Peace in Northern Ireland

Progression forward
The reward not yet in sight
Baby steps make change

a morning at mornington community project

many of us associate group traveling with mission projects but we have been doing something much different. our interim class provided us a unique opportunity to interact with local heroes who are making great strides to bring about reconcilation and community. we have talked about being advocates for peace in northern ireland and were hoping to be able to leave our support of the long process by painting a small mural on the peace wall. but when that looked like it may not be a good idea we were offered the opportunity to go into one of the catholic “estates” (neighborhoods) and do work around the Mornington Community Project which consisted mostly of scrubbing, sweeping, painting, picking up, and organizing children’s books. the directors of the center, ken and claire humphrey, came to talk to our group and were an inspiration for true community building. they are a protestant family that made the challenging decision to move into mornington, a struggling catholic neighborhood where the center is located. it has been a challenge for them to raise their family where their children feel both a sense of belonging to their protestant background and to the catholic community where they live. they are building bridges for unemployed men, struggling mothers and youth to find a sense of hope in the midst of a divided society.