As members of the Church of Ireland in the Diocese of Down and Dromore seeking to respond to the call of Jesus Christ to follow him, we recommit ourselves to the work of reconciliation, peace making and community bridge building.

We affirm our belief in the reconciling power of God in Jesus Christ.

We affirm our belief

• in God's love for all people,
• that Christ calls us to love our enemies,
• that it is God's will that, through the cross, all people should be reconciled to himself and to one another,
• that God has entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation.

We confess our need to follow more closely in the footsteps of Jesus the Peacemaker.

We confess that, at times

• our attitudes and actions towards those of other communities and religious traditions, have caused offence, deep hurt and division,
• we have been self-righteous and refused to recognise our need to change,
• we have been content to condemn the violence of others but have been unwilling to undertake the costly work of building peace.

We commit ourselves to pray and work for peace in the power of the Holy Spirit.

We commit ourselves

• to make the ministry of reconciliation a priority in our prayers,
• to build relationships of trust and mutual respect with those from whom we differ,
• to work for justice for all, not just those whom we identify as belonging to "Our" community,
• to develop programmes of action which will build peace and promote reconciliation in our divided society.

Recognising that all of this can be done in the power of the Holy Spirit, we pray that the life of our parishes and our diocese may be a witness to God's Kingdom of right relationships, as we exercise the ministry of reconciliation.