Lessons about conflict from Northern Ireland
Meet the God Squad – five very different faith leaders from across our community who always talk about those things your mother told you to never talk about in polite company – politics and religion. They’ve been doing it Fridays for lunch for eight years but now they’re officially going prime time in cooperation with Leon County Government. Meet the squad below.
God Squad, meet The Reverend Dr. Gary Mason, a Methodist minister who has spent a career in inner city Belfast building peace across the “ghosts of religious division which have dogged this island for hundreds and hundreds of years.” He brings wisdom from the Irish legacy of sectarianism to America’s current divisions. Gary’s organization, Rethinking Conflict, is a UK based non-profit social enterprise working in the field of conflict transformation, peacebuilding and reconciliation. Our sincere thanks to Good Samaritan United Methodist Church for providing Dr. Mason for this important evening.
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Gary has learned that “trust is developed in the context of a meaningful relationship” and that if the historical baggage in a society isn’t addressed it continues to rear its head. He sees signs that the escalation in our racial tensions are following along some of the escalations in violence they’ve seen in Northern Ireland.
(Watch program here. Watch extended audience Q&A here.)
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Gary has learned that “trust is developed in the context of a meaningful relationship” and that if the historical baggage in a society isn’t addressed it continues to rear its head. He sees signs that the escalation in our racial tensions are following along some of the escalations in violence they’ve seen in Northern Ireland.
Dr. Gary Mason
Betsy Ouellette Zierden
Darrick McGhee
Josh Hall
Tim Holeda
Jack Romberg
Blast from the Past Archive. Because truly genius wisdom is evergreen.
Can’t get enough of that unique and timeless God Squad wisdom and transcendence? Need a refresher between programs? The vast majority of our past programs can be listened to on Village SquareCast. Click the link below and binge what your mother warned you to avoid in polite company — faith and politics. (Fair warning – you might need to order out for dinner tonight.)
