Cross Vigil
DAY 28: Saturday 8 October
Volunteers clearing the site - keep what they find!
From 8 am we had volunteers working to clear the site
behind me and at the side of our building. This is the site that we
now own! They are helping to get it ready for the Human Peace Wall and
for the Peace Pole. Even after they finished some of them stayed around
until the end of the Cross Vigil.
Ted & Olive Long stopped for a while. They go to another
church, but have been friends of New Life for several years. Ted has
been helpful in recent weeks.
A lady was walking through the gates from the Falls to
the Shankill. She stopped to find out more about what we are doing.
During our chat she shared with us that she had been a Nun at one time.
She talked about the cross community work she had been involved with
for several years. Then she shared with us that her brother had been
shot dead during the 1970's by members of the UDA (a terrorist group
within the Protestant community). He had been a member of the Ulster
Defence Regiment (UDR) and was based at the same camp I was in at that
time. The pain was still obvious as she began to weep while she spoke
of him. After some words of encouragement she continued her walk towards
the Shankill Road.
Pastor Jim Armour came along for a while. He brought a
double Mars Bar with him. I left on the stool and predicted to Jim that
one of our lads, Glyn, would "steal" one when he saw it. Well,
sure enough, within about 10 minutes Glyn spotted it and with the help
of his partner in crime, John Cartmill, both bars were almost devoured,
leaving me a small bite size piece.
Anyway, I appreciated their company throughout the day.
Ted & Olive Long_____________Lady from the Falls
Pastor Jim with Mars Bars______Tommy overseeing the work
Taking up your cross can mean taking up many things
