BeachcomberFX

Category: BeachcomberFX

  • A question of AI

    A question of AI

    If you are joining us this week we are meeting at The Brewery in Whitley Bay at 7:30pm. This weeks blog is written by a special guest.
    Faith and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are two seemingly unrelated concepts that are becoming increasingly intertwined in our modern world. While AI is a powerful tool that can be used to advance and spread religious beliefs, it also raises important questions about the relationship between technology and spirituality. In this blog post, we will explore some of these questions and consider the implications of the intersection of faith and AI.
    Can AI replace religious leaders? One potential use of AI in religion is to create chatbots that can answer questions about religious beliefs and practices. While this technology could help make religion more accessible, it raises questions about the role of human religious leaders. Can a chatbot replace the guidance and wisdom of a spiritual mentor?
    What is the impact of AI on human agency? Many religious beliefs are based on the idea that humans have free will and the ability to make choices. However, as AI becomes more advanced, it may challenge traditional notions of human agency. How does the rise of AI impact our understanding of what it means to be human?
    Can AI have faith? As AI continues to advance, it is becoming more sophisticated in its ability to learn and adapt. However, faith is a complex concept that goes beyond mere intelligence. Can an AI truly experience faith or is it limited by its lack of emotional and spiritual depth?
    How can AI be used to spread religious beliefs? Some religious organizations are already using AI to analyze religious texts and identify patterns in religious teachings. However, there are concerns about the potential for AI to be used to spread extremist beliefs. How can we ensure that AI is used in a responsible and ethical manner when it comes to religious beliefs?
    What is the role of faith in shaping our relationship with AI? As we continue to develop and integrate AI into our lives, it is important to consider the ethical and spiritual implications of this technology. How can faith help guide us in our use of AI and ensure that we use it in a way that is consistent with our values and beliefs?
    In conclusion, the relationship between faith and AI is a complex and multifaceted topic that raises many important questions. While AI can be a powerful tool for advancing and spreading religious beliefs, it also challenges our traditional understanding of spirituality and human agency. As we continue to navigate this intersection, it is important to consider the implications of AI on our faith and to ensure that we use this technology in a way that is consistent with our values and beliefs.
    Written by ChatGTP to the prompts – Write me a lighthearted questions on the subject of AI and Write me a blog with 5 questions on the subject of faith and AI. Image generated by DALL-E using the prompt a digital render that represents the interaction between the christian faith and AI
    Questions
    1. If AI could have a favorite food, what do you think it would be?
    2. Can AI replace religious leaders?
    3. How does the rise of AI impact our understanding of what it means to be human?
    4. Can AI have faith?
    5. How can we ensure that AI is used in a responsible and ethical manner when it comes to religious beliefs?
    6. How can faith help guide us in our use of AI and ensure that we use it in a way that is consistent with our values and beliefs?
  • Where the Lost Things Go : Nothings Gone Forever

    Where the Lost Things Go : Nothings Gone Forever

    16th March : 11am
    Meeting beside The Priory Theatre on Percy Street, NE30 4HA (W3W supply.winner.melon)
    walking to The Land of Green Ginger, NE30 4BO, (W3W blocks.silver.robots). Approx 0.4 miles
    10 mins round trip will probably include a stop at a coffee shop.

    EXODUS 3:1-22

    Journeying God of the lost things

    What have we not noticed?

    What have we seen, but not seen?

    What stories are becoming distant?

    What remembering do we need to fanin to flame?

    Nothing is gone forever.

    When embers are given life When deep roots are watered
    They can be brought to life again.

    Amen

    Moses is out looking after his father-in-law’s sheep when suddenly in the distance he notices something a little odd. A bush seems to be on fire. Yet there is something strange about the way it burns. Usually out in the wilderness a bush burns up in minutes if not seconds. Yet this bush seems to be burning at the same intensity as when Moses first noticed it.

    Moses goes over to investigate and, as he approaches, this burning bush begins to speak. Well, the bush doesn’t speak, but a voice comes from the bush, instructing Moses to take off his sandals because he is on holy ground.

