Street Level Christianity

In our church we have a stained glass window which puts our challenge and vision very well. In the fore front there is a big Jesus standing with his palms open. In the background there are the industries of old Belfast- the two giant cranes, Goliath and Samson, once used to build and repair major ships and then there are rep[resentations of the linen mills and the engineering works.

They remind us of the days when Belfast was famous for industries and made her name for the Irish Linen used in so many homes within and outrside of this island. The congregation came into being because of the expansion of linen which, in turn , came about because of the American Civil war which resulted in the rising price of cotton leadiong to the diversification into Linen- at one time there was a mill on every street corner but now all those industries have gone. At one time there were over 30,000 men working on ships but today there are less then 200 and the mills have gone and too too have the machine shops whih have been priced out of the market.

BUT Christ is still here- he is notsome far removed icon but the LIVING Christ who has remained with his people and has no intention of leaving until he returns in the flesh to declare that the time has come and the end is nigh.

Here we have the Christ of the street who has called all Christians to play their part in fulfilling His commion to go into all the world and make disciples for him. here we have the God who wants His people to be his followers wherever they find themselves. That means in the neighbourhood, in the leisure centre on the city council, wherever. We are to play our part in making Christ known and i teaching men and women what it means to be a Christian at street level.

In the early church the believers were of one heart and mind and no one considered his possessions to be his exclusive property, when there was a need they pooled their money to help their brothers and sisters. Being a Christian at street level means rejecting sectarianism and racism and all kinds of unacceptable behaviour like homo-phobia. It means leading an honest and ethical life-style, caring for what happens in Africa and Asia as well as in little old Northern Ireland. It means taking the lessons and exortations of the bible and applying them to every day use. While we reject the idea that anyone can win their salvation and that all men can be saved only through the grace of God in Jesus Christ we also believe that life-style is important.

Crumlin Road Presbyterian location

Tenants not Owners

A good few years ago now John B Keane’s novel was transferred onto the big screen. The central figure of the story is a man called Bull McCabe, whose family had farmed a small piece of land in a remote part of the west of Ireland for many generations. The time came when Bull had enough finance to make this arrangement permanent and so he entered the auction not knowing that a wealthy American with very big pockets had the same idea. The result led to tragic consequences!

This film struck a raw nerve in Ireland because we live not only in an island of small fields but because while we share the territory we spend a lot of time fighting over its ownership. Each community is able to present its title deeds to whoever is willing to listen- one looks back to the plantation and the other to the rebellion in an attempt to make their case clear and unambiguous but failing, perhaps, to realise that history is seldom that simple. While giving America back to the Indians seems to be a simple matter and not without logic and justice there have been an awful lot of people living and working on those land since the first while man arrived and settled.

Today the fundamental question for us is this: how are we going to share the shared space that everyone can be at peace with each other? Various ideas have been tried in various parts of the world; in Israel the government has built a huge wall to keep one set of the sons of Abraham out and the others safe. In the Balkans ethnic cleansing was tried and in Africa it was apartheid .Each and every logger-head attempt has failed to bring better relationships.

When we look at the bible we discover the answer to the land question- we are all wrong. The land “belongs to the Lord and everything in it”. The story of the bible is about the attempt of men to take this land off God and make it their own. Jesus tells a parable about a landowner who left his land in the hands of some tenants. The story tells about how even the son of the owner was not safe. Right at the start when God made Adam and Eve they attempted to rebel against God and take the garden for themselves. That had tragic consequences also and we are living in the shadow of them today. Ever since that day there has been a fault line of selfishness and rebellion in the heart of us all. The prophets warned of the judgement of God and yet, God was not, and is not “willing that any should perish but that all should come to eternal life”. No one could have complained that the owner of the land should have his justice and he will have it yet but before that is meted out He has given grace and mercy and new life to anyone who is willing to take it accepting that God is the only sovereign Lord.

Tennent Street is a permanent reminder that this land does not belong to Protestant, Catholic or dissenter but to God and we are his tenants.

Crumlin Road Presbyterian location