Email: Joel Pier-Fitzgerald

Friends,

Greetings. I hope this finds all of you well and spring weather coming upon you. My time here in Belfast continues to go well. While I still have 10 weeks to go, many of my programs are beginning to wind up, and I am starting to think about the future. Despite that, I continue to focus on my work at Cooke Centenary Presbyterian Church and the Vine Centre.

At Cooke, I have finished up my Bible study for old ladies. It was a great experience to discuss the Bible with these women. They had insights and experiences that quite surprised me. They even got feisty with each other. It was gratifying to watch them seriously engage with the Bible and the issues that arise from it. I will greatly miss my Thursday morning time with the ladies, and feel like I was really able to connect with them and their stories.

My other work at Cooke is the youth group. This has without a doubt been the most challenging part of my time here. The youth have the amazing ability to mercilessly ridicule the slightest difference between my culture and theirs. It has been a real struggle to try to love them when all I really want to do is kick them. The youth group has taught me how hard it is to live out the gospel. Despite the struggles, the youth group has done some cool things. We did retreat and are now working on a youth services. Indeed, I think I will find that God has been able to work despite myself.

Besides the Bible studies and youth groups, I have also had the opportunity to preach a couple of times at Cooke. It has been a great experience to get into the pulpit. While the blank stares are a bit unnerving, most people have said they enjoyed my preaching and this has been a great affirmation, particularly given my struggles with their youth.

My other work happens at the Vine Centre, where I play more of a supportive role. The midweek children’s Bible study and homework club can be tiring, but they are also a great joy. No matter how down I am feeling, a child running up and wrapping his arms around me always brightens my mood. It has been a real joy to see the children light up at hearing a Bible story or figure out a difficult problem. This work has been quite rewarding.

Overall, my time here has been quite blessed and rewarding. Belfast is a city with some tough issues and a rough past. The spectre of sectarian violence is still very present: the recent shooting death of a policeman and two soldiers shows that the violence hasn’t completely ended. Yet, I have been struck by how strongly people want peace. Most everyone I have talked to—even those who are staunch partisans—are committed to the peace process. In some ways, then, there is hope for Belfast.

I hope and pray this finds you well. Thank you so much for your prayers and support.

Grace and Peace,

Joel