Wellsprings of Healing - Paulist Reconciliation/Interfaith Pilgrimage 2010

We depart Belfast for the city of Derry. We will have some free time to explore the city and walk the ancient walls and visit the Tower Museum. We will celebrate the Eucharist in the Cathedral and have lunch in Guild Hall. In the late afternoon we will meet with the Peace and Reconciliation Group. In the early evening, we depart Derry via Benone Beach, Castlerock, Portstewart, Portrush and Bushmills. (B/L/D) Dinner and overnight at Royal Court Hotel

The Peace and Reconciliation Group was initially established in 1976 as a local group of the Northern Ireland Peace People in Derry/Londonderry. It continues the grassroots work to build bridges between the religious and cultural communities in Northern Ireland that had been polarized by the events of the previous ten years and by the institutionalized segregated society which previously existed. A major strand of the work involves getting people to talk to one another. This may happen in the form of structured workshops or training programs, specifically designed projects or mediation sessions. In addition to the structured work, the PRG is also involved in assisting community organizations to find ways to manage and mediate contentious situations which arise in connection with parades, bonfires, football matches, elections and other events. There is no quick fix to the problems in Northern Ireland. While great progress has been made since the peace agreement was signed in 1995, great setbacks have also occurred, making the need for this type of work as valid as ever.

We have an morning departure to visit the Giants Causeway and follow the coast road to Ballycastle, with a visit the to the Bonamargy Abbey. We will arrive at the Corrymeeela Community on the coast in Ballycastle where we will have lunch, meet with leaders to discuss the work of the community, and pray together. We will have dinner at Corrymeela before returning to our hotel. (B/L/D)

Overnight at Royal Court Hotel

The Corrymeela Community was founded in 1965 and continues to promote reconciliation and peace-building through the healing of social, religious and political divisions in Northern Ireland. Corrymeela’s history is built upon committed work with communities and individuals who have suffered through the violence and polarization of the Northern Irish conflict.  Corrymeela’s vision of Christian community and reconciliation has been expressed through a commitment to promoting interaction between and building positive relationships among all kinds and conditions of people. The Community currently has 150 members and over 5,000 friends and supporters throughout the world.  Many Corrymeela members are active in a wide variety of peace and reconciliation activity and some have created their own training agencies involved in conflict transformation work. 

Morning transfer to Belfast airport for flight to London. Late afternoon visit to St. Ethelburga's Centre, London. The evening will be free. (B) Overnight Club Quarters, St. Paul’s, London

St Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace is a unique space in the heart of the City of London to inspire and equip people to practice reconciliation and peace-making in their own communities and lives. The Centre offers dialogues, workshops and training about reconciliation and peace making and explores religious differences together in The Tent. We celebrate religious diversity and peace through music and the arts

We will celebrate the morning Eucharist in a chapel at St. Paul’s Cathedral before boarding the coach for Coventry. At the Cathedral, we will have free time for lunch on our own, a guided tour of the Cathedral, a meeting with the staff to discuss the work of reconciliation, and we will celebrate evensong before returning to London. We will have dinner in a nearby restaurant on our arrival in London. (B/D) Overnight Club Quarters, St. Paul’s, London.

Coventry Cathedral is one of the world's oldest religious-based centers for reconciliation. Following the destruction of the Cathedral in 1940, the Provost made a commitment not to revenge, but to forgiveness and reconciliation with those responsible. Using a national radio broadcast from the cathedral ruins on Christmas Day 1940 he declared that when the war was over he would work with those who had been enemies 'to build a kinder, more Christ-like world.’ It was this moral and prophetic vision which led to Coventry Cathedral's development as a world Centre for Reconciliation, which over the years has provided inspiration and support to many Christians addressing ongoing conflict in contemporary society.

A major part of this ministry was the establishment of the Community of the Cross of Nails, which today is an international network of over 150 organizations in 60 countries committed to a shared ministry of reconciliation. The Cathedral's work for reconciliation has involved it in some of the world's most difficult and longstanding areas of conflict. Building on this experience, it is committed to develop its ministry as a resource centre for the church in the practical outworking of reconciliation as an integral part of Christian worship, witness and discipleship.

The first half of the day at the World Council of Churches headquarters will include prayer,
a tour, a full introduction of the work of the WCC, and a forum for discussion with a WCC colleague on topics of specific interest to our group. Lunch will be on own in the WCC cafeteria. In the afternoon, we meet with the Ecumenical Chaplaincy for Refugees and members of the Interreligious Platform of Geneva. (B) Lunch/Dinner on own

The World Council of Churches is the broadest and most inclusive among the many organized expressions of the modern ecumenical movement, a movement whose goal is Christian unity.

The WCC brings together 349 churches, denominations and church fellowships in more than 110 countries and territories throughout the world, representing over 560 million Christians, including most of the world's Orthodox churches, scores of Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed churches, as well as many United and Independent churches. While the bulk of the founding churches were European and North American, today most member churches are in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific.

The Interreligious Platform of Geneva seeks to help the members of the different faith communities to know one another better and to respect the spiritual riches of each. Each year its activities are organized around a particular theme. In 2009-2010 the theme is “In Quest of the Absolute”.

Depart for USA or the Taizé option.

TAIZÉ  option: June 24-27  Join Fr. Thomas Ryan for a weekend at the Taizé community and a visit to the historic monastery of Cluny, celebrating its 1100th anniversary this year. This program is limited to six participants for an additional cost of about $550 per person. The transport van will return to Geneva by late afternoon on Sunday June 27.

Taize Community Sixty-five years ago, a young man named Roger Schutz settled in the tiny village of Taizé in southern France. While living a life of prayer, he began to assist Jews and others who were trying to escape the WWII Nazi occupation. Roger's concern for victims of injustice was matched by his refusal to accept divisions between Christians. His desire was to found a community of brothers rooted in the monastic tradition that would be a "parable of reconciliation". Today, the ecumenical community that Brother Roger founded numbers over 100 Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Reformed brothers from 25 different countries.

Since the 1960s, thousands of young adults have flocked to Taizé to explore their faith, participate in community, and look for ways of answering back-home needs with their inner gifts. A highlight of every visit to Taizé is participation in the community's visually rich and stimulating life of prayer where every Friday is Good Friday with prayer around the cross, every Saturday is Holy Saturday with a vigil service by candlelight and chanting, and every Sunday is Easter Sunday with a celebration of the Eucharist.

For more background on the Taizé community, see this aritcle by Fr. Tom Ryan.

For more background on the Cluny Abbey, please see this Web page.