfast is on pound sterling. Dublin is on the Euro.

There are many statues in Dublin remembering the famine. There are many statues in Belfast remembering the Troubles.

We heard more English accents in Dublin than we have heard most of the year in Belfast. (Interesting, considering Belfast is in the UK.)

I will hold off again on posting about returning to America, but will instead placate you with a vocabulary lesson, apologies if I have included any of these words before.

mingin' = gross, dirty, unpleasant ('those boots are mingin' - those boots are gross!)

wick = not good ('that's wick' = 'that sucks')

dear = expensive ('those shoes are very dear' = those shoes are expensive)

wind yer neck in = an expression telling someone that not only do they need to stop talking but they are incorrect

banter = teasing, jovial deprecation of yourself and others

don't be cheeky = cut out the sass/ back talk/ whining

pet = affectionate term of endearment, not just to children ('wee pet') but other adult family members

gurning = complaining ('they are such gurners')

To conclude this post, I'll bring it back full circle to the starting topic of Palm Sunday.

The conclusion of the passage in Luke about Jesus entering Jerusalem goes like this:

Luke 19:41-44

As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, "If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God."

Think about the state of Jerusalem over the past 2,000 years. It has been and continues to be a city of much violence, hatred, and division.

If Jerusalem is a metaphor for the wider world - the state of humanity - what do we begin to draw from Jesus' proclamation?

How has our blindness, our fickleness, prevented us for recognizing 'the things that make for peace?'

April showers bring...

2011-04-04T07:55:00.000-07:00

Lots and lots of sunshine.

The weather pattern these past few days has consisted of rainy, windy, chilly, and altogether miserable mornings... that turn into gorgeous, sunny, and warm afternoons. Mmmmm Spring. Coats are no longer required.

Spring has been around Belfast for about the past month. March brought fields and fields and fields of daffodils. Rather appropriate that Marie Curie, one of the cancer awareness societies, sells daffodil pins during the month as a fundraiser.

(Side note: As I was reading a BBC article the other day, I did learn that daffodils are poisonous to dogs. Good to know.)

The past two weeks since St Patrick's Day have been rather straight forward.

What have I been up to, you ask?

Some highlights include:

- leading/ helping plan the Thursday evening Lenten Bible study

- choreographing/teaching two dances for this week's Fusion Factor - Friday Fusion's (the youth club) edition of the X-factor/ Britain's Got Talent show

- Friendship Circle outing to Lady Dixon's park, where we had a lovely picnic of tea and traybakes

- my body struggling for about 5 days to be caught up with Daylight Savings time, which primarily meant that I felt sleep deprived for 5 days straight

Life in Belfast continues to go well. It's really, really hard to believe that my time here is beginning to draw to a close. (My work schedule is beginning to be filled out through the end of June and July.) I am already starting to get a bit teary-eyed when thinking about leaving, but for now, it just means that my work here is not done!

My reflections on leaving the UK and returning to the U.S. is a subject for a separate blog post, so I will let that be a cliffhanger which ensures you will check back to read more of my blog. :)

In grace and peace.

Reflections from St Patrick's Day in Belfast

2011-03-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

St Patrick is an interesting person to celebrate in Northern Ireland.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the saint, Patrick is said to have brought Christianity to Ireland from Britain in the 5th century, driving out all the snakes on the island in the process.
Many Protestants would not recognize him as a saint or even give him much significance. (Even during a Bible study at EBM, one person emphatically stated that he did not identify himself with St Patrick.)
At a certain point, Protestants resistance to St Patrick is a bit ridiculous. St Patrick lived centuries before Martin Luther was even born. While some might disagree with his theology in today's context, it's all part of the Christian narrative (which includes a fair number of Jews, I might add).
While Prods in East Belfast might not celebrate the saints by throwing a feast, we can still take the time to recognize Patrick's contribution to bringing Christianity to this island.

So! With that in mind, I was ready to celebrate St Patrick's Day on the island of Ireland.

In the States, it is often celebrated more as an Irish-national holiday than as a religious one. (Much like the U.S. has secularized the religious significance of Christmas.)
The traditions of wearing green to avoid pinching, eating corned beef and cabbage, and celebrating leprechauns are not really done here.
Wearing green is definitely not a requirement to avoid pinching, I am not sure that any Irish person ate corned beef and cabbage before their immigration to the U.S., and most Irish people are both a little amused and confused as to why Americans declare themselves Irish for the day.

Traditions in Belfast are rather different.
Most Catholic schools and most primary schools are out for the day. In the secondary school world, the kids are in school but watching the School's cup - the secondary schools rugby league championship game. (Campbell College won, if you wanted to know.)
I took part in the St Patrick's Day parade in Belfast, marching with a group of kids and parents from the mums & tots program and an after schools group. The city council was making the parade as family-friendly and non-sectarian as possible. So, in the parade, there were only flags with shamrocks on them - no Irish tri-colors or St Patrick's flags. Albeit amongst the spectators, there were plenty of Irish tri-colors.
(Significance of the three leaf clover - St Patrick used them to describe the trinity: three in one.)

In the past, St Patrick's day parades have been known to be the Catholic equivalent of the July 12th parades, when the Orange orders march to celebrate the Battle of the Boyne. I will go into more of that political history as we get closer to July.
Thankfully though, we didn't have anything thrown at us or any jeering remarks made.
It was actually a rather subdued parade. From an American perspective, it was bizarre not to see candy being thrown out or random paraphenalia being handed out.
The most excited people were the Asian tourists with cameras strapped to their faces.

It was actually a rather straight-forward day overall.
I walked in the parade, led an EBM Bible study that night, and finished it off with a pint of Guiness while hanging out with some people.

All I have to conclude from this experience is that Americans celebrate the patron saint of Ireland better than most residents of the actual island.

In grace and peace. :)

P.s. Here is a picture of the group in the parade. Our theme was 'Teddy Bear Picnic,' which is a popular children's book. Spotting me is a bit like playing 'Where's Waldo.' :)

Spring Break in Scotland

2011-03-15T03:04:00.000-07:00

Last week, I met up with two of my W&M friends, Lauren and Maggie, to travel around Scotland. It was hanging out with two of my favorite people in one of my favorite places in the world; it couldn't have been better!

We went to Edinburgh, Inverness, and St Andrews, and Maggie then came back to Belfast to hang with me for about 36 hours. All in all, it was a whirlwind but absolutely fantastic trip. Here is the basic rundown of all that we did:

Saturday:

- met up in Edinburgh

- went to Rosslyn Chapel

- ate at the Elephant House (cafe where JK imagined and wrote most of Harry Potter)

Sunday:

- woke up ate 6:30 a.m. to hike the Salisbury Craigs and Arthur's Seat

- had tea and a scone at Holyrood Palace

- toured said palace

- brunch along the Royal Mile

- stopped in to the Museum of Childhood (per Lauren's request)

- toured Edinburgh Castle

- wandered through Princes' St Gardens

- walked up Calton Hill (thus in one day overlooking Edinburgh from three different high points)

- saw Greyfriar's Bobby - the church yard and statue - which was around the corner from our hostel

- got fish & chips at World's End

Monday:

- took a tour of Mary King's Close (17th century street covered up by Royal Exchange)

- toured the inside of St Giles in daylight

- walked through the National Portrait Gallery

- caught the train to Inverness

- dinner at pub and caught the Chelsea v. Blackpool game (obligatory football match while in UK)

Tuesday:

- bus/ boat tour of Loch Ness and Uruqhart Castle

- our tour included a stop at the Loch Ness Monster museum. It was... riveting.

- walked around the River Ness and islands along the river, this included time to skip rocks

- as it was Maggie's birthday, we picked up pizza and a cake to help celebrate

- we ended up hanging out with a crowd at the hostel, watching the Barcelona v. Arsenal match, and eating birthday cake

Wednesday:

- caught the morning train to St Andrews via Perth/Dundee/Leuchars

- walked the Cathedral ruins and climbed St Rule's Tower with another W&M friend, Hannah, who is studying abroad at the university

- walked around the harbour and did a pier walk

- visited West Sands, put our hands in the North Sea, and saw a bit of the Old Course

- grabbed some gelato at Janetta's

- as it started to rain, we headed back to the hostel for some tea and biscuits and later grabbed dinner with another W&M friend

- we finished off the evening with a pint at The Raisin, my favorite pub in St Andrews for its eclectic decor and cozy atmosphere

Thursday:

- grabbed a fudge donut from Fisher & Donaldson

- wandered around St Andrews

- grabbed sandwiches from my favorite shop and hung out with Hannah

- caught the plane back to Belfast

During Maggie's time here in Belfast, we lived it to the fullest. We took a bus tour of the city, she got to experience Friday Fusion, and we visited some of the shops and the Ulster Museum. It was a pretty packed time, pretty representative of the previous week.

Food highlights from the trip include tablet, caramel shortbread, chunky pooh bear ice cream (honeycomb ice cream with chocolate), digestive biscuits, multiple scones, a fudge donut, an Ulster fry, a Scottish breakfast, and more. It was delicious. :)

Some pics highlighting the trip:

Pic 1: Overlooking Edinburgh

Pic 2: Following our epic climb of Arthur's Seat, much deserved breakfast of tea with cinnamon & pear scones at Holyrood Palace. (Yum!)

Pic 3: Edinburgh Castle

Pic 4: Along the River Ness looking back towards Inverness

Pic 5: On St Rule's Tower overlooking St Andrews

Now back to work! :)

America: two short case studies

2011-03-12T07:42:00.000-08:00

A lot has been happening in the world this past week.

From the earthquake and tsunami hitting Japan to the continued political repression in Libya to Charlie Sheen's meltdown, the media has had no shortage of headlines.

Two interesting bits of news though that I really wanted to share are news stories pertaining to the U.S.

First, it's a recent youtube video discussing the current "financial crisis" in the states. In my humble opinion, the news anchor does a brilliant job in putting into perspective the hypocrisy of some current government officials. [Why do you give campaign speeches against big government, but then enforce big government policies once in office???]

Here is the clip for you to watch and reflect on yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUpO1QFMDtM&feature=player_embedded

Second, there was an article in the New York times this past week that caught my attention. It raises the question - who are we (Americans) choosing to lead our country?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/04/AR2011030406635.html

It's particularly relevant to me now having spent time in Northern Ireland and hearing the stories of families who lost loved ones to the IRA and also stories from former members of the IRA.

The best quote from the article:

"If you say that terrorist violence is acceptable in one setting because you happen to agree with the cause, then you lose the authority to condemn it in another setting."

To put my indignation in context, here is a Colbert clip back from 2009 about 'how do we define terrorism.'

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/249080/september-16-2009/i-s-on-edjukashun---muslim-textbooks---tony-danza

Even if no one is listening, we must cry out against foolishness, greed, and hypocrisy in this world, and the best place to start is in one's own country. For if we do not speak out, then we have silenced ourselves.

In this time of Lent, we reflect on what God has done, is doing, and will do and just what that means for our daily lives. We lift up in prayer all the people of this world who suffer under repressive governments, the people in this world affected by natural disasters, and all the government leaders in this world that they might have wisdom, love, and generosity in their hearts to think about more than just the next election.

In grace and peace.

Photo highlights from the year so far

2011-03-04T01:57:00.001-08:00

I recently collected some pictures from my year in Belfast so far. Enjoy:

Pic 1: The friendship circle and the trusted mini bus

Pic 2: on baby duty at mum's and tots

Pic 3: Friday Fusion! It's team games night - I am organizing the balloon animal table. (Animals from giraffes to dinosaurs to butterflies were constructed!)

Pic 4: Another Friday Fusion tonight!

Pic 5: The general chaos of Friday Fusion during announcement time

pic 6: EBM women's group on a cross-community retreat to Corrymeela

pic 7: one of my new friends at EBM

pic 8: Christmas hamper packing: instruction time.

pic 9: I was helping sort the 300+ filled hampers by distributing organization. Whew.

pic 10: our EBM team who worked for hours in that attic space

life as we know it

2011-02-28T11:46:00.001-08:00

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit. (a few hours early)

February was a really good month! I am feeling that I have something to contribute to the work of EBM, and I genuinely think that I have been called to be here.

February was concluded this past week with our second YAV retreat. We headed up to the North Coast of Northern Ireland for three days. We stayed in Corrymeela-Knocklayde (a house owned by Corrymeela but not part of the compound.) It's nestled into the base of Knocklayde (a very steep mountain/hill) and has glorious views of the surrounding countryside.

The glens of Antrim and the Antrim coast are two of my favorite places in Northern Ireland.

While there, we saw the Giant's Causeway, Ballintoy Harbour, overlooked Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, climbed Knocklayde, and even took a day trip to Londonderry/Derry.

It was great.

Here is the picture of our group at Ballintoy harbour:

This week I will be back full time working with EBM (lots of planning and leading activities!) but am then heading out to SCOTLAND on Saturday.

This Saturday through the following Thursday, I am meeting up with two friends from university over their spring break, and we will be spending time in Edinburgh, Inverness, and St Andrews.

Taking my rain gear and good hiking boots, so I should be set.

Thank you all for the many prayers, thoughts, and kind words during these past few months. The days are already getting much longer, and Spring is definitely in the air.

In the grace and peace of God.

The American Myth

2011-02-26T15:20:00.000-08:00

Here's another weighty post for us to chew on.

I was given a book to read by one of the members of EBM's congregation. It's entitled "The Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne.

[My disclaimer is that I don't fully agree with everything he says, but he is truly a prophet for today. Prophet derives from Greek to 'speak out' or 'speak forth' and is synonymous with 'visionary.']

Shane's style of reflecting on Christianity (primarily American Christianity) is not by providing answers, but rather through raising questions. He asks many questions about redemptive violence, but particularly: can violence really be a force for good?

This is a topic that has come up many times during my year here, both in regards to Northern Ireland and the U.S.

Can one really achieve peace by sending in soldiers carrying guns? (My observation: didn't seem to work in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and doesn't really seem to work in today's world either.)

On our trip to Londonderry over the recent YAV retreat, our guide - who was one of the survivors of Bloody Sunday - reflected on the confusion at the time: "If the army is here to protect us, then why are the rifles pointed towards us.?"

Another part of Claiborne's writing resonated with me today as I read it:

"What is crazier: spending billions of dollars on a defense shield, or suggesting that we share our billions of dollars so we don't need a defense shield? What is crazier: maintaining arms contracts with 154 countries while asking the world to disarm its weapons of mass destruction, or suggesting that we lead the world in disarmament by refusing to deal weapons with over half of the world and by emptying the world's largest stockpile here at home?

What's crazy is that the US, less than 6 percent of the world's population, consumes nearly half of the world's resources, and that the average American consumes as much as 520 Ethiopians do, while obesity is declared a 'national health crisis'."

Maybe those are oversimplified symptoms of rampant injustices in today's world, but when one steps back and looks at the 'bigger picture,' it doesn't really make much sense.

Some of you might have seen the article by Jim Wallis (who actually wrote the forward for Claiborne's book) that I posted on Facebook. For those of you who didn't, here it is again:

http://blog.sojo.net/2011/02/24/this-is-not-fiscal-conservatism-its-just-politics/

Do not be blinded by false patriotism about the greatness that is America.

[Good word that I learned today from a Walter Brueggemann essay: "jingoism." Defined as "extreme patriotism in the form of aggressive foreign policy."]

I heard a comment the other day that, "America's economy is great. The rest of the world depends on it."

Yes, it is true that the rest of the world depends on it... because we have ensured it.

In lifting ourselves up, we have pushed so many nations of the world down. Jingoism.

(Suggested reading: "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins.)

Personal reflections:

Let's explore for a moment the basic ethical implications of the American wardrobe.

Several generations ago, most of our ancestors (likely being from the working class) would have worn the same outfit for every day of the week, save Sunday when the better outfit would have been worn. (I went to the Ulster folk museum this past weekend and saw an exhibit on Victorian-era clothes.)

But today, most Americans can likely wear an entirely different outfit for every day of the week, if not month. One of the main ways this is possible is through cheap human labor.

Simple economics: by driving the costs of production down through slave-like labor in developing countries, companies ensured that their products would be affordable to the American consumer (cough, cough, Nike).

I'm not an economics expert, but it's basic business unethical policy.

People complain about losing jobs overseas, but then we demand cheaper goods and services.

We have raised ourselves up and glorified ourselves on our cleanliness, our 'success', and being the 'best nation' in the world.

But we have not stopped to look around at the carnage, the cost, and the unethical nature of our success.

This is just the topic of clothes.

Let's not even get started on other topics of oil (cough, cough, allying with politically corrupt regimes) and food (cough, cough, relying on migrant laborers while denying their children citizenship).

I am not a military expert or professor of economics but rather a concerned American citizen. I don't think these issues need a degree or a pair of binoculars to see the many unethical aspects of the American society. One simply has to have the courage to face the truth.

The American myth rests on its laurels of oxymorons. ('Peacekeeping missiles.')

Put jingoism aside; step back and examine the picture.

What American politicians and military generals choose to spend American tax dollars on impacts the world. If we choose to continue to strengthen our military, the rest of the world will take note and respond accordingly.

I would wager good money that percentage-wise, more non-Americans are aware of our foreign policies as Americans are. Why? Because our foreign policy impacts them.

Why just God bless America? Instead, why shouldn't God bless everyone in this broken and hurting world?

(Why America is not, and should not be in my opinion, considered a Christian nation is a topic for another day. But in the meantime, pray for the Christians in Iraq and Afghanistan who are struggling to cope with the loss of a family member due to an American missile.)

Redemptive violence does not work. So why does the U.S. government think armed troops around the world will ensure peace?

When will it be time to beat our swords into ploughshares?

