BEYOND

Beach Hut Advent Calendar roundup

2012-01-04T09:15:00.005Z

Now that Christmas is over it seems like an appropriate time to review the 2011 Beach Hut Advent Calendar and to say a few thank yous.

Firstly thank you to all the participants who created such wonderful pieces of art, performances and events. The quality of the work and the amount of effort that people put in was truly wonderful and the Beyond team loved coming down each night to see the incredible creations in all weathers. Thanks also to Higgidy pies for their generosity in giving us Christmas pies to give out on Christmas Eve and vouchers for a years supply of pies which we split between two families who had been out to all 24 huts - that was more than even the Beyond team managed!

We had some great media coverage this year with Meridian coming along on the first night attempting to do a live broadcast which unfortunately was subject to gremlins but which did get broadcast the following night.

Also BBC Breakfast came along a couple of times to film a few different huts and broadcast this lovely piece a number of times on Christmas Day.

Beyond is planning our next event which will be in Lent which begins on 22nd February so keep an eye on www.beyondchurch.co.uk for full details about that.

Beach Hut 24

2011-12-24T19:27:00.008Z

We finally got there! Although of course the actual event we've all been waiting for throughout December isn't until tomorrow, but we did get to the final beach hut tonight. Hut 225 was a real coming together of all of the things we've been talking about this month as we make our journey with the holy family towards Christmas.

For the first time all of the nativity figures which Flo Pepper has so diligently crafted were brought together in their own stable. Each figure was featured at one of the huts through the month and gradually added to the story that we followed day by day.

They were watched over by a collage of faces made up of photographs taken each night of some of the pilgrims who've followed the story night by night. Old and young all looked down on the stable, waiting to see what would happen tomorrow when God enters our world as a little baby. Central to the whole collage was a photo of a pregnant woman who came along one night and who's baby is due on Christmas day - we wish her well for the auspicious day.

As part of the event tonight we read the Christmas story, stopping at various points to sing an appropriate carol - O Little Town of Bethlehem for Joseph and Mary's journey; Away in a Manger at Jesus Birth; We Three Kings when the wise men arrived and finally the Sussex Carol, celebrating everything that this night means as God enters our human world.

We hope that your Christmas gathering is full of joy, hope and peace and that you experience something of what it means that God is with us. Every blessing this Christmas from all at Beyond.

Our next event will be in late in February for Lent 2012 - watch www.beyondchurch.co.uk for announcements.

Beach Hut 23

2011-12-23T20:49:00.007Z

The penultimate hut of 2011 directed our eyes to the skies with an amazingly detailed map of the heavens with stars and constellations labelled and drawn out for us all to see. Unfortunately the weather didn't aid our stargazing as the clouds scudded by propelled by some very strong winds, only stopping to drop copious amounts of rain on us from time to time.

Hut 449 was bathed in a beautiful royal purple light in honour of the coming king and as a reminder that this is still Advent, the season for which the church uses the colour purple. In fact the light was ultraviolet and was designed to make the white stars and constellations shine out into the darkness. One of the odd side effects of this was that it was very hard to see the images properly - they appeared to be out of focus no matter how hard we tried to look at them and bring them in to focus.

Even the photographs we took seemed to have trouble focussing on the star imagery, creating some lovely, colourful effects.

Lots of people had fun trying to decide which of these was the star of Bethlehem and even though Jon, the creator of the hut, knew which star he had nominated for that role, he kept this information to himself and let everyone spend their time star -gazing and guessing.

Our final hut is number 225 and for the first time we will bring together all the characters that we have been focussing on during our journey through Advent to form a unique Beyond nativity scene. The theme will be 'Gathering for the Great Event' and we will be creating a host of witnesses from photographs taken of some of the participants each night as well as welcoming a crowd of people and a live donkey to join in with our retelling of the Christmas story and singing of carols together to celebrate.

Beach Hut 22

2011-12-23T09:45:00.009Z

As we get closer to the big event on Christmas day we are beginning to gather more of a crowd in our nativity themes. Tonight the theme was angel choirs and Janette had created a special painting for this which was installed in hut 374 along with some other paintings by local artists.

This included another painting by Janette entitled 'heaven' which was done in the style of Klimt. There is an obvious connection between angels and heaven and so it felt appropriate to have these paintings alongside each other.

Above all this was an icon painted by Sister Gillian who is a nun based at an order in Shoreham who is still painting icons even though she's now in her eighties.

Our penultimate hut opens on 23rd and is the furthest west of all the huts involved in the beach hut advent calendar and is number 449.

Beach Hut 21

2011-12-21T22:07:00.009Z

Tonight we were back with the shepherds who haven't featured in our Christmas journey since beach hut 6 although their sheep did make an appearance on day 14.

Karen had combined the delight of the shepherds at Bethlehem on that first Christmas with the old saying that we use to help us predict the weather - 'red sky at night, shepherds delight'. It's nice to think that the sky above the stable that night could have reflected their joy at this happy event as well as sparkling with the choirs of angels.

The hut was a little mysterious tonight as there were black drapes hanging down at the front but peeping through these could be seen an idyllic little scene with the shepherds staring up at the red sky alongside a giant (to them) storybook of the Christmas event.

Above this, on the front of the hut was a herald angel, guiding the shepherds to the manger.

The piece that we filmed with the BBC wasn't on broadcast on Wednesday and we're told it's being held over for Christmas Day and will be on BBC Breakfast sometime between 8am and 9am.

In the meantime, make a note of our next hut which is number 374.

Beach Hut 20

2011-12-21T06:34:00.007Z

Carry Rawle the owner of Hut 20 has had her own theme for her artwork each year she's been involved in the Beach Hut Advent Calendar as well as fitting in with our journey telling the Christmas story. Each year she has produced a beautiful piece of art made from tissue paper to form a kind of stained glass window. This is then lit from behind to produce a striking effect as the whole hut seems to glow with the colours of the art.

The theme for tonight was gold as we continue to look at the wise men and their part in the Christmas story. Carry dressed her hut with gold tinsel and produced a beach hut sized tree topped with a gold star to illustrate this.

The evening was calm and dry and the whole event had a cosy feel to it as there was a brazier burning away and chairs gathered round so people could sit and keep warm as they drank their mulled wine and chatted about Christmas.

The next hut is 410 up by Hove lagoon.

Beach Hut 19

2011-12-19T22:13:00.006Z

Today was the day the BBC decided to come back to the Brighton seafront to film a few huts ready for broadcast later this week so of course the weather was terrible and it rained all afternoon the whole time they were here. The piece should be broadcast nationally on BBC Breakfast this Wednesday or Thursday.

Ironically the rain stopped about 6pm which encouraged people to come out to see hut 425 turning what could have been a washout into quite a successful evening.

