May 5, 2014
Cracks in the walls ...
Friday at Corrymeela was spent
in Derry/Londonderry (or, “stroke city” as some call it ...). Upon arrival we met
Jon McCourt, a peacebuilder for many years, who was actually in the civil
rights march in January 1972 on what would come to be known as Bloody Sunday.
Jon also loves stories and history, and started our tour on the 400 year walls
of Derry, giving us many centuries of stories and legends. It was a very
thought provoking and moving day, and gave us much to think about for a long
time.
Paul helped us debrief the experience on Saturday morning. Asking us to
use each other "as clay" to sculpt an image from the previous day, we each in turn
presented an image and then had a discussion about it. Images included a
representation of the famous statue of two figures almost touching, “Hands
Across the Divide” by Maurice Harron. (http://www.agefotostock.com/en/Stock-Images/Rights-Managed/XT9-899092),
and a recreation of one of the photographs that Jon had from the actual Bloody
Sunday event. Each image led to conversation, surprises, and a deepening
awareness of the pain carried in the hearts of many in this country, and of the complexity of the peace process.
The image that came to my mind was of a picture that I took while walking the walls
... a picture of a little green plant
sprouting through the 400 year walls (pictured above). Luckily, Sandy had a green shirt on ... so she became the little green
sprout poking through the wall. The image speaks to me of the resilience of the
people of this country, and of those all over the world who work tirelessly for
peace and reconciliation. It is an image of hope, resilience, and persistence,
of finding the cracks in the systems where growth and light can get through.
Below are pictures of the group with Jon McCourt in Derry, and a picture of our whole group with Paul.
No comments:
Post a Comment