North Ireland Spring Break Trip
Students share faith with North Ireland youth
Philip Wilmot
Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: News
The Mess Team spent an entire day in a local junior high school presenting their faith and answering questions from children enrolled in the religious education class.
"Being able to speak about our faith in the classroom is awesome, especially for an education major like myself," said Potoka.
Northern Ireland, notorious for its division of Protestant and Catholic cultures, is home to some violence resulting from a lack of cooperation between the followers of the two denominations. However, students in Northern Ireland note that the differences and bitterness between Protestants and Catholics are primarily due to cultural differences and arguments over land and soccer rather than religious dispute.
Sophomores Genna D'Aleandro, who was raised Roman Catholic, and Joanna Haqq, who is a Protestant pastor's child, recorded an interfaith dialogue. This video has the potential of being shown in the area's schools.
"Obviously, my hope is that our video can be effective for the kids," said Haqq. "We got a very good response from the kids when we were speaking in person on the topic."
"In addition to the video that we recorded, we are working toward setting up webcam-like conversations between Protestant schools, Catholic schools, and Messiah College," said trip participant Chad Frey, Director of the Agape Center.
While the Mess Team was staying in the Church of the Nazarene, a police officer was shot and killed just minutes away. "The shooting doesn't feel real," said Holland. "We didn't really feel the effects of it while we were there, but it still illustrates the fact that there are issues."
"There wasn't a lot of hype in Northern Ireland, but when I got home, many people were glad to find that I was okay," reported Haqq. "While the event was important to many in the United States, it did not seem to be significant to those around us while we were in Lurgan."
Many big media networks, such as CNN, covered the incident. "I am glad that they showed those protesting the violence," said Potoka. "However, the media still presented the event as if it was an everyday occurrence. In reality, the situation in Northern Ireland is really improving."
The Agape Center is currently looking at the possibility of conducting this trip again in the future. "Even if the youth group at the Church of the Nazarene comes to an end, we still hope to be able to return to the area for service opportunities," said Holland.
"It'd be great to see the trip expand, allowing future Mess Teams to service in Catholic schools in addition to the three Protestant schools that we engaged," Holland said.
According to Holland, future trip participants should be experienced with or have a desire to work with youth. Additionally, skills in areas such as music and crafts are helpful.
"There is so much to be done on the trip," Holland explained. "Future Mess Teams should be composed of people willing to work together, just as we did this year."
In the words of a member of the Church of the Nazarene's youth group, Gary Law, "This is definitely one of the best Mess Teams we have ever had."
"Being able to speak about our faith in the classroom is awesome, especially for an education major like myself," said Potoka.
Northern Ireland, notorious for its division of Protestant and Catholic cultures, is home to some violence resulting from a lack of cooperation between the followers of the two denominations. However, students in Northern Ireland note that the differences and bitterness between Protestants and Catholics are primarily due to cultural differences and arguments over land and soccer rather than religious dispute.
Sophomores Genna D'Aleandro, who was raised Roman Catholic, and Joanna Haqq, who is a Protestant pastor's child, recorded an interfaith dialogue. This video has the potential of being shown in the area's schools.
"Obviously, my hope is that our video can be effective for the kids," said Haqq. "We got a very good response from the kids when we were speaking in person on the topic."
"In addition to the video that we recorded, we are working toward setting up webcam-like conversations between Protestant schools, Catholic schools, and Messiah College," said trip participant Chad Frey, Director of the Agape Center.
While the Mess Team was staying in the Church of the Nazarene, a police officer was shot and killed just minutes away. "The shooting doesn't feel real," said Holland. "We didn't really feel the effects of it while we were there, but it still illustrates the fact that there are issues."
"There wasn't a lot of hype in Northern Ireland, but when I got home, many people were glad to find that I was okay," reported Haqq. "While the event was important to many in the United States, it did not seem to be significant to those around us while we were in Lurgan."
Many big media networks, such as CNN, covered the incident. "I am glad that they showed those protesting the violence," said Potoka. "However, the media still presented the event as if it was an everyday occurrence. In reality, the situation in Northern Ireland is really improving."
The Agape Center is currently looking at the possibility of conducting this trip again in the future. "Even if the youth group at the Church of the Nazarene comes to an end, we still hope to be able to return to the area for service opportunities," said Holland.
"It'd be great to see the trip expand, allowing future Mess Teams to service in Catholic schools in addition to the three Protestant schools that we engaged," Holland said.
According to Holland, future trip participants should be experienced with or have a desire to work with youth. Additionally, skills in areas such as music and crafts are helpful.
"There is so much to be done on the trip," Holland explained. "Future Mess Teams should be composed of people willing to work together, just as we did this year."
In the words of a member of the Church of the Nazarene's youth group, Gary Law, "This is definitely one of the best Mess Teams we have ever had."
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