Saturday, July 26, 2008

Praying on the Beach


We're repeating our 'Beach Service' next month at Burton Bradstock, and here's a bit more stuff from the prayer leaflet we'll be using. For other material, have a look at what I posted last year. It sounds like Yeovil Baptists have beaten us to it, having had a beach communion a couple of weeks ago, but the more the merrier.

The thing that bugs me about most of the beach services you can find on the internet is that it's just a normal church service transposed to a new setting. What's the point of that? If you're in there among sand, sun, sea and a howling gale off the North Sea, then those should be the raw material of your worship and prayers, shouldn't they?

Sand

1. Trinity
The basic triquetra, a Celtic symbol of God the Trinity, is made with three simple arcs. Start by drawing the first arc. From the point you finish the first arc, draw the second so that it intersects the first two-thirds of the way along. At this point, the symbol looks like a fish. The final arc joins the two end points.

Pray a prayer such as this one (known as the trisagion, or "three holies")
Holy God
Holy and strong
Holy and immortal
Have mercy on me

2. Sin
Just above the tide line, write, draw or build something representing sin, watch the sea wash it away.

3. Grains
“how precious to me are your thoughts O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.” (Ps 139:17). To meditate on this verse, take a handful of sand, then count how many grains you are holding.

4. Scripture
“Because you have done this and not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendents as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.” (Genesis 22:16-17, God speaking to Abraham)

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