A letter from Doug Baker in Northern Ireland
June 2012
Dear Friends,
Doug with one of those with whom he has been sharing about ministry for reconciliation
Over the past two months I have had the unexpected privilege of doing some one-to-one tutoring on “Ministry for Reconciliation.” Several weeks apart I received e-mails from two young men visiting Northern Ireland. Each is a university friend of a PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer who served here in the past, one three years ago and the other six years ago. When each of those YAVs heard their friend was going to be spending some time in Northern Ireland they gave their friend my e-mail address and suggested he get in touch with me. If I am honest, my initial reaction quite often when someone makes contact and says, “So-and-so suggested I should make contact with you,” is to want to get my hands on “So-and-so”! I don’t need further demands on my time, thank you very much! But each of these contacts has turned out to be a real blessing.
The first is a friend of Chris’ who is working with an international Christian ministry in Armenia. He was at one of their training centers in England for a course on reconciliation and was looking at very short notice for a placement in Northern Ireland to get an opportunity to supplement the classroom theology and theory he had been learning with some grassroots application. At very short notice and with UK Border Agency restrictions I could not arrange such a placement for him, particularly since he was travelling with his wife and their young child and needed a placement with accommodation. All I was able to do initially was agree to meet him when he came. So we did meet, he asked lots of good questions, I did what I could to answer them, and I quickly realized this is a bright individual with real dedication to both God and the people where he serves.
We ended up meeting several times, for significant periods of time. The week after our first encounter I borrowed an infant seat from a neighbor so I could take his wife and child with us on a tour of Belfast helping them to understand this context and talking about various grassroots reconciliation projects with which I have worked or am familiar. I also passed on teaching material I use, resource books and suggestions of other people he might wish to meet. He pursued those contacts and read a good deal and then would ask if we could meet up again to look at a few more questions he now had. With each encounter, as he asked for insights coming out of my ministry here, I also began to learn a bit more about his ministry and the not dissimilar conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Our final encounter was yesterday. I called by the very small apartment they had found to rent and dropped off some resources on forgiveness that seemed relevant after our previous discussion. I found them beginning the process of packing before going to the U.S. for several weeks and then back to Armenia. After we chatted for a while, he asked if I would pray with them before I left. The four of us joined hands and I was privileged to pray for their journey, for them as a family, and for their future ministry in Armenia.
Ryan is the second one. After exchanging e-mails I agreed to meet him at a coffee shop in the city center. Shortly before I was due to arrive he sent me a text message saying, “I am on the right as you come in—wearing a flannel shirt.” I suddenly realized that was everything I knew about him, apart from the fact that he is a friend of Madeline! It turned out he has just completed a graduate theology program at Duke and is responsible for overseeing eight undergraduate students on a two-month work-study assignment in Belfast. I soon discovered that the students he is responsible for do not necessarily come from any faith background, nor have an interest in theology, nor are the projects where they are based in Northern Ireland operating from a faith foundation. However, Ryan does have a personal faith and genuine interest in a theological understanding of peace-building work here. He asked challenging questions and I quickly realized he is a sharp cookie! Having dutifully met with him so as not to disappoint a past volunteer, I soon discovered his company to be stimulating and his desire to learn genuine. So we met again, when I could introduce him to a little of the grassroots reconciliation work being carried out by churches and Christian groups here. As we drove around we ended up talking quite a bit of theology and a few hours after I left him I got an e-mail asking if I could recommend a book for him to pick up on our last topic of conversation and hoping we could meet up again. We will.
None of this is in my "job description." However, a long time ago a colleague gave me a poster that reads, “The interruptions are our work.” They may also be sources of our own renewal: ”Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2).
Grace and Peace,
Doug Baker
The 2012 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 268
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