Friday 1st April was a big day in the TQ…

If you watched the Day in the Life of 2011 video, you’ll remember that big plans were afoot to celebrate the centenary of the opening of the Thompson Dock (the huge dry dock beside the old Pump House, and famous for being the last place the Titanic stood on dry ground) by lowering people into the dock for the first time in many years.

Alas the forces of nature were arrayed against this plan… Over the last few weeks the gate at the top of the dock (which usually does a pretty good job of holding back the ocean) has sprung a leak – leaving the dock in imminent danger of being underwater – making it a possibly slightly dangerous place to spend April Fools Day!  As a consequence sadly the planned centenary events had to be called off – but, determined not to let the event pass unmarked, some hardy Dock members braved the gales to sing Happy Birthday, eat some celebratory Cream Eggs and Jelly Babies, and generally help the Thompson Dock to feel that someone was making a fuss…

On Saturday it was time to Meet some Neighbours as the second Saturday Brunch swung into action.  (Sorry the pics aren’t great – too busy chatting to faff around with the camera!)  Yet again I just had an utterly fantastic time as a mixture of familiar and new faces from the TQ community joined us for coffee and cookies.   We met some truly brilliant people – some even helped us with the set-up and clear-up of the deckchair cafe, others stayed and chatted when they had long ago gone numb with cold, others shared stories and jokes and insights which made me realise something profound and rather cool:  I really like the people moving into the TQ.  A marvellous bunch and a marvellous brunch.

We even got to introduce two next-door neighbours for the first time! – the 2 gents on the left live right beside each other but hadn’t yet had a chance to meet properly.

We warmed up in the Premier Inn over coffees during a fantastic book group – everyone loved our book of choice this month (Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey Mountain) and it was great to share the different ways in which we’d been challenged, surprised and inspired by Merton’s life story.

To finish off the weekend in style – at today’s sun-drenched Dock Walk we had Protestants, Catholics, Americans, Germans, Czechs (as well as a few locals) – talk about living out the Shared Medley!

And to end on a sombre note… it’s been a weekend in which the need to build peace and live out a brighter future in Northern Ireland has been more urgent than ever.  The tragedy in Omagh, with its crushing echo of twenty or thirty years ago, was a sharp reminder of a past that we refuse to revisit.  It was good to see politicians, leaders and communities from across the spectrum react in equal horror – a clear message that we are in a new era and a new day.

Well here goes!  I’m really looking forward to a busy weekend of Dock-activity – lots going on at the TQ this weekend, and as always a warm welcome to anyone who wants to call in at any stage of this banquet of events:

First up, on Saturday it’s time to Meet The Neighbours again – first Saturday of every month, cookies, coffees, donuts, danishes, pastries, papers (the Saturday papers that is), lots of new faces, good craic and a warm welcome at the pop-up deckchair cafe at the base of the Arc apartments.  Drop in any time from 11 – 1, or call by around 12 for the latest TQ gossip…

(And while I mention Meet The Neighbours, we’ll be doing a leaflet drop to all the Arc apartments tomorrow morning – if anyone wants to help spread the word, and get fit in the process (It’s really good exercise – it’s basically real-life step aerobics!), we’ll be meeting at the Kit model at the base of the apartments at 9:30am.)

Then on Saturday afternoon at 2pm we’ll be repairing to the luxurious surroundings of the Premier Inn (I know that sounds as if I’m being sarcastic, but honestly! It’s quite luxurious!) for Dock Book Group, this month looking at Thomas Merton’s autobiographical The Seven Storey Mountain, his own account of his journey from a life of wealth to a life of true richness in the unexpected surroundings of a Trappist monastery.

(So I do realise the irony – we’ll be talking about someone who has spurned earthly luxury while sitting on our comfy sofas and drinking cappuccinos – but a bit of dramatic irony never hurt anyone!)  Everyone welcome at 2pm for chat, coffee, and that time-honoured book-group thing where you hope nobody finds out that you skim-read the last quarter of the book…

And then of course on Sunday at 3:33 it’s the Dock Walk – now steadily building in numbers as the Spring approaches, and always – always – full of a fascinating mix of people, denominations, backgrounds, perspectives and insights.  I can’t think of a better way to spend Sunday afternoons…

So see you soon!

The next few months are bunged with stuff happening in the Titanic Quarter – we’re already starting to count off 100-year anniversaries (opening of the Thompson Dock on 1st April, launching of Titanic as an empty shell on 31st May…) Keep an eye on this blog and I’ll try to keep you up to date with all that’s happening – if I can keep track of it myself!

The first event kick-starting this bumper crop of Titanicy things to do is the TQ 10K run on 10th April – a good chance to limber up if you’re thinking of tackling the whole marathon in May.  And running in the Dock colours (metaphorically speaking) is Kev the Rev, the Rector of Movilla parish in Newtownards, who has very kindly offered to run to raise money for The Dock.

So if you’d like to sponsor Kev, just download or print the form below and get fundraising!  And if you’d like to don your running shoes, the starting pistol is at 1:30pm on Sunday 10th April at the Queens Road (details here).

So you might’ve noticed that cunningly hidden in the title of this blog post is THE MOST EXCITING news to hit Dock-World yet!

‘Titanic Quarter chaplainS’ isn’t a misprint.  The Shared Medley is happening.  The Dock is becoming a team.

Lots more info, an introduction to the new face, and details about a Launch Day will appear soon – keep checking in!  In the meantime, have a squint at this artfully darkened photo and see if you can name the new face – answers on a postcard…

(Prize: the satisfaction of being right.)

So it’s been a week where The Dock’s profile has suddenly skyrocketed thanks to the radio – so how about a few images to go with the words?  You’ve heard what The Dock sounds like (an enthusiastic Dalek, apparently) – so what does it look like?

As always, there was lots of walking involved – including a pilgrimage walk from Saul (the richly-evocative site of the first Christian community in Ireland) to Downpatrick on St Patrick’s Day:

– and a tour of the Titanic Quarter with some visitors from Albany, some of whom are planting similar “churches without walls” in their communities in The States:

Some of these visitors were here this time last year, and it’s always amazing to see the Titanic Quarter through the eyes of occasional visitors – who are staggered by the pace of change.  (The signature project was still a hole in the ground when they visited last March – now it stands gleaming in the sun, visible for miles around!)

Also well-advanced within the last year (in fact almost ready to open) is the new campus of the Belfast Metropolitan College – I had a fantastic visit this week with the Director and got a sense of just how exciting this new campus is, both for the Met and for the TQ.  From next September, thousands of students will be training, learning and building their futures here in the Titanic Quarter – a major new part of the Dock community.

As well as walking, there’s also always lots of coffee in Dock World.  This week I enjoyed a brew at the Common Grounds cafe on University Ave in the Holy Lands area of Belfast, and had great chats with the founders and people who run it.  Common Grounds is going into the Dock Business Plan as one of the case studies – as a great model of how a coffee shop can be an ethical business, a community hub and a powerful way for the church to be present, open and active in the midst of its community.  Well worth a visit – you can find out all about it here.

And as always the weekly highlight was the Dock Walk on Sunday afternoon – this week was one of those walks where every denomination and age group were represented!  Which always makes for the most fascinating conversations as we walk, talk, pray and connect.