Hi folks I hope you are doing ok? This week we are trying out another new pub! We will be meeting at The Crafty Cold Well in Monkseaton. 2 Cauldwell Lane Monkseaton , Whitley Bay. We will be meeting at 7.30.
This week we are having a break from looking at our series of blogs around ‘A question of’. Last Sunday we began our lenten journey, ‘Where The Lost Things Go’, and then on Monday we had our first little lent walk focusing on West Allotment and Shiremoor. By the time we meet again on Sunday night we will have had a little walk around Cullercoats. See the image for more details. You would be more than welcome to join us for these short walks, a bit of history and a short prayer. If you haven’t read my intro to this series, then here are parts of it that make up this week’s blog.
I think most of us can remember occasions when we lost something, it can be frustrating, even causing us to panic! Where did I put my keys!? Where is my wallet? But there are other lost things as well, our collective memory only goes so far back, we forget moments, sometimes important moments that maybe should have been remembered.
We also forget the small insignificant things, the moments of laughter and sadness. Unless all of these things are recorded they are soon gone, as J.R.R. Tolkien wrote in Lord of the Rings:
“some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth.”
I am reminded and thankful for those who have taken the time to record our history, when our past becomes the stories, songs, poems, art, of the present. When we read the stories of the bible we are given a glimpse into the ancient world. All of these things give us an important window into our story as human beings living today. And so things that could be lost are kept alive in some way.
Over the last year Karen and I have been enjoying community singing with Mariners and Marras – a sea shanty and work songs community. It’s pure joy, they can be a bit racy! And bring a tear to the eye. These songs give a glimpse into our past, they tell stories of working life, and life as it was in days gone by, they are great sources of social history, and they should not be forgotten. The songs are often raw and sometimes difficult to sing because of the nature of the material.
Here are some verses of a couple of them… The first one, Close the CoalHouse Door was written in 1968 by Alex Glasgow he added another verse after the Aberfan disaster
Close the coalhouse door, lad. There’s bairns inside,
Bairns that had no time to hide,
Bairns who saw the blackness slide,
Oh, there’s bairns beneath the mountainside.
Close the coalhouse door, lad. There’s bairns inside.
Another one that brought me up short is Davy Cross – It’s about a handsome young fisherman whose loving mother has knitted him a beautiful sweater, but on one dark October day there is a storm, and you can guess…
When just ten weeks had passed and gone,
they finally brought us news about the loss
Seemed a body had been found,
of a sailor lost and drowned
And in our hearts we knew ’twas Davy Cross
For we knew his bright blue eyes
How we knew his golden hair
And the gansey that his mother made
was fine beyond compare
But it wasn’t eyes of blue,
nor that hair as pale as foam
It was the gansey that his mother made
that brought young Davy home.
This gives us some context as to our thoughts about lent this year and our theme of ‘Where the lost things go’ – maybe you think, I know that line, but cant remember where it’s from, well it comes from the second Mary Poppins movie.
Our lenten journey has been inspired not just by these old working and seafaring songs, and the Mary Poppins song, it’s also been inspired by a map that Colin Raistrick found down the back of an old book case. The map has no date and is titled The Methodist Church North Shields and Whitley Bay Circuit, it has various churches marked on it, Colin let me take it away and have a proper look and then David and I have been on a mission, and done some digging, and we have around 36 sites that used to be Methodist Churches of differing flavours – New Connexion, Primitive, Bible Christian, Wesleyan and United.
As I continue to ponder on this theme of ‘Where The Lost Things go’ I’m not just pondering on working life, seafaring and chapels that I knew nothing about, but I am reminded of the places, people, situations that have shaped and formed me. Contained in our social history, our personal stories are the foundations of who we are today.
The Jews hold great stock on remembering where they have come from and how ‘God’ has led them. Some may say that they are maybe too rooted in history that they forget the present. Christian history is also rooted in the past and we ponder and reflect upon how that works and relates to today, or we try to. Our own personal spiritual journeys are a series of highs and lows and again they influence for good and bad how we live today, many of us are still wrestling with past issues in relation to our faith story and how it has affected us. There will be things that are painful and things that bring joy, and that’s ok.
There is a sense that nothing is wasted, we tell all those stories, the personal, the collective history, so that they aren’t forgotten. I wonder if even the lost things are deeply rooted into the fabric of who we are and what we are about as human beings today.
Some questions
- What memories do you have of buildings, places that are significant to your story?
- What ancestral stories are important to you?
- How do you relate to history, both personal and the world?
- What one piece of personal learning do you wish you could impart on future generations?
- In what way can history help us in the future?
- How has your spiritual journey been affected by your past experiences of faith and spirituality?
- Where do the ‘lost things’ go?
Peace Rob
Rob Wylie is the founder of BeachcomberFX and guides its leadership team. He has worked in the North East for over 20 years and has vast experience from various roles he has held. He has a passion for Fresh Expressions of Church and Pioneer Ministry as well as beer, beaches and Miniature Schnauzers.