{"id":9074,"date":"2014-07-08T22:38:31","date_gmt":"2014-07-08T21:38:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.the-dock.org\/blog\/?p=9074"},"modified":"2019-01-11T12:39:38","modified_gmt":"2019-01-11T12:39:38","slug":"boat-umbrella","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.the-dock.org\/blog\/2014\/boat-umbrella\/","title":{"rendered":"A brief history of The DOCK"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BWB_6411\"<\/a>What follows is my attempt to tell that story of The Dock as clearly as I can… It was written because Nate, when he was filming the DOCKumentary, couldn’t get me to tell the story in anything less than 13 minutes (he was hoping for 3!).   This script helped me keep to time…<\/p>\n

The Dock exists to build Life in the Titanic Quarter – heart and soul amidst the concrete and steel of this fantastic new development in Belfast\u2019s historic shipyard.<\/p>\n

The project began at the end of 2009, when I was appointed to the new post of Chaplain to the Titanic Quarter. At that point the area was still \"Launch<\/a>mostly scaffolding, but the hope started to grow amongst the developers and early residents that with this new part of Belfast the city had been given a blank page, a fresh start.<\/p>\n

Belfast is famous for separating into its different communities and (especially) churches. We sought to provide something different – a shared gathering point – a boat on neutral waters, in which all our traditions could share the excitement of building community together. In the early days, this squiggle represented our vision:<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a>So we went looking for a boat. A succession of beautiful, inspiring but utterly impractical old craft were visited, fallen-for, surveyed and then discounted as the truth began to dawn – buying and restoring a rusty old boat was just way beyond our resources. We had to start with what we had: a few deckchairs, a kettle, and a desire to meet the neighbours.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a>In the open air, at Saturday morning coffee mornings and Sunday afternoon walks, the first building blocks of Life in the Titanic Quarter started to form. Neighbours met.  Churches of all traditions and backgrounds worked together – so that the \u2018Chaplains to the Titanic Quarter\u2019 became a team rather than one individual.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a>And the developers, Titanic Quarter Ltd, got involved; their tagline from the moment the first foundation was laid was, \u2018Where once we built ships\u2026 today we build community\u2019. That vision was becoming reality and they made the unprecedented move of offering The Dock a \u2018Meanwhile Lease\u2019 on an empty shop unit in the heart of the Titanic Quarter.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a>(They also gave us a deadline. Eamonn Holmes and the Songs Of Praise film crew were arriving in six days\u2019 time and would like to film in our pop-up cafe. Was there any chance we could turn an empty concrete shell, with no water, no electricity and no furniture, into a cosy little cafe in time to serve Eamonn a cuppa<\/a>?<\/p>\n

And so in the unforgettable Titanic Centenary year of 2012, the story of The Dock became the story of a man who went looking for a boat – but found something much better instead.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_5150\"<\/a>The Dock Cafe opened its doors in March 2012 with little more than those deckchairs and kettle – but as the months went by, more and more donations started to fill the place, as the people who ate, relaxed, met up and chilled out in The Dock Cafe began donating sofas, dining tables, mugs, art, \"BiycTpRIMAAbkX9.jpg-large\"<\/a>sculpture, games, armchairs, and a thousand other quirky little touches to make a big empty concrete space a home-away-from-home.<\/p>\n

Every cuppa was served by an ever-growing team of volunteers from all arts and parts – many of them residents from the apartments upstairs or students from the new college across the road, all swept along by the fun of building community in their new \"DSC_4299\"<\/a>home. And every cuppa came with no price tag attached – but with the trust that customers would donate a fair amount to the Dock Cafe’s honesty box. The \u2018honesty box cafe\u2019 became a concept talked-about from Toronto to Timbuktoo, and trusting in the honesty of Belfast people still keeps the doors open and the shelves stocked to this day.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A Prayer Tree in The DOCK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The cafe is a space where absolutely anybody can feel at home – no-one is attacked with Bibles, tracts or evangelistic slogans when they come in through the door. At the same time, we try to provide a little bit of space for spiritual life in the Titanic Quarter – especially in the Prayer Garden, a light-filled little oasis of greenery and peace in the corner of the cafe, and through the presence of the team of Dock Chaplains, who are just as happy to get stuck in to a deep and meaningful natter about the meaning of life as to get stuck feeding Doris the Dishwasher!<\/p>\n

The sign above the door says \u2018Life in the Titanic Quarter\u2019, and we believe that life is all about:<\/p>\n