Meet the Neighbours 2017

In January 1977 Seamus Heaney gave a lecture in the Ulster Museum, under the title ‘The Sense of Place.’ In that lecture he talked about how the places where we live, and the places where we are from have a profound role in shaping who we are and how we look at the world.

For many of us Newtownabbey is home. It is where we live, it is where we work, it is where we go about our daily lives. Some have long roots in this place, stories handed down from generation to generation going back to the days when folks in Belfast literally looked on Glengormley as being at the ‘end of the line.’ Others have come to live in this place more recently, brought here by work, by family, or other things.

The world has changed in so many ways since Heaney spoke in 1977. We live in such an interconnected world (internet / social media / global news) that it seems we live our lives in so many different places, all at once. Yet the truth remains that the actual place that we call ‘home’ plays a profound role in who we are and how we look at the world.

‘Meet the Neighbours’ is an event that we have been hosting on an annual basis in Ballyhenry Presbyterian Church over the last number of years. A church of local people, set in the heart of a diverse and mixed community, the ‘place’ where we sit means a lot to us. It is a huge privilege to live in this part of Newtownabbey. Not because of anything in particular that it is, or has, but rather because it is our place. It is home.

We are hugely appreciative of everyone, from all parts of our local community, with whom we share this place, who came along to ‘Meet the Neighbours’ on Saturday 19th August. We are also thankful to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council for their practical encouragement of this event. Thank you to everyone for what was a really good day.