The 12th

"Tens of thousands of Orangemen and supporters have attended Northern Ireland's Twelfth of July parades.

The largest demonstration of the day was in Belfast and there were 17 main venues across six counties."

Headlines from the BBC Northern Ireland website. And the Hos were there. At the last minute, we were both able to travel to Belfast to witness the parades firsthand. While enroute we passed an Orange hall, which had burnt down the night before. I remembered seeing the hall on the way to Corrymeela last Friday when we arrived. It was a bit eerie to see it burnt down in just a matter of days. For more on that, click the link. BBC News

Many have asked "how were they?" Long... rainy... cold. Something you see and say, "Well, I've seen that". The streets were packed and the entire city really shuts down for the day. Every shop, every business, every school. Over 100 bands representing most every Orange order in the country were there. Each order consisted of a leading car with the head officials riding, a color guard mostly made of younger children, and a drum and flute band- all playing the same loyalist tunes. Luong joked after about an hour and a half, saying "Hey, hadn't heard this one yet".

We found a high ledge to sit on so we could see above the hundreds of families who lined the streets, and still be out of the way of the dozens/ hundreds of teenagers who followed the parade along the sidewalks. They start in their respected neighborhoods and march through the city center down to the sports park. The route is miles long and when they finish, they turn around and walk back. Their stamina was impressive. For more info on the parades check out BBC News

All the spectators were respectful and seemed to be having a good time. Many were drinking, even the young teenagers, yet all were well behaved (more than I can say of the campus area after the Michigan game!). My detached perspective of it all was typical of American patriotism, something we think about once a year and a good excuse to take a day off. However, if you live in these neighborhoods it can become something much more. Which is why two of the groups at Corrymeela are here. They live in either an interface community (on the boundary between Protestants and Catholics) or they are in a cross-community group. Both are seeking respite from this time of potential conflict.

All in all, the 12th is passing without much notice. According to the staff, it has been a quiet year. And even though the day started off rainy and cold, it's ending beautiful and sunny.

Tomorrow we say "goodbye" to our groups and prepare for a new batch on Saturday. I will miss our family group the most. I have become close to one of the older children, Mary Theresa. She's 10 and very quirky, she couldn't believe I was 33 (I really like her :-)

Enjoy the photos! Thanks for the prayers! Be sure and lift up Marian, our friend traveling here from Ohio. She takes off tonight and will be arriving at the center on Friday.

Lisa and Luong

PS I (Lisa) was able to go out last night to "Pirates of the Carabian" with one of the youth groups. Great film! But the strangest thing was coming out of the theater afterwards. Whenever I see a movie, I forget where I am and just assume I'm at home. Well, when we came out we walked up the narrow streets and around the corner along the Irish seaside... I knew I wasn't in Ohio anymore!