Irish Churches Peace Project The Irish Churches Peace Project is an initiative of the four largest denominations in Ireland (Catholic Church, Presbyterian, Church of Ireland and Methodist) and the Irish Council of Churches (which also represents some of the smaller denominations). It is designed as an integrated peacebuilding project operating within and between these churches, and with those in the wider community outside the churches, on an agreed agenda.
There will be three main strands in its work:
Sustained, facilitated cross-community dialogue on contentious issues.
Offering support over an extended period to local inter-church groups wishing to set up new initiatives that will contribute long-term to a stable and lasting peace
Developing protocols and mechanisms for the churches to speak and act collectively more frequently on social and political issues, and thereby modelling cooperation for a positive shared future.
The project is regional in nature, including the whole of Northern Ireland and the Southern border counties. However a number of exemplar geographic target areas have been identified as major focal points for a) and b) above. These include interface communities in East and North Belfast, Craigavon Council area, Newry and Mourne Council area, Strabane Council area and the cross-border region of Clogher Dioceses (roughly Fermanagh, Monaghan and Cavan).
In addition to three posts advertised in December (director, financial administrator and office manager, administrative assistant – for which applications have now closed), six Church Good Relations Officer positions will also be advertised from 11th January 2013. There will be one office based in Belfast, but the Church Good Relations Officers will take the lead on and, therefore, spend much of their time in one of the geographic target areas and/or working from home.
Further details can be obtained from the Personnel Office of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI), Assembly Buildings, Belfast BT1 6DW (PCI is acting as the lead partner in this consortium). See also the website
Afri dates 2013
On Saturday 2nd February 2013 the Féile Bríde conference will take place in Kildare. On Saturday 18th May 2013 there will be the annual Famine Walk in Louisburgh, Co Mayo. More details will be posted on the website. You can also follow Afri’s work on its Facebook page and now there is the facility to make online donations through the website to support Afri’s work, and the work of Abjata Khalif, from Afri’s partner organisation, the Kenya Pastoralist Journalist Network. To read about some of the work Abjata has been doing go here . Afri, 134 Phibsborough Road, Phibsborough, Dublin 7, e-mail admin@afri.ie and phone 01 882 7563/7581.
Shannonwatch
The monthly peaceful vigil organised by Shannonwatch against the military misuse of Shannon Airport continues on Sunday 13th January from 2pm to 3pm; meet at the small roundabout before the airport entrance.
As usual Shannonwatch are meticulous with their facts and statistics and their website now has military flight statistics for all of 2012. Here is their summary: “The number of US troop carriers using Shannon Airport was down in 2012 compared to previous years. In 2011 there was an average of over 80 troop flights a month but in 2012 the numbers recorded by Shannonwatch ranged from a low of 13 in July to a high of 72 in April. But while all the summer months saw relatively low numbers of troop carriers at Shannon, their frequency began to increase again towards the end of the year. Even though the number of civilian aircraft carrying US troop was down, the number of US military aircraft landing at Shannon did not change in 2012. On average 24 of these used Shannon every month, including Hercules c-130's and mid-air refuelling tankers.” Contacts: E-mail shannonwatch@gmail.com and phone 087 8225087.
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