The Vigil and Day 8 in Belfast

Earlier in the day of the vigil, our Ballintoy hosts Seamus, Josephine, and Aileen helped us identify the ideal places to create the sacred space that we were looking for.

As night fell on day 7, we dressed in our warmest and most rainproof gear and made our way from the hostel to a nearby sandy cove. After some gathering words, we each spent an hour in silence getting in touch with our five senses. This gave an opportunity to listen to our own thoughts, the gentle wind blowing through the nearby tall grasses, and to the steady rolling crash of waves on the shore, as the tide turned in. We later gathered to hear and reflect upon the sacred words each of us had chosen earlier in the day.

Our next segment consisted of walking along a trail that wound through nearby fields, past the rope bridge site, and back down to the village. Walking this path in near total darkness, lit by only one or two flashlights, we were wrapped in the night sky above the sea. What beauty! We paused to reflect on how we experience landscapes in different conditions. Once again, we found ourselves standing on holy ground.

We warmed up briefly at the hostel, and returned to the beach with blankets, intending to sleep until the dawn.

A peculiar mix of safety issues, and differing expectations of how the vigil should proceed conspired to cut short this experience around 2 a.m. We returned to the hostel for a few restless hours of semi-sleep. The Spirit moves in mysterious ways: the work we began to do in the morning to address the ways in which our connections had been damaged during the vigil ultimately created deeper trust and more openness. 

While it wasn't the vigil we wanted, perhaps it was the vigil we needed. 

A further adjustment: we chose to stay in Ballintoy a third night, rather than to relocate to Belfast. The Antrim coast had captured our imagination, and the peaceful nature of the location gave us the chance to refocus our thoughts, feelings and energies.

We nonetheless made an afternoon excursion into Belfast following the scenic coastal road through Larne. Once in Belfast, we made plans to explore the spectacular Titanic museum in the revitalized dock area of this storied city. In the museum, we learned much about the history of the Titanic, the life and times around its construction, as well as Belfast's industrial history. Cheryl and Mary also entertained us with repeated iterations of the Titanic camp song. 

The Titanic Museum and HMS Nomadic in Belfast harbour

Part of the revitalized docks in Belfast

  

Harbour view in Belfast

In another moment of holy serendipity while waiting for our timed entry to the museum, we also stumbled upon the Dock, a community-run drop-in pay-what-you-can café and prayer retreat centre. The eclectic prayer garden in the corner inspired thoughts about how to revitalize the J2A space at First United… a project we’ve contemplated but not completed during our time together.

The Dock Café in the base of a Belfast condo

The Prayer Garden in the corner of the Dock Café. Inspiration for a space at First United!?

Once, more our hearts will go on...

Some beautiful street poetry in Belfast

After returning to Ballintoy after dark, we settled in the living room with hot chocolates and biscuits. Our lovely host Aileen - innately sensing our need - put on a roaring fire in the living room. The flickering light of the fire, combined with the sound of a steadily increasing rain outside, created a calm meditative space in which to end our day.