I thought that it was appropriate that my book, "Forgiveness: Breaking the Chain of Hate," was launched in England in Warrington. If any place illustrates what I call the value-added dimension that forgiveness brings after tragedy, it is the northern England city of Warrington.
I thought that it was appropriate that my book, "Forgiveness: Breaking the Chain of Hate," was launched in England in Warrington. If any place illustrates what I call the value-added dimension that forgiveness brings after tragedy, it is the northern England city of Warrington. I describe the city's response in the book.
In 1993 the Provisional IRA planted a bomb there which killed two children, Johnathan Ball and Tim Parry, and wounded fifty-six people and shattered a time of peace for the Northern Ireland issue that most had hoped would be permanent. There was a spontaneous outpouring of sympathy and support from throughout Britain and also from Ireland. Two hundred thousand people in Ireland signed books of condolence. Gordon Wilson, whose daughter had been killed by an earlier bomb in Enniskillen and then a senator in the Irish Parliament came to Warrington to share in the grief.
But what has been most moving has been the willingness of the people of Warrington to use their sad experience as a bridge of understanding with Ireland, to let it lead to myriad initiatives - known collectively as Warrington Ireland Reconciliation Enterprise (WIRE) - by local citizens for reconciliation. As the deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast, Alisdair McDonnell, says, "They have turned hatred, despair and conflict into friendship, brotherhood and the hand of peace."
Civic initiatives include the Warrington Project that involves youg people in schools, training, especially of local government officers, and exchanges between religious, cultural and sporting groups. The Project was launched by Prince Charles and the then Irish President, Mary Robinson, with the aim of breaking down traditional prejudice and unhelpful stereotypes.
In the first days after the bombing the Warrington Male Voice Choir assisted victims of the tragedy and created links with groups in Ireland working for peace. Since then they have given concerts for peace and reconciliation in Dublin, Drogheda, Belfast and Derry. An Irish festival, or fleadh, is now held annually. It was launched by the Archbishop of Dublin and has the backing of the Parry family, whose son was killed, and the prime ministers of Britain and Ireland. It is organized by The Bridge, named after Bridge Street where the bombing occurred, and focuses on cultural exchanges, such as families hosting each other across the Irish Sea. Each year, too, there has been a Community Peace Walk, and now a Young People's Center has been created in the name of the two who were killed. As father Colin Parry says, "In Ireland Warrington is held up as an example of how a town can react with dignity following a tragedy."
The mayor and mayoress, councillors and representatives of different groups, including Mrs. Parry, came to the book launch and commemorative service. A pool had been specially constructed in front of the communion table. Quotations from the book were read to a background of music. The service sheet stated, "The book cover of ‘Forgiveness' features the surface of water, ripples spreading out. This evening, representatives of different groups in membership of Warrington Ireland Reconciliation Enterprise come forward. They take a stone brought from the island of Iona, and drop it in the pool, causing ripples. They then proceed to place on the table a symbol of their reconciling activity."
These symbols were most varied. They included slabs of wood representing the town center's denominations working in unity; a rugby ball, symbolic of the sporting element within the festival; a pair of shoes, symbolic of the annual sponsored walk for peace, a musical item, symbolic of the choir's commitment for peace, even an umbrella - symbolizing WIRE, the umbrella organisation!
During the singing of "Make me a channel of your peace" stones were offered to the congregation. At the end everyone was invited` to drop a stone in the water "as a symbol of your personal readiness to contributetoward ‘breaking the chain of hate,' through work, words, prayer or whatever means was personally appropriate. And the young son of the town center's Methodist minister broke a symbolic chain of hate.
My brother, Gerald, spoke at the event representing me. He recounted some of the moving stories told in the book and said, "The choice we can all make is to join ‘the journey of healing' for the sake of future generations. As we read this book we will not only get encouragement ourselves, but will think of others who through it might find strength and inspiration to walk with us - to walk alongside Warrington on this journey."
I did a ten minute interview, from my home in Portland, Oregon, which was broadcast twice that morning on BBC Radio Merseyside.
This article first appeared in "Union Jack"