Cliff Loesch
June 3, 2012
Isaiah 6:1-8
Is Anyone Listening?
LaVonna, Molly, and I went out to eat in Derry, Northern Ireland one night and they had a sign that said they have live, traditional Irish music five nights a week from 8:00-10:00. LaVonna and Molly already had big plans to pack some boxes of Molly’s stuff to ship home—so I decided to walk back down (all by myself) and listen to a little music. I took a book with me and some paper in case I got inspired to write. The music was great—just a violin and a guitar—and very enjoyable to listen to.
As I sat there I started thinking about Northern Ireland. Molly felt very safe there. During the four months that she lived there, she walked all over and felt safe at all hours. And the city has made great efforts to overcome all the strife they encountered in the past. They have a beautiful, new foot-bridge across the river completed only one year ago this month that they call the Peace Bridge. Most of the people on one side are Catholic and most of the people who live on the other side are Protestant. The Peace Bridge is there as a way to symbolize how far they have come in achieving peace, and to represent the way they hope to continue to reach out to one another in peace.
As I was enjoying the music and looking around at the other people gathered that night—I started thinking of all the news I used to hear coming out of Northern Ireland back in the 70s and 80s. It was all bad news: Continue reading
Cliff Loesch 