The Worries of a Child. South Africa Part 1.

On March 15th I left England, with a team of almost 30 other people to travel to South Africa.

On March 25th I left South Africa, with a team of almost 30 other people to travel to England.

Something profound happened to in me during those 10 short days.

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In South Africa I was changed.  I met destiny.  I came face to face with purpose.  I laughed with many wonderful people, watched as amazing things happened, heard awe-inspiring stories and held back tears.  However, out of everything that happened, everything I saw, everything I smelled, everything I touched, and everything I heard, one thing changed me in ways that cannot be imagined.

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Let me introduce to you my youngest brother, and the newest member of my family.

Noah George McCormick.

At just over one year old he doesn’t have a care in the world.  He has a family who adores him.  He will be given every chance to succeed in life.  Good education, good upbringing, good family, good home.  Great life.

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Let me introduce to you one of the children I met in South Africa.
Angel.

A few years old.  I don’t know her age.  She probably doesn’t even know her exact age.  No family.  Doesn’t have many prospects in life.  She is not being given the chance to succeed in life.

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There is something wrong about that.  We met many children like this.  Children who are not being given a chance.  Many have no parents at all, and the rest parents who are suffering with aids.  There is an injustice in this.  I knew all of this about going to Africa though.  I knew that I would be faced with poverty.  With situations that would make me question myself, my beliefs, my ethics and my politics.  In a way, I was semi-prepared for all of that.

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However, I was not prepared for this.

Listen to the words.  Think about them.  Children should not have to sing this sort of thing.

These children, from just a few years old are being taught some pretty serious things.

It’s not alright to be beaten.

It’s not alright to be abused.

It’s not alright to be raped.

It’s not alright to be treated like an object.

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This scared me.  It made me incredibly uncomfortable.  It made me incredibly sad.

If I had to choose one thing form this trip that changed me.  This is it.

I want it to continue to make me uncomfortable, I want it to continue to change me.

—–

Noah will go to school and learn ABC’s.  Angel will go to school and learn it’s not OK to be raped.

This changed me.  Let it change you.  And because it has changed us, let’s change it.

Filed under: Uncategorized , Culture, Hope, Justice, Mission, People, Politics, Social Justice, South Africa

Something bigger

I think there is something in the human spirit that craves to be part of something bigger than themselves.

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Today, as I was walking to the local Post Office to post a book that I had recently sold on Amazon a middle aged gentleman (I would guess early fifties) passed me on a bicycle.  He said hello and smiled as he rode by.

I appreciated that.

I don’t know the man, nor is it likely I will get to know him (if I ever even see him again) but we connected.  Briefly.  Superficially.  We connected.

It’s nice to be noticed.  It’s nice to be part of something bigger than myself.

Filed under: Uncategorized , Culture, Life, My Life

The broken man

I have been taken on a journey with story lately.  This journey began by hearing about the conference of the same name held in Chicago by Ben Arment.  I then followed Emma Boyd‘s journey to story, her experiences at the conference and her numerous blog posts about how the concept of story is challenging and changing her.  Therefore, it is in that spirit that I share with you the following…

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I met a gentleman on the street today.

It was 11am and I was on my way to Common Grounds in Belfast for a coffee and he approached me outside the church just around the corner.  He decided to break the ice by telling me that he was evicted from his house at midnight and had spent his first night on the streets.  He was cradling a mug of warm tea…barely, whilst in the other hand he was pinching a cigarette.  He was clearly exhausted and cold.  he told me he had managed to get the cup of tea he was holding, and a sandwich a couple of hours earlier.

We only spoke for about 10 minutes (10 minutes more than the previous passers by had given him) yet he shared some of his story with me.  he shared his story all the while edging towards me.  He told me that what the papers had said about him was not true…he was very adamant about this.  I then asked him what the papers had said about him.  He told me that they were saying that he had murdered his son.

He broke down.

Tears streaming down his confused face.

Now, I cannot testify to the veracity of his story, or that of the papers.  I just knew that before was a man broken.  That made me broken.

He seemed embarrassed by his tears…I just let him continue thinking it best.

When he stopped crying he told me he had been off alcohol for 38 weeks.  I congratulated him for this.  However, he seemed confused all the time we were talking, stopping to ask my name several times.  A friendly character his mind seemed ravaged and ruined by a hard life, a life of drugs, alcohol, and possibly abuse.

As I was on my way for a coffee I offered him along with the offer of hot food.  He declined.  He was waiting outside the church for a meeting with the minister.  He said the church would look after him.

Beautiful.

A broken person coming to the church for refuge, for charity.

Surely this is why we exist…to engage with a broken world, to restore a broken world.

This is proof that the church still has valid reason to exist.  People like this still come to the church, expectant.  They come, probably knowing little of Christ, but having some conviction of his transforming power.