The theme for tonight continued to focus on the wise men as we have been for the last few days. The hut was full of gifts piled up in front of a manger with a quote from the gospel of John posted up above it all. While we all know that the wise men brought gifts to the stable to give to Jesus, we sometimes forget that Jesus himself was a gift from God.

The next hut is number 341 when we'll be looking at one particular gift - Gold.

Beach Hut 18

2011-12-18T23:02:00.017Z

Tonight was a bit special as one of the Beyond team produced an amazing work of artistic genius in hut 424. Kirsty Tyler has an imagination which is only surpassed by her craft skills and she put these both to work using the simplest of materials - cardboard. In her nimble hands this staple of the recycling bin became the most gorgeous animated scene reminiscent of the puppet theatres so prevalent on English beaches in the past.

The theme was the wise men and Kirsty combined this with the myth contained in the song I Saw Three Ships to imagine the wise men arriving at a nativity scene set on Brighton Pier. This in itself would have made for an interesting artwork but this installation went beyond that as the boat and the waves all moved, rocking backwards and forwards as though driven by the wind which mercifully was absent this evening.

The detail in the modelling was unbelievable with each of the wise men carrying individual gifts for the baby Jesus who lay in a straw lined manger wrapped in swaddling clothes. The whole thing had it's own internal lighting and was powered by hidden motors which were engineered and fixed in place by Tony Leaney.

There was almost a disaster when it started to rain just before the official opening at 5.30 - as you can imagine cardboard doesn't respond well to rain - but the team were able to protect everything while the unexpected shower passed over and the rest of the evening stayed dry.

After tonight the scene will make it's way to St. Luke's church, Prestonville where it will be on display Christmas morning during the family service at 10.30am.

The evening included live music, provided by Dave Tyler and friends Jim and Maggs, and everyone got to join in with songsheets being handed out alongside the mulled wine and mince pies.

The next hut is right alongside this at number 425 and will look in more detail at the gifts the wise men brought.

Beach Hut 17

2011-12-18T07:02:00.011Z

Hut 177 took us back to our Mexican beginnings which was very appropriate for the family who owned the hut as they will be spending Christmas in Mexico.

Their theme for tonight was the donkey and so the centrepiece of the evening was a donkey pinata along with Mexican hammock and decorations including decorated skulls which is part of another Mexican tradition around the same time as our Halloween when they remember their dead loved ones and celebrate with them.

The night was cold but calm and was helped with the addition of a burning brazier which people were able to huddle around along with their mulled wine and mince pies.

The highlight of the evening for the children was the chance to line up and have a go at bashing the pinata to see if they could get some of the sweets packed inside it. By the end of the evening the poor little donkey was looking a bit worse for wear but had served it's purpose well.

Most of the rest of the huts are up by Hove Lagoon and the next one is hut 424 which promises to be an amazing creation from one of the Beyond team.

Beach Hut 16

2011-12-17T06:15:00.006Z

We have had a host of angels over the last week because in the Christmas story angels crop up a number of times and hut 195 was no exception as we turned up to see Anne-Marie's interpretation of this theme.

The decoration outside the hut almost outshone the inside as it featured two large herald angels and a golden centrepiece. Inside we were presented with a simple little stable underneath an enormous guiding star. Everything was set off by a rich red backdrop with yet more angels silhouetted in the sky above the scene.

The evening was calm, clear and cold, quite a contrast to some of the evenings we've had so far but hopefully a sign of the weather to come as we head in to our last week of huts and our final gathering on Christmas Eve.

Throughout our journey towards Christmas we've been collecting photographs of some of the faces who have come to see the installations and on Christmas Eve we plan to collage these all together to form our own heavenly host of those who have joined us on this Christmas pilgrimage this year.

Hut 177 will be your next chance to join in with this - come and have your photo taken so you can join our heavenly throng.

Beach Hut 15

2011-12-15T22:05:00.008Z

Tonight we got our first hint that the wise men were on their way. Hut 11 featured a desert landscape with two camels winding their way through the hills towards a special star shining in the east.

Although we always talk about there being three kings, actually the Bible doesn't say how many there were and it is just assumed because they brought three gifts. We'll be hearing more about the gifts later in the advent calendar.

Amanda and Brian put this hut together - they have developed a reputation for creative ideas with their hut during the beach hut advent calendar. They particularly seem to like covering the floor having carpeted it with cotton wool sheep and creating a set of stairs in our previous calendars. Tonight it was covered in quite a few bags of sand which will make it's way to the beach sometime soon.

This is the last hut by Hove Lawns as all the rest of our huts are East of the King Alfred leisure centre. The next hut is number 195.

Beach Hut 14

2011-12-14T21:39:00.009Z

Sheep were much in evidence tonight as this was the theme as we draw closer to the birth of Jesus.

John & Mandy Taylor and friends had produced a number of knitted sheep who were hung around the hut as though grazing across the hills. Mandy had actually been out onto the Sussex Downs and photographed sheep so that she could accurately portray them in her hut, and each image was based upon an actual sheep. A group of friends then knitted squares from a variety of different types of wool which were assembled into the final wooly portraits.

There were a few quotations added to the installation and during the evening these were added to with spoken words by Catriona who had written some poems which she also performed from inside the hut as everyone crowded round to hear.

Tonight we not only had a stiff wind to contend with but also some major thunderstorms flashing away out to sea although fortunately none of these came to shore to bother us.

This was just as well because halfway through the proceedings, local all-female Morris dancing troupe, Cuckoos Nest performed for us. Avoiding the pebbles which had been washed up onto the prom by the previous nights storm, they did four dances for us, including two which involved quite violent stick wielding, made all the more impressive because it was so dark that they must have had trouble seeing clearly.

The next hut is by Hove Lawns just like tonight's and is number 11 (NOT 399 as appeared on some of the publicity in error).

Beach Hut 13

2011-12-13T23:26:00.008Z

After last night's storm with it's high winds and rain it was interesting to return to beach hut 399 to discover that the hut next to it had been swept away overnight. It was definitely there last night but today there was no sign that a hut had ever been on that space, you can see the gap in our photo above.

This was symbolic of the story we saw enacted on the windy seafront as Janina and her trusty 'Elastic Band' performed a little musical entitled 'Mary's Story'. Mary had a stormy life from the moment she agreed to be the handmaid of the Lord and the mother of Jesus and this was beautifully brought to life by the players tonight. They set up hut 399 as a squat for the homeless couple, bringing home the reality for these two left wandering the streets with nowhere to rest.

Even when they found the stable their relationship was troubled as they bickered about the circumstances that had brought them to this place. The acting was interspersed with songs written by Janina especially for tonight which she also accompanied in the freezing wind on her ukelele.

There were some charming and poignant moments, especially when one of the performers leaned into the scene to hold a little lighted star for Mary to gaze at as she prepared for the birth.

