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October 1999
Dear Friends,
As I write Northern Ireland is once again in "make or break"
political negotiations on two issues included in the Good Friday
Agreement of April 1998: The setting-up of an inclusive power-sharing
government and the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons. The
Unionists are saying "No guns, no government" and insisting
on some credible decommissioning of IRA weapons before entering
into government with Sinn Fein. And Sinn Fein are saying the only
chance there is of weapons eventually being decommissioned is
bringing Sinn Fein into government along with other parties now
and then pursuing an equality agenda, which will remove from the
minds of Republicans the need for retaining any weapons. It’s
an impasse!
During times like this we are grateful for churches who let us
know they are praying for our situation. Many ask whether there
are specific things for which to pray. For the past six years
the Belmont Council of Churches in East Belfast has held regular
"Prayers For Peace" from 6:30–7:00 p.m. each Wednesday.
They rotate between ten local churches, Protestant and Catholic.
Reflecting on the value of these times and on where we might concentrate
our prayers at this time Ron Savage, the minister of our own congregation,
recently wrote:
"I find Prayers for Peace a moving and beneficial time spent
quietly with God and with others who are concerned for the confused
and conflicted state of affairs in which we live. At best, all
we see is that we have not returned to the horrific violence we
had at the height of our Troubles and that occasionally those
antagonistic to one another do talk together. There are more efforts
at co-operation than ever in schools, churches, communities and
work places. But progress is slow—and at the moment we seem
to have regressed. Have the political optimists been hoping to
reconcile the irreconcilable? Or is there really a possible solution
that is neither an all-Ireland Republic nor a loyalist dominated
province within the United Kingdom? Only if nationalist and unionist
are prepared to settle for something less than their ultimate
aspiration and can do so with grace rather than resentment.
Grace is a Christian characteristic, the gift of God. When we
see politicians interviewed there is not a lot of grace in evidence.
Often even less grace is shown by those who are most religious
among them. Pray that they might receive grace and be a lot more
gracious towards one another. Disparaging language, insults, snide
remarks, and rubbishing one another’s ideas and work simply
adds to distrust.
Now there is another Christian characteristic we need: trust.
First and foremost we need to learn again to trust in God. Time
and again Moses exhorted the Hebrews not to forget their deliverance
from slavery in Egypt, to go on trusting God who delivered them,
and to keep God’s rules for living. But again and again the
Old Testament tells how they did not trust these rules, or God,
and went their own way, to their sorrow and loss. They came to
believe that their fortune was tied to the patch of land between
Sinai and Lebanon. They thought that if they lived anywhere else,
or with any other people, they would lose their identity. But
their identity lay in trust in God and his commandments.
Despite great protestations about religious faith and identity
in Northern Ireland, there is a lack of trust in God to guide
our future, keep us safe, and help us live together as human beings.
Paul says, "Overcome evil with good." Often politicians
and others subscribe to the maxim that evil can be overcome by
a greater evil. But meeting evil with evil only increases evil.
We need to appeal to the good in those who appear evil and opposed
to one another, and trust that God will bring a good out of evil.
We need to trust God and pray that we may learn to trust one another—even
in political arrangements we don’t like!
Lack of trust breeds fear. All sides are fearful of what others
might do to them given the chance—with good cause, in light
of our history. But Christian courage challenges fear. We need
to pray for the gift of courage when everyone is afraid of what
others intend or might do. In Revelation there is a list of those
who will be excluded from the kingdom of heaven. On that list
you find the cowardly (Rev. 21:8). There are many in our political
scene trying to prove by confrontational politics that they are
not cowards. But they do not have the courage to co-operate with
others to work out an accommodation. We need to pray that they
will be given courage from on high, lest we all lose Paradise.
Courage, trust, and grace are spiritual gifts. We who have the
spirit of Christ need to pray for these gifts for ourselves, for
our politicians, and for those with whom we share this land. We
should not underestimate our influence or feel helpless, for prayer
is powerful and it empowers. Pray for grace, trust and courage—to
lead us forward and break the impasse.
We greatly value your prayers at this and all times.
Faithfully yours,
Doug and Elaine Baker
The 1999 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 78
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