wfn.org | Methodists Struggle Under Boycott

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3182 notes).

Note 3182 by UMNS on Sept. 20, 1996 at 15:18 Eastern (2582 characters).

SEARCH: Methodists, Northern Ireland, boycott, Protestant,
Catholic
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT:  Thomas S. McAnally                  468(10-21-71B){3182}
          Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470           Sept. 23, 1996

Methodists in rural Northern Ireland 
struggle under sectarian boycott

by Kathleen LaCamera*

     NEWTOWNBUTLER, County Fermanaugh, Northern Ireland (UMNS) --
After a difficult summer of renewed sectarian violence and unrest,
members of the Newtownbutler Methodist Church find themselves
increasingly frustrated and alone in the face of an economic
boycott by local Catholic residents.  
     Catholics in the town are boycotting Protestant businesses in 
protest against the traditional Protestant marches that take place
each summer.  For most Catholics, these annual marches symbolize a
continuing tradition of intimidation and harassment.  Marchers
parade directly through Catholic as well as Protestant areas. 
Methodists, many of whom are farmers and who took no part in the
marches, are hard hit by the boycott and feel hurt and ostracized
by those who have been their neighbors .
     "People here feel they are being driven out in a kind of
economic 'ethnic cleansing,'" reports the Rev. Barry Sloan, pastor
in the four church circuit that includes Newtownbutler.  "The
people are very isolated.  They feel their voices are not being
heard." 
     According to Sloan, this new wave of sectarian strife is
particularly painful in this majority Catholic area because
Newtownbutler has been a place where Catholics and Protestants
have gotten along over the years.    
     Reflecting on the continuing troubles in Northern Ireland
Sloan admits the blame must be shared by both sides.  "All of us
are bigots and responsible at some level. ... What's going on here
is a basic wrestling between good and evil at its most fundamental
level."   
     Sloan maintains that people must continue to believe that
prayer can change things in Northern Ireland.  "I see the answer
to prayers in the good things that happen here.  I see it working
in the places where evil things are frustrated: bomb detonators
that don't go off, supplies of guns that are discovered by
police."  
                              #  #  #

     * LaCamera is a United Methodist News Service correspondent
based in Europe.

EDITORS NOTE: This story may be used as a sidebar to UMNS release
#467 {3181}.

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