Northern Ireland is a unique country known for many things. From my observation, firstly is that it is a beautiful country with a green landscape and stunning scenery and awe-inspiring mountains and historic castles. Giant’s causeway is an example of that stunning beauty! Secondly, is that it is known for the Troubles, a political religious conflict that lasted for around 30 years ending in the Good Friday agreement with the sharing of power to restore governance to the country. A third thing that Northern Ireland is known for are Murals-street arts that tells the different stories of Northern Ireland.  What new Mural is currently being developed in Northern Ireland?  I have had the privilege of visiting Northern Ireland three times, the first time was in 2008 for a holiday trip, the second time was in May 2022 to see what God was doing and saying through the work of the Evangelical Alliance in Northern Ireland in collaboration with other mission organisations and churches. The third visit was recent May 2024 to see how God is orchestrating his intercultural Kingdom through Intercultural Ministries Ireland.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert in Northern Ireland political history nor fully understand all of the issues going on. Besides, I have only visited the country three times therefore my reflections here are that of an outsider who is reflecting on what I think God is doing.

Recent Political Context in Northern Ireland

There are several political strands going on in Northern Ireland that are complex. Firstly, is that the government has been on a stalemate for the past two years and only returned recently to government picking up a backlog of issues such as NHS and health, poverty and the economy.  What led to the stalemate was that the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refused to re-from the Northern Ireland Assembly until the UK government took decisive action on post-Brexit trade arrangements. A major part of that was the Northern Ireland Protocol which keeps Northern Ireland aligned with the EU single market for goods allowing free trade to continue across the Irish border, that is, North-South. But has introduced new checks on products moving between Britain and Northern Ireland, that is, East-West. In essence, the Irish border is open whilst a new internal border is subject to certain checks which raises concerns for some people as they feel, this undermines Northern Ireland within the UK, when compared to the borders of Scotland, Wales and England.  An immediate consequence of the stalemate is that everyone is paying the price because there are now backlog of issues at stake which the government is now trying to address. This include but not limited to the cost-of-living crisis, the health system and an education review that require urgent attention.

Secondly, was that the assembly elections on the 5^th of May 2022 led to Sinn Fein being cemented as the party with the largest number of seats. The complexity here is that Sinn Fein as a nationalist party supported the Protocol and wanted a reformed government.

Thirdly, is the UK government legislative Act for dealing with legacy cases from the Troubles which could  provide some form of amnesty to those who cooperate in a truth recovery process. The Legacy and Reconciliation Act impacts how some families could find out the truth about what has happened to their loved ones whilst there could be others who want both truth and justice. The question is, are people seeking for truth and reconciliation or truth and justice? Added to this complexity are the narratives that one groups freedom fighter (defending themselves and what they think is right and in the course of their impact on other lives) is considered by another group as a terrorist and therefore raises another question of who is the victim and who is the oppressor? One of the things that is clear from this Act is that it has opened up a wound that was never really healed and brought back memories of a troubled past.

Northern Irish Identity

One fundamental question at the heart of this recent politics is an identity question. What does it mean to be Northern Irish? From a Unionist perspective, it is perhaps in relation and proximity to Britain. For those that are nationalist, it is possibly around the idea of the independence of Irish people as a people in their own right. One thing that quickly became clear with my visits was the visible way identity markers are displayed. The flags whether Irish or British demonstrate a sort of a marking of territories in a contested space. The Murals each tell a story of Northern Ireland’s troubled history. The land, that is, which area people choose to live demarcates sometimes who is Catholic and who is Protestant. For me, these three visible identity markers of flags, Murals and land displays identities in a such a way that reveals fear of the other. But in this contested space could God be creating and fashioning a new identity around a Mural that tells a different story?  

Intercultural Ministries Ireland: An example of God’s Intercultural Kingdom

In my last two visits to Northern Ireland one of the church developments I am observing that is reimagining and helping to reconfigure an alternative future hope is the birth of Intercultural Ministries Ireland. Intercultural Ministries Ireland started around three years ago with the pioneering work of Nathaniel Jennings and others who are intentionally creating spaces for Northern Irish Christians and all the different Majority World people (Asians, Africans and Latin Americans) that God have sent to Northern Ireland to gather for fellowship and mission.

