“I’d never crossed to the other side of the street - because that was ‘the other side’.”  The heartfelt words of one of the storytellers at our recent Tales from the City event.  It was a night of quality music, positive stories, warm chat, coffee and treats.  It was a night where hope was voiced.

Andrew’s story was one of literally crossing the divide.  He’s 16 and lives just a few hundred yards from Ardoyne, but up to a year ago had never ventured across the roundabout to ‘the other side’.  But then came last summer’s riots and a desire within his local youth group in Woodvale to express love to the people of that area.

“So we all put our heads together and came up with an idea of giving out giftbags.  From what I’d heard of Ardoyne from friends and family I was very hesitant about going up,” Andrew shared.

“I imagined we were going to get beaten up if we ventured up there.  To be honest from the   moment I heard about the idea I didn’t want to do it but about a week before it I felt God speak to me and tell me that it was what he wanted me to do.”

On the day Andrew conceded he felt so uncomfortable because he only lived around the corner but yet had never stood on that side of the road.  The group spent the morning giving out giftbags and chocolates and generally making people smile.  Andrew’s story gives hope that it doesn’t need to be the way it’s always been.

That was the theme of a number of the other stories at the Tell It In Colour event in Urban Soul Cafe in Belfast.  Angie shared how her battle with a teenage illness had sown seeds of a dream in her heart to help other troubled young people.  She’s now heading up the Big House charity and investing in the lives of teenagers who are struggling to do life.

Jason’s story focussed in on three young people who forged a friendship across divides through a creative arts project run by CFC church in east Belfast.  The trio - a Catholic, Protestant and Muslim - signed up to the Crosslinks programme and were pretty suspicious of each other at the start.  But since then have become firm friends.

While Rick told the gathering of around 60 people about a light-bulb moment for a young person in a school in north Belfast.  This teenager was reading a Bible passage which revealed to him that God wanted to hear his voice and was dying to listen to him.  At that moment this young guy realised that his voice was so often lost in the crowd and for him to have someone listen to him was potentially life-changing.

The stories were woven together by some amazing music from Ballymena singer songwriter Steven McB ride.  And the feedback at the end of the night seemed to be that people wanted the event to be repeated more often.  I guess we can all do with a bit more hope in our lives, more stories which inspire us to higher things, which convince us that it doesn’t need to be the way it’s always been….