The Ulster Project
Northern Ireland-steered by history and steeped in tradition, much of it bloody-is starting to change, and the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky chapter of the Ulster Every July the Ulster Project brings 12 Northern Irish teenager aged 14 to 16 to Cincinnati for a month.  Coming from both sides of the
faith line, the teens are paired with host families whose children are the same age, sex and denomination.  The goal is to plant seeds of tolerance, forging friendships in spite of religious and cultural differences.
 
Despite its mystical shroud of windswept moors and ruined castles, Northern Ireland is a place of strife rooted in nationalism and aggravated by religious prejudice that has become a matter of politics  Schools, youth clubs and friendships are dictated by religion; loyalties to the past run deep,
often accompanied by guns, bombs and death certificates. "It creates a whole new generation of people", says Emma, 21, a Northern Irish counselor who was a teen participant for the Ulster Project in 1997.  "Without projects such as this, you don't have the chance to mix in new social circles.
It sounds so stupid because we have to come to America to meet them, but it works so well because you're not at home.  You don't have your friends points of view, you don't have your family's point of view.  You're on your own and you have to make your own choices and form new opinions.
And you bring that back with you, and people just look at you and go "Ah, you know what? "That's right. "They're all people" "What does it matter if they're Catholic or Protestant or blue or green or whatever?"(1)

The all-volunteer Ulster Project spread to Cincinnati in 1988.  Since then, more than 350 teens have participated in the local program.  In the summer of 2004 the kids spent an afternoon working on our new Gruenke Prayer Garden and sprucing up our grounds in general. The kids worked hard
preparing the grounds for the stone walkway that will encircle the garden. It was hot, dirty work but they made it fun After an hot afternoon the kids were invited to "cool down and wash off" at the Pleasant Ridge Recreation Center and come back to St. Peter's for a Pizza Party.  The Closing Ceremony was held that evening at St. Peter's and even as the Ulster Kids left they were already
 looking forward to their return in 2005!

St.Peter's supports the Ulster Project through "Parking for Peace" each St. Patrick's Day.  Pastor Mendle Adams is a board member

(1)  Excerpts taken from an article written by Carmen Pease in the Cincinnati Enquirer