It has been a week ago today that we completed the long journey home from Kansas for the Ulster Project International Conference. Though several days have passed, it seems like just yesterday we were sitting in that room with 70+ other Ulster people geeking out over Ulster stuff. Pure bliss. We were surrounded by people who understood the reason behind what we pour ourselves into year after year; and our passion was matched by a multitude of dedicated volunteers who have given much of their time, talent, and treasures to the same cause. I have been trying to decide how I wanted to sum up the experience. I felt like it needed to be put into writing to cement the whole learning process. As I was reading through my notes, I realized that sharing those would be enough. There is no statement or paragraph or blog post that can express the following words of wisdom more purely. While the context here is the Ulster Project and the Troubles in Northern Ireland, I believe these are universal truths that can be applied in almost any situation. Here’s what I learned:
Old attitudes die very hard.
Deep wounds and broken hearts need healing.
Both sides are in desperate need of God’s grace.
Logic breaks down when one group fails to recognize the importance of the other’s identity.
Sometimes we have to ask ourselves if our actions bring peace or just poke the other in the eye?
How do we deal with our sad past? Who are the victims? Who are the perpetrators?
Can we cherish the sincerely held beliefs of others? Can we enjoy them? Can we get over the past?
Reconciliation is a process through which a society moves
from a broken past to a shared future.
It takes courage to swim against the stream.
It takes courage to criticize your own side when they are in the wrong.
What is the value of the Ulster Project? It’s like the cement in the peace process. We are building bricks that will pave the way.
The past is over but we continue to carry the trauma.
Our worldview does not contain the whole truth.
We don’t have the bombs and the bullets but we still have our own issues to work through.
None of us are right, but there might be a little bit of right in all of us.
Seek first to understand than to be understood.
You could run a marathon around the peace walls of Belfast - 44 walls, running 26 miles.
Who is my neighbor? Loving your neighbor takes courage.
Loving your neighbor takes effort. Loving your neighbor costs.
We live in a world that is divided. There is greater disparity
between rich and poor, black and white. Hatred is on the rise. The Ulster Project is needed now more than ever.
Of course there were sessions on the practical and logistical parts as well - programming, fundraising, host families, selection process, etc. But this is what I want to take home. This is what we should all take home. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what your Project budget is, or how you train your counselors and transport your teens. In the words of Oscar Romero, it boils down to this, “We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.”
That is what we need to carry with us as we continue our work with the Ulster Project. We are not in Kansas anymore. We are not surrounded by a collection of people working for the same cause. It may seem like we are cut off from our support system, but that is not the case. We are all connected and when we come together we have the potential to change the world.
Romero’s prayer continues, “We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.”
My hope is that we can take what we learned at conference and hold on to that fire within us. May we never grow tired of working for a greater cause, for a peaceful future is within our grasp if we continue with perseverance. We are the role models setting the stage for a brighter tomorrow. I hope I never lose the feeling of humility and gratitude that comes with being a part of the Ulster Project.
