On 1 November, a Service of Thanksgiving was jointly held in Saint Macartin’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Enniskillen, Diocese of Clogher, and across the road in Saint Michael’s Catholic Church, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Ulster Project, which offers “leadership training in conflict resolution (reconciliation) with the goal of empowering Ulster Project teens to oppose discrimination of any kind.”
The Ulster Project, which brings Protestant and Catholic teenagers from Northern Ireland together for month-long stays with host families in the United States, aims to provide “leadership training in conflict resolution with the goal of empowering Ulster Project teens to oppose discrimination of any kind.”
Over the past five decades, it is estimated that 25,000 young people have participated in the programme.
Preaching in Saint Macartin’s Cathedral, Archbishop John McDowell, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, praised the Project’s founders and volunteers for their quiet but transformative work.
He said the initiative had succeeded through “hospitality, encounter, and ordinary friendship,” calling reconciliation “a great civic word, but also a hard word – a very difficult thing to bring to birth or to put into effect.”
Across the road in Saint Michael’s Church, Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, reflected on the enduring legacy of the Project and the ongoing need for reconciliation.
“When we marked the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, there was gratitude for progress made, but also an acceptance that we still had a long way to go,” he said. “Those words of W. B. Yeats – ‘peace comes dropping slow’ – remind us that the work of peace is gradual, often happening out of sight, but it continues.”
Archbishop Martin said the Project’s founders understood that real peace required patience and persistence saying, “The unfinished work of peace cries out for leadership on so many levels – from churches, politicians, business people, educators, and community workers. We need more risk-takers who can help us take courageous steps forward in the service of the common good.”
Describing the Ulster Project as being “born in hope and continuing in hope,” Archbishop Martin expressed his prayer that its anniversary would “re-energise a spirit of solidarity and generosity” and inspire new generations to “build bridges, cross the road, and recognise that the stranger over there is really our friend.”
To read the homilies in full, please click HERE