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr cried out in response to the Vietnam war, "Every time our government chooses to use military force to bring about change in the world, it once again teaches our children the myth of redemptive violence, the myth that violence can be an instrument for good."

Blessed are the peacemakers.

The first step in loving your neighbor is being able to trust them. This is something that many Northern Irish struggle to do. It's hardest when one doesn't have a relationship with your neighbor; your neighbor is simply a name with a label such as "Protestant" or "Catholic," "Prods" or "Fenians."

For trust to be built, we must begin to get to know our neighbor. And that can be scary.

If we were to cut our defense budget, that means we would have to trust our neighbors.

But what if one of our neighbors turns on us? (Well, on September 11th, terrorists attacked a financial building, not a church. I have a feeling they weren't actually attacking Christianity, rather American/ Western economic policy which some people then linked together.)

So before we ask the question 'what if,' shouldn't we be asking the question, 'have we already turned on them?'

Question the ethics of the American system... What is more patriotic than questioning government, right? John Adams and T.J. would appove.

Question the American myth. Question why the American flag is flown above the Christian flag. (Does our loyalty really lie first to our country then to God?)

Question why your clothes are so cheap. Question why your food is so cheap.

Question why we consume half of the world's resources.

There aren't any simple answers, and I don't claim to know any solutions to the world's problems.

Maybe in your examinations you will find that you like living in America and living the privileged life.

But then I would urge you to reflect on the warnings of James 5 (NRSV): Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

As we question, even when we don't have the answers, our eyes can be opened to see the larger picture, and we can begin to change our actions.

Buy fair trade, consume less fuel (buy a more fuel efficient car! carpool! walk! take a bus! public transportation sucks: start a revolution!), get to know your neighbors, travel outside of your neighborhood and get to know more people!, and most of all - let's support one another through it all.

Part of Christianity is the community that we can form with one another through our faith. We gather together not in violence but in peace. And we are all invited to the table, for it has been prepared and is simply waiting for us.

Let us lay down our ploughshares, call for all nations to lay down their swords, and then dine together.

Through the peace and grace of God.

Halfway here, halfway home

2011-02-19T05:58:00.001-08:00

This past week marked my halfway mark. I have been in Northern Ireland for exactly 5.5 months and have about 5.5 months to go. Halfway here, halfway home, depending on your outlook on life.

How am I settling in?

It's been awhile since I was asked that question, which is very much indicative of my state in Belfast. While it doesn't necessarily feel like my permanent 'home,' one still uses the phrase when heading 'home' from a day of work. It's definitely feeling like a home.

Two weeks ago, I was working across the street from Stepping Stone, the office of EBM that I usually work in, and it was definitely weird not being a part of the everyday banter and hustle of the place. As I returned back to my normal routine these past two weeks, it feels just like that: my normal routine. Being comfortable and confident in the work that I am doing.

What exactly am I doing here?

Everyday bring different tasks and activities. Since I am working on Sundays, my 'sabbath' day varies from week to week. Sometimes I take a Monday, sometimes a Friday, sometimes a Wednesday, etc.; every week it's different.

The past two weeks have had me leading a Sunday evening worship service, doing multiple pastoral visits, helping out with Friday Fusion and Dance Nation, helping brainstorm and look at the larger calling of East Belfast Mission as the organization moves into Skainos, and much more! I also have had the pleasure of leading Friendship Circle multiple times as we have explored the topic of 'remarkable, but ordinary people.' This has more or less culminated in a craft project: decorating picture frames using cut out words from magazines to form a collage on the frame. In the frame we will put a picture of someone in our lives that is 'remarkable but ordinary.' The women have done a wonderful job! I will hopefully get a group picture of it over the next few weeks as we do a 'show and tell' time. :)

Life has been very full as I have been helping and thinking and dreaming and talking and a small share of 'doing.'

What is one important 'lesson' that I have learned here?

"Listening is a rare happening among human beings. You cannot listen to the word another is speaking if you are preoccupied with your appearance or impressing the other, or if you are trying to decide what you are going to say when the other stops talking, or if you are debating about whether the word being spoken is true or relevant or agreeable. Such matters may have their place, but only after listening to the word as the word is being uttered. Listening, in other words, is a primitive act of love, in which a person gives self to another's word, making self accessible and vulnerable to that word." - William Stringfellow

The importance of listening can't really be overstated. I have learned the most about the people of Belfast by simply listening. It's often hard to slow ourselves down long enough to listen to others, but it's so important.

From listening comes understanding, and from understanding trust can be built. There has begun to be more listening in Belfast, but the people have not begun to truly understand and trust one another. Just by listening to people's conversations, particularly their rhetoric of 'us and them,' one hears the 'peace walls' and murals that are present in people's minds and not just in their neighborhoods.

Vocab lesson:

suss it out = work it out

Ta = often used to end a conversation, more or less 'thank you', often taught to younger children in place of 'thank you,' but used by all generations

peelers = police

yer man/ yer woman = often used in conversation to generally mean that woman/man

We are off on our second retreat to Ballycastle (city on the North Coast) on Monday. It's hard to believe the second retreat is already here!

The weather has been lovely lately. Some days of rain and cold, but generally the next day brings back mild temperatures and weather.

In grace and peace.

Citing Wikipedia is Never a Good Idea....

2011-02-02T15:05:00.001-08:00

Hello faithful blog readers!

Hopefully you aren't reading this out of sheer boredom from being snowed in to your house.

If you are, please know that Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow today, so there will be an early spring!

Although, according to the Washington Post, his success rating is 39%.

About the same success rating as most weathermen anyway.

The week continues to go well; more on that later. For now, I wanted to share a youtube clip with you. If you have the time on your hands, it can tell you all you ever wanted to know about what exact country I am in.

While I am on the island of Ireland, I am not in the Republic of Ireland . No, I am not in Great Britain, but rather the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

How exactly does it all break down?

Watch and learn. :)

(My apologies that it cites Wikipedia... But I do approve this message.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNu8XDBSn10

In grace and peace.

knackered

2011-01-31T10:33:00.000-08:00

So this week, I am stepping back from my usual routine of activities, except for a few evening activities like Dance Nation and Friday Fusion, to explore a different side of EBM - social economy!!! I have the pleasure of shadowing the head of EBM's social economy 'department,' Peter. (The best advice I got for the week from Peter himself - he recommended that I bring a flask of coffee with me.)

Well, I don't drink coffee, but I did have three mugs of tea today.

This morning was primarily paperwork, learning a bit about the overall organization of EBM's 9 thrift stores and cafe, and getting organized for tomorrow's shops meeting for shops' managers.

The manual labor portion of the day began at 11:30...

When a business moves into a new office from a previous office space, they are left with issue of what to do with all of the 'old' (but often still quality) office desks, partitions, chairs, etc.

There is always the option of paying for the items to be landfilled. (Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.)

EBM has started to provide an alternative option though!

Social economy began a furniture refurbishment project this past Fall and are currently trying to open a business furniture shop (office max - style). So, EBM provides free pick-up of the items... And it's a win-win for both parties.

EBM will be able to re-sell the furniture. (In the meantime, EBM has a large warehouse to store everything.) And the business profits by not having to pay to landfill it and also are able to maintain their social/environmental consciousness. Hooray!

One company in Belfast has just consolidated its business from five offices throughout Belfast into one new office building overlooking the Lagan River.

So from 11:30 to 6:00, I traveled with Peter around to three of the former office buildings and assisted in the removal of dozens and dozens of office chairs, reception desks, partitions, three-ring binders, microwaves, fridges, dishwashers, filing cabinets, rolling desk cabinets, and more. In all, Peter, myself, and the truck's two-man crew filled up five medium-sized lorries to the top. (It makes me a bit sick to think about option 1, if all of the stuff had been landfilled.)

Haha, best moment of the day for your imagination to recreate:

It's about 1:30 in the afternoon. We had just filled up our first lorry at office #2. The truck was away transferring the stuff to the warehouse. Peter went to get us cups of coffee/tea. I am left guarding a large stockpile of desks, filing cabinets, etc. on a sidewalk in downtown Belfast. I am chilling in my jeans and ski jacket, leaning up against a filing cabinet which is blocking me from the wind.

Needless to say, I got some curious looks from the business people passing by.

Overall, successful, successful day, and even with all of the hard work, thoroughly enjoyable.

But after it all, I am simply knackered. (British slang = tired.) I will sleep soundly tonight and likely awaken to a few blisters on the hands and a few new muscles in my arms. :)

In grace and peace. Zzzzzzz.

Reflections and Anecdotes

2011-01-26T12:58:00.001-08:00

Here are three reflections and anecdotes from the past few weeks. None of the them are really connected in one theme, but hopefully you will be able to understand a bit more about my life recently in Belfast.

"But you know, I can't complain."

It was my second visit with a woman from the Friendship Circle who hasn't been well over the past two months. With the cold winter setting in so early and the nasty flu season in the UK, many of the pensioners in East Belfast have been struggling health-wise this winter.

As this woman is 89, her health has been faltering; between her eyesight, heart problems, and swollen feet, she has been confined to her house over the past while. During my first visit before Christmas, she was rather low in spirits, but on this visit last week, the spirit in her voice was back. She was telling stories about how as a child her family had a chicken that would chase her around and peck at her heels. Her mother didn't believe her until she saw it happen one day; they had chicken for dinner. (But she wouldn't eat any of it!)

But through some stories of her life and the narrative of her illness, including worrying about the continued loss of her eyesight, she kept repeating, "But you know, I can't complain."

The Friendship Circle, and really East Belfast, is full of these women who have seen their share of sorrow, personal loss, economic turmoil, health failings, and for some, even the second world war. But they remain strong in their faith and are quick to remember and put others who are also suffering before themselves. It's truly humbling.

Every day brings a new adventure and opens up my eyes a wee bit more.

Last night, following Dance Nation (I got to dance with the older class - OW! I am getting old!), I met up with a flatmate to head into the city to catch the 3 pound showing of Black Swan. We got to the cinema though, and the showing was sold out.

The guy YAVs had invited us over to their flat in North Belfast; they had an Australian traveler staying there through 'couch surfing'.

(Couch surfing is an online society that you can join. In exchange of letting travelers stay at your house, you can use the site to find people to stay with all over the world. No worries, you leave reviews for both the travelers and the hospitality on the site!)

Well, we headed out towards the guys' flat to celebrate Australia Day - on Australian time - with an Australian (and them too). Happy Australia Day!!

On the way out to their place, my flatmate mentioned that there had been a bomb scare in North Belfast earlier that day... Sure enough, our bus had to detour around the cordoned off section but dropped us where we needed to be. Scarily enough, the police lines were next to the guys' neighborhood.

When we got to the house, one of the guys was at church; turns out his church, Fortwilliam and McCrory Presbyterian, was letting some displaced people stay there over night. Included in that group were some Irish Travelers, comparable to gypsies or roma but not actually from the same ethnic group. Funniest story that he had from the evening was that the Irish travelers were requesting for the police to find them a tv to watch a show that was on: my big fat gypsy wedding.

In honor of them, we watched it as a group that night. Main highlights of the show:

- Irish travelers like to throw over the top weddings. So, the bride's wedding dress was cotton candy pink and weighed over 20 stone, comparable to 280 pounds. Cotton candy explosion complete with mechanical butterflies that flew around the dress. Classy.

- another group of travelers who had applied for building permits on some land were getting kicked off of it.

Stereotypes abound for the Irish travelers, but poignantly enough, there were many non-travelers out protesting the bailiffs throwing these families off of the undeveloped land.

Through the tackiness and commercialized product of it all, the show raised many questions about the prejudices that are too often just another part of life.

For all of the advances that have been made in this peace process, how can some people still think taking human lives is a viable way of making your voice heard?

If you'd like to read more about the bomb threat: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-12289914

The best comment that I heard in response to the bomb threat came from a staff person at EBM whose gut wrenching comment was, 'I thought those police evacuations were a thing of the past.'

Before yesterday, I had no idea what an Irish traveler was, had never watched 'my big fat gypsy wedding,' and hadn't really realized the sheer hassle involved when a bomb threat is made.

Every day brings a new adventure and opens up my eyes just a wee bit more.

the winter blues

It's been sunny here. I would say that since we have been here in September, on average, it has only rained 1.5 out of 7 days.

But unfortunately, that still doesn't mean that the winter blues haven't stayed away.

The past few weeks I have been feeling rather down. Stuff just hasn't felt right at work, and I have been feeling downright grumpy. It is probably not serious enough for a diagnosis of seasonal affective disorder, but it's definitely the winter blues.

Coupling with that is the fact that it's the tough year: the transition out of undergraduate life. No winter break retreat to the parents' house for free laundry and home cooking; no Sinfonicron production to brighten the gloomy days of winter; no exciting start of classes with a fresh new schedule; no sunken gardens to meet in for a game of muddy ultimate frisbee; no longer surrounded by several thousand college kids willing to discuss Dickens and developmental psychology and the horribleness of parallel fifths.

The problem with Belfast in winter is that the sun rises no earlier than 8:30 and sets no later than 5:00.

Mathematically speaking, 2/3 of the 'day' the sky is dark.

It's a battle every morning with the alarm clock; my university roommates can attest that I was already addicted to my snooze button. One also has to mentally steel oneself from eating dinner before 5:30 and going to bed at 9:00.

One of the best lines that I remember from orientation is a former YAV saying that sometimes, just getting out of bed means that you have already won for the day.

So far, I have always made it out of bed: win.

Some lights that shine through the darkness: the wonderful people of EBM who are always there to provide support and some laughs. Training for the Belfast City Marathon! (Some of us YAVs and maybe even Doug Baker! will be WALKING it.) Walking around the city and even along the coast up to Bangor this past weekend have helped to bring in some fresh air to the cobwebby brain cells. Plus, all of the wonderful letters, cards, facebook messages, and prayers that are emanating from all over the U.S. have helped to bring smiles, and a few tears, to my face. Thank you all for your support during this year!

The winter blues will soon enough turn into the green of spring, provided Punxsutawney Phil comes through. And until then, I am continuing to take daily life in stride and remembering to enjoy the little things.

In grace and peace.

A church is not a building...

2011-01-18T01:39:00.000-08:00

Skainos (noun, Greek origin): 1. tent 2. presence, dwelling 3. frailty, weakness, as of the human body

EBM adopted the name 'skainos' for its building project several years ago.

http://www.ebm.org.uk/skainos/index.php

Since January 2010, the congregation of EBM has been meeting, gathering, worshiping, and working off site. One year later, the church has been leveled, and now construction of the new building - Skainos - has begun.

It's difficult in times like these to remember that the church is more than a building.

During the week, it's frustrating to not have rooms or supply closets in which to easily turn for craft supplies or to continuously have to be creative about where groups can meet.

Through it all, it's important to remember that a church is the people who make it up. Even during this time of seeming limbo without a building, East Belfast Mission is still a thriving church.

Part of the planning around EBM this past week is beginning to look ahead to moving back into the building. In the next year and a half, what does the congregation need to be sustained; how do community groups need to be notified about the brand new building about to be open for use?

Through it all, this song often comes to my mind:

"A church is not a building, a church is not a steeple,

A church is not a resting place, a church is a people.

I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together,

All who follow Jesus, all around the world, yes, we're the church together."

Centuries later, we think back to the early Christians who met not in grand cathedrals but rather in small groups. With or without a building, a church is still a church.

God is present not only in a house of worship, but rather throughout all of our daily lives.

In peace and grace.

the significance of daily life: random ramblings

2011-01-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

I heard a comment recently from a person about how he has heard over the years a number of sermons defaming Harry Potter and its use of "witchcraft."

My initial reaction was to laugh and dismiss the criticisms as basic remnants of 17th century superstitions.

But then, I began to think about it more.

My first question to these critics would be whether they have taken the time to read the works. The Harry Potter series is more than just "witchcraft" - it deals with important 'themes' of death, love, friendship, "good" persevering despite the odds, and many other aspects of daily life with which people of all ages struggle.

The books also reflect on the dangers of living in fear, the importance of relationships through times of trouble, and even violence. (For example, Rowling continuously emphasizes the gifts of each individual character to the plot of the story. The forbidden spells/curses are the ones that torture or kill one's opponent.)

I have read multiple reflections about the de-humanizing effects of violence, but I remember Rob Bell's reflections the clearest. In reflecting on the wider subjects of torture, and war, and the Holocaust, he discusses how the effects of torture and murder do not just impact the victim; the inhumane aspects of the acts implicate the doer of the deeds and spread throughout society which remained silent and did not protest. (On a side tangent, how long do brides continue to expect diamond engagement rings when the high demand fuels wars and inhumane living conditions for workers in the industry?)

But how long does the church waste its breath on defaming Harry Potter and remain silent on sectarianism, senseless violence within our society, and the war policies instituted by our governments?

What happens when fear becomes such a part of daily life that society becomes complacent?

A topic that has come up over the past few days while I have been back in Belfast, is how the extraordinary became the ordinary during the Troubles.

When going out shopping in City Centre, one would not be able to park the car and leave it unattended along the road. A person had to be in the car at all times - unattended cars would be towed and often destroyed for fear of a bomb.

Another aspect of daily life was constant searches.

Examples:

- Automatically having your handbag ready to be searched when walking into a grocery store or shopping mall. (People would go to the South and walk into the store holding out their handbags at the ready... Only to realize how ridiculous they looked.)

- Being ready for a police stop while out driving. (Even today, police stops include armed officers holding submachine guns.)

In hearing Belfast residents reflect on some of these "symptoms" of the Troubles, the general comments revolve around how awful it was that it all just felt like normal life. That after awhile, one grew complacent about all of the bomb threats and scares; while they were scary, it still became part of the ordinary. (A believable excuse when one was late to work was "there was a bomb threat.")

