Churches launch new £1.3m Peace Initiative with EU help; Events will mark C S Lewis anniversary; 69 Irish Girl Guides receive top award from Dublin Lord Mayor
Churches launch new £1.3m Peace Initiative with EU help
Irish Church leaders have launched the ‘Irish Churches Peace Project’ aimed at promoting good relations, reconciliation and peace work at both strategic and grassroots levels across Northern Ireland and in the border counties.
The project which is partnership involving the Roman Catholic, Presbyterian and Methodist Churches, the Church of Ireland and the Irish Council of Churches was launched on Friday 27 September at 11.00 am in Malone House, Barnett Demesne, Belfast.
The EU PEACE III funded project has nine staff including its director, Keith Hamilton and six regionally based Good Relations officers focussing on Fermanagh and the Border Region, Newry and Mourne, Strabane and the Northwest, Greater Belfast, Craigavon and Armagh, Dungannon and Cookstown.
“ICPP has been set up to promote reconciliation in our communities through the churches working together,” explains Keith Hamilton. “We are working for the transformation of Northern Ireland and the Border Region with the vision to build a peaceful and stable society, with a better and shared future.”
A strong emphasis of ICPP’s work is on being ‘local’ and facilitating churches to impact their communities. Practically this involves helping staff from different churches to strengthen existing positive relations, to access resources and additional support and the development of programmes involving the churches in partnership with others in addressing issues within their communities.
“We are helping local inter–church/cross–community groups to develop new initiatives that will contribute to lasting peace,” adds Keith Hamilton. “In all we do, we try to model positive cross–community co–operation that will help consign sectarian division to the past.”
Launching the project were Church leaders including Presbyterian Moderator Dr Rob Craig, Church of Ireland Primate, Archbishop Richard Clarke, Archbishop Eamonn Martin representing Cardinal Brady, Methodist President Dr Heather Morris and President of the Irish Council of Churches, Rev Fr Godfrey O’Donnell. Also present were Junior Ministers Jennifer McCann and Jonathan Bell and Jacqueline Irwin, CEO of the Community Relations Council.
The Irish Churches Peace Project is a £1.3m programme funded through the EU’s PEACE III Programme which is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body. Additional funding is being provided by the Northern Ireland Executive through the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) and by the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (DECLG) of the Irish Government.
Church leaders including Presbyterian Moderator Dr Rob Craig, Church of Ireland Primate, Archbishop Richard Clarke, Archbishop Eamonn Martin representing Cardinal Brady, Methodist President Dr Heather Morris and President of the Irish Council of Churches, Rev Fr Godfrey O’Donnell. Also present were Junior Ministers Jennifer McCann and Jonathan Bell.
Events will mark C S Lewis anniversary
November 2013 marks the fiftieth Anniversary of CS Lewis’ death. The Parish of St Mark’s Dundela, along with others across Belfast and Northern Ireland are coming together to mark the life of our famous son and to celebrate his contribution to the world of faith.
Programme of Events
The Lion on the Hill: A Celebration with Professor Alister McGrath Sunday 10 November at 7.30 pm in St Mark’s Church. An event in partnership with The Hub @ Queen’s and The Good Bookshop, Belfast. Professor Alister McGrath, who has just published a new biography of Lewis, will be the speaker at a worship celebration in St Mark’s Church. Doors open at 7.00 pm sharp.
Narnia Schools’ Experience
Monday 11–Friday 15 November
Local Primary School children will be invited into the magical land of Narnia, where it is always winter but never Christmas. Journey with Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy to the Stone Table and meet Aslan himself!
Narnia Experience
Saturday 16 November from 10 00 am–4.00 pm in the Heyn Hall
Guided groups at 10.30 am, 12.30 pm and 2.30 pm.
The Heyn Hall becomes the magical land of Narnia for a day. Journey with Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy to the Stone Table and meet Mr Tumnus, Aslan and even The White Witch!
He’s the king, I tell you: CS Lewis Celebration Service Sunday 24th November at 6.30 pm in St Mark’s Church
On the Feast of Christ the King, a Service with selected readings from the works of CS Lewis, interspersed with hymns and prayers. St Mark’s Choir will sing the specially commissioned piece ‘From Darkness to Light’, a musical setting of words from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Representatives from the local community will take part in this service.
Space, Science and CS Lewis
Monday 25 November at 8.00 pm in St Mark’s Church
Professor Stephen Williams, Union Theological College Belfast, presents a Lecture on CS Lewis’ Cosmic Trilogy, in which the author forays into science fiction.
69 Irish Girl Guides receive top award from Dublin Lord Mayor
Sixty-nine members of the Irish Girl Guides (IGG) this morning (28 September) received a prestigious Gold Award from Dublin Lord Mayor, Oisín Quinn, and Irish Girl Guides (IGG) President, Maureen Dillon.
The girls travelled from all over Ireland, with their Guide leaders and proud parents, to a special ceremony in The Gresham Hotel, Dublin.
The Gold Award is the highest award a Guide can receive and the girls have put months of hard work into it. Each has engaged in a number of challenges, including exploring the outdoors, improving health and fitness, acquiring new life-skills and developing interests in a variety of disciplines as well as serving her local community.
By working on their own initiative, the girls have demonstrated self-motivation, commitment and enthusiasm. Optional activities ranged from public speaking and woodwork to renewable energy, Fairtrade and cultural awareness. They also spent time working with younger IGG members, serving as young leaders.
Presenting the awards, Lord Mayor Oisín Quinn said: “It is a pleasure today to present the Gold Awards to these impressive young women who have developed a wide range of life-skills that will not only help them in their lives but will also, no doubt, prove fruitful in their communities and neighbourhoods. The future of this country is in safe hands with young women like these at the helm.”
IGG President Maureen Dillon said: “”We in Irish Girl Guides are extremely proud to recognise the achievement made by our members receiving their Gold Awards today. It is a celebration of their hard work and commitment to the environment, to their local communities, and to becoming confident and responsible citizens of the wider world”.
IGG Guide Branch chairman Pat O’Brien, said: “In Guiding girls are awarded for doing their best and these 69 Gold Award recipients have done their best. They have worked on their own initiative to carry out their challenges and projects and they have learned new skills, which we hope will equip them for life. They have worked hard to achieve what they set out to do so a big WELL DONE on receiving the highest award in Guiding!”