I couldn’t tempt him away.  He insisted on waiting for his meeting with the minister whose name he couldn’t recall for the life of him.  He bid me farewell and we departed.  I cannot remember the gentleman’s name.  I’m not convinced he can.

However, I hope and pray that the church looked after him, and the church met his needs and fulfilled their duty.

Jump in with your thoughts, leave a comment…

Filed under: Uncategorized , Action, Belfast, Charity, Christianity, Church, Coffee, Culture, Hope, Justice, Love, Northern Ireland, People, Social Action, Social Justice, Story

Robinson’s sorrow for Daly

Finally, Peter Robinson issued a press release about the passing of Cardinal Daly.  We thought it was never going to happen. But, finally, the First Minister for all of Northern Ireland has expressed his condolences…or has he?

In the five paragraph press release which can be seen in full below, is essentially a defence of why he didn’t release a statement sooner.  Apparently no-one told him he had to…this man is in charge of a country!  With the last paragraph of the diatribe devoted to his sorrow at the passing of one of Ireland’s most important, beloved and prophetic public figures.

The DUP statement:

Northern Ireland First Minister, Peter Robinson, said he deplored the attempt by a few elements in the press and politics to use the fact that he has been indisposed due to family issues to suggest that he had refused to release a statement on the sad passing of Cardinal Daly. Such insensitive reporting is indicative of the political baggage of those who make up such stories.

No statement, or suggestion to release a statement, was put to him by either OFMDFM or the party. The DUP issued a statement in the name of Mr Robinson’s Ministerial colleague, Arlene Foster, because they knew Mr Robinson was out of circulation.

Mr Robinson was one of those who had been at the forefront of initiating contact between the DUP and the Roman Catholic Church and indeed met the present Cardinal along with the other church leaders just before the Christmas break. A party spokesman said Mr Robinson would be last person to offend the late Cardinal’s family friends and wider community.

In a statement today Mr Robinson thanked the many hundreds who had written to him expressing sympathy and support following Iris’s announcement about her retirement. “It is comforting to receive such communications from across the community and from politicians in all the parties. It is also reassuring to know that so many others including politicians and journalists acknowledge that they too have faced similar difficulties in life and overcome them.”

“I want to take this opportunity to extend my sincere sympathy to the family of the late Cardinal Cahal Daly at this particularly sad time. I am acutely aware of the high esteem with which Cardinal Daly was held by many throughout the community. Although I never met him I acknowledge that his contribution to the religious and civic life of Northern Ireland was immense and spanned a very bleak period in our history. He was consistent in his opposition to the use of violence to advance political objectives. Cardinal Daly’s passing has caused immense grief for many in the community who looked to him for spiritual and theological guidance and my thoughts are also with them at this time.”

Too little, too late?  You decide…

Filed under: Uncategorized , Belfast, Culture, Excuses, Leadership, Northern Ireland, People, Politics

Can the Deaf Dance?

Last night I visited Christian Fellowship Church in Belfast.  A vibrant church, full of amazing, committed, passionate people, who genuinely want the peace of Christ to penetrate Ireland, and who want to make an impact on the Nations.

As I was worshipping last night, out of the corner of my eye I noticed the interpreter for the deaf in the audience on stage.  I don’t know why, but I am always fascinated by a signer and their method of communicating in such an expressive way not only the emotions but the mood.  I then glanced at whom they were signing to.  I noticed a deaf woman dancing.  I don;t know why, but it caught me off guard.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a deaf person dance before.  They are unable to know the metre, rhythm, and cadence of the song…yet that didn’t seem to matter…

This woman was caught in a moment of worship.  She was meeting with her creator.  Expressing love from the purest place, unconcerned about the stuff that she can’t know, assured in the love and relationship with her Christ.
It’s moments like these that should give people confidence in the church…good things are happening.

What a pure moment.

What a beautiful picture.

Filed under: Uncategorized , Belfast, Christianity, Church, Life, Love, People, Worship

DUP incompetence stikes…again.

I’ve made it clear to all and sundry not only here on the blog, but in person that I am no fan of the DUP.  I can think of far more suited names for their acronym.

Peter Robinson, the First Minister of Northern Ireland has made the mother of all faux pas’ this week in relation to Cardinal Daly’s death.  There is nothing honourable about that Rt Hon Peter Robinson, I thought you wouldn’t need me to tell you that.  Cardinal Daly, a man outspoken against IRA violence (the same IRA violence the DUP stand opposed to) was a key figure in the Northern Ireland peace process.  Surely he deserves more respect from the leaders of the country that he served and bettered.  Cardinal Daly is a man who has done more for this country, the peace of this country, the people of this country, and the future of this country than most of the sitting representatives at Stormont can wag their fingers at.

