The place I call home

As I was out for a walk today, I noticed this window into N Ireland, the place I call home. A Roman Catholic church, with the statue of St Patrick - so appropriate for a shared society - and in front of it someone has placed a Union Flag. To those outside this wee place this scene is without significance. For those of us who have lived parallel lives for such a long time here, this snap encapsulates the "equal but separate" trade off we have so long accepted. The Union Flag is attached to a lamp post,  in front of a Catholic place of worship, as a marker of territory. It seems to set British-ness against Irish-ness,. It is rightly the flag of this part of the UK as well, but its flying in this place takes it to something different. A reminder that, although we have come so far,  we still have so far to go. We need an outbreak of grace and generosity. That's why I will continue to do what I do, with thousands of others who want to be creators and not consumers of our shared future. A shared future threatens no-ones Britishness or Irishness. Difference, diversity  is not a threat, it is a gift to be embraced.