(to be sung to the tune of Debbie Harry’s ‘French Kissin’ in the USA’ – yes I’m a child of the 80’s…)

Well first up everybody, Happy New Year! Here it (nearly) is – 2012 – Year Of The Boat, the big centenary, the focus and the deadline for so many things that are being planned and prepared… such an exciting time.

Especially in Dock-World, where we have some BIG news to start the year – but I’ll leave that until my now-customary first-day-back-to-work-state-of-the-nation Dock Movie.  Mwahahaha!

In the meantime, what better way to start the year than joining the Dock Walk on Sunday afternoon/ New Year’s Day – as always we’ll be meeting at 3:33pm at the Streat cafe in the Odyssey Arena, before taking a walk down into the TQ to give thanks for all the changes, chances, new hopes and new friendships we’ve seen over the course of 2011.  And if any of you are into making New Year’s Resolutions, I can’t think of a better place to share them – with people who will pray and support you as you try to keep them!

It’s been an interesting week in the world of online-ness (probably more on that in the New Year as well) – so my heart soared to see one of the comments on the Dock Blog this week from Susan, a visitor from the States who became an unexpected (to her and us) addition to a Dock Walk back in the lazy days of summer.  In a talk she’s delivering in her home church this week, this is how Susan describes the experience:

On our second outing, to Belfast, we were more successful in finding our way to the Titanic Quarter. We hailed a cab, and got there. This outing was on a Sunday. It was overcast, cold, and typical European weather, as I knew it. When we arrived at the Titanic Quarter; large old factory buildings and new construction greeted us. Signs were posted pointing the way to the Titanic buildings, but everything was locked. As we walked and read signs, a group of people was walking about and I overheard what I thought was a tour guide, informing them about the history of the Titanic, how it was built, launched etc. Trying not to look conspicuous, we walked a safe distance behind, eaves dropping and stopping to read the signs about the historic district and the making of the Titanic. At one point we went a slightly different way, only to be called back to the same area as the group (God’s calling to us to be a part of this unique experience).

The leader called out and said, “You’re welcome to join us if you like, we’re not an official tour.” That was the start of an eye opening adventure, one that taught a valuable lesson.

The group leader explained that they were a Church with out walls. The leader as it turned out was their Minister. The group consisted of a mix of Christian denominations, Catholic, Church of Ireland, Methodist, and Episcopal. Some of the other congregants were also ordained ministers.

This group gets together every Sunday and walks around the Titanic Quarter. They pause at various points, listened to scripture that is taped and played from the leader’s smart phone. After listening to the message, the Minister pointed out certain visuals or mentioned certain historic facts and then asked, “how does this passage speak to you? What message do you hear? What do you think God is saying to us?” The comments were insightful and lead to fruitful discussion amongst everyone. Nicole and I were welcomed and felt so at home with this group, we contributed to the comments and participated in the discussion. It was an amazing experience to look out across the docks, listen to the scripture and experience God’s message with a group–outside of four walls.

Pretty ace eh!  Just one little example of the way God works in unexpected ways when we walk the walk and head out into the unknown on Sunday afternoons.  Dock Walking has been one of the great blessings of 2011 (as you can hopefully gather from the photos littering this post – all 2011 Dock Walks in various stages of sun/rain/snow/hail/wind/sleet!)  I can’t wait to get started tomorrow on our first walk of 2012.  Who knows where our footsteps will lead us this year?