Worship

Of all the things I expected to love about being here, attending community worship was not one of them. Living and working in an open, Christian community sounded to me as if it would be the most challenging aspect of my time here since I am not a religious person. Thankfully, I have already been successfully challenged in my views and genuinely look forward to this aspect of the rhythm of life here.

Worship takes place in the Croi (pronounced Cree) every morning and most evenings and whilst it is not compulsory to attend, I find myself there more often than not. The 'worship' is facilitated by community members and the nature of it changes depending on who is running the session. 

Obviously, being a Christian community, some of the sessions are related to God and the central tenants of Christianity but generally speaking it is a space for contemplation and reflection on a topic, providing an excellent way to start and end the day.

Last week was the anniversary of the Enniskillen bombing, usually marked as one of the turning points of the Troubles, and a colleague used the story of Gordon Wilson to explore the nature of forgiveness in peacebuilding and in everyday life. It was a particularly deep and moving session which stayed with me throughout the day and has since led to several discussions about the value of restorative justice processes.

Other examples of worship might be a session facilitated by a German on what freedom means on the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a session on committing to 'do better', or a session on homophobia and gay rights following the recent referendums on gay marriage in several US states. These kinds of 'worship' encourage attendees to think about their own understanding of these issues and challenge viewpoints by providing alternatives. I feel I can confidently say that every worship I have attended has made me think in new ways and helped me explore in my own mind how I understand and through that develop as a person. The next challenge for me will be actually leading a worship so that's another thing to ponder on.