Londonderry peace plea: The Church of England Newspaper, June 20, 2014 June 26, 2014
Posted by geoconger in Church of England Newspaper, Church of Ireland.Tags: Ken Good
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The Catholic and Anglican bishops of Londonderry have released a joint appeal for Ulster to set aside its sectarian divisions and suspicions and work towards a united socity. On 16 June 2014 the Rt. Rev. Ken Good, the Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry and Raphoe and the Most Rev. Donal McKeown, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Derry, marked Community Relations Week with call to the community to “strive tirelessly to heal the wounds caused by our violent conflict. It is also to ensure that such conflict never happens again. We can best do this by journeying towards reconciliation, so that a cycle of historic division is broken once and for all in this land.” The bishops wrote: “Differences whether of history, race, religion or politics do not define who our neighbour is. Christ teaches us that every person is our ‘neighbour’ and that we are to find practical ways to ‘love’ them. We renew our Christian commitment to loving our neighbour in this city, whoever that neighbour may be,” they said.
Luke’s Gospel blankets Derry: The Church of England Newspaper, April 28, 2013 p 2. May 2, 2013
Posted by geoconger in Church of England Newspaper, Church of Ireland.Tags: Diocese of Derry & Raphoe, Ken Good
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L–R: Bishop Ken Good (Bishop of Derry & Raphoe), Rev Peter Murray (Superintendent of Methodist City Mission), Monsignor Eamon Martin Mayor Kevin Campbell & Rev Dr Robert Buick – on The Peace Bridge.
SOME 40,000 copies of Luke’s Gospel are to be hand–delivered to every home in Londonderry as part of part of “A Free Gift For All” — an ecumenical initiative of the city’s Protestant and Catholic churches.
On 15 April 2013 Mayor Kevin Campbell was given the first commemorative copy by the Catholic Bishop of Derry Mgr Eamon Martin, the superintendent of the Methodist City Mission the Rev Peter Murray, the clerk of the Derry Presbytery the Rev Dr. Robert Buick and the Church of Ireland’s Bishop of Derry & Raphoe Ken Good.
A spokesperson for the project organisers said: “A Free Gift For All brings together so many strands of good news for out city. We are delighted to present the Mayor with a free gift of the Gospel of Luke. This is the first step in the distribution to all 40,000 households in our city”.
He continued: “It is a unique coming together of the church community in our city to give a gift to our fellow citizens, as a celebration of our designation as the UK City of Culture in 2013”.
Derry bombings draw condemnation from across N.I.: The Church of England Newspaper, January 27, 2012 p 7 February 2, 2012
Posted by geoconger in Church of England Newspaper, Church of Ireland, Terrorism.Tags: Ken Good, Real IRA
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First printed in The Church of England Newspaper.
The Church of Ireland’s Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, the Rt. Rev. Ken Good has denounced last week’s bombings in Londonderry, but has warned the terrorists their campaign of violence and intimidation will not derail the peace process.
On 19 January 2012 bombs were detonated in the centre of Londonderry at the visitor and convention bureau and at the city’s DHSS office following a warning telephone call. No one was injured in the blasts, though the area was evacuated by the police after the blasts.
The PSNI believes that a dissident republican faction opposed to the peace process is to blame for the attacks, and suspect either the Real IRA – responsible for the 1998 Omagh bombing that killed 29 – or a second group the Oglaigh na hEireann.
Speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly on 23 January, the DUP’s MLA Gregory Campbell said that while “we are in the third year” of their bombing campaign, their efforts are doomed “to fail” as “90 per cent of the community oppose what they are doing.”
Sinn Fein’s Raymond McCartney called upon MLAs to send a united message to dissident republicans to cease their attacks. Their actions “stood in stark contrast” to the views of the community who condemned the attacks, while the UUP’s Danny Kinahan who appealed to the community to see “the dissidents have no room to move and that they will never win”.
Following the attack Bishop Good released a statement saying “we are proud of this city. Our resolve to create a new future as a united community is undiminished by acts such as this”.
The attack had been made upon “all of the people of this city who are committed to a hopeful and bright future. The shared future we are working for is one that has left behind destructive violence and makes progress through democratic processes. I believe this city has a bright future because we are as one in our determination to work constructively together.”
The people of Londonderry “will not to be deflected by these negative and destructive attacks,” Bishop Good said.
Conger 