Another family book

     This week, “The Kiwi Stewarts” is being posted out to family and friends.

     For the last decade or so I have been collecting stories from family members of three generations who originated in the modest Stewart farm on the Landahussy road in Northern Ireland.

     It’s been a fascinating journey with the few dozen or so whose short life stories are now put into permanent form. I have met several relatives I didn’t even know existed and have been invited to share a little of the joys and excitements of people of all ages. I have also been ushered into some dark places where there are hints of tragedy and human failings.

     As well as interviewing the living, I’ve pulled together some threads – mostly provided by others – of the stories of some of those who have gone before. From a charming minister of the gospel (not me, let it be said), to one who died while tied to a chair in his own home; from the very plain and devout Matilda to her strikingly gorgeous but apparently irreligious younger sister Elizabeth; from Northern Ireland to New Zealand by way of England, United States, Canada and Africa, they are nothing special. They’re just a simple sample of ordinary humanity.

     But they’re my humanity, and I am something more than I was for entering into their lives just a little. I hope that sharing this publication will help others to gain that kind of new understanding of themselves. Like small churches, families don't have to be huge and famous. Both have some special qualities.