A £250,000 sterling peace initiative to fund reconciliation programmes within the Presbyterian Church has been launched by the Church's Youth Board.
The announcement was made yesterday at the Presbyterian Church's week-long General Assembly in Belfast. The "Preparing Youth for Peace" initiative is mainly aimed at training Presbyterian youth leaders in getting their communities involved in effective reconciliation programmes.
The initiative will be funded by the Community Bridges Programme of the International Fund for Ireland and is based on an audit examining Presbyterian mindsets to reconciliation programmes carried out last year. It includes a video highlighting the reality of a divided society to encourage youth groups to get involved in the initiative.
A Presbyterian youth officer, Ms Roz Stirling, said the issue of reconciliation was not always a clear-cut one for church members. "Some Presbyterians see peacemaking in society as a fundamental gospel principle while others contend that peace and reconciliation will happen as a consequence of people first committing to the Christian faith."
The assembly also heard reports from the church's Board of Studies and its Christian Training and Overseas Board. According to the Board of Studies, 25 students are currently in training for the ministry.