We will look for another opportunity to stage to stage this so that a wider audience gets to see it and hopefully we can find a clear night when there's no rain or wind, although that might be a bit hopeful this deep into the winter!

The next hut is down by Hove Lagoon - number 44 which will feature illustrators and a troupe of all-female Morris Dancers.

Beach Hut 12

2011-12-12T23:19:00.012Z

The 1st Hove Girl's Brigade put on a great event tonight in hut 381 despite the very windy conditions and the threat of a major storm which fortunately didn't start until after we'd finished.

A good number still came out to support the girls who managed to cram themselves inside the hut which was already pretty full with a manger as this was the theme for tonight. The girls stood around emulating the last line of Once in Royal David's City but singing a whole range of carols for us to join in with.

The baby stayed in his manger all wrapped up in straw, although maybe a safeguarding officer would have something to say about putting a lamb in the cot alongside the baby, no matter how warm it kept him!

The whole image was finished off with a sombrero to remind us of the inspiration for this advent journey - Las Posadas.

Next hut is 399 up by the lagoon and promises to be exciting as Janina has written some music especially for the occasion and has a number of people coming to help her perform this for the first time in public on the 13th.

Beach Hut 11

2011-12-11T23:36:00.002Z

Tonight was quite different from our other nights as it not only featured a decorated hut but also a series of performances by local poets. Tamsin Williams organised everything and arranged for hut 168 to be a reflection of a very naturalistic stable. Decorated with natural materials which could have been sourced from the countryside around the hut had a very rustic look with natural flowers, berries and lots of ivy.

Tamsin's local poets group had been working on material specifically for this event and they gathered inside the hut to perform these for everyone.

A lot of people wanted to see and hear the performances and they crowded in to the hut as the poems were recited.

Everything went brilliantly until about 6.20 when unfortunately the heavens opened and it not only poured with rain but was also extremely cold and windy. That dispersed the crowd pretty quickly and brought a premature end to a very interesting night.

The next hut is number 381 and is being done by the 1st Hove Girls Brigade who will also be singing some carols.

Beach Hut 10

2011-12-10T23:58:00.002Z

Tonight was another installment in our series on angels as we try to get close to the multitudes that are described in the Christmas stories in the Bible.

Rosie and her family put together a very stylish hut focussing on the wings of the angel Gabriel, suspended as if by magic in a dark sky. This was very much in contrast to this evening's night sky which was brightly lit by a full moon and was the clearest and calmest evening we've had so far.

The wings hung in the air and slowly turned, glinting in the light and moving from black silhouette to golden shine with every revolution.

The hut itself was coated in gold and above the doors was a verse from Hebrews chapter 13 verse 2 - Do not forget to show kindness and hospitality to strangers, for some have done so and welcomed angels without knowing it.

There were some angels going round in the crowd as well, offering people chocolate coins to go with their mince pies and mulled wine. In the Christmas story angels appear as magical beings singing to the shepherds on the hills or announcing news to Mary or Joseph, but more often than not in the Bible they appear as ordinary people, unrecognised by some but visible to those with faith as messengers of God.

Next hut is 168 and will feature poetry readings especially written for the night.

Beach Hut 9

2011-12-10T08:09:00.009Z

Hut 395 reminded us of the Las Posadas theme that started us on our journey to Bethlehem with an enormous Mexican styled angel which completely filled the hut.

The space was so filled with angel that the light decorations had to spill out beyond the hut onto the floor in front and be suspended from a jib attached to the roof that jutted out giving a festive light display of colourful lanterns.

The floor was a sea of poinsettias placed on a bright stripy Mexican style rug and reminding us of our first night when St. Christopher's school taught us the story of the miracle of how these plants came to be associated with Christmas.

We even had a Mexican guest on hand, complete with sombrero and moustache and alongside the usual mulled wine and mince pies we were served empanadas in a variety of flavours.

Star shaped pinatas around the head of the angel and the words Angelos Cantado Estan (the angels sing) helped us to realise that every culture has their understanding of angels and God which don't necessarily centre around pure white and gold starlight as they do here in the UK.

As is always true every night, it was the children who gazed on the scene with awe and amazement who directed our thoughts to the wonder and beauty of a God who came to earth as a child on that first Christmas day.

Next up is hut 402 which is going to focus on a particular angel.

Beach Hut 8

2011-12-08T22:09:00.009Z

While the folks in Scotland were being told to stay indoors because of the strong winds, us hardy southerners set out for the beach for the latest hut in our journey to Christmas. The wind blew and for a short time the rain came down but that didn't deter the brave souls who came out tonight wrapped up against the harsh weather or swaddling themselves in blankets a beautiful shade of Maryan blue.

Our destination tonight was Bethlehem and Felicity and her gang at the White House produced a beautiful village scene with little houses made out of modelling clay (which was just as well as anything lighter would have blown away!).

Inside each house was a little light flickering in welcome. All the houses sat on a bed of sand which was lit a golden yellow by the street light just in front of hut 403, making the scene look almost sunny.

We were fortunate to have the use tonight of hut 402 as well because this was needed for shelter on occasion. This will feature again on Saturday night when we're hoping we won't have to use 403 as shelter in the same way!

Our next hut is very close to this one so is still up by Hove Lagoon as it is number 395.

Beach Hut 7

2011-12-07T23:04:00.012Z

The Christmas story is full of angels cropping up in all kinds of circumstances and tonight was the first time they featured in our story.

Hut 73 was put together by a group of people from All Saints church in Hove with angel wings and angel lights decorating everything. The design stretched out beyond the hut creating a kind of landing pad for any stray angels who hadn't been able to find their way home.

This was the first hut this year to feature singing as members of the church sang carols although we didn't sing Hark the Herald Angels Sing. In between singing the performers warmed themselves up with the mulled wine on offer.

The hut floor was filled with jars of light surrounding a central angel who could have been directing operations. We will hear more about archangels later in the month.

The next hut is at the opposite end of the promenade near the lagoon and is number 403.

Beach Hut 6

2011-12-07T15:12:00.008Z

Our 6th Beach Hut this year saw the introduction of the first shepherd to our Christmas journey. As it happened, there were in fact multiple shepherds with multiple sheep as visitors were invited to pose for photographs behind the artwork. Flo Pepper from our team designed the interior for tonight, a very apt piece for Brighton seafront. Such was the popularity of the interactive installation, it's only a wonder it has never been done before.

The cold sea air and strong winds were quickly forgotten by the excited children when they realised they could dart behind the screen and command the attention of onlookers as a shepherd. In fact, it wasn't just the children who enjoyed doing this! There was a great turnout, with lots of people queuing up to have their photo taken whilst braving the elements, like the real shepherds all those years ago.

