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Salt Bank v. Salt Shaker

Today’s keynote was Rev. Gary Mason, a Methodist pastor, who is doing some amazing work in Ireland at the North Belfast Mission. John and Brian heard a workshop he gave and I hope they will blog here about it. He said the Church, called to be salt, often keeps that salt in a fortress, a church building, when we are called to pour salt in the street, in the community. His organization has 5 staff that work in it, and 55 staff that work in the community, promoting reconciliation and building the Kingdom of God. His work in improving the lives of folks in poverty and his restorative justice work is amazing.  I’m humbled.

This entry was posted on 23 January 2008 at 11:31 and is filed under General Nourishment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Salt Bank v. Salt Shaker”

  1. BPrechtl says:
    28 January 2008 at 22:29

    Gary Mason’s talks were personally inspirational to me because he made me realize how insulated we are in Howard County. The people he ministers to in Belfast have a daily stark reminder of the pain of hatred and violence - yet it still seems to be the best choice to achieve their goals.

    I assumed that only here in the comparable luxury of Howard County, where violence is so distant could apathy be rampant, but Gary told us that even there in the midst of violence, apathy is still present. It prompted a discussion between John Nupp, and a staff member from St. Luke’s and I about whether apathy is simply a mask for fear. It made me realize that outward appearances can decieve and that fear is the thing that the church needs to address and to focus it’s energies on defeating. Only then can we truly act with purpose.

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