Called to be Peacemakers

Peace Vocation

We, members of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland,
called by God,
in the grace of Jesus Christ,
and the power of the Holy Spirit,
to live in faith, hope and love,
as children of our heavenly Father,
and witnesses to God's Kingdom ,
publicly acknowledge our vocation to peace,
which is both the gift and mission placed on us by God.
We believe that the same evangelical faith in Jesus Christ,
which emboldens us to pray to God as our heavenly Father,
challenges us to develop radically new attitudes and relationships
with our neighbours in Ireland.
We affirm that to be Christian peacemakers in our own situation:
We must grasp more clearly the distinctive teaching of our Lord
which challenges the general practice of our world,
and breaks the vicious cycle of matching injury with injury,
hate with hate, ignorance with ignorance.
We must therefore be prepared to meet and talk together:
with those in our own church with whom we have disagreements;
with those from churches whose practices and beliefs differ from our own;
with those from whom we are politically divided.
We affirm that to be Christian peacemakers in our own situation:
we must recognise the responsibility given by God to government,
and to those who serve the cause of law and order,
so as to encourage well-doing, correct evil-doers, and protect the innocent.
We must therefore reject violence;
seek ways to advance justice and promote the welfare of the needy;
affirm that in democratic societies all citizens are called
to share in these responsibilities;
and encourage all efforts to establish new structures of consent
and participation.
We affirm that to be Christian peacemakers in our own situation:
We must be initiators of programmes of action
which will contribute to peace in our community.
We must therefore provide resources and encouragement to
enable congregations to move forward at the local level in
the field of inter-community relations.
We understand peacemaking to be an affirmation
and accommodation of diversity,
and that our particular history in this land of divided communities
and recurring violence,
of mutual suspicion, fear and injury,
makes it imperative that we reassert the Church's own proper calling
to seek peace, and the things that make for peace
in our day.

connecting to home acrosstheocean

Mission Statement

The Mission Statement below was received by the General Assembly in June 1992 at its meeting to mark the 350th anniversary of the establishment of the first Presbytery in Ireland.
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND,
as a Reformed Church within the wider body of Christ
is grounded in the Scriptures,
and exists to love and honour God
through faith in His Son and by the power of His Spirit,
and to enable her members to play their part
in fulfilling God's mission to our world.
GOD CALLS US TO A SHARED LIFE
in which we love, honour and are reconciled to one another
whilst respecting our diversity
within the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
We are called to encourage
the exercise of the gifts of every member of the Body
for the work of ministry and,
seeking the renewal of the whole Church,
to co-operate with other parts of Christ's Church
without betrayal of our convictions.
GOD CALLS US TO WORSHIP HIM with our whole lives,
meeting together in groups large and small
and gathering especially on the Lord's Day
for the preaching and study of His Word,
the celebration of the sacraments
and the offering of prayer and praise with reverence and joy,
using language, form and music appropriate
both to Scripture and to our time and culture.
GOD CALLS US TO MISSION as witnesses to Christ
through both evangelism and social witness
challenging the values of the world in which we live
with the values of God's kingdom
and winning men and women to faith and discipleship.
This mission is to be pursued amongst all the people of Ireland
and the peoples of the European Community and the whole world:
those with whom we feel comfortable,
those from whom we feel alienated
and those who are in any way distant from us in culture and faith.
WE OURSELVES ARE CHALLENGED with a biblical discipleship
which is radical in its
self denial,
simplicity of lifestyle,
stewardship of money,
faithful relationships,
prayerfulness,
concern for the world which God has created
and love for its people whom he loves
and for whose salvation He gave his Son.

BC Ferry Corporation

Fat bastards stand up which one of you created this hell for us
Was it a fat cat politician and shewed wheeling dealing captialist
Some asshole who lives far away from here and does not know
this place this beach this memory and this pain we all feel sore
you fuckers send in the clowns the lackeys to do the grunt work
we watch as the whole of the life on the beach gets murdered

The upside down of everything

There is just the moment there it is gone gone like every darn thing
Gone like the rain that fell yesterday gone like the swift scent of rose
You are gone and I cannot find you anywhere not in the dreamtime
You in the waking moments your quietness alludes me your silence
you must be standing in the dark corner of the room hiding from me
your son jumped out of the car frantic to hug his uncle your image
looks like you walks like you is tall like you but not you at all for you
were unique and you belonged in the future and the past but not now
it that why you felt the room permanently left the room left the house
left the planet  you left everything with me your heart song breathe
I look up at the evening sky searching for you and I know I will find
you somewhere between the night and morning light I will find you
but God I miss you here and your son misses you here and I ask when
when will all these broken hearts mend again and when will we meet

Farley Mowat

I am crying you are grandmother's best son
Grandmother's number one son now gone
Where will we stand without you Farley
You made Grandmother's land  safe now
For you loved every breath of every thing
People of the deer all sixty of them died
They are waiting for you great ice man
magnificent pure like good whiskey gold
In Mexico I had a dream and received
a message to call you and tell you that
Ruth said there was time to finish your
project and i wondered who was Ruth
I am crying crying crying for you are
the last hope for this God forsaken
country who think driving a pipeline
across the earth is such a good thing