The Christmas carols, mulled wine and mince pies made for the usual happy atmosphere, which was complemented wonderfully by hut owners Maggy Luxford and her husband - a huge thank you to them for the seating and flood lights.

Our next hut will see the first of many angels along the journey, in hut 73.

Beach Hut 5

2011-12-05T22:42:00.008Z

Our journey towards Christmas really got moving today as the theme at hut 357a was travelling. Cathy Watts has been a regular beach hut advent calendar participant over the last three years and for tonight she created a little scene with Mary and Joseph setting out for Bethlehem being pulled along by a cute little donkey.

The overall colour theme reminded us of Mary as everything was lit with gentle blue light and the hut was dressed with little homely touches. We were reminded that Mary and Joseph left the comfort of their home to make this journey despite the imminent birth.

As well as the usual mince pies and mulled wine there were also biscuits and chocolates and room for people to sit and enjoy the view.

Tomorrow we move down near The View to hut number 227.

Beach Hut 4

2011-12-04T19:23:00.008Z

Tonight we were treated to the beauty of starlight both real in the sky and imagined by artist Nick Sayers in hut 79a. Nick makes everyday objects such as cable ties, coathangers, plastic bottles and bicycle reflectors, beautiful by turning them into spherical sculptures which glow with internal light.

The simplicity of these objects spoke powerfully of the simple trust shown by those who followed the star at that first Christmas and the way God can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.

The interplay of light and shadow in and around the hut created a wonderful atmosphere as the children ran around, carols played and the crowd gathered to wonder at the star and the miracle of light shining through the darkness.

There was a calmness and serenity about the event tonight as we watched the waves roll under a glistening moon and fall onto the beach. This was emphasised by the wide promenade and the broad expanse of Hove Lawns behind Fiona MacFarlane's hut which was the perfect setting for these sculptures which seemed very at home.

Our next hut is back towards the lagoon and is number 332.

Beach Hut 3

2011-12-04T08:07:00.011Z

The third hut in this year's calendar took Mary's preparation as the theme and particularly focussed on the Annunciation. Mary sat in the hut very serene and peaceful, absorbing the knowledge that she had received from the angel and contemplating what this meant for her future. She wore a halo of stars which reminded us of the crown of thorns and underneath her blue rob was a little sash of red as a foretaste of the pain that was to come.

The walls of the hut were lined in white and some of the words of the Magnificat, Mary's song after receiving the news from the angel, were written up and people were invited to step into the hut and add their own words.

The doors were not fully open and the outside of the hut was dressed with colourful flowers and other decorations symbolising the contrast between the external understanding of Christmas with all it's fun and festivity and our own internal preparation to meet the Christ child.
Alongside this we had the second of our specially commissioned nativity characters. We will bring out one of these every night and assemble them all together for the first time on Christmas Eve to make a unique nativity scene.

Our next hut is number 79a and will be on a Star theme with light sculptures from local artist Nick Sayers.

Beach Hut 2

2011-12-02T22:32:00.007Z

Tonight we began our journey to Christmas in earnest by focussing on Joseph. Tradition has it that Joseph was quite an old man when the events of the first Christmas took place and it must have been quite an inconvenience for him to have to leave his work and home to go to Bethelehem for the census.

At hut 268 we got some sense of that as we saw his workshop abandoned while he went for lunch but still showing us something of the things that he might have been interested in.

A beautiful, clean wooden star carved out of a single block of wood, tools all neatly arranged on shelves, angels watching over the work with a backdrop of stars and a little basket full of offcuts of wood with the words love, light and peace carved into them.

There was a sense of peace and calm about the hut tonight, helped by the better weather and a cold and crisp night. A feeling that Joseph could take anything in his stride and in a workmanlike, measured way would be able to work out what to do with a mysteriously pregnant fiance a journey to Bethlehem without quite knowing what was going to happen at the end.

Tomorrow we'll be looking at Mary getting ready at hut 357a.

Beach Hut 1

2011-12-01T22:46:00.010Z

Launch night for the 2011 Beach Hut Advent Calendar and there was lots going on and lots to talk about. The hut was decorated by St. Christopher's School in Hove who did a fantastic job and supported the whole evening with the school choir singing carols and the youngest children singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in Spanish (more explanation about that later).

The hut was a riot of colour as it was filled with papier mache cacti, chillis, paper poinsettias and a baby Jesus in a manger in the middle. This was because the inspiration for our huts this year begins with a Mexican tradition called Las Posadas - a 9 day representation of the journey made by the Holy Family which you can read about here. The children have been learning about the miracle of the poinsettia when a poor girl went to visit church to see the manger and her meagre present of weeds she'd gathered on the way turned into beautiful red flowers.

Our version of this after tonights introduction is to focus on one character every evening, adding to the story each night through December so that we follow the same journey taken by Mary and Joseph until we reach the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day. We will have one character on display each night and will bring all these together on Christmas Eve for the first time to make our own nativity scene.

The talk of the evening unfortunately was the rain which persisted all afternoon and all evening and deterred the BBC from covering the event. ITV did brave the weather and were all set up to broadcast live at 6.15pm but there was a problem with the transmission and so the report has been saved over until tomorrow.

Despite the terrible weather, hundreds of people turned out to support their children and to support the launch of this fourth annual beach hut event.

Our next hut will focus on Joseph as one of the key travellers in our journey towards Christmas and is number 268.

Beach Hut Christmas Cards

2011-11-14T08:08:00.008Z

Beyond has just launched a series of 14 Christmas postcards featuring a selection of images from previous year's Beach Hut Advent Calendars. You can see all the designs here and order a complete pack for £5 by going to our online shop beyondchurch.co.uk/shop

GREY NIGHT

2011-11-02T09:35:00.028Z

Last weekend, we gathered to explore and discuss the complex space between saints and sinners. Nestled between White Night and the darkness of Halloween was All Saints Sunday, which we renamed Grey Night. It seemed appropriate to use the cathedral like space of All Saints Church in Hove for our first ever event inside a church.

Large pictures of unfamiliar Saints with their surprising and eccentric stories adorned the pillars around the church. Visitors would consider each bizarre tale, then mark with coloured paper whether they believed it to be true or false. Of course, these mythical legends are all too fantastical to be factual; take for example, St Margaret who was supposedly swallowed by a dragon, but miraculously escaped through his stomach unscathed. Regardless of content, the stories are still upheld to be true - so this set the scene for our consideration of what constitutes a Saint. Floating somewhere between the black and white templates of Good and Evil, True and False.

