The Commission Files

      Light and hope in great darkness.  Kerry and Will welcome Ben McMechan, the Northern Ireland lead for IJM , International Justice Mission .  In partnership with organisations and authorities across the world, they tackle slavery, violence and exploitation, case by case.  Ben encourages us not to shy away from thinking about such things, but to talk about them, and expose them.  Ben knows tha...

      Kerry and Will meet Chris Thompson, the Director of Tearfund NI and Lois Baillie, their Church and Supporter Engagement team Leader.  Talking about Church Partnerships.  How you can play your part to help train and equip local churches  abroad to look at their own communities, see what needs to be done, and start to make a difference.  Partnering with a church or group of churches overseas c...

     Meet one of the finest story-tellers you'll ever hear.  A talented broadcaster,  author and newspaper columnist, Rev Jim Rea is many more things besides.  A former Methodist President in Ireland, a pastor in both countryside and city alike, Jim was a peacemaker at the centre of early talks with paramilitaries on both sides of the conflict in Northern Ireland.  He was also a prime mover a...

     Settled, adjusted, equipped and befriended.  That's the hope Avril Edgar has for every person in the Refugee and Asylum Community  in Northern Ireland.  It's why she joined a few friends to found Acacia Path which helps the Christian community bridge the gap to the newcomers  here, people from all over the world.  Some are fleeing from war zones, some from religious persecution, som...

      Kerry and Will chat with Diane Holt of Thrive Ireland .  Last time we heard about a church which was reaching out to its community, in that particular case, to a local prison.  But most of us don't live near one!  What could other churches do in the communities where they belong?  Should they shift their mindset?  Diane trains and equips churches to answer those questions for themselves...

     With a prison on its doorstep, one church in south Belfast decided it would build relationships with it.  No small task, given that Hydebank College and Female Prison - like any other - sometimes appears in the news in anything but a positive light. Is it a part of the community, or apart from it? Will Leitch and Kerry Greig welcome  Ruth Walker from Saintfield Road Presbyterian Church , and...

     Is Northern Ireland a place apart?  More "religious" than Great Britain?  Here's a remarkable snapshot of current Christian faith in Northern Ireland.  David Smyth, the head of Evangelical Alliance here, joins Kerry and Will to discuss his charity's new report, "Good News People".  It has some startling findings for an era considered to be increasingly secular, o...

     In a triumph of diary matching, Kerry and Will meet David Montgomery, known as "Monty" to his friends and associates. He works as the Regional Director for IFES Europe .  IFES is the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students.   In other words, Monty and his staff support all the CUs or Christian Unions at universities and colleges across the continent of Europe.  We also hear...

     Cost of Living Part 2. Kerry Greig and Will Leitch dig deeper into the issues surrounding the cost of living crisis, and the response of Christians to it.  Who is "standing in the gap"?   Last time they heard from three groups that are really making a difference.  This time they're thinking about the plans, strategies and partnerships Christian churches are pursuing or could pu...

     In this special extra edition of The Commission Files, Will Leitch meets Alan McBride. Alan appeared on many news outlets in Autumn 2023 as people marked the 30th anniversary of the Shankill Bombing which killed ten people.  He's well-known in Northern Ireland for his work with the Wave Trauma Centre, as a peacebuilder and a voice for people affected by "The Troubles". In that...

      Cost of Living Part 1. "It could be you.."  That's a phrase Will Leitch and Kerry Greig heard over and over again as they researched and recorded this edition of The Commission Files, focussing on the cost of living crisis.  Many people are struggling to make ends meet for themselves and their families.  Most never imagined it could happen to them. Will and Kerry hear from thr...

     Kerry Greig and Will Leitch welcome two new guests to Studio 2 at Commission to hear  how Christians work in so-called "restricted countries' - where traditional Christian outreach models simply aren't possible. "Matt" from Business as Mission makes a serious point with some Christmas cookies.  And David Middleton from Sat-7 talks about satellite tv broadcasting to a...

     In this first episode of "The Commission Files", Will Leitch and Kerry Greig introduce you to David Moore.  He serves as a Presbyterian minister.  He's also the first minister  for decades  the Presbyterian Church in Ireland has sent to work specifically in West Belfast.  "It's an area", says David, "we've neglected for far too long..." You'll...