    What follows is a conversation about what Moses needs to go and do because God has decided to act in response to the cries of the people.

    Some of the Rabbis, who reflected upon the Hebrew scriptures and gave interpretation and instruction on them offered this thought. What if the bush had always been burning, it is just that Moses only just noticed it on this day?

    Tynemouth has no Methodist chapels. Yet over the last 200 years it has had three grand buildings that Methodist people

    have gathered in. The first still stands. In fact some of you will have sat in it even though it closed it doors in 1870. A conversation with someone in the last week revealed just this as I talked about Percy Street Methodist Church. Today it is the Priory Theatre but its original use was as a Wesleyan Chapel.

    Like this person, if you look closely when you are there you will notice that it still refers to its original use on a plaque.

    Percy Street Wesleyan Methodist closed when a larger chapel was built in pride of place on Front Street. This grand building seated over 700 and sat where the library and flats are situated now. The Chapel closed in 1934, becoming the Carlton Cinema until it was demolished in the 70s.

    The Methodists from Front St did not go far though. On the corner of Front St stood the Congregational Church that today we know as the Land of Green Ginger. A Congregational member by the name of John Patton, through his enthusiasm, brought together the two churches to form the Covenant Church that existed from 1950 to 1973.

    The Rabbis’ question to the story of Moses and the burning bush is one of noticing. Was the bush always burning, or was

    it that Moses didn’t notice it until that day? Maybe he had walked past it many times and just paid no attention. When he did notice it, and approached it, he then heard the voice of God speaking to him from it.

    When I moved to the area one of the things I noticed was that there weren’t many churches in Tynemouth. In the years I have lived in the area I have noticed some talk about planting a church in Tynemouth but nothing has ever come of it. I have noticed the work of Street Pastors who have served its night time economy and the Mouth of the Tyne festival.

    Since I began researching these notes, I have noticed that the Methodist church has been present, that its history can still be found if you look for it.

    And maybe there is a burning bush in Tynemouth or somewhere else today just waiting for someone to take notice.

    Questions to reflect on

    1.How would you describe your eyesight?
    2.Have you ever walked past or spoken to someone famous and not noticed who they were? Or have you been somewhere when something dramatic or strange has happened and you didn’t realise till afterwards?
    3.Can you describe how you get from your house to your chapel on Sunday? Which way do you go? What do you pass? Who else is out and about?
    4.Do you think Moses took notice of the bush that day because…?
    a.It was burning
    b.It didn’t burn up
    5.What would have caught your attention in that situation? 6.Think about one of the following places and ask the questions below.
    a.Your street
    b.Your workplace
    c.Your local shopping street/centre
    d.Your chapel
    What have you noticed recently about this place? What do you notice about the people who are there? Have you noticed anything that is missing or that you think should be there? Have you noticed God at work?

  • Where the Lost Things Go : Waiting in the Place

    Where the Lost Things Go : Waiting in the Place

    Lent 2 : 5th March : 3pm
    Meeting beside Whitley Bay Health Centre on Whitley Road, NE26 2ND (W3W jokes.ruins.dust)
    walking to Beverly Terrace, NE30 4NU, (W3W wedge.atomic.alien). Approx 1.4 miles 30mins
    round trip.

    GENESIS 32:22-32

    Journeying God of the lost things

    be with us as we wrestle

    as we laugh as we cry

    May we keep going may we stand firm

    may we learn to rebuild when we need to

    It is easy to knock down Takes nerve to wait, in the place.

    Amen

    We pick up the story of Jacob now as he and his family prepare to meet Esau, his estranged brother. Jacob is right to be wary of his brother, since he robbed him of his birthright when they were younger. He sends his herds of sheep and goats, as well as his slaves ahead of him as a gift in an attempt to quell any anger Esau may have towards him.

    Before Jacob meets his brother, though, he has an interesting encounter. He sends his wives and family across a stream with the rest of his possessions until he is the only one left. As he stands alone on the bank of the stream he is approached by a man and they begin to wrestle.