To mirror the clean-cut distinction of these binary terms, our space was also divided in two. A large black circle lay on the floor at the back, with a white one at the front. Scattered upon these lay newspaper cuttings bearing unexpected stories of every day saints and sinners; the clergy arrested for genocide, along with the local community do-gooders. Sitting at the centre of the black circle on a plinth was a skull. The skull spoke to us for a full seven minutes, with the uncanny resemblance of Pastor Mark Driscoll's voice. The controversial leader of an American Mega-Church is known for his angry delivery whilst incessantly pointing his finger at his congregation. His shouts of 'God hates some of you, personally hates you', rang round the walls of All Saints, past the gentle Jesus crucified above the altar and into the concentrated silence that followed. Visitors stood in a mute circle contemplating the God of Love and Wrath, perhaps experiencing or wondering at this proclaimed hatred, like Jesus in his last hour of abandonment.

Small card figures on the black circle waited with the writing 'God Hates...' and visitors took one and filled in their own name. The aisle was strewn with written quotes from the Bible about Saints. People pondered these on their journey to the white circle, then filled out their name on another card figure after 'God loves...' before slotting the two pieces together to make one. A glittering silver pair of angel wings hung reverently in the space before the altar. Visitors were invited to stand before them to have their photograph taken as a Saint.

In one final act together, the large white circle from the front was hoisted up and carried to the back to be laid over the black circle. Laid out on a table were a number of cups, reminiscent of communion. Each person was invited to take one of the cups, which instead of holding wine, were filled with paint; black and white. Written on the cups were both negative and positive things that perhaps we all tell ourselves at one time or another, things that can greatly affect how we treat others as well as ourselves. One by one, we poured out the contents of every cup into the centre of the plinth which was sitting under the sheet. As the black submerged the white and the white overtook the black, we saw all of our pristine categories of saints, sinners and everything else, beautifully merge into one. We saw our boundaries, our classifications and definitions rolling, blending into one large grey mass. When this was later retrieved from the plinth, the significance of the grey puddle could not have been clearer as it had retained the form of the cross.

UNSAFE SPACE @ GREENBELT

2011-09-07T16:39:00.037+01:00

As festival-goers queued up for our main BEYOND event on the Saturday night of Greenbelt, a warning was issued. A figure in a red boiler suit, complete with face mask shouted appropriate caution, whilst handing out disclaimers for people to sign if they still wished to enter. Many decided against it; they turned and left. For those who made it past the threshold, it was at their own risk.

With today's obsession with Health and Safety, it is only natural that we as an events team are handed Greenbelt's own list of prohibited items/fluids/sounds. Therefore, we ensured that all of these items were most definitely present, albeit roped off with hazard warning tape. Flashing lights, sharp knives and raw meat were well out of reach. The true hazards were more philosophical and theological in nature.

For many, Health and Safety rules are less important than what we expose ourselves to spiritually. There are some who will not allow themselves to consider, even for a moment, that they do not have all the answers. In contrast, there are people who push the boundaries of our theological thinking into places that are uncomfortable and to some, unnecessary or even blasphemous. However, BEYOND aims to provoke questions, to encourage people to grapple with ideas about God rather than signing up to an established line of dogmatic thought where questions are irrelevant. This was the very essence of our Unsafe Space.

Upon entering, visitors were faced with a large room bathed in red light and manned by figures in white suits. On the left, two projectors flicked silently between numerous images of a controversial and religious nature. The table in the middle was littered with the banned items and Health & Safety Lists were scattered around it. Above the table, two more screens played clips taken from interviews with people such as Rev Klaas Hendrikse and Thomas Altizer on the death of God. Their voices were loud and clear, as though addressing each person in the room individually. Were it not for these interviews, the only sound heard would have been the eerie children's voices singing Sunday School songs about Jesus' love, coming from the back of the room. The familiar songs played awkwardly, in high-pitched tones as they contested the imagery in the room and heightened the already uncomfortable atmosphere.

The room filled steadily, as some groups of people gathered on the floor, expecting an introduction or announcement. Realising that the suited bodies were providing no such entertainment, they were left to discover various stations at the back of the room. Two masked figures held boards with highly ambiguous quotes from Jesus. Famous lines with divided opinion, such as: 'Do you think i have come to bring peace on earth? No, i tell you, but rather division.' Another suited body lay motionless, spread-eagle on the floor in front.

In the far corner, Peter Rollins sat waiting to ward off challengers and engage with some of the evolving questions throughout the evening. Famously celebrated as a heretic by those in opposition to his writing (most notably How (not) to Speak of God and The Orthodox Heretic) he had formed quite a gathering by the end, as listeners sat transfixed by his thoughts.

Elsewhere, there was an opportunity for visitors to contribute to a large scale of certain things, based on whether they regarded them to be unsafe or safe. The response varied dramatically, as shown below.

Next to the scale stood a small transparent safe with a slot in the top. People were encouraged to take a square of paper and write on it something that they'd never dare say in public. It could be a question, a secret, a thought or idea...and they were posted in The Unsafe Safe. The response here was overwhelming in creating some beautiful, honest, dark and courageous notations. It seems that for some, the Unsafe Safe operated as a vessel for confession. They are posted below.

Participants were wished well upon departure and given a glow stick to guide them safely back to their tents in the dark. Ironically, a select few remained, feeling far more safe and at home in our 'unsafe space' than elsewhere, where perhaps questions are not necessary.

"Why can certain sectors of the church fail to accept all people in spite (or because) of race, gender and sexuality, when Jesus accepted all people. WWJD."

"Sometimes I'd just like to get off the world for a bit."

"Theocracy for Heaven on Earth?"

"I am scared of telling people that I have started seeking God again after years of hurt that was caused to me by my previous experiences of 'church'."

"How old is God?"

"Am I really living, or is my life just a pretence?"

"I am scared it's all myth and my ordination is meaningless. I can't turn my back on Jesus but what if it's all just a psychological need and not true?"

"Is Jesus gay?"

"Using drugs for connection and spiritual growth."

"What if I am wrong and God really hates gay people?"

"Insecurities about my talent for the thing that i really want to do."

"I believe that somewhere in every church, the Holy Spirit is desperately trying to tell us that the Bible is not infallible. Useful, yes. True? Maybe. But, when Paul wrote letters he very obviously wrote as a man. We are missing the true relationship with the Holy Spirit because we are looking at a book."

"Join Hacktivists Anonymous. 'Fight the good fight'."

"Christians slamming & condemning others on Twitter & Facebook'."

"Masturbation."

"I would love to be free to challenge the need for money in the C of E. How do I as a vicar say words that may challenge people beyond their financial allegiance to their local social-religious club, where they have power because of wealth?"

"Paying (due) tax. (Self employed)."

"Why do we care what people believe? If they live out lives of love and justice, surely that is all that matters."

"Being alone."

"I believe it is possible for a child abuser to be a Christian. Pray that they will be healed and God will protect His precious children. We all fail God, some more than others. I was molested by a Church of England vicar when I was an 11 year old boy. Child abuse is not only in the Roman Catholic Church, all denominations could be suffering from it."