 The prophet Isaiah in helping the people of Judah (South) rethink their future hope in God after the division of the kingdom into North and South declare a prophetic imagery rooted in a messianic kingdom. This messianic kingdom having a messiah endowed with the Spirit of God will usher in a peaceful kingdom depicted with peaceful relationships, “the wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid” (Isaiah 11:6). This kingdom is depicted in powerlessness because the calf and the lion and fatling are together. The only way a lion is together with a calf is for the lion to either be tamed or not really hungry! In both scenarios, the lion is sacrificing something. This is perhaps made clearer in verse 7 when it says that the lion shall eat straw like the ox! That is unusual and requires humility and giving up power which is also why there is an imagery of a child leading them in the latter statement in verse 6. This peaceful messianic kingdom is also depicted in bravery, and we see this in verse 8 when it says that the nursing child will play over a hole of a dangerous snake and the weaned child will do the same.  Intercultural Ministries Ireland like the prophet Isaiah is helping people see beyond the current dichotomies through peaceful relationships, sharing of power and bravery. It is doing this through significant collaboration that is bringing together Christians from Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. It is doing this recognising that God has sent migrant missionaries to Northern Ireland to help the mission field in this context. The recognition  and acceptance of migrant missionaries is an example of sharing power as it requires humility to accept help. Intercultural Ministries Ireland is being brave by challenging other churches in Northern Ireland to rise up and develop inclusive ecclesiologies that welcomes the stranger. Intercultural Ministries Ireland is therefore creating spaces that allows the wolf to eat with the lamb, the lion with the calf, the bear with the cow!

Global Voices Event

It was indeed a priviledge in my recent visit to be part of a gathering themed Global Voices held at Christian Fellowship Church (CFC) East. The event with around fifty people reflecting different ethnicities, cultures, generations and denominations had intercultural worship that was interspersed and interjected with other languages represented at the gathering. We had part of the worship songs in Yoruba, Arabic, French, Spanish, Ukrainian, Hebrew and Farsi. We had ministry reflections from those missionaries that God have sent to Northern Ireland. We heard from Pastor Johann Vizagie of how God sent him from South Africa and now in Northern Ireland not as a Catholic minister or Protestant minister but as a minister of reconciliation! We heard from a Filipino Christian Pastor Danni Quilario of how God is using her ministry as a nurse sent to care and help people. We also heard from Pastor Carlos Neto, A Brazilian pastor of how God is using him to develop a bilingual multicultural church. We also heard from Alain Emmerson on the dynamism and spirituality of  Irish Celtic Christianity. My reflection of the evening was how there could be a mutual learning between World Christianity and Irish Celtic Christianity?     The development of a mutual  learning will truly allow for an expression of God’s intercultural kingdom in our churches. Such an expression of church could help people see their Northern Irish, Irish or British loyalties as positive but rooted in an intercultural kingdom of God that supersedes these various categories  This does not mean people lose or forget their local identities, but it means seeing it transformed in relation to something much more powerful and higher that is binding together.

New Mural of the Spirit

So how is God practically constructing a new Mural in Northern Ireland? Firstly is understanding that God as a creator is an artist. The implication is that we are his handiwork and art material that he sometimes uses to weave a beautiful prophetic depiction and symbol. If each Mural tells a story of a troubled past, is it possible that through the emerging intercultural conversations in Northern Ireland God is commission a new Mural of the Spirit that gives a prophetic imagery of his intercultural kingdom? Such an art work is currently being constructed through God sending migrant missionaries who are seeking to work together with Northern Irish Christians and not in isolation building their own kingdom. The Mural is being created with God bringing together Northern Irish Christians and Christians from Republic of Ireland. The Mural is being fashioned by God connecting Irish Celtic Christianity with global voices and voice from the Majority World. The Mural is being drawn by God bringing together some Catholics and Protestants, working class and middle class together. This new Mural is seeking to tell a different story of Northern  Ireland. It is seeking to tell a story of what God is doing in  Northern Ireland through the emerging intercultural conversation of which Intercultural Ministries Ireland is a catalyst.  This journey requires relationships, bravery and sharing of power! Such a positive imagery could begin to challenge and reconfigure society therefore creating a new political language for the context.

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[1] A short version of this paper was first published by the Evangelical Alliance. God’s intercultural kingdom in the island of Ireland – Evangelical Alliance (eauk.org).