    This tussle wasn’t a short lived scrap but lasted all night and in the end the man dislocates Jacob’s hip in order to bring an end to the fight. Even with this injury, Jacob refuses to let go until this man has blessed him.

    Jacob, who is fond of naming places, calls this one Peniel which means face of God. It was at this place that he wrestled God and lived.

    This week we look at a number of churches that suffered struggles on their journey. We start with Trinity Methodist,

    Whitley Bay, a Wesleyan chapel that was built in 1885 and was situated on Whitley Road where the health centre is located now. We don’t know a lot about the church other than on the 29th August 1940 a 500lb bomb hit the church.

    A little further down Whitley Road stood the United Free Methodist Church that would later become known as St Margaret’s. This church had begun in a cottage on Simpson Street in Cullercoats in 1868 and moved into the building in 1878 when the then President of Conference, Revd A Halliday, spoke at its first service. It grew over the years, adding a school hall in 1891. In 1899 the church left its circuit to become a one church circuit.

    On the 16th October 1903 the church caught fire during some building work, completely destroying it. From its ashes a new chapel was built, opening in 1904. Its ministry continued until major repairs meant the church had to close in 1989.*

    Up the road from St Margaret’s was John Street Primitive Methodist Church. There had been a chapel on the site since 1833. This was developed in 1868 when revival hit North Shields and the surrounding area. An even bigger chapel was built in 1900 alongside the existing one. But in 1942 on 8th August a German plane dropped a bomb on the church, completely destroying it and killing 13 year old Dennis Armstrong who was in the church alone, practicing on the organ.

    With John Street destroyed, a new home was found within weeks in the Monks Haven guest house on Beverly Terrace. Eventually the stable at the back was converted into a chapel and the church met here until its current building was finished in Cullercoats in 1957.

    *Some note the chapel was closed and demolished quickly as there were those who wanted to list the building.

    Jacob receives his blessing after a wrestling match that left him in pain and struggling. The stories of three of these chapels are also ones of struggle. Yet despite the destruction and setbacks that they suffered, God’s people persevered.

    The people of Trinity joined St John’s and other churches and continued to worship with them. St Margaret’s rebuilt after the fire and continued to grow. John Street became Monks Haven which in turn became Cullercoats Methodist.

    To quote Harry Taylor, a member of John Street, “We’ve lost the ship, but the crew are sound and we can build her again”.

    Questions to reflect on:

    1.If something with sentimental value breaks are you more likely to…?
    a.Keep it even though it is broken
    b.Throw it away and buy a new one
    c.Find someone who can fix it
    d.Try and fix it yourself
    2.Why have you chosen that answer?
    3.When was the last time you struggled to do something?
    Did you manage to complete the task? Or did you give up? 4.Would you ever say that you have wrestled with God? Are you still wrestling? How would you describe this experience?
    5.If the chapel that you worship in on a Sunday no longer existed what do you think you would do? a.Build a new one on the same site
    b.Build a new one somewhere else
    c.Go to another church elsewhere
    d.Meet in another building in the area e.Something else
    6.What are your reasons for choosing that answer?

  • Where the Lost Things Go : Watching as you Grow

    Where the Lost Things Go : Watching as you Grow

    3rd April : 6pm
    Meeting on Cumberland Street, NE28 6SL (W3W voted.spare.leader) walking to St John
    Street, NE29 6JD, (W3W slam.depend.drill). Approx 1.2miles 30mins trip. Short walk to metros to get back to start point.

    JOHN 12:12-24

    Journeying God of the lost things

    Are they all lost to death? Is it inevitable?
    Can death be defied?

    Death feeding the very earth providing nutrients

    encouraging flourishing

    Earthy resurrection divine echoing

    watching as we grow encouraging new life

    Amen

    We have arrived at Palm Sunday. Jesus journeys into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey and the people greet him with songs of praises. There would have been people of all nationalities in the city at that time. Some to worship, and some who may have just come to see the spectacle of it all.