"Where is God? When is God? Is God?"

"Why does the ideal way not always seem to be God's way?"

"If emergence is true - what is the lie?"

"What do I do - as a Christian - about over-powering sexual desire?"

"Sometimes I doubt so much I don't know what to believe."

"I live several lives - church, work, friends, family - God's presence in each is different."

"Church is preventing Christ from continuing to live in us because of the material building and glitter and dreams we focus on instead."

"What if Paul was right about who will inherit the Kingdom? What if I've disqualified myself by my actions?"

"Fancying other people."

"How did God get born/created in the first place?"

"Is God actually real??

Would God mind if I kept the pen??"

"If the Christian Church really believes that 'all women are beautiful' or whatever else we get told at womens' breakfasts, then why do single Christian men treat single Christian women LIKE SHIT??"

"Has God left His creation to get on with it, alone?"

"Christianity and Paganism."

"Fuck the system. ('Slavery')."

"The conflict between Christians in the US."

"What if hardcore evangelicals are right?"

"Life makes me anxious. Every day I wake up and I think - 'how can I make life safe for my children?'"

"Porn is OK."

"Is there a right and a wrong? Where does grace start and finish and affect right and wrong?"

"How do we include paedophiles in our communities?"

"I lied big time to stay safe."

"Is this a question?"

"How do I / we reconcile the contradictory / paradoxical words or message of Jesus as recorded in the gospels?"

"Where is the boundary between uncontrollable addiction and personal choice? Am I to blame?"

"Smoke weed."

"Why is there this tension between 'being out' and 'don't ask, don't tell' ideas from different churches?"

"Not sure where my marriage is going."

"I am ashamed of my behaviour with someone else who is in this room."

"That being a lesbian is utterly accepted everywhere EXCEPT in church."

"THE BIBLE IS JUST A BOOK."

"Paul never stopped being a zealot Jew. He just changed to make Christianity bad."

"To what extent is homosexuality a scar of inadequate upbringing?"

"Christianity is just pharisees in a new way."

GREENBELT 2011

2011-09-07T10:33:00.050+01:00

BEYOND featured heavily at this year's Greenbelt Festival, with three events including the Communion Service. The chosen festival theme, Dreams of Home, was encountered powerfully by more than 10,000 people who turned up for the annual Sunday morning gathering. The multi-coloured ribbons being hoisted above the main stage and congregation formed an all-encompassing tabernacle that has quickly become one of the most iconic images from the festival to date. However, there have been plenty of reviews and commentaries in the post-festival media about Communion, so this space is largely to reflect on our two other 'events'.

THE GAME OF LIFE

For those of you who were at Greenbelt, you will have noticed Beyond's version of The Game of Life near the village green. Set out on the ground, the large triangular 'board' outlined a number of various paths through life. Beginning with birth, the player would flip a coin to determine whether their next move was to the right or the left, repeatedly flipping the coin on each square until the ultimate, inevitable death. Multiple possibilities ensured that each journey encountered was entirely unique and left completely to chance. Who was to say whether you'd grow up in a loving, church-going family or be adopted at the age of two? Would your later life follow a prescribed, stereotypical path given your earlier circumstances, or would you defy expectations and break the mould? The progressive stages through the game induced laughter, sorrow and surprise in equal measure as the unpredictable journey would flit between the serious and the trivial, the sincere and the flippant.

Players described their journeys afterwards with varied interpretations. Some found themselves able to sympathise with certain choices that different people make as a result of their circumstances. Turning to drugs, alcohol, Christianity, Islam, marriage or whatever it was, seemed wholly appropriate for some unsuspecting players, given their fictional background. For others, it was far more interesting to play again and again, comparing the divergent walks of life. Of course there were as many responses as there were players, but one profound uniting factor prevailed: that ultimately, they would all end up together at Home. Whatever Home is.

As you would expect, isolated images will never do the game justice as they are plucked from an all-important context. But for those of you who couldn't be at Greenbelt, below is a taster of what it involved. Our Saturday night event Unsafe Space will probably be best summed up in photos, so please check our next post. It will include 'post-secrets' from The Unsafe Safe.

AIR

2011-08-04T16:21:00.015+01:00

Our previous events this summer have been based on the elemental themes of Fire, Earth and Water, so on Sunday we drew the series to a close with Air. Gathering together in the open space of Hove Park, we combined it with our annual meditative event on the Fingermaze. The grass labyrinth never fails to provide the ideal environment for peaceful and solitary contemplation whilst walking its winding contours.

As air is so essential and all encompassing, the evening offered a unique opportunity to explore the often over-looked mystery that it is, particularly as an example of God’s presence and life. In the Bible, the Hebrew word Ruah is used and translates as Spirit which, in its primary sense, means breath, air, wind. The phrase Spirit of God is reasonably rendered Breath of God or Wind of God. The word spirit has taken on a corporeal tone like the word ghost. Likely, if the Greek word Pneuma had been rendered breath or wind in English, then the Holy Spirit would not have developed so strongly in English as a Person part of the Trinitarian Godhead.

Each person entered the maze individually, listening to an MP3 player loaded with relaxing music with a subtle breath rising and falling behind it. The journey was a slow and thoughtful one, with various biblical references to spirit and breath placed on sticks in the ground at regular intervals throughout the path.

Upon reaching each station on the journey, visitors were encouraged to breath on a mirror fixed to each of the sticks above the text. The condensation from every exhalation temporarily revealed a picture on each of the mirrors, acting as a reminder of the biblical idea of divine breath imparted to humankind:

‘And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.’ Gen 2:7

Whether believing in the idea of divine breath or not, the tangible second-by-second interaction with the air around us was central to this experience, as people were left feeling like the air that we inhale was somehow more real than before. This breath-awareness was also emphasized by an audio track that followed on from the music – a reflection on how every breath expresses a deeper existence without us even noticing most of the time.

The walk through the labyrinth ultimately led to the centre, where a large green helium-filled balloon hovered, tethered only to a small basket filled with pots of bubble mixture. The word Ruah was written on each of these, to serve as a reminder for those who had connected with the experience. As each individual took one out of the basket, the weight holding the balloon down was lessened until, with a prayer, it was released high into the sky.

The surrounding air was soon filled with Ruah-inspired ‘miracle bubbles’, as we shared food and drink together on a beautiful warm evening.

WATER

2011-07-05T13:27:00.012+01:00

As part of Brighton's Paddle Round the Pier festival, Beyond were asked for the second year in a row to put something together for a short 'Blessing of the Surf' before the day's activities began. So, on Sunday morning, a few of us gathered to commit the day to God using various poems and readings, including The Surfer's Code.

