Trying ever-so-hard to stay humble (cough cough), but the media blitz is continuing… in the last week, I’ve been interviewed for two magazines, one newspaper (Question of Faith in next Saturday’s Belfast Tele), one beloved teatime Sunday afternoon TV institution, and…

BBC Radio 2 joined us on the Dock Walk on Sunday as part of a series called Great British Faith.  Having examined the religious cultural mix in Cardiff, Leicester and Glasgow, it’s Belfast’s turn for an hour in the spotlight: what does faith mean to the people of this city?

The team joined us towards the end of their journey around Belfast – and it’ll be fascinating to see (or hear I suppose) what impression they got of the city.  The show is presented by Hardeep Singh Kohli (you may recognise him from such shows as… the One Show and Celebrity Apprentice, or his stand-up appearances) and he seemed quite shocked and saddened to have found the Peace Walls still standing in many parts of the city.  I don’t know what he made of a gaggle of people walking and talking through the TQ on a Sunday afternoon, but it hopefully gives the programme a taste of a different kind of church…

(And by the way – Dock Walkers, I’m proud of you!  I intentionally didn’t warn y’all beforehand that the BBC microphones would be there on Sunday, in case nobody turned up! – but you did the Dock proud!  At least I think you did… all will be revealed when the show is aired!)

And while I mention the Dock Walk – why not join us at 3:33 on Sunday afternoons?  Every week – and I really mean that – I’m overwhelmed by the joy, friendship, depth, power and fun of walking, talking, worshipping, discussing scripture, praying and exploring together on our weekly walks.  It genuinely is the most profound expression of church I’ve ever experienced.

Every week, the chat and the different perspectives of the group bring the Bible passage alive in a way that I never would’ve seen on my own.  I love the way God speaks through nature, through our surroundings, through different people from different backgrounds, through a thousand details and pictures and situations that we’d never get to see if we were stuck behind four walls.  I love the way even the weather feeds into our worship – whether the warm sun, the soft Belfast rain (!) or the wind (you haven’t experienced ‘Breathe On Me, Breath Of God‘ until you’ve listened to it with the wind howling around on a crisp winter’s day!)

Every week there’s something new to see, someone new to meet, and so much new to learn about God.  So give it a try some Sunday – and I promise there will be no BBC microphones lying in wait!  (probably)

Before I commit an act of ragged, messy violence on the 100000001st person to ask me that question, I thought it was high time I wrote a little update about the Dock’s search for a boat!

Partly this is to correct some misunderstandings that seem to be out there.  I’ve heard rumours reported back to me as fact that the Dock now owns a boat; in fact someone had even heard (y’know, from a reliable source, on the QT, just so ya know, for prayer) that the Dock not only owned a boat, but had spent so much money on the boat that the company was now hugely in debt and facing financial insolvency.  News to me!… just to be clear, at this point in time, the Dock has neither a boat (aww) nor a debt (phew!).  What it does have, is a vision, and a commitment to this journey – however long it takes.

Because right from the beginning we knew that this was no short term easy thing; we knew we couldn’t just snap our fingers and expect a boat to appear.  The Dock began, just over two years ago now, with a blank page.  No money in the bank, no boat-fund, no twinkly-eyed benefactor, no old boat lying in wait for a good cause to come along.  It’s been an adventure getting this far – and as much as it’s occasionally been frustratingly slow, that pace has also allowed people to get involved, and the vision to evolve, in ways I never could’ve imagined.  Which is exactly as it should be – God really does know what he’s doing, and his timing is right.  This can be seen even in the way the boat has developed from a gimmicky concept – a one-liner – to an idea which seems to genuinely embody the whole Dock vision; a boat looks so obviously different to a church from any of our traditions, and carries so much imagery of neutral waters and new horizons, that people seem to ‘get’ the whole point of The Dock as soon as the boat is mentioned.

The exciting thing is, that after the two years of forging links across the different denominations, founding The Dock as a company, and publishing the Business Plan, we are now in a position to be looking at boats and getting a feel for the market.  You all saw the images of our visit to the Arctic Penguin, and it remains one of our favourite options (though not the only one).  But we’re trying to be sensible and responsible about this big mad idea: you don’t buy a boat – especially not an old boat – without surveys and research and a good bit of thought and expertise; and you try not to fall in love with the first boat you see until you’ve checked out what else is out there!  And, most crucially (so that the rumours don’t end up being true after all), you don’t commit to a massive capital expenditure until there are some pennies in the bank.  (And if you’d like to help on that score, you know where to find me!)