    Some Greeks who were there, and had obviously heard about Jesus wanted the opportunity to meet him. They speak to Philip who in turn speaks to Andrew and Philip and they eventually tell Jesus.

    The response they get is probably not what they were expecting though. Instead of responding with a yes, bring them over, they get a prediction of his death.

    Jesus uses the image of a kernel of wheat needing to fall to the ground and die in order for it to produce more seeds.

    Anyone with even a small and basic understanding of gardening will know this to be true.

    Plants are designed to reproduce. Many of them do this by making seeds that are either blown by the wind to new places, eaten by birds and dropped elsewhere, or just fall to the ground. These seeds may look dead but in the right conditions they will eventually begin to sprout, take root and grow into a new plant, and the cycle begins again.

    This is death and resurrection at work.

    Our final few chapels are situated in Willington Quay and Percy Main. Willington Quay had at least two chapels at one time. One was situated on Norman Terrace and was a Primitive Methodist. It opened in 1844 and had 150+ members and a thriving Sunday school according to the census return.

    There is record of another Methodist chapel in Willington Quay known as Central Methodist. Some records have this as Primitive and some have it as Wesleyan. We know it closed around 1969 and the building was close to, if not the same one as, Norman Terrace. The chapel was situated where the toll booths for the northbound exit of the Tyne Tunnel are situated.

    A note was made in an early publication to the dedication of the members of the chapel who gave up their leisure time to help shift stone from the nearby quarry to build the chapel.

    If we move on up to Percy Main we are going to look at two churches, though records suggest there have been five chapels in this small area. The Primitives started in 1821 when William Clowes preached in the village and the first chaple had 18 members. They built a chapel in 1829 which was in use till 1884 when a new one was built on Backworth Street. This second chapel made it to 1902 when a third Primitive chapel was built to seat 300. It was in use till 1974.

    The Wesleyans had an early chapel on Middle row which may have been the old Primitive chapel. Eventually they built their own chapel at a cost of £300 in 1884 and this lasted till 1956. In 1956 the Wesleyans joined with the Primitives in their chapel and then in 1976 they joined the local Anglican Church.

    Chapels open, chapels close, chapels expand and merge. This is the story of Willington Quay and Percy Main Methodist Chapels. This is the story of North Shields and Whitley Bay Methodist Church and the Methodist Church at large.

    Our history is rooted in the stories told this week and in the weeks gone by. It is also rooted in the story of Jesus and his life, death and resurrection.

    Seeds have to die in order to produce more.

    Questions to reflect on:

    1.How would you describe your gardening skills?
    2.What is the most magnificent thing you have ever grown? 3.Have you ever had to stop something or lay something down? How easy did you find this? How did it make you feel?
    4.Following on from the question above. When you stopped, did it open new doors for you to do new things? 5.What would you stop doing tomorrow if it meant you could achieve your biggest dream in your personal life? 6.Think about your church community and all that it does.
    What would you stop tomorrow if it meant you could achieve your church’s dream?
    7.Jesus gives us an example of sacrificial love. Giving of himself for others. What would you give up as an individual or as a church in order let God’s work flourish in another place?

  • Where the Lost Things Go : Looking for the Place

    Where the Lost Things Go : Looking for the Place

    Walk : 27th February : 6pm
    Meeting beside Sambuca on Benton Road, NE27 OP (W3W edits.prowling.combines)
    walking to Shiremoor, NE27 SD, (W3W obstinate.tributes.stroke). Approx 2.4 miles 50mins
    round trip.

    GENESIS 28:10-19

    Journeying God, of the lost things

    As we look for the ‘place’ Wander with us.

    When we take a break, when we rest for a while,

    when we sleep and dream.

    In those moments may love be revealed.

    May we wake,
    to mark the moment, the place

    where you met us.

    Amen

    We find Jacob on a journey from one place to another. The starting point and destination don’t matter too much. It is the place where he stops that is our focus today.