There is still a lot to be learned about what happened in Tucson, Arizona over the weekend. But what is important that we recognize the symptoms of the times and choose to not remain silent. (And realize the larger implications that this "symptom" draws attention to.)

We cannot grow complacent about the fear, the bigotry, the violence, and the extremism in our globalized world. We cannot distance ourselves from them. We must wake up and realize we are in the year 2011. That superstitions about witchcraft were due to the ignorance of our ancestors. (Censorship of Huckleberry Finn is a topic for another day.)

Becoming complacent about daily life is not how we are called to live. We must realize just how closely this world is connected. Whatever the results of the elections in South Sudan, we must realize that we have been implicated in being bystanders over the past decades as men, women, and children were killed in the name of religion all over the world.

The significance of daily life is that we realize the presence of God in it. That despite the cruelty that humans can have towards one another, God is calling us to choose civility and compassion. That in all of the hate, sadness, and maddening injustices of the world, that we stand together, in relationship with one another, despite our differences, and we carry this message out to the world.

So take some time to yourself in quiet reflection as you are reading this. Reflect on your place in this world. Think about how your words or daily actions might contribute towards hurting your neighbor. Sometimes it's not what we did, but rather, what we didn't do.

(I am not exempt from this self-examination.)

The importance is that we try to heed the call to mend bridges, heal wounds, provide comfort, and move forward together. Through it all, providing the much needed support for one another. And hopefully in the process, we can discover our true selves and what humanity really means.

Therein lies the significance of daily life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I leave you in grace and peace with these words of Stringfellow:

"The restoration of the original identity of a person - in all its particularities and all its relationships, in the totality of its political significance - the renewal of a person's wholeness, which is the initiation into holiness, is utterly the effort of the Word of God... Instead of being somehow transported "out of this world," rather than indulging abstinence, evasion, or escapism, rather than fabricating some isolation or separation or privatism, the irony in being holy is that one is plunged more fully into the practical existence of this world, as it is, than in any other way." - William Stringfellow

Pics from Germany

2011-01-09T08:14:00.000-08:00

Statue of Gutenberg in Mainz, GermanySubsequent visit to Gutenberg's MuseumBeginning our celebration of German food with a brezeln - aka PRETZELS.Schloss Braunfels!Amy, Allison, and myself in front of Wetzlar Dom.

View overlooking Wilnsdorf, GermanyKoln Dom.

Germany in the snow.View overlooking Siegen, GermanyDoner!

Highlights from Germany

2011-01-08T14:58:00.000-08:00

My flatmate Allison and I went on a trip over New Year's to Germany. I now have three more stamps in my passport! (Two in Frankfurt and one when returning through Dublin.)

Our adventure began with an all-nighter. Please note, I never had to pull an all-nighter in college; who knew my first would be as a YAV.

We took a taxi at 12:30 a.m. to the bus stop, got the 1 a.m. bus to Dublin Airport, slept for a few hours at Dublin's Terminal 2 airport (boy was it nice and quiet!), checked in at the automatic Aer Lingus ticket machine at 5 a.m., realized that we were in the wrong terminal, walked over to the extremely chaotic Terminal 1 (further realizing that we lucked out for heading to Terminal 2 originally), and got to our gate a little after 5 a.m.

The next two hours were spent people watching. (At least one person - not too sure whether he was Irish or German - was drinking a beer. It was 5:00...)

The Aer Lingus flight was great; I was asleep by take-off which was a little after 7 a.m. Whew.

Upon landing in Germany, we met up with Allison's friend Amy, who has lived and worked in Germany for six of the past 7 years. She lives in a town called Wilnsdorf, which is northwest of Frankfurt, close to Siegen, and a short train away from Koln.

We spent a week hanging out with her, enjoying the scenic German countryside, reveling in the quaintness of the small German towns, admiring the gi-normous German pine trees (Chronicles of Narnia style), wading through several feet of snow, eating lots of German food, learning a few key phrases of German, and just thoroughly enjoying the cultural experience. (And fully appreciating that even though Belfast is in a foreign country, at least we can understand what traffic signs say.)

Allison and I ventured up to Koln [pronounced and often spelled Cologne] over New Year's Eve. This was automatically going to be an adventure as Allison and I had English, French, and Spanish covered - and only really, really limited German. So we took the train to Koln. When one walks out of the Koln Hauptbahnhof in mid-winter, the majestic spires of the Koln Dom rise into the low-lying sky. We wandered around the rather crowded cathedral, then headed towards the tower to climb up it. (We weren't too sure how much we were going to see on such a cloudy day, but we wanted to try it anyway.) Well, lo and behold, the Dom tower was closed for New Year's Eve and Day. We couldn't actually read the German sign, but since it had the two dates listed and the doors were locked, we inferred that this was the case. So, we decided to check out the near-by Roman-times museum. Turns out that was closed too. We then decided to wander over to the Third Reich museum and check in with the Koln Tourism office on the way. As our luck would have it, the tourism office had closed the hour before - and was closed for the rest of the weekend. At this point, we decided that the Third Reich museum was probably going to be closed too and that we might as well head out to our hotel.

Due to the high demand for hostels over New Year's Eve, we had found a cheaper hotel that came highly recommend by Amy, that was a short S-bahn train ride out of the city. Following small misfortunes of incorrect directions from the hotel's website, small difficulties with using the ticket machine, awkwardly remaining on the train which had reached it's last stop as the driver yelled over the intercom in German for us to get off (another key lesson: when everyone else gets out of the train car, one probably should get off too), and having about a mile walk from the train stop to the hotel, we had arrived. Phew. It was a memorable experience.

The evening was more of an adventure as many restaurants were booked solid with people dining out for the holiday, but we eventually found an Italian place to eat dinner, enjoyed walking around a bit more of the city, then headed back to the hotel to watch fireworks on tv. We survived! (The city did have a vibrant atmosphere about it... perhaps emphasized by quite a number of open beer and wine bottles. Germany.) Best part of the trip home was one of the trains heading the opposite direction had been decked out on the inside with tons of streamers. The people on it seemed to be enjoying the holiday.

The next morning was a bit nerve wracking as few enough trains were running that we couldn't tell from the electronic signs if any of the S-bahn trains were running at all. But sure enough, a train eventually showed up to take us back into Koln. (The hotel was in the town of Frechen, a village on the Western side of the city, past the University and past vast tracts of snowy parks.) While waiting for the train to show up, we wandered into the main part of town and were regaled by the cathedral bells calling the residents to New Year's mass. Yet another cool, small German town.

Once back in Koln, we walked around a bit more and had a wonderful lunch of a HAMBURGER. (First hamburger I have had since being here! Even came with cucumbers on it. The steak-frites were amazing too.)

Caught the train back to Siegen, and our adventure smoothly concluded.

Overall, my experience with Germany was an extremely positive one, and I very much look forward to going back - especially after I have learned a bit more German.

It was a true vacation as well as I got to read two books - finished Three Cups of Tea about Greg Mortenson's work building schools in rural Pakistan/Afghanistan and also continued reading a collection of letters/writings by William Stringfellow (an American lay theologian from the later Cold War period). Both very interesting and challenging books.

One of my favorite things about Germany was honestly the food. Lots of lovely chocolate pastries, potato products, bread products, Italian food, doner, currywursts, and more.

One other highlight of the trip was having dinner with two of Amy's friends. They were about my age (went on a months-long trip around the world last year!), so it was interesting to hear their thoughts on German culture, history, the world, and life in general.

Our trip home was relatively uneventful. Our flight was not at oh-dark-700, but rather later in the morning, so we arrived back to Belfast more rested than when we left.

Many thanks to Amy for taking us in and being our tour guide more than graciously. It was a wonderful vacation, and I am so excited to see more of Europe!

Stay tuned for more pictures and further reflections concerning life in Belfast!

In peace and grace, Happy 2011!

Images from Belfast

2011-01-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

My apologies for the delayed posting of current pictures. All of these photos are from pre-Christmas.

East Belfast Mission pre-tearing down. (The church came down the beginning of December.)Stepping Stone Project: Where several areas of the mission were based out of before de-construction of the church began. Now all of the staff of EBM are based out of this three story building. It's amazing how many people can fit in this space.

Office space that is shared by four people. (When I work in this office, I get to sit at the table. I generally float around the other section of the top floor as there is usually an open desk/computer.)

Snow on bathgate drive! (View from out my bedroom window.) Notice the palm tree covered in snow.

Happy New Year!

2010-12-27T05:51:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone has a very happy and safe New Year's Eve!

(Can you believe it's 2011?!?)

Early tomorrow morning, I am flying to Frankfurt, Germany with one of my fellow YAVs to spend a week relaxing from work and exploring Germany. No worries, pictures will be taken. (FYI: we will return to Belfast on January 4th.)

I will have sporadic access to the internet most likely, but in case I don't get a chance to talk with you:

"Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!"

Happy New Year!!!!

Happy Christmas Eve!

2010-12-24T02:36:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas everyone! I hope you are getting to spend this holiday season with family and friends. And special greetings to everyone at First United Presbyterian! I realized that this is the first Christmas Eve in many years that I won't be playing trumpet, organ, or handbells as part of the service! (For those of you who are worried: following the Christmas morning service, I will be spending the day outside of Larne at the home of one of the families from EBM. I am quite excited to experience a Northern Ireland Christmas Dinner!!)

My week at EBM primarily involved delivering biscuit tins to some of the elderly women of the congregation. As part of delivering the tins, there was an expectation that it would be a pastoral-type visit. Little did I know though that what I at first viewed as an obligation would actually end up being a wonderful opportunity that I thoroughly enjoyed. Many of these women shared with me pieces of their life stories, including some reasons why Christmas-time is often a difficult time when they miss family members who are no longer living.

For everyone who are missing loved ones this year, may you still find some peace and happiness this Christmas.

For those of you who are lamenting the 'commercialism' of Christmas, keep in mind that December 25th was not really the day that Jesus was born. Most scholars would suggest that he would have been born sometime during September. So with that in mind, we can remember that as we sing "In the Bleak Midwinter" or "Still, still, still," these songs are all part of, in essence, a holiday that even from its beginning was a part of humanity's commercialism and need for ritual.

What is important is what we are celebrating, not really when or how we celebrate it. Here is something to help you reflect on that

Christmas Begins (by Howard Thurman)

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost... feed the hungry...

release the prisoner... rebuild nations...

bring peace among all people...

and to make music from the heart.

To conclude on a more lighthearted note though, here is a glimpse of what the Christmas season involves in the United Kingdom courtesy of the Vicar of Dibley. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvfFpdIFTsI

(That is part 1 of 5; you should find the other four parts also listed on youtube.)

May you survive all of your Christmas dinners and much love to you this Christmas season.

In grace and peace from Northern Ireland. :)

Worst snow in 25 years!

2010-12-20T09:07:00.000-08:00

The headlines across Northern Ireland bear not so glad tidings about the effects of the recent snowy weather across Belfast and the rest of the United Kingdom.

Yesterday (on Sunday), Royal Mail delivered an extra 7,000 packages around the city. Thank you dedicated postal workers! http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/evening-post-planned-to-clear-weather-backlog-15034528.html

However, the snow brings beautiful opportunities... See the end of this post. :)

This past week was full of Christmas dinners and parties with groups around EBM (Mums & Tots, Friendship Circle, and then on Friday, the official EBM dinner, and Friday Fusion!)

While thoroughly enjoyable, this past week was a bit harried as I was helping plan two events: Friday Fusion's Christmas Party and Sunday's morning worship: The Nativity Service.

Both went splendidly! The Christmas party was general chaos of course (it wouldn't be Friday Fusion if it weren't), but the kids got to play on bouncy castles, get their faces painted, decorate sugar cookies, and be sent home with a selection pack of candy distributed by Santa Claus.

It was brilliant: kids on a sugar high being sent home with their parents. Recipe for success. :)

Sunday's nativity service of course included children in Biblical-themed costumes. But since I was helping out with it (lol), it was a bit different than your standard nativity. (First change: no children in animal costumes; kids can be cute as humans, no need to humiliate them by dressing up as lambs or donkeys - which also detracts from the meaning of the story. Probably read too many books as a child about the scarring of other children because of Nativity plays.)

The script was around the idea of 'Jesus as the light of the world.' So as each 'character' came out, following their bit of dialogue about the greater significance of their lives to the Gospel story, they then lit their own candle from the Christ candle.

It was a success for two reasons: 1) the building did not burn down. and 2) overall, i think it was a genuine time in which all generations could reflect on these images of light - light coming into the world and being carried out by every one of us.

Since I survived the past week, Monday (meeting day with the other YAVs) eventually rolled around. It was topped off with sledging (aka sledding) at Stormont. It ended up just being myself, another YAV (John), and our fearless leader Doug Baker hitting the slopes with our 'bum boards' (nifty sleds that I am sure are also marketed in the states). It was good craic (aka fun).

Enjoy the following photos from the experience**.

**Disclaimer: who knew the most epic hill that I have ever sledged on would be in BELFAST!?

Corrymeela Women's Retreat

2010-12-15T09:29:00.000-08:00

Images from women's retreat in November to Corrymeela Centre, outside of Ballycastle on the North Coast. (Cross-community retreat between two women's groups from East Belfast):

season of being

2010-12-08T16:28:00.000-08:00

Each day, I am continuously amazed at the wonderful interactions that I have with the "employees" of East Belfast Mission. Many have backgrounds in theology, ministry and public outreach, some have previously been employed in the shipyards, engineering firms, and other businesses, and a few have backgrounds in both. I could spend this whole post raving about these people and the work they are doing, but this post is actually about another project.

The head of the Skainos project (the current building construction project) is a theologian as well as a business manager, and he is an avid fan of William Stringfellow: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Stringfellow

During the season of Advent, he and a group of other people contribute to a blog reflecting on the time of year and the writings of Stringfellow. I was given a copy of Stringfellow's writing and asked if I would like to contribute. I went ahead and said yes.

It felt a bit like I was back in undergrad, posting my comments on an article to the class discussion board, but it was refreshing nonetheless to dip back into academia.

My blogpost is copied/pasted below; if you would like to just check out the whole blog yourself, you can go here: http://themockingbirdsleap.wordpress.com/

a season of being

Posted on December 8, 2010 by mfoltz

“In order…to be a person in Harlem, in order that my life and work there should have integrity, I had to be and to remain whoever I had become as a person before coming there. To be accepted by others, I must first of all know myself and accept myself and be myself wherever I happen to be. In that way, others are also freed to be themselves” (Stringfellow, “A Keeper of the Word,” 38.)

A few days ago, a person reflected to me that today’s society is spiraling downhill; all great nations and civilizations have fallen because of the loss of morality. On the most basic level, I disagree. (If Napoleon had not foolishly invaded Russia, we would have had a Beethoven symphony dedicated to him.) But focusing more on the first part of that statement, isn’t that just a nostalgic way of viewing the past? Ultimately, have the needs of “today’s society” changed that much in the past 2,000 years?

We could take hours to list all of the advances of the past 10, 50, 200, or even 500 years that define today. (My mother would argue that at the top of the list should be Gutenberg’s printing press.) But despite our radically different possessions, our ‘enlightened’ way of thinking, and even being much taller than our ancestors, the phrase “people, are people, are people” still comes to mind.

During the Advent season, our vocabulary is filled with wonderful words like “peace” and “love” and “justice.” These words that are central to the prophets’ messages about the coming of Christ translate into today’s world just as much as they did 2,000 years ago.

People, are people, are people who are in need of peace, in need of love, and in need of justice. Huge concepts that are constantly addressed during Jesus’ ministry. This season of preparation is not about buying gifts, decorating trees, or creepy Santa light up statues. It’s the time for us to realize that what is holding us back from peace, love, and justice to be present in this world is so often ourselves. People for centuries have defined the “right” way to dress, the “right” sexual orientation, the “right” skin colour, the “right” way to worship God. People have striven to bring about peace through violence, love through domination, and justice through tyranny. But we have the wonderful opportunity of living in the 21st century to realize that people regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation are all fearfully and wonderfully created and are all in need of Christ-like peace, love, and justice.

In this season of preparation, Christ is calling us to be comfortable in our own skins. To love your neighbor, you must first love yourself. Kudos, Stringfellow, for realizing this as part of your daily life. Peace, love, and justice will hopefully be realized for all people of this world.

But if you believe our society is in rapid decline and lacking in hope this Christmas season, may the words of Isaiah provide you hope that out of nothing, through Christ, God can grow much.

Isaiah 11:1-10 (NRSV)

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. [2] The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. [3] His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; [4] but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. [5] Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. [6] The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. [7] The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. [8] The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. [9] They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. [10] On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

Reflections from the Week

2010-12-03T02:59:00.000-08:00

Happy December everyone!

This past week has been a bit of an unusual one, but also a very good one.

For those of you who have been following the weather in the UK, the British isles are currently getting socked with lots of snow. Northern Ireland has not gotten as much snow as some parts of Scotland and England, but we have gotten a fair share.

Surprisingly enough, we had 8 days of sunshine in a row. But it was cold enough, that the snow on the ground after melting slightly during the day would refreeze to ice. (It doesn't help that the sun is up for about 7 out of 24 hours.) And more snow would often fall at night.

Today, the snow is falling fast. For living in such a northern country, the Norn Irish don't deal well with snow. Think Williamsburg, VA, style of cancelling schools at the thought of snow.

But in their defense, the Norn Irish are contending with a lot of ice under the snow, lots of country roads that are hard to maintain, and lots of small city streets that few snow/ salt trucks can traverse.

