I’m really chuffed to have been asked to be part of the Psalm Drummers team that’s participating in this year’s Global Day of Prayer in London. If you’re around it’s on May 11th at Millwall Football Stadium. Doors open and worship: 2.00pm, Main programme: 3.00-5.30pm. See the GDOP London web site for more details.

On Sunday 4th June 2006 the 2nd Global Day of Prayer in Belfast took place. I don’t intend to describe the full day’’s event, but seek to tell you about it from my perspective. I took part with the local Psalm Drummers group as we played the piece called ”Reconcile”.

The piece starts with a battle between a Lambeg drum and a Bodhran. For those of you who don’t understand the significance of this I shall briefly explain here – the Lambeg drum has come to be identified with the struggles of the Loyalist tradition in Northern Ireland, whilst the Bodhran has become identified with the Republican / Nationalist tradition. (That’s an over-simplification but there really isn’t time to expand it here). Each drum played a short rhythm and images associated with the tradition associated with it were displayed on screen. This took the form of a duel – who could be the loudest and proudest? Then for a few seconds the 2 drums played in unison, giving a glimmer of hope that played together they are stronger.

A poem was read out, after which I blew the Shofar, signifying a calling on God to come and bring about reconciliation in our land and as a breakthrough cry. The drums picked up a steady pulse, resounding a simple ”dum-dum” heartbeat in unison, signifying God’’s heartbeat for Ireland. This built up with a couple of other drummers sounding out a prayer “Our Father, who is in heaven. Hallowed be Your Name”. Then the Lambeg and Bodhran and all the drums played together in unity.

There was a real sense of breakthrough as we played. 2 drums that have been in many ways symbolic of sectarian division now stood together with a different heartbeat as a prophetic statement that God is able to do all things in bringing together that which in the natural seems impossible to reconcile.