Such a weekend! I’ve got a zillion things to tell you about, but before I collapse in a heap I just thought I’d show you these pictures of me being interviewed by Mark Simpson (off of the telly) out on the slipways – does international stardom beckon at last…?!
(er-probably not)
The people you can see in the background are one of the tour groups who braved the howling weather this weekend to see Titanic’s birthplace (and quite right too!)- this particular group were rewarded by the arrival of a BBC news crew to film the story of the Titanic’s Launch Day in preparation for the anniversary on Tuesday.
All being well, the footage should be broadcast during the BBC1 breakfast show on Tuesday morning (unless more dramatic world events shunt it from the schedules) – stay tuned!
Just a little reminder about the Angus Buchan event at the Odyssey tonight (Friday) and tomorrow – doors open at 6, event at 7, music, praise, story, testimony, and – of course – a cosy wee prayer room in the middle of it all, manned by The Dock, with the customary steady supply of coffee, a fantastic view over the TQ and a chance to pause, be quiet and pray for all that’s happening next door.
Here is your luxury high-tech GPS-enabled map to the venue:
It’s Titanorak-heaven at the moment in the TQ! I’m having the time of my life…
Next Tuesday is a big big day in Titanic history – the 100-year anniversary of the day Titanic was launched as an empty metal shell from the slipways behind the drawing office. Imagine the sight – 800-plus-feet, thousands of tons, of riveted metal sliding down the angled slipway under the massive Arrol gantries, picking up speed as she slid into the waiting waters of Belfast Lough. Sixty-two seconds from start to finish.
Preparations are well underway to mark the occasion with music, prayer, readings and a 62-second cheer at precisely 13 minutes past 12 – the exact anniversary. The Dock team are right in the middle of it all – so you’ll get all the updates right here over the next few days!
As part of the anniversary celebrations, the SS Nomadic (the Titanic’s tender, built right here in Belfast alongside Titanic itself) has been opened up for hard-hat tours for just a couple of days. You might remember that back in Feb 2010 I was pretty much the last person on board Nomadic before it was closed for refitting (watch the movie here). So imagine my geeky joy at being back on board 15 months later, standing on the incredibly evocative decks where some of Titanic’s most famous passengers once stood, watching the beautiful old girl being nursed (well, drilled, riveted and welded) back to health.
I just can’t express how shiver-down-the-spiney it is to stand on board. At various points in history, that same metal has been under the feet of the Titanic’s first-class passengers (like the unsinkable Molly Brown), first-world-war troops, movie stars like Douglas Fairbanks, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, groovy French gourmets dining out in style on the River Seine… and the colony of rats who commandeered the ship when it was rusting slowly into extinction, unloved and forgotten. Yet beyond that century of use and misuse, the craftsmanship of the Belfast builders still shines through, original and strong. The metal panels (the same kind of metal as Titanic) and the clusters of rivets (the same kind of rivets as Titanic) have stood the test of time and wear – these were well-built ships. History to be proud of.
Things don’t stand still for long in Dock-World these days… the next big thing that’s happenin’ is the visit of Angus Buchan to the Odyssey this Friday and Saturday.
Angus is an internationally-renowned evangelist whose book Faith Like Potatoes has had a huge impact on countless lives. I’ve never seen him in person myself, but by all accounts he’s a hugely engaging speaker – warm, humble, down-to-earth and with a great story to tell.
The Maizen Grace event at the Odyssey this weekend is a free-entrance, open-welcome affair. As well as the man himself, there will be worship led by Ian Hannah and music from the Omagh-Waterford Peace Choir. Doors open at 6, the event is at 7… spread the word!
If however you’d like to be a bit more involved behind the scenes, The Dock can help! Yesterday I met with the guys organising the show (who had just come straight from meeting the First Minister and Deputy First Minister) to have a wee explore around the Odyssey and look into setting up a Prayer Room which could run throughout the event.
The room we found is the Harbour Room (just opposite Door 18 of the Arena) – and so the plan is to open the Prayer Room from 5pm until lights-out, both nights (Friday and Saturday) of the Angus event. There will be a steady supply of coffee, comfy cushions, a great view out over the TQ, and the opportunity to pray – either aloud or quietly; in groups or on your own. The idea is just to offer a safe space for prayer throughout the event – praying for the events happening across the corridor in the main auditorium, or for any other prayer requests which might arise.
So, over to you, Dock-World! Doors open to the public at 6 – so from that time on, come and join us in the Harbour Room – for a minute or an hour, whatever suits you. The whole event is a great chance for another faith-filled step in building peace here in NI, and it’s happening right in the heart of the city (and in the heart of Dock-World). So let’s pray!
A message from Angus himself to whet your appetite:
So we’re still here! The sun rose, the rain fell, the Earth turned. Which is something we normally take for granted, but has come of a bit of a disappointment to the followers of Harold Camping who was pretty sure that the world was going to end at 6pm yesterday. Wonder how he felt as he ate his cornflakes this morning…?
To be absolutely honest, I wouldn’t want to miss a thing at the moment. I’ve had such a great day! Listening to ‘Breathe On Me, Breath of God” as we stood in the rushing wind and blazing sunshine at the head of the dock. Memorising and discussing Romans 8:38-39 with a fantastic bunch of Dock Walkers. Preaching to incredibly warm, welcoming Methodist congregations in Carnlough and Craigyhill this morning; preaching to an excited, engaged Presbyterian congregation in Glengormley tonight. Cups of coffee and heart-to-hearts. Moments with God, moments with friends, time with Susan, time alone. A perfect Sunday.
And what a week!
From Larne to the TQ to Glengormley today, everyone was talking about the Queen’s Speech (and President McAleese’s response) with a little bit of a lump in their throats. Can it really be true? – words of reconciliation and healing, spoken by people with the authority to say them – grounded in complex reality, but radiant with hope. We’re living in days we barely dared to hope for a decade ago. We’re seeing answers to prayers.
If you haven’t already read or watched them, can I encourage you to connect with the full text of both speeches – you can find the Queen’s here (or watch it here) and President McAleese’s here.
These beautiful speeches (both by women – significant?!) are perhaps the most powerful statement yet that we really are living in a new era; peace isn’t just a dream or a whisper; it is possible to recognise a wounded past without being bound to it; and together is better. It resonates with the vision of the Dock, the Shared Medley, expressed with more more poetry and profundity than I can manage, worth hearing and speaking and repeating until we really start living it:
The lessons from the peace process are clear; whatever life throws at us, our individual responses will be all the stronger for working together and sharing the load.
The people you can see in the background are one of the tour groups who braved the howling weather this weekend to see Titanic’s birthplace (and quite right too!)- this particular group were rewarded by the arrival of a BBC news crew to film the story of the Titanic’s Launch Day in preparation for the anniversary on Tuesday.