Walking to work this week has been interesting as the sidewalks of one of the main streets that I walk down have been completely iced. Skating to work isn't really my favorite thing to do, so I generally ended up walking in the street, skirting around parked cars. Adventures-Belfast style.

This week has been unusual work-wise for several reasons.

The Nativity planning which started last week continues to go well! Consequently, this week has been a bit calmer compared to last week.

Due to the teacher being sick, Dance Nation was cancelled this week, and then due to icy roads, Friendship Circle was then cancelled as well.

Construction continues to go well at EBM - the church itself was torn down this week. I unfortunately did not have my camera at work the day that the roof came off, but it was quite a sight to see! (And some EBM staff were out taking pictures - hopefully they will be posted online soon, and I will share the link.)

Last night was the first meeting of Re:act, the youth group for 11-18 year olds. I hosted the gathering at my flat, and it was a resounding success!

I had forgotten how much I enjoy working with older youth. (For example: they are old enough to play some of my favorite and more "advanced" games - such as spoons. Also, in the down time, there is space for both serious and also humorous discussions.)

Funny observation:

In addition to the standard pizza/crisps (aka chips)/ soda fare of youth gatherings, I also put out some plates of fruit and veg. The apple/ satsuma plate went over really well. The carrot/celery/hummus tray did not... As I expected, most of the youth had not had hummus before. Surprising revelation: only a couple of them had ever had celery sticks before. Most had only had celery in soups... And after their first bite of a celery stick, most made grotesque faces and couldn't finish the remainder of it. I tried explaining to them that carrots and celery sticks are standard fare in America, but I am afraid most of them still thought that I was crazy. :)

Not sure yet what the weekend and next week has in store. Perhaps a makeshift sleigh is in sight for the near future. Who knew I should have brought my snow pants to Northern Ireland!?

Overall, a great week at work of planning activities for the Christmas season, surviving and even enjoying the Scripture Union at the school yesterday (there were a couple of volunteers missing), and having some free time to reflect just how quickly the past three months have flown by!

I hope you are enjoying the Advent season!

During this time, let us reflect on how we often feel like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBthi_An5qQ

But when we are able to keep life in perspective, appreciate the time that we get to spend with friends and family, and realize that we have indoor plumbing, we are called to be more like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpb9EbmvM5M&feature=related

In grace and peace. :)

Snow, snow, snow!

2010-11-29T03:07:00.001-08:00

The past few days, it's been quite snowy and icy around Belfast! On a comical note, the snow as it is falling and even after it is on the ground resembles Dip n Dots ice cream.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! It was properly celebrated by the Norn Iron YAV family on Saturday courtesy of the Bakers' wonderful cooking. Holiday: celebrated.

Now onward to Christmas!

This past week was busy with preparations for the upcoming Nativity service, from inventorying costumes to organizing the (epic and ongoing) Christmas craft for Sunday School.

The upcoming week looks like it will be quite similar.

It's hard to believe December is a few days away!

December holidays have been booked - off to Frankfurt (and Holzhausen), Germany from 28 December to 4 January. New Years in Germany? Yes, please.

This will be my first time on the European continent!!! Ecstatic. :)

Tis a day for a lighter post. The sun is shining for the SEVENTH DAY IN A ROW.

The sun also rises in Belfast.

In grace and peace! :)

Happy Turkey Day (2 days early)

2010-11-23T12:31:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone has a FANTASTIC Thanksgiving in two days! Our YAV team will celebrate the holiday a few days late with a giant feast at our site coordinator's house on Saturday. (Since Thanksgiving is not a holiday here, we are blending in with the natives.)

Missing all of the folk in Virginia very much!

My apologies for the time between posts. Last week I missed a couple of days of work due to a nasty cold, and already having a busy weekend in store, I have not had time to sit down and write a blog post.

Some highlights from the past few weeks:

Two weekends ago, I went on a retreat to Corrymeela with women from a cross-community small group that has been meeting the past year. (All of the women had grown up in East Belfast; some in the Short Strand - the Catholic section of the inner East - and the rest in Ballymacarrett/ Ballyhackamore.) It was a GREAT time!

I wasn't too sure what I had gotten myself into when I showed up to EBM on Friday night, but the weekend turned out to be wonderful. Corrymeela is a Christian retreat center up on the North Coast outside of Ballycastle. It sits on a cliff overlooking the ocean. (Pictures to come.)

The retreat consisted of lots of free time for the women to socialize. (Slumdog Millionaire was viewed, humorous games of Green Grass Valley were played, the X Factor was watched, etc.) The best section of the retreat though was Saturday morning when we met with a mediator from Corrymeela. Over the two hours, we did two main activities.

First, we would be shown a picture, and then we were to stand as close or as far from the image as reflected our feelings towards that person. The pictures were of the Pope, Ian Paisley, etc.

Then, we split into Protestants and Catholics, and each group was handed two large pieces of paper. We were told to write about things that we associated with each faith practice on the separate pieces, and we then came back together to discuss them.

Overall, it was a healthy time to discuss the stereotypes (some true, some not so much) about the two faiths. And the best part of it all, since these women have been meeting throughout the past year, there was quite deep discussions allowing these women to reflect on and express their beliefs. (Most of these women would very rarely get an opportunity to do so during daily life.) I really enjoyed the time, and the women seemed to as well. It was a comfortable and safe place for these women to see that while there are differences in their beliefs, there are also many similarities.

The weekend was topped off with some of the women running to the town's chippie, and consequently, a late night snack of chip butties happened.

Chip butty:

http://www.google.co.uk/images?q=chip+butty&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1024&bih=649

Literally, bread, butter, chips (french fries), ketchup and vinegar to taste

People from the inner east of Belfast eat so unhealthily, but none are really obese. I think the trick is in the portions - instead of eating a big mac with an extra large serving of fries, they might just eat fries with gravy. (Plus, their fries are thicker, instead of the shoe strings that soak up more grease.) But, pure speculation on my part.

So having survived the retreat, I returned to fight sickness during the week, then the busy weekend arrived.

I led Friday Fusion (youth club on Friday night for 4-11 year olds), so we did a variety of Thankgsiving crafts and games. :)

SATURDAY NIGHT SAW HARRY POTTER 7.1. Enjoyable.

Then on Sunday, I got to lead the small evening worship service at EBM.

(Once a month, I have also been teaching the 4+5 year olds Sunday School class; this along with a music team meeting, kept me on my toes this past Sunday.)

This week has been busy planning out the upcoming Nativity service which is on the third Sunday of December. In trying to make it more meaningful and less about children wearing costumes, I have been helping one of the EBM staff members rethink the standard nativity scene.

So, children will be dressed only as 'humans' (no five year olds in sheep costumes), and the general theme will be about Jesus as the light of the world.

Costume inventory, planning of Christmas crafts, organizing music for the service, etc. is taking up a lot of this week. (Sunday School starts various preparations this Sunday!)

Tonight was Dance Nation - a healthy living/hip hop dance class for youth in the Inner East. Not teaching it, but help to facilitate, and do occasionally participate. :)

Life in Belfast has been busy but still good. The past two days have been sunny, so that is quite a treat from last week. (Wind and rain is the best combination for a miserable mile walk to work.)

The YAV group is continuing to get along. We had our weekly meeting with Doug this past Monday, and before we headed out of City Centre, we stopped by the Continental Market which is in Belfast for several weeks. It truly feels like the Christmas season... Time to watch a Muppet Christmas Carol.

For those of you who are wondering, my return date has been set for July 27th. Mark your calendars!

In grace and peace.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2010-11-08T04:23:00.000-08:00

We returned from Donegal last Thursday to find that storefronts had begun to be filled with Christmas decorations. My flatmate Jo (whose favorite holiday is Christmas) was overjoyed. I was rather not too excited. (I am a bit of a Christmas purist; please save the commercial Christmas decorations and radio tunes until at least after Thanksgiving.) Granted, no one in Northern Ireland - except for us YAVs - will be celebrating Thanksgiving in two weeks, so now is as good a time as any to start. Plus, with the really grey weather and torrential gale force wind and rains that we have been having, Christmas decorations provide some warm and fuzzing feelings to be felt when walking home at 5 o'clock and it's already dark.

So Donegal! It was a fantastic four day retreat during which we ate a lot (courtesy of Doug's cooking and Elaine's planning, there was a constant supply of homemade desserts), hiked Slieve League, and visited some of the beaches along the North Atlantic. (I did not take a dip into the ocean, but did put my hand in - surprisingly not that cold compared to the Outer Banks in June.)

Slieve League: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slieve_League

When we got to the top, this is what it looked like:

If you were wondering, the sign says something to the effect of "Danger! Do not wander past this sign! You will fall off a sea cliff!" Please note, the view was basically the cliff edge fading into clouds.

On the way to Donegal, we stopped in Armagh at the Celtic Spirituality Centre there, and on the way back, at Lough Derg where a Catholic retreat centre established by St. Patrick himself is still in use. Overall, it was a great trip with great people, and as always, a learning experience.

In peace and grace!

2 months in, some reflections.

2010-11-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hiking in Northern Ireland: the tough climb up a mountain is not always rewarded with a fantastic view at the summit.

First with climbing Slieve Donard and just this past week with climbing Slieve League in the Republic of Ireland, both trips were cold, windy, rainy, and treacherous. (As one YAV commented during the trek up Slieve League, “The word epic is overused. But it definitely applies to this climb.”) At both of the summits, we could see at most 20 feet in front of us and nothing of the fantastic view that was advertised on brochures and websites.

Trying to comprehend my experiences in Northern Ireland – what I have seen and heard – is comparable to these hikes. Like the tough climb up the mountain, with a strong headwind against me, I struggle to process what I see and here during my days here. And often when I think I have reached an understanding – similar to reaching the summit - I am quite limited in my viewpoint (20 feet) and feel like I am not able to take into consideration the breadth and variety of what is happening around me.

To help myself organize this blogpost – which also helps you the reader to process it along with me – I will organize it around three topics/ questions: 1) The Troubles – what are the aftershocks still present in Northern Ireland? 2) What does peace and reconciliation really mean? 3) What is the future for Northern Ireland?

Please keep in mind that these reflections are simply those of a volunteer who has been here 2 months. (I will likely revisit the topics several times throughout the year to see how my opinions change.) During those intense two months though, I diligently kept my eyes and ears open throughout my daily life. No outside research was done; it was just learning through being in this society.

The Troubles: A Vocal Minority and a Silenced Majority

This pattern of the troubles continues through this day. After 30-odd years of open hostilities, the various political parties (Sinn Fein, Progressive Unionist Party particularly) have committed to promoting peace. So at a macro-level, the peace process is at the best stage in many years. Yet while the official position is for peace, certain members do not wish it to be so. While most of the society yearns for peace, the vocal minority is not ready to let peace happen and are making their voices heard through continued bomb threats and rioting . The basic political loyalties of Northern Ireland: Nationalist – Republican – Unionist – Loyalist: are the same today as the past few decades. The thing to bear in mind is that the Troubles were not a simple affair of one side versus the other.

In addition to the political sides of the conflict, the police force was and is often viewed by the multiple sides as the enemy – whether as an occupying force or simply distrusted in their allegiances. (The NI police do not have so great a track record of human rights towards citizens.) While they have been renamed the PSNI (Police Services of Northern Ireland, formerly Royal Ulster Constabulary - issues right there in the name), there are still visible signs of the uneasy relationship between the police and the people they serve. Such as: police stations are well-barricaded with giant walls around them. The few random police checkpoints that I have seen, the police are at the ready with semi-automatic rifles. (Not just sidearms in their holsters; semi-automatics ready to fire.) Another major sign: If you have followed any news in Belfast recently, in North Belfast (not too near where the guys are living), there was a police raid in Rathcoole (one of the estates – government funded living subdivisions in essence) where they were looking for drugs. [Rathcoole is a heavily Loyalist neighborhood, once - and probably still - controlled by a loyalist paramilitary organization – Ulster Volunteer Force - UVF.] In response, there were several days of rioting. Courtesy of half-term break, children were available and unoccupied, and likely by the encouragement of parents and support by other leaders in the community, mostly youth – even as young as 9 years old - were involved in the violence. As a result, along with other property damage, two city buses were burnt, and bus services to the city were halted until things calmed down.

Of all the Northern Irish people that I have interacted with, they have all expressed the desire to see peace in the nation. (But just what that peace might look like is to be decided - see the future of N.I.) I have heard people argue that today’s troubles are caused by ignorant youth who just didn’t know better. But why don’t they know better?

Education in Northern is segregated. A recent NI public official stated as such and has received an extreme amount of flack for it. But he was correct. Only a small minority of schools are actually cross-community. (Less than 10%.) Many children are growing up in schools and neighborhoods with people of the same identity as themselves. And these people of different identities are simply enemies without a face, and these assumptions are reinforced by their parents who have grown up only knowing the same thing.

And many people I have talked to – who are educated, wonderful people – harbor these same prejudices against other N.I. residents who are different than them, whether they like to admit it or not. These prejudices have been forced upon them by the history of this society. The majority of Northern Ireland Protestants would shudder if you told them that they were “Irish.” They would say first, and foremost, that they are British. (To put it in different terms: in 1783, say that the loyalist state of New York was held on to by the British. It remained a British colony for another two hundred years. Then today, the residents would be told that they were no longer British citizens, but rather Native Americans. Because obviously they have lived in America long enough, that they are now Native Americans. For those residents, they would still consider themselves British, not Native Americans or Americans. Hence the problems of a Northern Irish/Irish/ British identity.) Few would say that they are Northern Irish. They might live in Northern Ireland, but it’s not a cultural identity. They naturally view the Catholic Irish residents of Northern Ireland as different than themselves, and consequently dissidents who are in opposition to the ruling powers.

So how does one even begin to reconcile the various sides of this conflict? There have been countless bomb threats and bombs planted throughout Belfast and Northern Ireland even in the two months that I have been here. It is people who simply are scared of what the future might hold and thinking that their voices are not being heard. But there are greater forces at work. Dozens and dozens of organizations are working towards increasing dialogue between the various sides. (Each of the Norn Iron YAVs is working with an organization which has reconciliation in mind. And these are just a drop in a vast ocean of peace-minded groups in Belfast, much less Northern Ireland.) This is where the future of Northern Ireland comes into question.

From my observations and hearing various opinions on it, it seems that Northern Ireland at some point will cease to exist; it’s just a matter of when reunification with the South will happen. There are still many factors to address – the barriers that people have put up both in their minds and also in their cities to protect themselves from people who are different than them. In the reunification process, many British Northern Irelanders will have to choose whether to return the country that they are identifying with or choose to assimilate more into the culture of the place that they are living. However, the population of Northern Ireland is already more 50/50 Catholic/ Protestant versus even twenty years ago when Protestants maintained a strong majority.

The 30 years of the Troubles are over, but Northern Ireland is not a peaceful society yet. Its citizens have not overcome their differences and are still divided by them. These divisions are visible through the touristy murals, but also more subtle ways of demographics of neighborhoods, demographics of schools, and ultimately internal prejudices. There won’t be peace until paramilitary organizations disband. There won’t be peace until the people trust their police force. But peace will someday happen.

We are standing at the top of the mountain. There has been a lot that has been learned and struggled with, and the view that presents itself is rather hazy. It makes sense, but at the same time, many questions are clouding up our vision. But that is part of the experience of Northern Ireland – continuing to struggle with the hope that some day the clouds will clear out once we reach the top.

Until then, I pray for peace and reconciliation, not only for the people of Northern Ireland, but also all of the people of the world. That despite our differences and the prejudices that we innately have against those who are different from us, we do not let our own shortcomings get in the way.

“I am who I am because of who we all are.”

In peace and grace.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T16:08:00.000-07:00

No turnips were carved, and we didn't have too many trick or treaters stop by. (Trick or treaters here receive either candy or... a quid!) However, the holiday was commemorated by both illegal fireworks set off around the city and legal fireworks which were set off from a barge on the River Lagan.

Courtesy of Daylights Savings Time (which happens for N.I. a week earlier than in the States), it is now getting dark around 5 p.m. It's bizarre.

So around 5, a small group of us headed down to the Titanic Quarter to catch the end of the family celebrations going on and see the fireworks display which began at 5:45. [Yes, it was dark that early.] After a short walk, we were rewarded with an excellent 20 minute bombardment of colors and booms. Plus, it was good fun to see all of the various costumes. (Side note: Doug said that N.I. does not really do Halloween. We beg to differ. Halloween was originally a Celtic tradition. America ultimately commercialized it, and not all of the traditions have crossed back over the Atlantic. But, N.I. did still put on quite a show for Halloween!)

It was a balmy 10 degrees Celsius, which is actually warmer than most St. Louis Halloweens that I remember as a child...

The Norn Iron YAV contingent is off to Donegal tomorrow for a retreat. Upon my return on Thursday, I will hopefully have some in-depth reflections to share in blog form.

Hope your Halloween was safe and not too spooky!

In grace and peace.

Somewhere on the culture shock graph...

2010-10-26T14:41:00.001-07:00

During our YAV orientation, culture shock was heavily addressed. However, for those of us in Northern Ireland, we are perhaps experiencing a different range of culture shock as our brother and sister YAVs in other places of the world..

In terms of the general culture shock iceberg, this is more or less what it looks like:

The iceberg parts that are above the water and underwater can be equally hard to deal with in Norther Ireland. Everyday presents new challenges, particularly in communicating with the people around me. While English is the official language of Northern Ireland, accents and vocabulary vary widely enough from my American English that the mini translator in my brain needs to be switched on for the conversation. (For the days with an early start time, it often takes a little while, or two cups of tea, for my brain to be awake enough to carry on an intelligent conversation with a Belfast native.) Since church ministry centers on working and communicating with people, adjusting to working in a church is even more difficult when in a foreign country.

