Shalom is one of my favourite Biblical concepts. At its heart Shalom, a Hebrew word, means completeness or wholeness and encapsulates the reality or hope of wholeness for an individual, societal relations and the whole world. It is often translated into English as “peace and prosperity”. It’s the inspirational source of our Accountancy Practice’s strap line “Building Prosperity”.
Yesterday Her Majesty the Queen and Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, a former IRA Commander, shook hands for the first time. It was a highly symbolic moment and potentially ushers in a new era in the process towards peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland.
The Handshake
The well publicised hand shake took place at an event organised by a charity called Co-operation Ireland, a leading peace-building charity on the island of Ireland. Since it was established in 1979, Co-operation Ireland has created opportunities for groups from the two main religious communities in Northern Ireland and from both sides of the border to come together so they can learn about each other’s traditions and cultural backgrounds in order to help build a society which is based on tolerance and acceptance of cultural difference.
Last weekend I was one of about 800 cyclists that took to the roads in windy but much improved weather conditions to take part in the annual Co-operation Ireland Maracycle between Belfast and Dublin. We started our cycle on Saturday (23 June) in Belfast and made our way to Dublin via the Northern Ireland towns and cities of Lisburn, Banbridge, Scarva, and Newry. We crossed the border at Carrickastricken and made our way through the Republic of Ireland via Dundalk Castlebellingham, through Drogheda and Finglas. Many local people and local council representatives as well as Minister Danny Kennedy MLA came out to meet us and support us on our way. I clocked in a respectable 8 hours 5 minutes and 18 seconds for the 108 mile journey south. On Sunday (24 June) we travelled the same route north. I finished the remaining 108 miles with a massive grin on my face in a slightly slower 8 hours 19 minutes and 49 seconds….it was a great sense of achievement and made me realise how challenging our Lands End to John O’Groats trip will be.
Setting off for a two day 220 mile cycle trip
The maracycle created space to meet some wonderful people from various backgrounds and I’m somewhat ashamed to admit that it gave me the opportunity to go inside a GAA (Gaelic) club for the first time in my life….a real Shalom experience.
On 7th July Jim Bewick and Michael Fitch will start a 900 mile Bike Hike from Lands End to John O’Groats to raise awareness of and money (£25,000) for a charity called Biblica, which is bringing HOPE to people all over the world. If you would like to donate please visit www.justgiving.com/bigbikehike2012 (all proceeds go towards the charity as Michael and Jim will be paying their own costs).
BigBikeHike 