    The place was a ‘certain place!’ Not an important one or a specific one. He wasn’t looking for this place. It was just a place he stopped at on his journey when the sun went down and he needed to rest.

    He found a rock for a pillow and promptly fell into a deep and dream-filled sleep. In this dream he saw a stairway to heaven and he heard God speak to him about his future and the future of his descendants. When he awoke he exclaimed ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.’ He then states that this stopping place, this unlooked for place was none other than the house of God, the doorway to heaven. He takes his makeshift pillow and stands it up to mark the place as important, and he names it Bethel which means House of God.

    The places we look at this week in Shiremoor, The Allotment and New York all contained Methodist Chapels at some point in the past. You may see a glimpse of one building that still stands tucked behind a pub in The Allotment but the others have all been demolished and built over. When most of these chapels were built there was very little around them. The big industry in the area was the mines dotted around the countryside that needed workers, who in turn needed places to live, shop, socialise and pray.

    The earliest chapel mentioned in records is The Allotment Primitive Chapel built in 1832. In fact it would have celebrated its 191st birthday on this first Sunday in Lent as it opened on the 26th February in 1832. It is thought the chapel sat in a small building about 18ft by 30ft built by a T Taylor at no cost and was part of a square of mining cottages. It had 43 members and there was no other church close by. They wanted to start a Sunday School up as soon as they could.

    In 1868 we know that a new chapel was created nearby to the first site in a brewery building. This building was converted by an R Prudhoe along with others into the chapel. The building still stands today and if you park in the Sambucca Restaurant car park you will see it. This building only lasted 37 years as a chapel, and when it closed was used as a community centre for the growing village for a short while. A new building was built in 1904 which seated 70 people and lasted until 1998 when it closed.

    Up the road in Shiremoor there are records of two chapels. One was situated right next to Earsdon Colliery and is noted as a United Free Methodist Church (some note it as a Wesleyan Reform). It lasted around 36 years and little else is known of it. Further into Shiremoor we find Percy Street Primitive Methodist, built in 1904 for £760 and seating 120 people.

    The obituary for the Revd Walter William Parsons notes ‘In 1921 Rev Parsons was sent to the Earsdon Church, in the North Shields Circuit, as their first resident minister. He was there at the time of the miners’ strike, and remembered vividly the great spiritual awakening in that area, as a result of the prayer meetings held in the Shiremoor Chapel.’

    Percy Street lasted until at least 1939 and maybe a little longer until it was demolished to build the housing estate that sits on the site today.

    Finally, New York United Methodist Church sat on Coronation Terrace from 1902-1957. It is noted that they moved to Chirton Grange Methodist from this site and the building was demolished.

    The story of these early Methodist Chapels is one of need. As people moved to purpose-built houses that served the mines and farms in the area they also needed other amenities; pubs, shops and places to gather and worship.

    Jacob wasn’t looking for the House of God when on his journey from one place to another. He just discovered that God was in that certain place. Likewise, the people who built and gathered in these places weren’t looking to set up places of worship. Instead they experienced God at work in the world and in turn responded. The chapels were the outworking of God’s grace at work in the hearts of human beings.

    Questions to reflect on

    1.Where is your favourite place in the world?
    2.Where is your favourite place to meet with God?
    3.Do you think it mattered where Jacob stopped that day?
    Would God have appeared to him anywhere or did it have
    to be that specific spot?
    4.Is there a certain place you have met God that was out of
    the ordinary?
    5.Which certain places might God be asking you to respond
    in today? Your street, community, work place?
    6.If you were to build a chapel today to meet a need in your community, where would it be and why?

  • Holy Week 2022

  • Change

    Change

    Hi folks,

    I hope you are well. This week we will be meeting in gardens at 7.00pm – if you want to be part of these gatherings or if you can host please comment below or send me a message! Groups will be allocated on Sunday morning.

