The Commission Files

     Meet one of the finest story-tellers you'll ever hear.  A talented broadcaster,  author and newspaper columnist, Rev Jim Rea is many more things besides.  A former Methodist President in Ireland, a pastor in both countryside and city alike, Jim was a peacemaker at the centre of early talks with paramilitaries on both sides of the conflict in Northern Ireland.  He was also a prime mover at the birth of East Belfast Mission on the Newtownards Road.

When Kerry and Will invited Jim into Studio 2 at Commission, they knew they'd hear a wonderful series of fascinating, funny, thoughtful and moving stories about Jim's life and ministry.  Listen out for the best description of a committee ever!

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     Settled, adjusted, equipped and befriended.  That's the hope Avril Edgar has for every person in the Refugee and Asylum Community  in Northern Ireland.  It's why she joined a few friends to found Acacia Path which helps the Christian community bridge the gap to the newcomers  here, people from all over the world.  Some are fleeing from war zones, some from religious persecution, some are here for a host of other reasons.  At Acacia Path, they care, they help, they teach English, and they stay friends.

And sometimes they take a bit of stick for doing it.

Avril tells Kerry and Will about her work and her approach, often in partnership with other groups and initiatives  - and traces it all back to a day in South America,  some years ago,  when all she wanted to do was send her brother in Co Down a birthday present...

*This episode was recorded a matter of days before the announcement of a UK General Election on July 4th 2024.

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      Kerry and Will chat with Diane Holt of Thrive Ireland.  Last time we heard about a church which was reaching out to its community, in that particular case, to a local prison.  But most of us don't live near one!  What could other churches do in the communities where they belong?  Should they shift their mindset?  Diane trains and equips churches to answer those questions for themselves, in something called Church Community Transformation.   We also hear from some Fermanagh Christians who, with Diane's help, have started on the journey of discovering what it could mean for where they live.

Diane is also an actor and singer - listen for stories of auditioning for the Sound of Music, being Sleeping Beauty at the Arts Theatre - and touring with the Riding Lights Theatre Company and its faith-based drama, back when we were all very young...

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     With a prison on its doorstep, one church in south Belfast decided it would build relationships with it.  No small task, given that Hydebank College and Female Prison - like any other - sometimes appears in the news in anything but a positive light.

Is it a part of the community, or apart from it?

Will Leitch and Kerry Greig welcome  Ruth Walker from Saintfield Road Presbyterian Church, and from Hydebank College and Female Prison,  the governor, Richard Taylor, and one of his senior managers,  Hollie Murray.

For stories of encouragements, setbacks, new friendships, and sitting up all night in the lambing season...listen on!

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     Is Northern Ireland a place apart?  More "religious" than Great Britain? 

Here's a remarkable snapshot of current Christian faith in Northern Ireland.  David Smyth, the head of Evangelical Alliance here, joins Kerry and Will to discuss his charity's new report, "Good News People". 

It has some startling findings for an era considered to be increasingly secular, or even post-Christian.  Half the population of NI self-identifies as practising Christians.  A fifth, as Evangelical. And yet almost 60% don't go to church.

Really? Are the findings right?  What even is an Evangelical these days anyway? 

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     In a triumph of diary matching, Kerry and Will meet David Montgomery, known as "Monty" to his friends and associates. He works as the Regional Director for IFES Europe.  IFES is the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students.   In other words, Monty and his staff support all the CUs or Christian Unions at universities and colleges across the continent of Europe.  We also hear a little about his new book The Unfinished Story.  

A disturbingly fervent Man City supporter, Monty lives on the shores of Strangford Lough  but spends roughly half his time travelling and meeting many of Europe's future church leaders - did they but know it. 

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     Cost of Living Part 2.

Kerry Greig and Will Leitch dig deeper into the issues surrounding the cost of living crisis, and the response of Christians to it.  Who is "standing in the gap"?   Last time they heard from three groups that are really making a difference.  This time they're thinking about the plans, strategies and partnerships Christian churches are pursuing or could pursue with government and wider society.

Danielle McElhinney of Evangelical Alliance and Rev Brian Anderson of East Belfast Mission help Kerry and Will think about the realities of "standing in the gap".

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     In this special extra edition of The Commission Files, Will Leitch meets Alan McBride. Alan appeared on many news outlets in Autumn 2023 as people marked the 30th anniversary of the Shankill Bombing which killed ten people.  He's well-known in Northern Ireland for his work with the Wave Trauma Centre, as a peacebuilder and a voice for people affected by "The Troubles".

In that bombing, Alan lost his young wife Sharon.  He tells Will his story.  How, as a young Christian man, a father and widower, he went through every emotion imaginable.  Grief, anger, and despair.  Curiosity, resolve, love and hope.

Take a listen now, for Alan says the season for giving interviews is over.  This is his story, one last time.


*A shorter version of this interview first appeared on the podcast "Inspired to Act" from Thrive Ireland.  Special thanks to Thrive's Director Diane Holt for allowing us to play this interview in full. 

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      Cost of Living Part 1.

"It could be you.."  That's a phrase Will Leitch and Kerry Greig heard over and over again as they researched and recorded this edition of The Commission Files, focussing on the cost of living crisis.  Many people are struggling to make ends meet for themselves and their families.  Most never imagined it could happen to them.

Will and Kerry hear from three groups trying to make a difference,  Christians Against Poverty,  St Vincent de Paul, and The Trussell Trust.  For them, there's a "holy discontent" with the way things are.

Listen to the stories they tell, and you'll also get a little pre-Christmas audio treat! 

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     Kerry Greig and Will Leitch welcome two new guests to Studio 2 at Commission to hear  how Christians work in so-called "restricted countries' - where traditional Christian outreach models simply aren't possible.

"Matt" from Business as Mission makes a serious point with some Christmas cookies.  And David Middleton from Sat-7 talks about satellite tv broadcasting to a potential audience of around half a billion people across the Middle East and North Africa.

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Produced by Commission Christian Radio