So keep enjoying the journey, people of The Dock – don’t expect to arrive overnight!   Keep your eyes peeled for pictures of the Penguin and of other possible ships on the website over the coming weeks and months.  There are some hugely exciting possibilities out there, and I still dream of the day when the Dock is afloat.  But in some ways I’m even more excited just to be part of the journey; to be in the TQ, part of the Titanic Centenary, walking out the vision, meeting the neighbours in pop-up cafes and coffee shops.  This is Life in the Titanic Quarter, and I’m not going to wish it away in impatience for the next chapter.  I’ve never been part of a story like this – and I’m loving every minute.

So here’s me with Maeve, the producer of the Songs Of Praise Titanic edition (not sure why I’m making a very strange face, sorry about that!)

The original plan to film near Titanic Belfast was put on hold when the day dawned grey and drizzly – TQ needs to be shown-off in the sunshine!  So in the end we filmed my interview in the gorgeous, evocative surroundings of the Drawing Office – it’s been a good while since I’ve been through the doors and it was fantastic to see the oul’ place again.  Telling the story of the start of The Dock, right on the spot where so many ships started their lives on the drawing board… kinda appropriate!

(And just in case you were wondering – the glow emanating from my face in the first pic must be from the BBC lights – Susan assures me that I don’t emit a ‘Holy Glow’ the rest of the time.  A bit disappointing really.)

The really good news is that I therefore have to come back for a second (hopefully sunny) day’s filming, with the cameras following me around the TQ doing Dock-chaplain-type stuff and chatting to the celebrity presenter of this edition of SoP – (drum roll….) – none other than Eamonn Holmes, so it is!

Yes, it’s finally happening: the ultimate bastion of Christian broadcasting, beloved fixture of Sunday afternoons accompanied by tea and crumpets – Songs Of Praise is coming to the Titanic Quarter…

Tomorrow I’m due to meet a film crew in the TQ to record a piece for a special Titanic Songs of Praise to be broadcast close to the Centenary.  Don’t know yet exactly what shape the interview is going to take, so stay posted and I’ll update you all in due course…!

Now, should I shave or go stubbly?  Where’s my smartest shirt?  Have I got any zits that need dealt with?  This stuff is important – my Aunties will be very distressed if I don’t look presentable!

And just to make the event extra-special and extra-Docky, having seen Eleanor’s Story on the Dock website, the film crew spent today recording a new interview with Eleanor – what a star!  Becoming a TV personality at the age of – well, I shouldn’t say should I?  (But it’s more than 94 and less than 96).

And it looks like we’re going to be able to film some footage within Titanic Belfast – which reminds me to post the link – here – to a superb selection of photos by Donal McCann of the construction process of Titanic Belfast over recent months – check it out!

Aw, what a fab time at the Kennedy Centre this morning – the kids were class!  Almost made me miss youth work… (almost).

So as y’may know, the idea was to commemorate the arrival of the Titanic into the Thompson Dock at the start of February 1912 with a full-scale tug-of-war down the length of the shopping mall.  The part of the capstan was played with great relish by Glenn Ross and his mates – men whose pints you would try very hard not to spill:

And on the other end of the rope, the part of the Titanic was played, in ever-increasing numbers (representing the 3 propellers, 5 years from design to completion, 15000 builders, 20 lifeboats, 2200 passengers, and any other Titanicy number we could think of) by a fantastic bunch of kids from nearby Primary Schools – who knew their Titanic facts and figures to a hugely impressive degree!

The Mayor got in on the act, the choir from the Belfast Met sang, the strongmen pulled, the kids pulled back, chaos ensued, and (hopefully) a great time was had as we celebrated another milestone in Belfast’s Titanic story.

And it is a big milestone: amazing to think that the only authentic surviving footage of Titanic was filmed during the days of its arrival and berthing in the Thompson Dock.  That dock we walk beside every Sunday on the Dock Walk is the exact same location as these flickery black-and-white images; the riveted gate in the background is the same one we see today.  Gives you a shiver of history, doesn’t it?

And oh what agony, after spending a day away from the TQ, to see on Twitter (thanks Mark Simpson!) that I missed the arrival of the huge new Titanic sign for the visitor centre – clocking in at 15 tons to match the weight of Titanic’s anchor.  Just goes to show – you can’t miss a minute in the TQ these days!