CHRISTIANS from every corner of Belfast will meet to pray for the transformation of the city - and call for reconciliation to be at the centre of the assembly election.
The 4 Corners Festival seeks to inspire people from across Belfast to transform the city for the peace and prosperity of all.
It features music, prayer, film, theatre, storytelling and discussion designed to entice people out of their own corners of the city, and into new places to encounter new friends and perspectives.
This year's theme is Our Wounded and Wonderful City and events will celebrate Belfast and ask how people might find healing for their wounds.
The programme includes artist Colin Davidson, who recently painted a portrait of the Queen, in conversation with journalist Brian Rowan and a concert with Grammy nominated singer songwriter Iain Archer.
Theologians Rev Dr Trevor Morrow and Fr Brendan McConvery will discuss the theology of healing and reconciliation.
The annual festival banquet at Belfast City Hall will be for full time carers and there will be an interfaith event with members of Belfast's Islamic, Jewish, Baha'i, Hindu and Buddhist communities. There will be stories of healing and songs that find wonder in the wounds.
Festival co-chairmen Fr Martin Magill and Rev Steve Stockman were awarded the Community Relations Council Civic Leadership Award for their work with the festival.
Rev Stockman said he believed that the unexpected political context made this year's festival even more relevant.
"Reconciliation is our priority - it will not drip down from the hill of Stormont, but has to creep up from the grass roots. This festival imagines a different Belfast, a transformed city with reconciliation and grace at its heart," he said.
Fr Magill added that simple acts made a difference
"Over the last four years we have brought people out of their own area to let them see life in other parts of the city," he said.
"Friendships have been formed and lives have been transformed. As Mother Theresa said, `Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love'."
:: The festival runs from February 3-12. The full programme can be viewed at www.4cornersfestival.com.
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HISTORY
Five years ago, a parish priest in north Belfast and a Presbyterian minister in south Belfast began to venture out of their comfort zones and visit unfamiliar parts of the city.
They were both astonished and transfixed by what they found in the unexplored margins of our city. They gathered a group of Christians who wanted to promote unity and reconciliation in the midst of our city's - and our island's - troubled past. A festival was born that would introduce people to new parts of their city, challenging and inspiring them to keep crossing boundaries in their everyday lives.
The festival sought to introduce people to churches in the four corners of the city, bringing a transformational energy to the healing of the city.
All Events at 4 Corners Festival are free and accessible to all. The festival has been funded entirely by the generosity of hundreds of small donors. This year it also received support from the central Good Relations Fund administered by The Executive Office.