In terms of overall culture shock adaption, on this scale:

most of my days involve moments of just sitting on the x-axis, having moments of positive well-being, and also moments of negative well-being.

As a YAV-alum suggested, the graph when translated to real life is not linear. And sometimes it feels like each day I go through the entire cycle of the graph.

Every day can be simultaneously exhausting and exhilarating.

It's been awhile since I have passed on general observations from my daily life:

- I have gotten my personalized Tesco's (comparatively a Bloom for VA folk or Schnucks for St Louis folk) points card in the mail. The grocery card is a step towards being a resident of a certain area.

- Days are already beginning to shorten. The sun rose after 8 a.m. today and set before 6 p.m. And its not even winter. I have discovered that I have a hard time motivating myself to get out of bed when it is dark.

- There is the South and there is the North. Refer to Ireland only in such terms as "the South" or "the North." The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are not labels referred to in daily conversation.

- Most people when trying to be impartial do not take the time to say Derry/Londonderry. The newsfolk generally refer to it as Stroke City. (Stroke being the term for what we might call a slash mark.)

- Halloween/ All Saints Day originated in the Celtic Calendar; the early Celtic Church basically fit Christianity into the Celtic practices.

- after walking in the rain, your trousers will be wet. if you say pants, you are referring to your underwear.

- I use a lot of colloquial phrases in my daily language. You don't realize this until you are in a different culture, and after you say something, you have to figure out if your accent got in the way or your word choice was poor. It's usually the latter.

- Before pumpkins (and gourds in general) began to be imported to Ireland, carving turnips was the closest alternative. In case you are interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6QfMutuRmM

In the next post, I will cover more macro- observations of my time here, particularly focusing on The Troubles and its effects on daily life. While this is not a society in open conflict, Belfast is definitely not a peaceful city. There are constant reminders of this in daily life, and I have been purposeful in taking the time to digest what I have seen and heard. Otherwise this part of the culture shock - the hurting of this society that is beneath the surface that I am very much witnessing - would slowly build up and cause me to sink. Again, bear with me as I strive to find the words to clearly and accurately portray my thoughts.

Until then, let me leave you with a quote on a lighter note.

Context: in response to NPR's refusal to cover the Rally to Restore Sanity (how I wish I were in the U.S.!!!), John Stewart's response was this:

‎"NPR you just brought a tote bag full of david sedaris books to a knife fight"

In peace and grace. :)

Siberian Swans

2010-10-21T10:39:00.000-07:00

Apparently the Siberian swans have migrated three weeks early to Belfast, signaling that it will be a harsh winter. I suppose they are the UK version of the groundhog.

It's been awhile since my last update; many apologies. But as I am settling in more, my days are quite full. Work is continuing to go really well. As I get to know East Belfast Mission, both the congregation and mission side, I am liking the people more and more. As I think I have mentioned before, this year is turning into my sabbatical year. During these two months, I have been encouraged to explore my faith, to be able to expound on and support my beliefs, all the while being nurtured and positively challenged to grow.

The best way to explain it is to give you a list of some of the books that I have read so far/ am currently reading:

- The Divine Conspiracy (Dallas Willard)

- eat this bread (sara miles)

- The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)

- A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini)

- Grace, Order, Openness, and Diversity (Ian Bradley)

And those are just a selection from the ever growing list of books that I am being lent. It's delightful. :)

Some highlights from the past week and a half include:

- this week's mum's and tot's meeting: it was picture day! So the children were dressed to the nines and utterly adorable. Each week the kids continue to open up to me just a little bit more. This week one of the younger girls was quite fascinated with me. She would look at me across the room, smile, and run towards me - and I would scoop her up into my arms. It was adorable. A group picture was taken, so I will hopefully get a copy of it.

- I have continued to lead Friendship Circle; what a wonderful life I am leading here. This past Wednesday, we had a mini-hymn sing. I spoke for a short while about the tradition and meaning of music during worship. We then sang through the church calendar - began with an Advent hymn, continued with a Christmas hymn, and continued all the way through to a Thanksgiving hymn. I think everyone had a great time. (Plus, a new set of tea cups had just been purchased for the group; set quite a positive tone for the meeting!)

- We climbed Cave Hill this past Saturday, which was FANTASTIC.

Here are a few pictures:

We have our first retreat coming up in a week and a half; the Norn YAV contingent will be heading to Donegal to spend some time decompressing as a group away from Belfast. (I am very excited!)

I made chicken curry [onions, green peppers, tomatoes, chicken, rice, and tikka marsala curry sauce purchased from the local grocer] for the first time tonight, and it turned out fantastically. :) I will be eating leftovers for a few days, but I am not at all sad about this.

Much love from Northern Ireland! In peace and grace.

Indian Summer

2010-10-11T02:06:00.001-07:00

It's an unusual season in Belfast. Apparently, winter generally sets in at the beginning of October. Well, we are 11 days into October, and it's still sunny, warm, and feels like a Belfast summer.

Woohoo!

Supposedly this means it's going to be a harsh winter.

But for now, I am just soaking up as much Vitamin D as possible. :)

This past week was absolutely wonderful; probably one of the best weeks in Northern Ireland so far.

It started off with my delivery of Healthy Food for All meals to residents of EBM's shelter (Hosford House) and then to ex-residents of Hosford House. The driver who I go with is a middle aged Belfast man (with a pony tail!) who thankfully lived in Australia for 10 years - thus I can understand what he is saying most of the time. It's quite an interesting ride as I get to chat with a "local" about such topics as the political situation at hand, driving in Belfast, etc.

p.s. I am so glad I don't have to drive in Belfast... I am ready to return to the land of the automatics. (One of the ministers at EBM actually drives an automatic, but it has the potential to be driven like a manual. Lol.)

Anyway, after the great delivery on Monday, my Tuesday was even better.

After staff prayers, I was taken out for coffee to McKees (http://www.mckeesproduce.com/) which is a country store East of Belfast in County Down. The pastor emeritus of EBm (as I like to refer to him haha) and I had a wonderful conversation, which was topped off by him lending me more books to read!!! :)

This is truly turning into my sabbatical year.

Wednesday was highlighted by a wonderful Kids GAP (mums & tots) morning, great lunch with some of the EBM staff in the cafe, and getting to lead Friendship Circle. Friendship Circle is generally one of the highlights of my week, but it was an extra treat as I got the opportunity to speak to them about myself, the YAV program, and what I am doing here.

Thursday was highlighted by another eventful Scripture Union at a local primary school and then dinner with a member of EBM's congregation.

Friday I helped out with a drop-in at a local secondary school (lunch time, we provide a place for the students to hang out. theoretically it's a time to talk about God, but as this was the first session of the year, about 130 girls came by during the 25 minute period... so it was more chaos than conversation). Then it was Friday Fusion! I had a team of p1-p3 children (about 4 to 6 year olds), and we traveled around to different stations to collect points. It was quite fantastic - blind taste tasting, memory of objects on a table, dropping a dried pea into a water bottle (mine went in the first time I tried!!! skillz.), and then some various running games in the gym area.

Team Tigers (roar!) won in the running games section!

Haha, the kids in my group were such a joy to work with; what a fun Friday Fusion. (And it was a more moderate number in attendance - we had about 60 kids there.)

Saturday was highlighted by the group of YAVs getting together to play football during the afternoon. It was most excellent!!! (Thank you W&M IM sports for giving me basic soccer skills that I never developed as a child.)

Anyway, the week was topped off with a FANTASTIC Sunday!

I got to open Sunday School with about 10 minutes of music. That was awesome. No other way to put it. :)

Then, met up with my form 1 through form 3 small group again. (Since there is not a secondary group meeting at this point, and there is a group of girls age 11-13 who are quite active, I have been starting to organize various fellowship times.) While only three of the girls could make it, we had a wonderful devotional time and then picked up some lunch. Truly quality over quantity. And the evening was topped off by playing keyboard for the evening service.

What I am still struggling with the most: the slight, slight, slight difference in music. Which is larger than one might expect. (It would be easier if the music was totally different - then I wouldn't be expected to know any of it.)

The PC(USA) blue hymnal is organized beautifully: hymns are grouped according to time in the church calendar/theme, and it has a great index for scripture themes.

The hymnal that EBM uses is simply in alphabetical order.

I was asked to pick out two additional hymns last night for the service... I spent half the time just opening to a random page in the hopes that I would recognize the hymn/the lyrics would fit with the theme, haha.

Basically, I was put out of my comfort zone - pick music from this book that you have never really sung out of before. I have never had a problem in the past picking out hymns - with the blue hymnal, give me five minutes, and I can give you a long list of appropriate hymns from which to choose two hymns from.

It is definitely a challenge!

Anyway, the sun is up. Another week has begun. Much love to all.

In grace and peace. :)

My diary

2010-10-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

Diary = calendar

So this is what you have been waiting for, right? Drum roll please. Here is my basic weekly schedule/list of responsibilities as it stands now:

Monday:

- alternating weeks, morning meetings with YAVs + Doug

- Healthy Food for All food delivery program to Hosford House (shelter run by EBM) and ex-residents of Hosford House living independently around East Belfast

Tuesday:

- EBM staff prayers

- Healthy Food for All organization/paperwork (confirming the amount of meals to be delivered that afternoon)

- Dance Nation! (hip hop dance lessons for ages 8-18)

Wednesday:

- Kids GAP (Kids, Guardians, and Parents = aka Mums and Tots)

- Friendship Circle

- evening bible study

Thursday:

- Scripture Union

Friday:

- Friday Fusion (p1-p6)

Saturday:

day off!

Sunday:

- morning worship

- alternating Sundays, informal fellowship group with form 1 - form 3 youth

- evening worship

The beginning of the week is rather packed while it mellows out towards the end. The free time currently allows me to connect with various members of the congregation and also employees of EBM, which has been most excellent. :)

The schedule may continue to fluctuate as the year continues. I'll keep you posted.

In grace and peace.

Stand up for the Ulstermen.

2010-10-02T07:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been in Northern Ireland for over a month now. (From a fractional perspective, it's hard to believe that 1/11th of this year has already passed.)

Reflecting on the past month, some things have been great; other things have been hard. It's been easy, hard, enjoyable, and difficult transitioning into work at East Belfast Mission. The congregation and fellow EBM employees are wonderful, but it's been a month of carving out my own niche in the organization. And at the end of the day, it's not like there is a finished product that I can point to and say, yes, that is what my labors of today produced.

Also, it's an interesting transition into the real world:

What, I don't have assigned reading and papers to churn out? My time is my own when I go home from work??? After 18 years of education, this is an interesting development.

But some of my highlights of this past week include:

For Friendship Circle (fellowship group of older women), we went to the Ulster History Museum as it was a week of Celebration of Aging. (Might have had a different title; don't quote me on that.) We attended a short drama which was a monologue of a young man who was a 16 year old riveter on the Titanic. It was interesting hearing the women's reactions to it as many of them had brothers and fathers who worked in the shipyards. (Several of them worked in the ropeworks and linen mills.) We then did a jewelry making session: origami butterfly pins out of pieces of plastic bags!

For Scripture Union on Thursday afternoon, the students were positively mental. Even worse than the first week. Kids getting kicked out left and right. I am getting to know the kids a little bit more though; it's fun interacting with them. They have no hesitations about telling me that I pronounce things funny...

Friday night, I was invited to go to the Ulster vs Glasgow Rugby match. It was awesome! Ulster won by just a few points. I attended a W&M women's rugby match this past year, so I knew the basics about scoring and rules. The game definitely moves faster though on a professional level. And Glasgow had brought a pipe and drum band with them, so there was entertainment at halftime. The game had a certain Friday Night Football feel - crisp Fall air (ok, it was more cold than crisp), rowdy fans, and halftime entertainment. Since we had arrived pretty early to the match, we secured front row spaces in the standing section. Consequently, myself and another girl I was with made it onto BBC tv! The other girl I was with taped the match, so when we got back to her place, we found the segment and I took a picture of it. (Picture soon to follow.)

The main chant for Ulster Rugby is "Stand up for the Ulsterman," whose tune just keeps repeating itself. (If interested, here is rough home footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTKKaIeZ_28) It gives you a good feel for the game. :)

A little lighter post this time. :)

In grace and peace.

The Welfare State, Reagonomics, and Lady Voldemort

2010-09-30T09:50:00.001-07:00

Any economic policy can be brilliant in theory, but in practical application to modern society, human shortcomings make any political theory imperfect.

The Welfare State is brilliant in theory. It establishes a great safety net for the citizens of a nation. Offering up her first hand experience, JK Rowling discusses the UK’s Welfare State in an article she penned back in April.: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article7096786.ece.

During my time in Belfast and Scotland, I have seen a wee bit into the complications that arise within a welfare state. First, is that if the safety net is set too high, then there is no incentive to actually maintain a job and stay off of benefits. (This problem is not just limited to the UK; it is very much present in American with welfare programs.) Secondly, when the government becomes the main employer in a region or even nation, the top down bureaucracy can be cumbersome, and when a major budget crunch arises, society is at risk of toppling under its own weight. It’s been interesting to follow the threats of budget cuts while in Northern Ireland – with the current amount of budget cuts totaling 128 million pounds, for a nation of about 1.75 million, that is a HUGE slash to their budget and equals many job cuts. (In U.S. terms, that might be comparable to a budget cut of 30 billion dollars, as the U.S. population resides at 300 million peoples. That’s a lot of government spending slashed right there.)

Another controversial part of the Welfare State is socialized medicine. In speaking with many people though, public health care is beautiful. Doug and Elaine testified that when one of their children was born with many health problems and needed several expensive surgeries, they never once had to stop to consider how they would pay for it. They didn’t have to fight with insurance companies; they didn’t have to hassle with mountains of paperwork. They just signed the consent for the procedure, and the surgery was done.

I have grown up with socialized medicine, courtesy of being a military dependent. There are drawbacks – I have probably never seen the same doctor more than once, sometimes your treatment is not the best. But it was awesome to be able to receive treatments and medication for free or at very low out of pocket expense. Thank you to all of the American tax payers for helping to cover treatment for all of my childhood ailments.

The general drawbacks of the welfare state are more than evident: the rampant possibility for abuse or misuse of the system, high taxes (sidenote: having sales tax already included in the price of an item makes shopping soooo much easier), and the bureaucracy it creates can often be a hassle.

But, in the U.S. where the government lacks transparency and already spends humongous chunks of money on war and to bail out banks, why not have a state that at least tries to take care of its citizens? If I am going to pay high taxes, please, let the money be channeled back in ways that benefit me – whether through public parks, national highways, public transportation, public schools, public libraries, and *gasp* public health care.

For those who shudder at the thought of big government, let me say: Ronald Reagans of America, I hear your cry. But I’m just going to put it out there: I’d pick any day the failings of the welfare state over the failings of Trickle Down Economics. On paper, Trickle-Down theory sounds brilliant. Lack of government involvement in the market allows for free trade, and as the rich get richer, the poor will also share in the wealth as it trickles down.

But humanity doesn't work that way.

In the U.S., the rich continue to get richer, and the gap between poor and rich Americans does not decrease or even remain the same. It grows. Released a few days ago, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that the gap between rich and poor Americans is the largest since 1967 as the average household’s income fell about 4 percent between 2007 and 2010. The money given to the banks and auto industry has not trickled down.

Like in the Welfare State, the problems with Trickle-Down theory in practice is humanity’s shortcomings. When times are tough, we strive to look out for ourselves. So as companies receive these huge sums of money, the people in charge of the money – those at the top of the food chain – are going to look after themselves while looking after the company. So the countless stories of executives who were let go during the 2007/2008/and ongoing crisis, are understandably often released with generous severance packages. But what about the employees down the foodchain? The working masses are given the pink slip and kindly escorted out of the building. Maybe they receive some severance bonus to carry them through the next few months, but what next?

The problem with Trickle-Down is it’s focus on the macro side of economics without consideration for the people. I would take the failings of the Welfare state: back in the 1950s when the welfare system was fully implemented in Great Britain, it nearly bankrupted the state as people rushed to get free healthcare that had not been affordable before. But the government survived, and the people’s lives improved. (Ok, maybe British people don’t have shiny pearls like Americans, but I would suggest that it’s more from different society norms rather than any shortcomings of dentistry.) Over the failings of Trickle-Down: tax cuts to benefit the rich are flat out not going to benefit the poor; instead the government faces huge loss in revenue and the rich sit on their money, watching it grow. The rich are the only ones who win. Congrats for anyone reading this who has a Trust Fund.

And finally, Lady Voldemort.

My history advisor/ professor who I took two classes with came of age in England during the reign of Lady Thatcher. In the second class I took with him, he finally explained why exactly he referred to Thatcher as She Who Shall Not Be Named. The basic summary that I can remember is: the professor’s dad and brothers all worked in the coal mines. During the coal miners’ strikes in protest of her shutting down some of the mines, Thatcher had no mercy. She branded them as enemies to the state as they were interrupting progress during a time of war (in the Falklands), and violence was rampant among the picket lines.

[Kudos to Thatcher for being the first female MP, but negative points for being so blind to the needs of the people.]

Lady Voldemort made many cuts during her time in power. However, she could not dissolve the NHS. Her intended privatization plans were never implanted due to public outcry against it.

What it comes down to is the question: is the government supposed to help people? I would say yes. While it is nice to think that private organizations, churches, and local communities would be able to take care of themselves, today’s modern world is not conducive to that. (Few people remain in the communities where they grew up; American suburbs are built so we don't have to interact with our neighbors.) We need government policies to establish a basic standard of living that ensures everyone has access to the basics – food, shelter, and health care. While concerns about Big Brother are sometimes valid, Obama is not Hitler. Do not even compare the two. Obama does not proclaim a master race and seek to take over the world. Bush proclaimed a master religion and tried to do that in the Middle East. Hasn’t worked out so well. Obama just needs to stop being a politician and follow through on his campaign promises. There is hope. Hope for a better future. But until parts of American society are addressed, those hopes will be futile for future generations. (See previous post on immigration.)