To compliment this meditative time we added a reflection pool, which remained on the seafront the entire day for passers by to stop and engage with. In the words of Albert Einstein, 'When you look at yourself from a universal standpoint, something inside always reminds or informs you that there are bigger and better things to worry about.' In light of this then, there were a series of questions written on mirrors under the water that hopefully provoked people into thinking about how they see themselves compared to how others might see them. Included was Jesus' famous quote from Luke chapter 9, when he asks 'Who do you say I am?' which encouraged us to broaden our horizons a little, considering how our views relate to God's.

God of the tides,

whose faithful rhythm

underlies our daily lives,

help us to keep on,

with courage and caring,

both when we are full and fulfilled

and in times of ebb and emptiness-

neap and spring tides in our lives-

within the ocean of your love.

Amen

Visitors were asked to contribute to the installation by writing what they had seen inside the pool, or thoughts of their own. Below is a selection of the response we had:

Our final event in this series is AIR, to be held on the 31st July at Hove Fingermaze. Hope to see you there!

EARTH

2011-06-27T09:26:00.013+01:00

For our midsummer celebration this year, we met down on the sand on Brighton beach last Sunday evening. Not only was the tide out, but the sun was too - a rare and momentous occasion as far as Beyond events are concerned!

On arrival, each person received a nice glossy picture of what Heaven is supposedly going to look like. According to Google, and of course many common opinions today, there will be rainbows and waterfalls, bunny rabbits and golden sunshine. There are some great examples here, for those of you worried that Heaven might not be the multi-coloured, cloud-hopping paradise you always dreamed of. Continuing our theme and discussions of Heaven and Hell from our recent FIRE event, people were then encouraged to bury their glossy image within a giant sand castle that we grouped together to build. Although our intended sand cathedral did resemble something more of a grave, the idea that we were creating an icon of God's dwelling was the important bit. Burying these well know pictures of Heaven then,we were not so much burying the past as we were burying the 'future'. The castle in all its glory, along with these presuppositions, was then left to the tide to be taken away and swallowed by the ocean.

With the new, fresh sand as a clean slate to be built upon, we turned our attention to practical tasks that we can actively get involved with if we are going to try to invite Heaven to Earth today. We have talked about it all too often as an idea or a notion, but to actually fulfill our role as stewards of this Earth requires choices, repeatedly.

Together we discussed how we already see Heaven on Earth, along with ways in which our decisions affect other people and the environment. Everyone was given a terracotta flower pot and was asked to write on it what stood out to them most during their discussion. Each pot then went round everyone else, so that every word was written on every pot. People wrote commitments such as mindful shopping, recycling, random acts of kindness, being patient, listening...and so on. We then all filled our own pot with earth and planted seeds to grow and remind us of these intentions.

It was a beautiful sunset as we sat around the brazier talking about how we can join with God and take responsibility for this planet that we call home. It won't be an easy task, in fact it will often contradict our human instincts entirely and it definitely won't lead to a grand utopia, but we can make little differences here and now that point to what is already good and beautiful.

Our final event in this summer series is on July 31st at Hove Park's Fingermaze, but before that we shall have a short and sweet gathering at this weekend's Paddle Round The Pier festival, meeting at 10am on Sunday morning (3rd July) at the festival's main gates.

FIRE OF HEAVEN

2011-06-04T12:02:00.010+01:00

The first event in our Elements series this summer was FIRE, which took place on 22nd May down on the seafront near Hove Lagoon. Billed as the relighting of Hove's beacon for the first time since 1988, alternative plans unfortunately had to be made due to the strong winds. Setting fire to the beacon proved near impossible, so red and orange ribbons were attached instead, making for a striking scene as the vibrant colours were blown vigorously and noisily above our heads. They remain in place even now, and look impressive from the roadside.

Holy Space was marked out below the beacon with white tape, an area where visitors were invited to enter without their shoes. A burning bush had been created at the centre, ablaze with red and yellow cellophane. Visitors could contribute to this installation with more leaves/flames, having written on them one thing from the past they'd wish to set fire to, along with one thing they would like to be on fire for.

There are multiple Biblical examples with references to God and Fire, so various quotes were handed out along with pictures to aid contemplation. There are numerous preconceptions that we tend to hold on to regarding Heaven and Hell, so this was a wonderful opportunity in a unique setting to really grapple with these ideas and why we may/may not believe such things. In one

sense, we wanted to set fire to our beliefs as we discussed these things, to be more open to God in the here and now, as He seeks to bring Heaven to Earth.

Yet more fire surrounded the event as we enjoyed a barbecue along with a special performance

from Brighton based Pyro-performers, Circus Seen. Visitors were dazzled with some of the dangerous moves of these fire dancers, while the flames did well to hold their own against the windy conditions. Everyone was given a lighter as they left, to remind them perhaps of what they'd decided to set fire to, what they hoped to be more on fire for, or simply just as a reminder of some of the challenging conversation that took place. It was helpful to be in a relaxed environment, enjoying food and performance, whilst wrestling with some of our ideas of Heaven and Hell, where these ideas came from, and the notion that maybe, just maybe, those ideas aren't necessarily true.

What it does encourage

us to do, is to seek God now, rather than perhaps holding

on to ideas or places that somehow seem rather distant. These conversations will follow on nicely with our next event, EARTH, on June 19th. Come prepared to discuss just how we can be involved in bringing Heaven to Earth right where we are.

From Death to Life

2011-04-27T13:55:00.013+01:00

To fully embrace the darkness and silence of Holy Saturday, we met together underground in the tomb-like cellar of a Brighton Hotel. We marked this unique, yet often overlooked day in the calendar with our own version of a traditional Tenebrae Service. Nestled between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Holy Saturday exists almost as a non-place, with many lingering questions surrounding the absence of God. When Christ called out 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' he experienced that complete isolation from the Father which leaves us with some poignant challenges to our existing faith. For example, in identifying with Christ's followers at the time and without the knowledge of the resurrection, we might ask ourselves whether or not we would continue to follow the way of Jesus. Do we follow him now for his own sake or because we might get

something out of it?

There were plenty of opportunities for similar questions throughout the event. It was split into six sections with a moment for contemplation, music or silence between each one. The long, narrow, stone room was dark with light emanating only from six candles lit at the front on a table. Upon entering, visitors were invited to wash their hands in a bowl of red wine and then dry them on a large white sheet hanging loosely behind the front table. After considering our role in the death of Jesus through this act so reminiscent of Pilate, two people got up to prepare the bare table with a cloth, plates, bread and wine - evoking the feeling of The Last Supper. Starting with The Shadow of Betrayal, another two people read an excerpt from Jesus' conversation with his disciples, indicating that one of them was indeed about to betray him. Projecting onto the sheet hanging behind was some powerful imagery showing clips of bread dough being pummeled and kneaded, interspersed with grapes being picked and trampled underfoot. We watched the various ways that the dough was beaten and stretched, along with the grapes being crushed and squeezed for a while, considering it's violent parallel with Christ's body. One of the candles at the front was extinguished.

