Note From Lindsay Neal

Greetings Gammon Students, Alumni, Friends, Trustees, and Staff!

I am pleased to share my experience abroad with the seminary!

While in Belfast, Ireland I participated in a week-long Bible study and an in-depth study of the conflict that took place in Belfast from the late 1960s until the late 1990s, a period in Northern Ireland history often referred to as The Troubles. The week-long Bible study was presented by Rev. Dr. Gary Mason. It was insightful and thought-provoking. The Bible study,” Healing the Hurts: Shaping the Future”, was written by Rev. Dr. Johnston McMaster and published by the Council for Social Responsibility Methodist Church in Ireland. The series of six Bible studies provided both social and biblical lenses into how peace and justice could be achieved through human existence. 

Rev. Dr. Gary Mason gave a tour of the actual locations where the conflict took place in Belfast. In these locations,  photos and names were listed on signs where innocent people had lost their lives because of the division between the Roman Catholics and the Protestants (which is what led to the conflict). During my time in Belfast, I was able to listen to people who had lived through the conflict including a man who had faced serious injuries that resulted in him being wheelchair-bound.

The Rethinking Conflict travel seminar provided a unique opportunity for all participants to critically reflect on the issues dividing the Church and how we can work towards healing racial divisions within it. Personally, I believe that participating in this seminar had a profound impact on my approach to conflict resolution between people of different faiths, beliefs, and races, and will continue to do so for a lifetime. While the seminar focused on the existence of conflict, Rev. Dr. Gary Mason reminded us of the power of hope, which serves as a source of inspiration and motivation in his ministry toward healing divisions. With hope in God, healing and unity are achievable despite conflict among people. As a seminarian, I carry this hope and experience with me, and I am optimistic about the future of the Church. I am grateful to Dean Lewis and Gammon Theological Seminary for providing me with this valuable opportunity to learn and critically examine conflict through a different lens.

Humbly submitted,
Lindsay Neal, MDIV Student 
“Believe in the Oxygen of Hope,” Rev. Dr. Gary Mason

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Note from Eugene Boger

I find it challenging to assign an appropriate value to the Rethinking Conflict experience in Belfast, N. Ireland, but I am immensely grateful for it. Over eight days, I witnessed the dynamics of oppression, violence, and trauma that bear similarities to those faced by African Americans on US soil. This experience led me to reflect on peacemaking and question how Gammon, an institution that I hold dear, approaches this work.

My reflection led me to a recalibrated idea of peacemaking and a pivotal question: Is peacemaking a process and journey, rather than a one-time event? We cannot create lasting peace through recycled programs and worship services that lack essential elements such as lament and accountability. Without these components, our peacemaking efforts become performative and a disservice to our faith. Instead, we must commit ourselves to a lifelong pursuit of peace

The question: What are we doing with our sacred spaces? Gammon Theological Seminary is a sacred space! What if Gammon became a ‘Shalom Zone’- A place where the journey of peacemaking is ‘taught’ through difficult dialogue and cultural diversity awareness, with ‘understanding’ as a guide on the path of peace?

As I returned to a denomination fraught with conflict from my trip across the Atlantic, my personal commitment to the pursuit of peace echoed the sentiments of Frederick Douglass in his Letter from Belfast. He wrote that the United Methodist Church does not allow her children to love her and seems to compel her warmest friends to become her worst enemies. My heart ardently prays that God will grant her repentance before it is too late. I will continue to pray, work, and wait, believing that the Church cannot always be indifferent to the principles of justice or the call of humanity

Sincerely,
Eugene Boger, MDiv Student
“Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they will be called Children of God” ~Matthew 5:9
“In understanding, all walls crumble” ~ Mural in Belfast, N. Ireland

Back row left to right:
Rev. Dr. Donald Reed, Alumni
Rev. Dr. Vance P. Ross, Alumni
Lindsay Neal, MDIV Student

Front from left to right:
Eugene Boger MDIV student
Rev. Belinda McCastle.