    This week we want to build on Karen’s reflections about change. Over the last few years it has been wonderful to share the leadership of BFX with some awesome people. A few weeks ago I gave space for those who have been part of the team to step back if they felt they needed a break from the responsibility of leadership. After some consideration, Angela and Glenn have decided to step back, they have lots going on with their work at the moment and life is just hectic. I am soo thankful to them for the work they have put in over the last few years. Their wisdom and support have been invaluable to me and the rest of the team.

    As a leadership team we have thought and prayed about the next steps in leadership. We are pleased to say that Sue Hutchinson has agreed to join the team. I worked with Sue many years ago when we were both in youth work so it feels like we have come full circle. So the team is now David, Naomi, Pauline, Sue, Karen and myself.

    Change is never easy and this year we have experienced so many changes, many of which are still in progress. In my other role, everything is changing. Sunday service, pastoral care, small groups… it’s really exhausting! At BFX we have also had to change the way we do things and we have added new threads to our work, like BFXCreative, short scavenger walks, and I suspect there will be more change to come as we emerge from these last fourteen months.

    When I think about change I wonder about those early disciples after Jesus had died, and after the resurrection, and then as they gathered in that upper room, these were moments of significant change for them and for the world.

    My faith journey has changed over the years as well, long gone are the days when I thought I had everything nailed down and I was sure what it meant to follow Jesus. These days I’m happy to live with the questions I can’t answer and sit comfortably with doubt, its like drinking a great pint!

    I wonder what changes you have experienced over this last year and over your lifetime! I’m sure there are many of you that even wondered if you would come out of the last year alive!

    As we move into this next period, life is likely to feel chaotic and even scary at times. I’m thankful for you as a community, you have kept me going and you have kept each other going! Well done!!

    We still have a way to go yet and so can I encourage you to keep walking with each other, keep looking out for each other. And let’s be gracious with each other in the next season of emerging change.

    If you are able to join us for the picnic on the 12th June, it would be great to see you especially if you have found it hard to remain connected over the last few months.

    So, some questions.

    What’s been the biggest personal change in your lifetime?

    What event over the last year has challenged you the most?

    What has been the hardest thing to adapt to this last year?

    What has been the highlight of this last year? (if you have one)

    What stories of change in the bible resonate with you?

    What are you anxious about as we emerge from this last year?

    Peace, Rob

  • Collector

    Collector

    Collector

    Our final BFX focus is that of Collector. The words we have for this are as follows.

    WE WERE ALL CREATED

    SO WE CREATE

    We live in a world that was created for us.

    So we make cake and beer, paint and knit, and draw lines in the sand.

    We also put right, by picking up, recycling and seeking to look after the world we live in.

    Some of you will have joined us at our recent BFX Creative events. We have held three so far (next is in June). These were formed during lockdown and have been a great place to explore creativity. 

    Now I know some people don’t think they are creative. That drawing, singing or writing just isn’t their strong point. But creativity is more than being able to create art. The definition for creativity is that you create something! Anything!

    The most common understanding of creativity is in the artistic sense. Creativity though is how we solve problems, how we transform our neighbourhoods, how we change the world we live in. We use creative to think of new ideas and new ways forward. 

    As BFX we will continue to encourage us all to be creative. For some that will be in an artistic scenes but for all of us it will be looking to think in new ways about the world we live in. 

    1. creative challenge 
    2. What is the best thing you have ever made?
    3. Are you an artistic creative an idea creative or a bit of both.
    4. What issue in the world do you think we need to solve in creative ways?
  • Gather