In viewing the UK with American eyes and viewing the U.S. from across the pond, there are many things of value within each society. My hope is that more Americans will travel, both around the nation and out into the world. To expand our perspective of the world, break others’ biased stereotypes of Americans, and through the exchange, work towards a better tomorrow. The world is getting smaller; when one nation’s economy crashes, the rest of the world feels the effects.

The UN Millenium Development Goals were supposed to have been reached by 2015. See here: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/. Or even better, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Development_Goals

It’s time for governments to stop spending money on war, but rather peace. To build a future rather than destroy what exists. Spend money on your citizens, bettering their lives, and on citizens of other nations, to provide the basic needs of living rather than guns or bombs. We are all God’s children.

Even as we stand reviewing our shortcomings, God gives us hope.

In grace and peace.

YAV thoughts

2010-09-27T13:25:00.000-07:00

I am a registered temporary migrant worker in the United Kingdom. During my summer last year in Scotland and also so far during my time here, I have often reflected on how complicated national identities are - British/Scottish/English/ Welsh/ Northern Irish/Irish. These labels serve to unite some while excluding others. The idea of being American is just as intangible - when it comes down to it, except for Native Americans (and if you take into account the Land Bridge Theory, they were once immigrants many, many years ago), our ancestors were all people coming to America to seek a better life (well most, maybe not Colbert's ancestor).

This is all relevant to today's age as U.S. immigration policies are explored, challenged, and hopefully remedied. Here are just two thoughts that I have come across during the past few days that I really wanted to share:

First, Steven Colbert's thoughts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1T75jBYeCs

Second, Stevie (a YAV in Tucson, AZ) posted a very enlightening post this past Saturday. The best part of the YAV program is that we learn, then share, and through sharing help others learn. A year of service for a lifetime of change. Hope you enjoy:

http://desertwindsyav.blogspot.com/

In peace and in grace.

Harland & Wolff

2010-09-25T13:38:00.001-07:00

To begin this post, here is the view outside the third floor office at EBM which I am based out of.

So much of what I would describe as Belfast's identity is captured in this photograph: Belfast is a post-industrial, struggling, but also growing society. All vast topics, but here we go.

Post-industrial:

The two cranes here, Samson and Goliath, are owned by Harland & Wolff and are a significant feature of Belfast's skyline. Read more on the cranes here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson_and_Goliath_(cranes)

Besides once boasting a variety of industries (soap making, ropeworks, mills, etc.), East Belfast boasted - and continues to boast - the headquarters of Harland & Wolff (makers of the Titanic, Olympic, and Britannic). Before cuts began during the 1980s & 1990s, H&W employed 35,000+ people. Today, fewer than 500 people are employed through the company, and H&W specializes in basic ship repairs and various industrial endeavors rather than ship building.

No major service industry has moved in to replace H&W as a major employer.

For the people of East Belfast, where once had been a guaranteer of work, there remains a vast dry dock and two giant cranes not in regular use. These changes have come about over the time of a few generations, and thanks to the welfare state, there is a safety net. However, most people are employed in service economy areas (particularly education, social work, and other gov't funded jobs).

Struggling:

The homes located between EBM and the cranes... To Americans, they may seem to be cute, urban, British flats. In actuality, many of the housing developments in Belfast (called estates) have been funded by the government over the past half century. In American terms, they would be the "projects," but again, safety net of the welfare state comes into play - estates are not like the projects. While efforts have been made to privatize the housing (you can tell a privately owned house by the various flourishes added to the exterior), estates are still primarily government owned. Over the past couple decades, many estates have been raised and rebuilt - much to the grumblings of the residents as they are displaced, but very much an improvement for some of the estates. (Newer estates tend to have small patio spaces in the front where there was once none and do include indoor plumbing - even up until a couple decades ago, some of the older estates lacked an indoor toilet.)

I'll save further comments on estate housing and the welfare state for a later date.

Growing:

Construction cranes are a common site in Belfast. Before the global economic period of doom in 2007/2008, construction projects were flourishing around Belfast. (With the peace accords of 1998 coming to fruition throughout the 2000s, investments in Belfast rapidly increased.) There are still signs of the economic crash - construction sites sitting unfinished, but there are also signs of recovery - on my way to work, I pass several construction sites in progress.

A few updates from this past week:

- I am in charge of the "Healthy Food for All" program for this next month - for residents of the homeless shelter run by EBM and ex-residents living independently, they get a healthy meal twice a week from EBM's cafe. I will be in charge of the paperwork, confirming numbers, and helping to deliver on Monday afternoons while the usual coordinator is on holiday through the next month. Woohoo!

- We had 67 kids (ages 4 to 13) at our Friday night youth club. Wowzers. It was mad but also awesome.

- The kids that I work with during the work are warming up to me. How do I know? They have begun to let me know that I talk funny - whether because of my pronunciations or word choice. (Bun = cupcake, skipping = jump rope, and pitcher = jug.)

- As a last minute substitute, I have been asked to play piano with the praise group for worship tomorrow. Yay!

There are a million other little reasons as to why this past week went really well. Most of them involve getting to know the people of all ages at EBM better.

I went to an EBM evening discussion of the history of Ballymacarrett (the section of town where EBM is situated). They had a panel to lead discussions - a MP for this area (she grew up here as well), two historians - one catholic, one protestant, and two other random guests. After hearing a bit from them, they then opened the floor for questions and further discussions.

Apparently it was one of the less controversial sessions as they have had discussions in the past on politics. It was enlightening: this community is struggling with how to remember its history - particularly its history pre-1969. And also struggling to come to terms with the future - budget cuts will hit Norn Iron hard. (In one of the sections of East Belfast, the school, library, and hospital on one street have already been closed.)

Altogether a really interesting week. Hopefully your appetite has been whetted for more knowledge of Belfast's economy, history, and culture; stay tuned for more in later posts. :)

In peace and in grace.

More pictures!

2010-09-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

Pictures from the hike up Slieve Donard. My apologies that they are not in chronological order.

Picture 1: After 2.5 hours of stair master level 5 climbing.

At the top of Slieve Donard! On a clear day, the view is supposed to be amazing. We could see about 20 feet in front of us... And the picture does not quite capture the extreme cold, wetness, and harsh wind that were quite present at the top. :)
Picture 2: About 1 hour 45 minutes into the hike.

Before the final ascent to the summit, we took a break at the Mourne wall. (This wall runs throughout the Mournes - 7 peaks in all.) This is the view over the wall.

The wall would prove to be a good friend as I climbed - both serving as a wind breaker and as a hand rail through some of the steep, rocky stretches. Better picture of the wall below.

Picture 3: About 1 hour into the hike. Gorgeous scenery surrounds us.

Picture 4: 1 hour 45 minutes into the hike. Good perspective of the Mourne Wall. Taking a snack break before the last stretch. Note that you can't see to the top of the mountain courtesy of the clouds. Brrrrr.

Picture 5: Luckily the members of Dundonald Methodist Church (who we climbed with) came prepared and were ready to lend us hefty waterproof gear. We would need it!

Picture 6: About 1 hour 30 minutes in. Clouds moving across the Mournes.

Picture 7: About 1 hour 30 minutes into the hike. Looking back over the Irish Sea. Traversing across the rocky ground.

Picture 8 : About 2 hours and 45 minutes into the hike... We are descending the mountain now. The rocks were surprisingly not too slippery but still treacherous nonetheless. Note the limited visibility.

Picture 9: Sup sheep. Happy cows come from California. Happy sheep come from Northern Ireland?

How are you settling in?

2010-09-19T08:33:00.001-07:00

That has been the most common question that I have received this past week... And I have not been entirely sure how to answer it.

Part of me says, heck yes! And the other part of me still feels like a visitor to a foreign country.

This past week is rather a blur right now, but with another week just around the corner, I feel ready.

Quick update of the past few days:

Thursday afternoon, I helped out with the youth director for EBM with a Scripture Union at a local primary school.

First off, let me explain that schools here, while public, are nonetheless affiliated with Protestantism/ Catholicism. It's (relatively) no big deal for God to be discussed in schools, albeit often with the emphasis of "it's ok if you don't believe in God."

Anyway, we had 27 kids from a p6 class (equivalent to American 5th grade). And it was a bit nuts. The four of us adults in the room provided basic crowd control for the hour - from stopping kids from pig-piling on top of one another to stopping kids from beating each other up. It was rather chaotic. We introduced the bible story of the day (the New Testament story of the friends lowering their sick friend through a roof to see Jesus) through a dvd. And amazingly enough, the kids were silent for the three minutes of the film. Pretty cool.

I had most of the day off on on Friday, so I took the time to purchase a new pair of shoes (nicer-looking black dress shoes that can stand up to the test of walking the 2+ miles roundtrip to EBM), got some quality hang-out time with another flatmate, and mentally prepared myself for Friday Fusion (youth club) that night.

We had been told to expect 20-40 kids... There are 52 kids there between the ages of 4 and 12. Luckily we had about 15 adult volunteers to oversee everyone. We split them into an older bunch and a younger bunch and from there they alternated playing games and having snacks/ discussion time of what they would like to do this year.

It was an awesome time; it's a great group of kids. Best moment was as I was walking home, some of the younger kids who were being driven home by their parents waved to me from their car and yelled good night. Cool that they recognized me!

I then took a cab into City Centre to catch up with some other YAVs and attend a Johnny Flynn concert (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Flynn) which was happening at a local pub. It was the most silent concert I have ever been too... If you were to say something in a normal speaking voice, 20 people would turn around and glare. It was rather bizarre. We couldn't figure out if this is a Norn Iron culture-thing, but I'm wanting to go to another concert now and see if it's the same.

After the concert, we headed home pretty early because on Saturday, we hiked Slieve Donard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slieve_Donard) with one of the other YAV's churches.

It was pretty epic.

Luckily, one of the church members is also a boyscout leader, so he had a large supply of tough waterproof jackets and pants. We probably would not have survived the hike otherwise.

It was a 2.5 hour climb to the top. All uphill. The first 30 minutes was basic hiking uphill through the woods. Then the next 45 minutes was hiking uphill through the valley. The next 30 minutes was climbing steep rock stairs. The then the last 45 minutes was climbing up even steeper rock stairs/ rocky path/ grassy-rock combination to the very summit. Throughout most of the way, it was raining in some capacity. We were up into the clouds basically once we left the timberline. Then it just got wetter, windier, and colder. Luckily the last 45 minutes, we were climbing along a wall on the downwind side. The wall lessened the chance of us getting blown off the mountain and also cut some of the windchill. Visibility was about 15 feet at the top, but according to Wikipedia, the view is quite beautiful. The trip down took 2 hours. My legs were quite relieved to be going downhill. :)

Surprisingly, my body survived the 4.5 hour hike. And members of the church were waiting at the bottom with tea, soup, and sandwiches. I had brought my warmest hat, gloves, and socks so during the climb, I was really only cold when we stopped for a period of time at the base before the summit and at the summit. But the tea and soup were still very much appreciated!

We then proceeded to come home, grab some food (kebabs!) from a local restaurant, and spend the evening watching Love Actually (purchased for 1 pound at one of the EBM thrift stores.)

Saturday was an excellent day off!

This morning, I attended church and taught the p-1 Sunday school class. Due to EBM meeting in the community center, all of the Sunday Schools meet in one classroom, so it was a little chaotic this morning, especially as it was my first time sitting in/ teaching Sunday School here.

I ended up having 3 kids: a 3, 4, and 5 year old. The age/maturity range was rather wide, and despite teaching them the story of Deborah from Judges (who the heck designs Sunday School material around Old Testament stories of warfare), it turned out to be a good time talking about leadership, who is a leader, how does God call us to lead, and ultimately a game of Simon Says. :)

So how am I settling in?

I will start with the negative:

I miss having a washing machine that can do a full load in 30 minutes. (Allowing 2 hours to wash a load of clothes is killing me.)

In the pouring rain, having to haul groceries home is not the most pleasant activity. (Especially with having to shop on a budget, it's economically advisable to shop at a large grocery store... which is conveniently about a mile away)

I still don't exactly know what the year is going to entail. Hopefully this week will continue to provide some clarity.

I have been feeling the culture gap in many ways. I never know if people understand what I am saying, especially when communicating with kids. (Please note, tag = chasies. And you are not "it", you are "on.") Those little differences make playing games hard, but it's a simple example of how even though I speak the same "language," there is a vocabulary gap. And that's even before the accent-difference is taken into account.

On the positive side though:

I think I am starting to get a better understanding of East Belfast.

I have liked everyone that I have met at EBM so far.

I have really enjoyed the time spent with my YAV group.

I really enjoyed working with all of the kids, meeting people of all ages, and overall getting to know a wide range of people from East Belfast this past week. I am excited for another week!

There is so much about my time so far in Belfast that I just can't describe to you in words. There is a lot of pain and suffering that is under the surface, from the legacy of the Troubles but even more so problems specific to inner East Belfast. Hopefully, in time, I will begin to be able to express to you what I have seen and heard.

But for now,

In grace and in peace.

So the Pope is in Scotland...

2010-09-16T08:23:00.001-07:00

This week has been quite good; my schedule is starting to come together. There is a long list of activities that I will be participating in during my time here - from Sunday morning activities to Friendship Circle to helping with a mums and tots group to helping with a Scripture Union group at a local school, the list goes on and on. Stay tuned for a full list in a later post. (Oooo, cliffhanger!) Relationship-building is hard work, but hopefully in a few weeks, I will have gotten past the introductory conversations with people and begin to get to know them and East Belfast a little better.

Some updates on my life in Belfast:

- I like my tea with milk and sugar, preferably the milk put in the teacup before the tea is pored.

- It can be subsequently sunny and downpouring in Belfast. (Please note, there are supposedly 15 different words that Belfastians use to describe the many different types of rain. I feel like I have experienced 11 different types so far.)

- They show a lot of American tv shows (Friends, Gilmore Girls, NCIS to name a few) here. They show the same tv episode at random times during the day, and they play the whole series straight through. Don't worry, I know that am here to serve, not watch tv. :)

- Every YAV house has different "cooking" practices. Our house has chosen for the most part to cook independently, at least until our schedules are sorted out. So far, it's been quite successful. I was worried since we have such a tiny fridge, but somehow everything seems to fit. And surprisingly as well, I have really enjoyed cooking for myself! Breakfast is usually a bowl of cereal, and I kindly get a hot meal for lunch provided by the social economy cafe run by EBM. That leaves dinner, which I have had fun shopping for. We have made weekly runs to Tesco (the giant supermarket) which is on my way to work, but I have also had fun patronizing the small vegetable/fruit shop and butcher which are located just around the corner. (Plus there is a small convenient store one block down for any last minute needs.)

- I finally received the local library's postcard which I can now take in to get my library card! Hooray!

In peace and grace.

Just a short post

2010-09-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

Today was another wonderful Sunday with EBM. I attended both the morning and evening services, and my sabbath sandwich in the middle was much appreciated. I had the time to complete my weekly chore - sweeping the living room floor and scrubbing the kitchen floor. Plus time for a quick nap and to read the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. (Which was excellent!) I am quickly running out of literature to read; need to go sign up for a library card!

If I didn't already like what I had read of Frederick Buechner's work, this quote that I heard in this morning's sermon made me like Buechner even more. Hopefully you enjoy it just as much:

"Whether your faith is that there is a God or that there is not a God, if you don't have any doubts you are either kidding yourself or asleep. Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving."

In peace and grace.

Oh Belfast, my city, my city!

2010-09-11T16:37:00.000-07:00

To begin on a lighter note: I have seen a shocking number of people with my hair color so far during my time in Belfast. It’s actually really nice. Strawberry-blondes unite! Not sure how Ireland’s policy on redheads compares to Scotland (where they like to boast about their history of burning red heads at the stake), but hopefully it’s a more accepting policy. Haha.

The past two days were whirlwinds as usual, no surprise there. The ball last night was FANTASTIC. With the help of my flatmates with my hair and jewelry, I was set to attend the ball. The two best parts of the evening were the food and the people. (Haha, that sentence makes it sounds like they were one and the same; they were not.) The dinner was extravagant – cheesy baps (aka rolls), cream of vegetable soup, turkey with ham, potatoes, and broccoli, and a meringue cake with chocolate and caramel toppings. My metabolism is having a hard time keeping up with me in Northern Ireland.

[The evening was emceed by a Norn Iron celebrity (for the life of my I can’t remember who he was or why he was famous), and it included a fundraiser auction on various donated items.]

The people were the best part hands down. There was a wide age range of people in attendance. (There was a kids table that thankfully I was not put at.) I sat at a table with four other really interesting couples, including Mark and his wife. I re-met and met many people throughout the evening; everyone looked wonderful in their formal wear! (No one was as excited as the younger children who for most this was their first ball.) One of the people at my table though was the brother of David Ervine, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ervine. Apparently David’s funeral was held at EBM back in 2007, and Wikipedia confirmed what I was told about it – that an extremely wide range of Norn Iron political leaders were in attendance. Hopefully in the next year, I will get to have tea with David’s brother, who is a schoolteacher but seems to know a good deal about the politics of Norn Iron. EBM never ceases to amaze me.

The evening concluded with dancing to music provided by rather an eclectic cover band. The dance floor was taken up by females age 10 to 50, while most of the older couples were quite wary. It was quite an enjoyable time though for everyone regardless of age, and it was a lot of fun getting to see the wide range of people with connections to EBM.

