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NI 100: African-born church leader to give centenary sermon

BBC Rev YambasuBBC
Rev Dr Sahr Yambasu was elected president of the Methodist Church in Ireland earlier this year

The sermon at the centenary church service in Armagh this week will be given by the first African-born leader of one of Ireland's main churches.

Rev Dr Sahr Yambasu, who was born in Sierra Leone, was elected president of the Methodist Church in Ireland earlier this year.

The service on Thursday will mark the centenary of partition and formation of Northern Ireland in 1921.

The Queen has been invited to the service.

It has been organised by Christian church leaders in Ireland.

Rev Yambasu, 63, said he was nervous about delivering the sermon but had already decided what to say.

"I will be talking to people about considering the possibility of conversation, creating spaces wherever we find ourselves, where we could sit and listen to each other," he said.

"Try and understand our history from the perspective of others, and have the humility to respect that. Because, in conversation, we can overcome a lot of differences."

Family handout Rev YambasuFamily handout
Rev Yambasu, pictured with his wife Clodagh and children, moved back to Sierra Leone after their marriage

Rev Yambasu first came to Belfast in 1985 when he studied at Edgehill theological college in the south of the city.

His wife Clodagh Yambasu, née McCormack, is from County Longford and is also a Methodist minister.

The couple moved to Sierra Leone after their marriage but when civil war broke out they came back to Ireland in 1995.

He currently ministers in Waterford, while his wife oversees a congregation in Fivemiletown in County Tyrone.

Rev Yambasu says he was taken aback when he was asked by the other church leaders to deliver the sermon at the centenary service.

"I was really surprised," he said.

"But having worked with the church leaders' group for the last few months, I am not surprised any more.

"There is a real shift among the leadership of the church in this country towards reconciliation, towards respect, towards acceptance, towards listening to each other, towards working together, to make this island a better place."

Rev Yambasu Rev Yambasu first came Belfast in 1985 when he studied at Edgehill theological college in the south of the city.Rev Yambasu
Rev Yambasu first came to Belfast in 1985 when he studied at Edgehill theological college in the south of the city

He said there was not the same level of co-operation when he first came to Ireland almost four decades ago.

He remembers living in Belfast in the mid-1980s and ministering at Antrim Methodist Church.

"It was six months before I saw another black person," he said.

"When I did, I hugged him really tight. He was really shocked."

Asked about his preparation for this week's church service, he said: "I'm always nervous, every Sunday, even with my congregation.

"But I think that nervousness is good. It says 'don't be complacent'."

Irish church leaders
The leaders of Ireland's main churches

The church service will take place at St Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral on Thursday morning.

Irish president Michael D Higgins declined an invitation but two representatives from the Irish government will be attending including Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney.

The service will be broadcast live on BBC One Northern Ireland at 10.30 BST on Thursday 21 October.