A Transformed City!

There we were sitting having a conversation about prayer and how the city of Belfast could be transformed and then we were joined by Noel: he had been out with his wife and mother-in-law and while he was having some coffee while they went off shopping he heard us talking and became increasingly inquisitive. he told us that he had resisted making an approach, telling himself it would be impolite but , in the end could not resist introducing himself. He was of the same mind and wanted us to know that. we were in a public coffee shop and he heard us talking so he came and joined in on the conversation. That is what real Christianity is all about and what gossiping the gospel means. For some time I have had the vision of creating a prayer space for anyone to comer and pray; a space in the middle of the community rather than hidden away inside the church. Then once I began to talk about it and took some action I have found that others have the same vision. We have a shop, right in the middle of the Protestant community and right up against the so-called peace line where we can pray.

The vision is for a prayer space which can be a shared space where people from different Christian traditions can pray together and own their own at any time of the day. That by praying in this way the division within our city can be healed and Christian unity can become a real thing. That by coming to this place we can pray for the transformation of this city we call home.

Can I ask the people who read this blog to pray for us as we begin to unpack what this means? Can I ask those who read this blog, even if that be a very small number of people to pray for the unity of the Christian community in Belfast? Can I ask you to pray for the creation of a Christian community in Belfast which will be counter-cultural and a clear demonstration of an alternative community: one which does not depend upon wealth or power or the need to dominate but one which has love as its core value and it's DNA?

Noel is just the beginning, there are people out there who are looking for a way to demonstrate unity and a way to demonstrate that they are not sectarian but desire to live with those with whom they disagree. the whole world looks at our city as an iconic example of division: lets show them how a fragmented city can be totally transformed. Where are the people who will stand with us? Where are the people whose desire it is to see the miraculous change in our city?