Today was a sports-filled day! This morning we walked into City Centre and headed in to St George’s market again. I broke off from the group to do a bit of exploring on my own (I am not a fan of window shopping without a purpose, especially as most of the vendors were the same as last Saturday’s). I ended up soaking up the sun outside of City Hall, which was just what I needed! The full group, including the guys, then assembled at City Hall and we headed for another lunch at Boojums, the Mexican restaurant we visited last Saturday. It was again a delicious taste of America. After wandering through a wonderful charity used bookstore and getting caught in a torrential downpour, we caught the bus out to North Belfast and attended a Crusaders Football Club match. It was quite an experience as expected!

We have been walking a fine line so far in Belfast. It’s not that there are parts of Belfast where we could not go, but it’s more of whether we would be welcome. (Does that make sense?) Luckily for the match today, we had two Belfastians with us to provide us with the confidence to feel like we relatively belonged there. (One of the flatmates had been heavily warned against going to local football matches without someone from that area inviting us, so we at least had an in to get into this match. West Side Story should have been based in Belfast.)

Anyway, after the game (Crusaders won!), we hung out at the guys’ apartment until I got picked up to go to a Belfast Giants hockey match! Two observations from that game: it was about the same level of play as the Canadian minor league match I attended last March, please note that there were no fights during either of those games. The second observation is that there was A LOT of free food given out during this game – including subway sandwiches being launched from a giant sub bazooka, free cookies, free pizzas, and more. Blackberry was another supporter of the hockey team. I had my fingers crossed that they would begin handing out the phones. Alas, to no avail.

The Giants did win, particularly following an exciting third period. Having attended a local football game and ice hockey game, that just leaves attending an Ulster Rugby match to complete the trifecta of local sports. (I do want to see more local football matches, particularly Glentoran FC which is based in East Belfast. Fingers crossed someone from EBM offers to go with me, lol.)

It’s been an exciting two days as I continue to dip my toes into Belfast’s culture. It’s hard to believe how much the world has changed over the past 9 years, and I am excited to see how my world changes during this next year. In peace and grace.

p.s. This was brought to my attention by another YAV as I was writing this blog. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-11270461. The three male YAVs live and work in North Belfast, so please keep all of us YAVs in your prayers! (One of the YAVs works in a center not far from where that happened.) The incident doesn’t sound at all like it was random, but it’s a good reminder of why we are here. We have the ability to leave in a year’s time, but many of the residents of Belfast do not have that luxury.

Good day, sunshine

2010-09-10T04:37:00.000-07:00

L’Auberge Espagnole is a French film that I watched last summer on recommendation from a friend. It’s the story of a French student who through the Erasmus program studies in Barcelona for a year. During this year, he lives in a house with students of all different nationalities – hence the title of “the Spanish Inn.” There is a quote from it that I really like. When the main character arrives in the city, his running narrative reads as such:

“When you first arrive in a new city, nothing makes sense. Everythings unknown... After you've lived here, walked these streets, you'll know them inside out. You'll know these people. Once you've lived here, crossed this street 10, 20, 1000 times... it'll belong to you because you've lived there. That was about to happen to me, but I didn't know it yet.”

It’s a quote that I often return to when arriving in a new city or place. Pretty cool to think about the process of a new, strange place becoming the familiar and loved.

Yesterday was my second day at EBM. After a brief meeting with the human resources manager to fully orient me to the place, I spent the rest of the day helping to deliver pews to congregational members’ homes, having a long meeting to brainstorm how to implement music into youth activities, and altogether continuing to find my feet at EBM. (Delivering pews: as EBM is in about to rebuild its sanctuary, congregation members had the choice to buy a pew. Pretty cool.) I am still in the process of figuring out my schedule; it’s probably going to be a few weeks until its set for sure. For now, I am primarily shadowing Mark, my site supervisor, and trying to keep up!

Today, I have the day off as the ball is tonight. My assignment for today though is to formulate a “lesson plan” for a children’s music program that would lead up to Christmas! Holy cow, this year is going to fly by! I am excited for the ball tonight as there will be a plethora of people from the many sides of EBM who will attend. Should be quite an evening.

Another day of sunshine in Belfast! In peace and grace! :)

Belfast!

2010-09-08T14:20:00.000-07:00

forgot to mention earlier: I get to go to a ball on Friday!

(It's a fundraiser ball for EBM. This is going to be awesome.)

Here are a few pictures from my time here. Hope you like. :)

picture 1: minus the seventh YAV at Scrabo Tower outside Newtownards.picture 2: C.S. Lewis' alter-ego Cedric Diggory; this statue is outside of our local library. (C.S. grew up in our neighborhood.)
picture 3: Victoria Square shopping center has this observation globe (sweaty palms!)
picture 4: one of the "peace walls"
picture 5: murals with a message

Hiya. (Aka hello in Norn Irish)

2010-09-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

Ethos: the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution.

This word has been used many times by several sites we have visited in Northern Ireland. While it’s not that it’s a new word to me, I would not say that it’s a common word in American vocabulary. In a conflicted society, does a person’s/ group’s/ community’s ethos become vital in discerning friend from foe?

Yesterday concluded our orientation with Doug Baker. We ended up having the morning and early afternoon off, so we got to run some errands! We scoped out our local library, registered with a doctor (while we don’t have access to NHS funds, it’s best to sign up for a doctor before becoming sick), and concluded by making our first trip to the grocery store! It was altogether a successful morning. And after the guys came over to East Belfast, we had some more free time before Doug got here, so we wandered over to a local park to throw a Frisbee and soak up some Vitamin D.

I know I have been talking about the weather a lot. I guess my response is to say: get used to it. :) Weather is a big part of the experience of living in a foreign country. We have been so, so, so spoiled since we’ve been here. Only two rainy days so far, and today was another gorgeous day of sun and warmth. The greenness of this country really comes through on sunny days.

So we concluded our orientation with Doug yesterday, and today was the first day for us at all of our respective sites.

Today was AWESOME.

I met up with my site supervisor (Mark) at 9:30, and over tea and coffee, we talked for almost 3 hours about what at EBM I might possibly be involved in, life stories, theology, and many other side tangents. (The conversation was not linear in anyway; we jumped back and forth between many topics throughout the discussion!)

I spent this afternoon socializing with the Friendship Circle (a group of older women in the church). Mark and I traversed in a minibus around East Belfast to pick up members of the circle, and we then socialized over tea and biscuits (and my favorite: CARAMEL SHORTBREAD), sang some songs, and a short devotional. It was awesome/ amazing/ astounding/ marvelous/ fabulous/ prodigous/ stupendous/ wonderful. Heck yes synonyms.

In blog-form, it might not seem like I did anything today. Not true. Let me explain a little about the philosophy of the YAV program, the PC(USA)’s approach to mission, and ultimately, the purpose of my time here in Belfast.

Young Adult Volunteers do not go out on a converting mission. We do not go out to save the world – neither the soul-saving version nor the eliminating poverty, hunger, or social injustice superman approach. First and foremost, we are here to “be” more than “do.” During my time in Belfast, I am here to forge meaningful relationships with people of all ages. Through simply being here, I impact people’s lives. In a society where self-worth is often belittled, I am here as a confident American woman who wants to go into ministry. (Already gotten a few comments on how rare female clergy are. Yes, they are rare. I’m hopefully part of a trend to change that. God loves, cares for, and calls all of God’s children, regardless of society’s prejudices against gender, race, sexual orientation, or age.)

I am a firm believer that people never stop learning. Our perspectives on the world are constantly being challenged and reformulated because of interacting with other people. We all bring gifts, talents, and experiences to the table, and through sharing them, we can all grow. Cross-cultural exchanges are especially a beautiful thing.

During my day today, I met dozens of people: some workers at EBM, some members of the congregation, some members of the surrounding community. I am so excited about being a part of this web of people. I pray that in our interactions I can learn from them and likewise they can learn something from me.

If there is to be peace in this world, communication – particularly a dialogue in which all sides have a voice – must happen. We must be able to admit that at the end of the day, we are human. And who are we to say that we are right about something and the rest of the world is wrong??? That is only a useless monologue in a world in which only a select few are truly hearing. Burning of the Qur’an is not an acceptable form of communication.

A bit preachy of a blog post, but it's a year of service for a lifetime of change. Just trying to spice up the details of everyday life with some deeper reflections.

May there be peace in Northern Ireland, throughout the world, and in your life.

In peace and grace.

Happy Labor Day, America!

2010-09-06T13:50:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I worshipped for the first time with East Belfast Mission! From the extremely warm welcome I received when I arrived, to the entire worship service, to the conversations I had with a church member over lunch, I think EBM will be a wonderful place for me to grow during my upcoming year. They have a fabulous perspective on being called to ministry within their community. The Sunday morning service was a bit nuts as the minister is on sabbatical until Christmas and the staff person I work under couldn’t be there for worship. Yet, it was still an awesome experience. This is going to be a great church to serve with! Plus, my service at EBM is a bit of a groundbreaking opportunity. I will be the first YAV to serve there full time in many years; so, this year will be a new experience for both EBM and me!

Today we continued our orientation with Doug. At the Presbyterian Church in Ireland headquarters this morning, we had training on working with youth and vulnerable persons, so we are now legally able to go to work. We then had an afternoon session with Doug to go over our tentative outline of the year (including dates for retreats/ our possible return date) and also some Doug-lecture time on the basic history of Ireland/ the Troubles.

Tonight was the first night that the 7 of us Norn Iron volunteers were together to sup together. (The 7^th volunteer finally received his visa on Friday – he was on a watch list due to some of his travels in the past – and got in Sunday morning.) It was just the seven of us over dinner, and it was awesome group bonding time as we laughed, listened to music, and played some cards (Revolution/Presidents!). I have an amazing immediate YAV family. :)

Belfast is finally living up to its reputation. It was quite cold, dark, and rainy today. At least we had a week of sunshine to prep for this. (We turned on our radiators for a bit today.)

I did do my first successful load of laundry yesterday though! (The first group attempt was a bit of a fiasco….) It turns out that for a normal wash cycle, our lovely little UK washing machine takes TWO HOURS. And we don’t even have a dryer. (Albeit, the lack of dryer part doesn’t bug me too much. As my college roommates/suitemates can attest, I have a habit of liking to hang up my clothes to dry even when I don’t really have the space.) Having to allow 2 hours for a load of laundry, is going to make for a bit of a challenge during busy weeks. (Plus, how are you supposed to line-dry your sheets when it’s always raining outside????)

Anyway, thus begin the adventures in Belfast. My year of simple living isn’t so simple. (wireless internet currently being borrowed from a neighbor’s house because we can’t figure out how to connect to our own: check. hot, running water at the flip of a switch: check. having basic electrical appliances: check.)

But for living in an extremely Western nation, it’s pretty simple. (Walking to and from work: check. Bus pass for trips into the city: check. Reducing carbon footprint continued – recycling, small fridge, small freezer, small washer, no dryer: check. Living in a much smaller space than – at least as an American – I am used to: check. Living in an intentional community: check. Eating off a small stipend that just gets smaller once it gets converted to pounds: check.)

All of the best to my brother and sister YAVs throughout the world! Hopefully your orientations are going well, and you are getting excited to start “being”!

New UK phrase of the week: “That’s class!” A basic equivalent of “excellence.”

That’s class!

In peace and grace.

Updates from the Past Two Days

2010-09-04T16:37:00.000-07:00

So on Friday, we concluded our visits to all of the YAV sites. Whew! Then in the afternoon, we explored West Belfast, South Belfast, and City Centre. Words can not quite capture all that we saw. Many interfaces (places where Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods meet up) are blocked by extremely high walls and/or gates. Pictures can not quite provide the right perspective either.

Basic phrases to try to capture what I have seen of West Belfast include: war zone walls, murals full of hatred and intimidation, memorials put up by both sides emphasizing the brutality of the other without admitting any wrongdoing, segregation, 40% of the housing is government funded – while estates are nowhere near what are referred to as “the projects” in the U.S., some are often controlled by paramilitary groups, druglords, or those two groups are one and the same.

City Centre and South Belfast stand in stark contrast. South Belfast contains Queens and upper class housing, while City Centre is a place of tourism and the shopping industry.

Saturday morning, Doug and Elaine took us to St. George's Market in City Centre, and they proceeded to set us loose on the city. (For lunch at St George's, I had an excellent crepe containing ham, cheese, onions, and pesto. Delicious!) So, we began exploring City Centre by the seat of our pants. We wandered without a map and succeeded in seeing the Botanical gardens, the Ulster History Museum, Queens Uni, Victoria Square, and more. We topped off the day with a guilty pleasure – MEXICAN FOOD!!! Boojum had been recommended to us, and sure enough, it was surprisingly close to Chipotle. Yesssss. :D

Just a few observations from the past 24 hours:

---I have been asked twice if I am Canadian or American.

---East Belfast is... apparently, an interesting section of the city where our group of Americans stick out. This afternoon when coming out from City Centre, the bus driver asked us if we were sure we wanted to get off the bus. (Implying that we didn't really want to.) Ha, we are tough YAVs; heck yes, this is our neighborhood. ;) But in all seriousness, I have yet to feel unsafe in the area in which we are living. Yes, there are a surprising number of empty and rough looking store fronts, and perhaps its not the most neutral zone of the city, but this is going to be home for the next year. I'm excited to start working at EBM and begin forming relationships with people residing in the area. This is not an area where American tourists come to visit, but that is not why we are here.

I have my first Sunday at East Belfast Mission tomorrow. Hooray!

Also, today was the first day of rain we have experienced. Surprisingly, not too bad. While it was gray all day, the rain was not constant, which makes a huge difference! Pictures to hopefully be put up tomorrow of some of our adventures so far.

In grace and peace!

First Trip to EBM

2010-09-02T16:37:00.000-07:00

While the main “model” for YAVs serving in Northern Ireland is to be part time at a church and part time at a community organization, my assignment is all rolled into a full time position at the East Belfast Mission. As you might have guessed, EBM is a Methodist congregation located in East Belfast, but it’s actually much more than just a church. Its designation as a “mission” is an attribute given by the higher levels of the Methodist church noting the location of a congregation in the inner city. EBM is located in a mostly-Protestant lower class neighborhood, and the life of EBM reflects the troubles facing a working class population in a city that lacks a primary industry. (H&W the primary shipbuilders used to employ 33,000; today it employs something between 350 and 500 people who do repairs on ships.) Besides being a worshipping congregation, EBM functions as a thriving outreach center. From overseeing 10 thrift stores throughout the city (note: how it funds most of its work), various cafes that offer healthy alternatives to those found in local corner stores, providing employment resources, operating a basic homeless shelter/ resources for former homeless, to hosting various inner city youth programs, it’s a thriving, community-focused center. It employs 82 people in addition to 150 regular volunteers. (Wowsa!!!) It is currently in a HUGE renovation project which is tearing down basically a city block and putting up a vibrant community/worship center. The project costs 22 million pounds, and the best part is, all of that money has already been donated. (The fundraising was completed prior to the financial crash.) It should make for an interesting year as I wander to different temporary locations for various functions.

I am so excited to be serving at EBM! Every statement that they have made (both in what I have read online and what I heard today while visiting) echoes my sentiments on why I am doing a YAV year and what I feel is the greater calling of the Church. If you go here: http://www.ebm.org.uk/churchhome.php and click through on the three words in the middle of the page: believing, living, and serving. There are three statements put out by East Belfast Mission. I am so excited to be a part of this and see a thriving urban church’s ministry in action!

What will I be doing? Your guess is as good as mine. Since I will be working there full time, it sounds like I will be splitting my time between the church and the mission side of things. I will spend my first few weeks figuring out my place in the greater EBM picture.

Two highlights of the day:

1) walking up to Scrabo Tower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrabo_Tower) and looking over Newtownards (pronounced like “Newton + ards”, or “fig cookie/ Isaac + cards minus the c”)

2) Walking along the shore of the Irish Sea at sunset. So far, I would vote that Scotland is prettier than Northern Ireland, but N.I. is absolutely beautiful nonetheless!!

The food today continued to be fantastic. The downfall of me will be teatime. The offering of tea also includes various scones, tray bakes (aka bars in the “coffee and bars” phrase), and other goodies. I need to start playing some Frisbee or football soon!

Day three of sunshine; hoping tomorrow brings more of the same!

In peace and grace. :)

RABBIT, RABBIT, RABBIT.

2010-09-01T16:18:00.001-07:00

I actually forgot to say that this morning. Though, I think my flat's goal has it on the calendar for next month to remind each other. (All the Norn Iron YAVs stared at me this afternoon when I asked them if they had said it.) Apparently the superstition originated in Britain. And since we're here...

(Have no idea what I am talking about? Wikipedia will guide you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_rabbit)

So today, we began our orientation to Belfast. We visited a bunch of sites where Belfast YAVs are working, including two Presbyterian churches. Several observations of Belfast Presbyterian churches/ what I have learned about the Presbyterian Church in Ireland:

- most have intense steel bars over their windows; many utilize barbed wire in their exterior decorating

- Presbyterian churches are suffering member decline in many ways similar to the PC(USA), primarily changing demographics of the surrounding neighborhood (here it’s neighborhoods going Protestant to Catholic), but also aging congregations, youth disenchanted with the church, etc.

- Elders in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland serve FOR LIFE. (Supreme Court Justice style)

- The PCI is basically a lay-led church. Most Pres. Churches employ one minister and maybe a part time property manager. All youth, secretarial duties, and other functions of the church are lay led. Different from PC(USA) with large church staffs!