    Gather

    EXPLORING TOGETHER WHAT IT MEANS TO EXPERIENCE GOD
    We want to experience God in ways that are authentic to us.
    We come together and experiment with worship both old and new.
    We seek to experience moments of meaning in the ordinary.
    Over the past few months we have been looking at our BFX foundations. There are four altogether and this week we are looking at Gather : Worship Together. The words at the top of this post go alongside this word as a brief explanation of what it means and what it is about. I am going to try and avoid the word worship throughout the rest of this as it often comes with baggage and for many people that can get in the way. At some point you may want to take a look at the website and check the Gather tab and the work of the people stored there.
    For me the important words in this are gather, explore/experiment, experience, authentic and ordinary. I will briefly describe why and then we can get stuck into questions.
    Gather – It is about people coming together. Maybe to a particular place or at a particular time. In person or online. To gather together with others is how we build community and connection.
    Explore/experiment – Slightly different words but with similar meanings. When you explore you are going into the unknown. There is no map, or if there is the thing you are looking for isn’t marked on it. The same goes for experiment. You are testing something, trying something out you haven’t done before. Both of these have the possibility of success of finding what you are looking for or discovering something new. They both also have the possibility of not finding that which was sought or the experiment not quite working. Yet you have still experienced the process.
    Experience – What you feel, see, taste, smell, think, hear and sense. These things happen all the time but sometimes taking the time to acknowledge these opens us up to something much bigger than ourselves.
    Authentic – What we do has to be true to who we are. The words we use need to have meaning. The actions or signs we perform have to be relevant. There are ancient ways of doing things and there are new ways. It is about finding those ways that are honest and reflect those gathered instead of those inherited by others.
    Ordinary – It isn’t about always chasing the mountain top experience. We can always try and replicate that moment when we experienced something amazing, but it often disappoints. Seeking to experience something of God when we are walking the dog or on the metro to work or sat watching TV. In those moments we can be surprised by what we find.
    Questions
    • What was the last gathering you went to with over 50 people present?
    • Which word in the first bit struck you? Why?
    • What makes a gathering authentic for you?
    • Have you ever experienced God in a place you didn’t expect? Where/when was it?
  • Scavenger

    Scavenger

    Hi folks, I hope you are doing ok? This week we will be meeting on zoom at 8.00pm, if you don’t normally get the link but want to join us then please send me a message and we can hook you up.

    Over the next few weeks, alongside blogs from other members, I want to go through the key components that make up BeachcomberFX.

    Some of you may not know that Sunday@thepub is the public face of BeachcomberFX, but Sunday nights are just one element of all that we are about.

    BeachcomberFX has four elements: Scavenger, Wanderer, Gatherer and Collector. Sunday@thepub sits under one of those, more about that in another blog.

    This week we will focus on Scavenger.

    This aspect is about exploring what it means to be a pilgrim walking in creation and ‘seeing’ God in the everyday. We seek to find altars in the world, we do this intentionally through regular walks  or pilgrimages, night hikes and through lent and advent reflections. Our daily activities of life: exercise, dog walks and our daily commute all give us opportunities to ‘scavenge’.

    When I was thinking about BFX in its early days I was intrigued that much of what we experience as spiritual people or as followers of Jesus takes place in specific places and spaces. We are programmed to connect with our faith through what happens for example inside church buildings: singing, hearing a preacher, saying formal prayers, seeing ikons and other such things. In some ways scavenger is about digging deeper into that which we see and experience all around us and ask the question – could this connect with faith and spirituality, if so how?

    Of course some signs of God or spirituality are more obvious than others. It’s also ‘easier’ to find connections as you gaze at the wonders of creation. Yes, I am thankful for these more obvious signs, but I wonder if this mutes our ability to wonder and seek meaning in the mundane and the ordinary.

    Over the years I have tried to find signs or connections that are not so obvious and it means I have to intentionally look for them. Maybe it’s a road sign that gives directions that’s partially obscured by a tree – how could this speak to me? It could be a sign that the way of spirituality or connection is obscured for me or that I need to cut things back to see where I am being led.

    So a challenge before we meet on Sunday, can you take a photo of something that speaks to you somehow as you go about on your daily walk? It will mean being observant as you walk.

    Or could you share something that has happened that makes you go ‘wow, I wasn’t expecting that!’

    Questions:

    Scavenger hunt…

    Show or tell where you saw a connection.

    How does the word scavenger relate to spirituality for you?

    What ways during covid have you found to help you connect with your faith and spirituality?

    In what ways have you been able to find connections or signs to your faith/spirituality through the mundane?