Many, including national media, have made mention of this horrible neglect on the DUP’s part.  One of Northern Ireland’s most prominent political commentators Slugger O’Toole asks does it show a lack of leadership on the DUP’s part?  I would suggest that it certainly does…lack of leadership and outright disrespect.

A distinguished scholar in Philosophy, Daly actively avoided political involvement, and critique.  Surely he must be respected, fondly remembered and heartily thanked for his life, a life given in service to the country and people he loved, a life that longed for cohesion and betterment.

Thank you Cardinal Cahal Daly.  Thank you for what you have done for this country.  Thank you for what you have done for the cause of Christ.  Thank you for your work of reconciliation.  And thank you for what you have done for me.

I pray you will be remembered fondly in the hearts of the people of this land as an usher of peace and a testament, and shining light to the transformative power of Christ.

Filed under: Uncategorized , Belfast, Charity, Church, Culture, Hope, Leadership, Life, Peace, People, Politics, Religion

A world at war.

We live in a world at war with itself.

I am, at heart an idealist.  I like to see the world as it should could be.  Now we can kid ourselves that the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan is to bring democracy, or as a retribution against the ‘terrorist attacks’ of Sept 11.  (It should perhaps be noted at this point that terrorist attacks is in quotes, not because I doubt that there was terrorism involved in this atrocity that wreaked havoc and devastation across America, and the rest of the world, but rather because I have suspicions as whether or not the terrorism has it’s roots in the East).  But, whatever side of the argument we subscribe to we can safely say that war is not good.  War begets war, violence begets violence, and greed begets greed.  The first decades of the naughties (2000′s) has been a mixed bag.  Wars, economic downturns, historic elections, the rise of the east…

Barack Obama, President of the United States this year received the Nobel Peace Prize…this very award has been extinguished on many blogs…did he deserve it, didn’t he?  Personally I think yes, he did.  He has done a lot to further the cause of justice and peace.  He declared the closure of Guantanamo bay, he has been an activist most of his adult life…he is in the public domain, of course he deserved it.  However, I must side with Brian McLaren when he airs some concerns about the speech accepting the coveted award.

Please President Obama, do not lose the hope that got you elected, do not confuse it with naivety.

… mindful of what Martin Luther King said in this same ceremony years ago – “Violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones.” As someone who stands here as a direct consequence of Dr. King’s life’s work, I am living testimony to the moral force of non-violence. I know there is nothing weak -nothing passive – nothing naïve – in the creed and lives of Gandhi and King.

But as a head of state sworn to protect and defend my nation, I cannot be guided by their examples alone. I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda’s leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism – it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.

The irony of these paragraphs is unresolvable.  They are in dramatic tension with one another.  A tension and paradox that worries me.  Please, as a Head of State, please recognise not only your responsibility to your own citizens, but your responsibility as a world leader, and a moral leader.  Now, before people come at me with an argument saying he is showing concern and responsibility as a world leader by going into Iraq and staying in Afghanistan, this is simply not true…Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Nigeria…come on…?

We must continue to live in a world at war, but I can only hope that these tensions can be resolved.  We live in a world of increasing plurality (which is not, despite what some may say, is a bad thing) let’s only hope this can lead to increased tolerance, that we can learn the good form each other’s culture, and we can at respect our perceived mistakes…

I hope for a better world…

I dream of a united world…

I desire a world at peace with itself…

Filed under: Uncategorized , Culture, Justice, Peace, Politics, Religion

The Fine Line…

Where is the fine line that lies between mission and evangelism? Is there one? Is the end goal/result the same? Is the desired outcome of mission to get people to adopt your way of thinking? Is the desired outcome of evangelism to get people to adopt your beliefs?

Filed under: Uncategorized

The Train

Wow. I’m on a train with free WiFi connection. This is the first time I have had this privilege.

Filed under: Uncategorized

A Lot Has Happened

Since I last posted a lot has been going on with Cassie and I:

We are going to Luxembourg for almost two weeks on a Mission Trip, and we leave for that in about a week. Whilst there we will be involved in Youth Work, and Church Ministry-whatever that means.

We have been offered jobs in Canada on a Leadership team for 4 months, starting at the end of May, so we are processing a lot of paper work for that at moment-not to mention booking flights.

We have received our results for our semester 1 exams and essays, we both got really decent marks, so are pleased about that, and we are now in full swing studying and researching for semester 2, and the essays and exams that will bring.

I have got another baby brother. Born at the end of February weighing in at 8lbs11oz please welcome to the world Noah George McCormick.

That’s about it, I will try and post something more substantial soon.

Filed under: Uncategorized , Life, Mission, My Life, Update