- Not sure if this is PCI-wide, but I know of at least two session meetings that met tonight. Perhaps the trend is Wednesday and not Tuesday night as in the states. (Threw me for a loop for awhile as I kept thinking that today was Tuesday as Doug had a session meeting, haha.) Sounds like session meetings can be just as long in Norn Ireland though.

Food-wise, here is my first full day of Norn Irish food:

Breakfast: dried raspberry crunch cereal, irish soda bread (toasted with butter), MILK

Lunch: quiche lorraine, salad with tomatoes

Dinner: Elaine Baker’s version of a semi-Irish stew, some dessert concoction involving raspberries, lots of sugar, whipped cream, and both yogurt and greek yogurt.

All of the above was delicious.

During our site visits, Doug was there to translate. And by translate, remind the Norn Irish speakers that they were talking too fast/ using phrases we were not familiar with. We learned about the girl guides, indoor bowling (similar to lawn bowling, not ten pin bowling), that crèche refers to a nursery, that “crack” means to have a good time/ “crack cocaine” refers to the drug, and overall, the Northern Irish like to talk really, really, really fast.

Really interesting point of the day came when we met with the director of a trauma center in Belfast. It came out during his spiel that he in fact lost his wife and father-in-law (both innocent bystanders) during a bombing in ’93. What a conflict.

I should have taken my religion and ethics class after this year of volunteering. I would have written excellent essays about how we often define ourselves against who we are not and also about forgiveness/how do we forgive. (One Norn Irish pastor was observing today how youth don’t know what makes them Protestant, but they know they aren’t Catholic.) Oh goodness.

It was sweet hearing how various organizations and churches are doing their part in striving for interactions between the two sides.

Still, I am living mostly in my American bubble as I hang out with the five other YAVS and the Bakers for the next week. I am off to visit the East Belfast Mission tomorrow; hooray! The bubble will be burst next week as I start working at EBM. (I am excited to work with Norn Irish youth!)

Just to give you a brief view of my interactions with Belfast so far. The street I live on is off a street that is just off a major street. We are on the East end of Belfast which is primarily Protestant. From my flat, it will be about a mile down the major street to walk to work. The guys’ flat is in North Belfast. That area is both Protestant and Catholic with Protestant streets and Catholic streets often bordering, intersecting, and alternating. But even at the street level, there is segregation.

I have really enjoyed hanging out with the YAVs so far, and I am looking forward to more adventures! Over the next few days, we will visit all of our sites, city centre, and head out of Belfast for a long hike.

It’s been sunny both yesterday and today, but by no means warm. By St. Louis/ Williamsburg standards, it has felt like chilly fall. Ironically, the comment was made today that this is the week of summer Norn Iron has been waiting for all summer. If this is summer, it’s going to be an interesting fall and winter. Woohoo! But, enjoying the sunshine while it’s with us.

We do have an electric water heater for the shower. Haha, when Doug told us this, Adrienne, one of the Belfast YAVs became really concerned as last week, we had heard a former YAV talk about how she would daily electrocute herself on her Peruvian shower’s electric water heater. I reassured Adrienne though that I’m sure that somewhere the British require electric water heaters to be fully grounded. It has proven true so far…

Hopefully you are enjoying the daily posts. At this point, they will be this frequent at least until I get into the daily routine, then they will become bi-weekly/ weekly as I give you highlights from my life. Love to all!

In grace and peace. :)

Hello, Belfast: Relatively Coherent Highlights of the Day

2010-08-31T13:44:00.000-07:00

- The door to our flat is actually red, not yellow as Google maps represented.

- C.S. Lewis grew up in East Belfast, in the same neighborhood where we are living.

- The murals in Belfast are more intense than I expected. Wowsa.

- I made our first dinner in Belfast: frozen pizza.

- Ovens are in Centigrade. Cooked the pizza at 200 degrees Celsius. The flat was not burned down, and the pizza was delicious.

- The Northern Ireland site coordinator and his wife are absolutely amazing and supportive.

- Guided by the Norn Iron site coordinator, we visited Stormont (housing NI parliament) this afternoon.

- We will spend all week getting oriented to our sites, the city, and some of the basic history of the Troubles.

- I have now been up for about 28 hours straight. (There was only brief napping on the uncomfortable plane.)

- There was just someone outside my window playing a rendition of “Danny Boy” on harmonica.

- I walked around the neighborhood tonight with another flatmate; we are in a nice little section of East Belfast! (Lots of little shops/ restaurants/ and such around.)

- In peace and grace.

Norn Iron YAVS 2010-2011

With Doug Baker in front of our flat!

Parting is such sweet sorrow. Kind of.

2010-08-30T13:40:00.000-07:00

“Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes.” – Henry David Thoreau

So, today has been a long day already. Since our flight doesn’t leave until 9:30 tonight, we have been hanging out all day. (Thank goodness I learned how to procrastinate in college.)

Throughout the day, as groups gradually left to head to the airport, the goodbyes and hugs were exchanged. YAV love abounded as general nervousness was expressed by many. (My apologies go out to the people who left at 2:30 or 7:30 a.m. without a send off.)

For me, the next 24 hours carry two certainties: it will be lacking a long period of sleep, and it will basically be 24 hours straight of continuously eating. Thank you, in-flight meal.

During the past few months, since graduation really, my life has felt surreal and extremely transitional. In talking with other YAVs today, I realized that that feeling is gone. Right now, I have the feeling that this is it; this is what I am being called to do. I am right where God has wanted me to be. I follow in the footsteps of over 1000 YAVs before me and am surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.

This year will bring new experiences, hopefully new wisdoms, and perhaps a new and better perspective on the world and my place in it.

While it is painful to say goodbye to the other YAVs, it is time to get to work. To go out into the world, and to do what and be whom God is calling us to be.

Este momento! This is the moment!

In peace and grace.

p.s. Meant to include this earlier: People we heard speak this week included Rev. Jessica Vazquez Torres, Rev. Janet Slayer, Veronica Cannon, Rick Ufford-Chase, Rev. Ben Larson-Wolbrink, Rev. Hunter Farrell. (How great a cloud of wise and knowledgeable Presbyterians!)

Orientation/ Disorientation

2010-08-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

This week has been… well, here’s a short list of adjectives:

AWESOME, overwhelming, rejuvenating, exhausting, refreshing, stressful

Each day has been packed full of workshops. From breakfast at 8 a.m. to when vespers ended at 9 p.m., there was constant talking/ thinking/ extraverted activity. We talked about race, gender inequalities, economic inequalities, discernment, personality conflicts, culture shock, and more. If we weren't meeting together in a large group, we were discussing the topics with our small groups. Or we were eating. Or worshipping. Or hanging out until the wee hours of the morning once we were done with the work of the day. Whew.

(As I found out this week, I am an ENFP on the Myers-Briggs personality scale, but even extroverts need alone time.)

Unlike discernment weekend when about 60% of our time was “creative discerning play time,” this week was INTENSE.

Ironically, one of the topics touched upon was how to take care of our bodies while in times of change and stress. (Note: there are people going all over the U.S. and world; there are challenges that vary by the site.) Well, my body has undergone a lot of stress these past few weeks – saying goodbye to friends and family, traveling, trying to pack for this week, and just the overall stress of getting ready to live for a year in another country. The physical side effects are starting to show as I am physically and mentally exhausted, but thank goodness for Sunday afternoons. (Nap time!)

Each site went to a different church this morning for a commissioning service. The Northern Ireland site went to a small Presbyterian church in downtown Haverstraw, NY, and on the way back, we got to take a detour to see the Hudson River!

The main reason this week has been so refreshing (and which has helped me get through it) is the other YAVs. It has been so much fun hanging out with both national and international YAVs this week. (There are about 62 of us total.) From hymn sings at 11 p.m. in one of the dorms’ lobbies to one of the Kenyan YAVs throwing a perfect round of Cornhole, it’s been full of priceless and extremely memorable moments.

I fly out tomorrow evening to Belfast, and the journey will have officially begun.

So while this orientation has been slightly disorientating, in the long run, I will hopefully be able to draw upon all that I have heard and discussed, and the friendships that have been forged will continue to grow.

Love to all!

In grace and peace.

Written 09 August 2010: Traveling Thoughts

2010-08-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

800 miles of driving = excellent time for thinking! Especially during the final stretch into Virginia with the sun setting behind the Blue Ridge mountains and Mumford & Sons playing on my ipod.

This is it – only three weeks left into the U.S. before a year of living differently. Differently in many different ways – adapting to a different language, food culture, living culture (yay public transportation). Overall, I will be living a smaller life – moderation in food, seeking to create less waste, and also living in tighter quarters in a city location (not suburban America).

I am so excited to live smaller – be able to walk/ take public transportation to run errands, buy items at UK thrift stores, etc.

But, the packing debate goes on - will I be able to consolidate my stuff to one suitcase or will I be taking two!?!? (Striving to live simply in Northern Ireland is difficult as the main way to survive the cold/ damp weather is with plenty of warm, waterproof layers. This is not conducive to packing simply.)

On the road again!

2010-08-08T18:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I am headed to Virginia this week. I'm off to visit family/ friends in Winchester, Fairfax, Richmond, and Williamsburg. Then it's for a week at the beach in North Carolina with some more family. :)
I begin orientation in New York on August 23rd and will fly over to Belfast on August 30th.
Much love to everyone in the states; feel free to contact me by phone until the 30th! (I will have sporadic internet access as well; my e-mail address is simply my full name -no punctuations/capitalizations- @gmail.com.)
For those of you I will be visiting, see you soon! :)
In grace and peace.

p.s. Highlight from this past week: I am officially an inquirer with the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy! (It's the first step in the ordination process of the Presbyterian Church.)

Sanna!

2010-07-14T20:31:00.000-07:00

Well, its VBS week at my home church, and I'm running VBS music! Our VBS is the program created by Synod of the Living Waters - !agua limpia para todos los ninos de dios! (Clean Water for All God's Children.) Since limited musical direction was provided, I got to pick and choose what songs I wanted to include, and oh, has it been fun. :) See the closing of this post for musical inspirations/reflections.

The main reason I am writing tonight though is to give you my fundraising report. I am very, very, very happy and grateful and even humbled by the generosity of so many people. My minimum fundraising responsibility was $9,000 to be raised by July 2011. As of July 15, 2010, I have raised at least $13, 358!!!!! Glory be to God! Gloria de dios! Sanna!

If you are reading this and are thinking "man, I was really hoping to donate and never got around to it." No worries! If you are still feeling a call to contribute, I will continue accepting donations throughout the next year. 100% of all money donated goes towards the YAV program!

To everyone who has donated, sent me best wishes, joined my facebook group, and especially you for taking the time to read my blog, thank you. This facebook post can't capture my sincere gratitude to you for helping to make this next year possible - both in financially supporting me and also praying and wishing me the best as I prepare for new, learning adventures.

If you have been watching the news lately, you have likely heard about the recent riots in Belfast. Today, the site coordinator for Belfast sent the 2010-2011 YAVs an email to becalm our fears, and I felt that I should pass along some of his explanations to you. Around mid-July, there are certain dates that the differing sides recognize as "holidays," and there is often rioting, parades, and various disturbances. This year's violence has been more serious, but it will likely die down shortly. And it was stressed that the YAVs currently in Belfast have witnessed the violence like us in America - as stories on the news. It is a reminder though of how much unrest and tension there remains in Belfast.

To conclude this post, I wished to share a hymn with you. I "discovered" it when I was planning this week's VBS music, and it's one of those under-the-wire gems present in our Presbyterian hymnal. It's #294, "Wherever I May Wander." The words are quite modern, but its set to a New England folk melody. Reformers ever reforming, but still sticking to our Calvinist roots. As I wander during this next year, may the words of this hymn provide comfort for you and me:

Wherever I may wander, Wherever I may be,
I'm certain of my Maker's love; God's care is over me.
God made the great high mountains, And made the wide blue sea;
God made the sky where airplanes fly; God made the world, and me.

Throughout the whole creation, I see God's loving care.
For everyone in every land, God's children everywhere.
Wherever I may wander, Wherever I may be,
I'm certain of my Maker's love; God's care is over me.

In grace and peace and thanksgiving!

benefit concert!

2010-06-10T16:52:00.001-07:00

Also, one more note of business:

If you are interested in learning more about the Young Adult Volunteer program and would enjoy an evening of organ and trumpet music, I will be performing a benefit concert on Saturday, June 26th, 2010. It will be at 7 p.m. at First United Presbyterian Church in Belleville, IL. It will be a relatively informal concert as I speak about my upcoming year of service in Belfast and play excerpts from my senior recital this previous May. Hope to see you there!

a message concerning financial business. :)

2010-06-10T16:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I just received my donor report from May 2010.
And thanks to your wonderful generosity and the grace of God, I have raised 4,798.00 so far!!! This amount greatly surpasses my July 15th deadline of $2,500, and sets me very close to my next deadline which would be in February 2011!
Primarily, this amount signifies that I will definitely be heading to Belfast on August 31!

Where does this amount set me for my overall fundraising goal?
If you have gone to donate on the pcusa.org/yav/ website to donate and clicked on my name, you might have noticed that under my position it lists the total amount to be about $50,000. (Original estimates I had heard stated the amount to be closer to $30,000, but with inflation and the current exchange rate, the amout was likely raised to accomodate for those costs.) This amount goes to cover my costs of living for the year - including my plane ticket, my monthly stipend for food and basic expenses, housing the YAVs, and more. While I am only responsible for $9,000 of that amount, it is (in economic terms) merely a price floor rather than a price ceiling. What amount I do not cover, the PC(USA) will subsidized, but with the current economy and budget shortfalls, it would be extremely helpful to the denomination for me to raise beyond that amount. Mainly what I ask of you though is to give as you feel moved to give. I am already so grateful for the wonderful outpouring of support, both financially but also spiritually through the personal notes and messages I have received!

Many, many, many thanks to you all who have given already. Your financial support shows that you believe in me and the work that I am about to do through the Young Adult Volunteer program! If you have not heard from me since you have donated, do not fear! It takes some time for donations to be processed and reported to me. Thank you for all sizes of donations!!

In grace and peace.

East Belfast Mission

2010-06-02T15:30:00.001-07:00

Greetings from the hot and humid Midwest!
I received word today on where I will be serving in Belfast! I will be working with East Belfast Mission, which is both a congregation and a social-outreach center of the Methodist Church in Ireland. (Check out their website at: http://www.ebm.org.uk/.) I probably won't know exactly what I'll be doing until I get there, but the list of possibilities includes:
assisting with youth fellowship, teaching sunday school, assisting in worship, leading after-school groups/ pre-school programs, supervising football (yeahhh team johnny weir fierce*), working with senior citizens, leading dance classes, teaching/leading music, teaching in a school setting, and tutoring children.
I'm about halfway to raising my $2,500 fundraising milemarker which is due by July 15... If you have the inclination to donate, don't hesitate to visit here:
http://www.pcusa.org/yav/support.htm and click on my name.
(I am responsible for $9,000 total.)
I hope everyone is having a great June! I am guest organist-ing at my home church for several Sundays this summer and having all sorts of adventures around St. Louis. For a full list of adventures, feel free to contact me. :)
Blessings and peace to you all.

* name of my w&m im soccer team for those of you who were confused.

I'm bound for Northern Ireland... in a few months!

2010-04-06T13:43:00.000-07:00

This will be my blog during my time in Belfast, Northern Ireland where I will be serving through the PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer program. I fly out the beginning of September 2010 and return to the states in July/August 2011. Hopefully through this blog, I can impart some of the things I have learned, experienced, and loved during my time in Belfast.

For now, enjoy listening to this song that inspired my title for this blog:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=457nVpxJDkA&feature=related

And my mom requested that a translation of the song be included. So here you go. :)

Latin Text	English Translation
Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor. Exultemus, et in ipso jucundemur. Timeamus, et amemus Deum vivum. Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero. Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. Simul ergo cum in unum congregamur: Ne nos mente dividamur, caveamus. Cessent iurgia maligna, cessent lites. Et in medio nostri sit Christus Deus. Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. Simul quoque cum beatis videamus, Glorianter vultum tuum, Christe Deus: Gaudium quod est immensum, atque probum, Saecula per infinita saeculorum. Amen.	Where charity and love are, God is there. Christ's love has gathered us into one. Let us rejoice and be pleased in Him. Let us fear, and let us love the living God. And may we love each other with a sincere heart. Where charity and love are, God is there. As we are gathered into one body, Beware, lest we be divided in mind. Let evil impulses stop, let controversy cease, And may Christ our God be in our midst. Where charity and love are, God is there. And may we with the saints also, See Thy face in glory, O Christ our God: The joy that is immense and good, Unto the ages through infinite ages. Amen.

Latin Text

English Translation

Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.

Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor.

Exultemus, et in ipso jucundemur.

Timeamus, et amemus Deum vivum.

Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero.

Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.

Simul ergo cum in unum congregamur:

Ne nos mente dividamur, caveamus.

Cessent iurgia maligna, cessent lites.

Et in medio nostri sit Christus Deus.

Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.

Simul quoque cum beatis videamus,

Glorianter vultum tuum, Christe Deus:

Gaudium quod est immensum, atque probum,

Saecula per infinita saeculorum. Amen.

Where charity and love are, God is there.

Christ's love has gathered us into one.

Let us rejoice and be pleased in Him.

Let us fear, and let us love the living God.

And may we love each other with a sincere heart.

Where charity and love are, God is there.

As we are gathered into one body,

Beware, lest we be divided in mind.

Let evil impulses stop, let controversy cease,

And may Christ our God be in our midst.

Where charity and love are, God is there.

And may we with the saints also,

See Thy face in glory, O Christ our God:

The joy that is immense and good,

Unto the ages through infinite ages. Amen.