Our second part, The Shadow of Anguish involved a distressed reading from a Psalm of David where he cries out to God from his despair:

"Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief.

My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning;

My strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.

Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbours;

I am a dread to my friends -- those who see me on the street flee from me.

I am forgotten by them as though I were dead;

I have become like broken pottery.

For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side;

They conspire against me and plot to take my life.

But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God."

Afterwards, a clay pot on the table is smashed with a hammer. Throughout this, the screen shows a droplet of blood falling and dispersing into a pool of water. We are reminded of the blood that Jesus sweat in the garden of Gethsemane, and then there is a dialogue from the moment he prays for the cup of suffering to be taken away from him. Another candle is extinguished.

For The Shadow of Treachery, a reading took place relaying the betrayal of Judas where he hands Jesus over to the authorities after kissing him. A man stands at the front in a white shirt with a clear lipstick mark on the collar, removing it after Jesus has been arrested then places it on the table. We listen to Kissing You by Des'ree, wrestling with the tension that exists between a symbol of such love and an action of betrayal that changed the course of history. The third candle is then extinguished.

The Shadow of Hypocrisy. Next, we are reminded of how Pilate washed his hands of Jesus' blood by handing him over to the people crying out for him to be crucified. The dull thud of a drum beaten monotonously echoed throughout the cellar as readers recounted Jesus' death sentence. Yet another candle goes out.

As a crown of thorns is set on the table during The Shadow of Humiliation, the readers take us through Jesus' last moments when he was struck, spat on, mocked and eventually nailed to a cross. We listened to the following reading taken from Isaiah:

'But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our sin; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. He was oppressed and afflicted; yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.'

After each sentence, a lingering pause followed, during which a man used a mallet to embed three rusty nails in a wooden cross. The sudden, deafening blows splintered through the silence and rang in our ears before the fifth candle was blown out.

A film clip follows, taken from Fight Club. The scene presents us with some particularly probing assertions, including the fictional Tyler Durden asking us to come to terms with certain potential realities in order that we might crucially experience the loss of everything before we're free to do anything.

For our sixth and final part, The Death of Jesus, we listened to the account of Jesus' very last hour. After hearing of how he was given vinegar on a sponge, we shared communion together, using vinegar instead of the expected wine. Then the sheet being used for projections, which we had earlier dried our hands on, was torn entirely in two, resembling the temple curtain. The dramatic tear signaled the end of our event, as the sixth and final candle was extinguished and we sat together for a while in complete darkness.

The feeling of suspense was lingering as there was no mention of the next day, we simply left it at the death of Jesus and imagined the utter despair the disciples would have gone through after such an event.

LENT THROUGH THE LANES

2011-04-01T10:48:00.009+01:00

For those of you who have not yet discovered BEYOND's meditative tour throughout the central lanes of Brighton, you have three weeks left to do so. The audio visual trail has been open for three weeks already and the unique experience has left various participants with fresh new visions of the city they walk around regularly.

The journey is approximately a one hour walk through the lanes, using silent disco technology to provide site-specific ambient sounds with spoken word to reflect on. There are five locations on the route of visual interest and the accompanying sounds have been designed specifically for each one, on themes surrounding Lent and Easter. Some who have completed the journey have found encouraging new perspectives of a spiritual nature through seemingly mundane every-day features of Brighton. It has also been recommended, if possible, to make the meditative walk at sunset, since the route goes down onto the seafront and has been graced with some astounding views to compliment the experience. Other feedback we've had is of the sense one feels when walking around town with headphones on, as though starring in a special movie of one's own making. Yet others have merely appreciated the time taken out of busy every-day life to simply slow dow, breathe, listen, reflect and enjoy doing something out of the ordinary.

The walk begins at The Brighthelm Centre where you can pick up your headset and a map for a fully refundable £20 cash deposit.

Opening times are as follows:

Mon-Fri 9am - 5pm except Weds to 10pm

Sundays 10am-4pm

On Sunday 17th April at 7pm BEYOND will also run a special guided tour from Brighthelm.

Whether or not you've taken/given something up for lent, make sure you find the time to engage with the real event of Easter. After BEYOND's audio visual tour, perhaps you'll consider things from a varying number of perspectives!

Understanding Love (?)

2011-03-02T09:19:00.007Z

Last Sunday's gathering at The Brunswick gave visitors a comfortable space to discuss issues regarding love. Not airy-fairy hippy lurve, but real, gritty, soul-wrenching, impenetrable love - with all of its complications. Various quotes left on the tables were provocative instigators for conversation, yet some people had tangents and controversy of their own for us to really grapple with. Below are a number of quotes that proved highly engaging.

“Feelings come to us, passively; agape comes from us, actively, by our free choice. We are not responsible for our feelings-we can't help how we feel-but we are responsible for our agape or lack of it… Only a fool would command someone to feel a certain way. God commands us to love, and God is no fool.”

“Those we love are the ones who birth and sustain our very ability to desire.”

“Love itself is all in our imagination.”

“We always love ourselves: we always seek our own good."

“God cannot fall in love for the same reason water cannot get wet: it is wet.”

“Love of humanity is easy because humanity does not surprise you with inconvenient demands. You never find humanity on your doorstep, stinking and begging.”

“One misunderstanding about love is the confusion between "God is love" and "love is God."”

“You cannot be in love with love, any more than you can have faith in faith, or hope in hope, or see sight.”

“If God is not a Trinity, God is not love. For love requires three things: a lover, a beloved, and a relationship between them."

"Not all men are worthy of love."

“Love does not belong to the beholder of love, but, to the subject to which it loves.”

“Love does not want our hymns of praise or prayers of adoration. She does not want our sacrifices or seek our time. One cannot and should not even try to love love. For love always points away from herself. To honour love is to be in love, to swim in the world illuminated by her.”

To conclude our Love series, visitors also had the opportunity to fill out 'promise cheques' from our Unlucky in Love event, or to pin a tick / cross onto the figures from Unconditional in Love, with what they find desirable / undesirable in a person. It was really valuable having a slightly less-structured format on Sunday, as people were able to express openly what they had been questioning or discovering over the past few weeks.

Next up is Lent Through The Lanes, our audio visual meditative tour around 5 different locations in the lanes of Brighton. More news on this soon, the launch date is Sunday 13th of March and it'll be open for six weeks.

Unlucky in Love

2011-02-17T10:47:00.011Z

The second event in our current series on Love took place last Sunday on Brighton Pier. Gathering in the Victoria Bar, nestled among the slot machines and games of the arcades, visitors were invited to consider the nature of our titled event, Unlucky in Love.

Upon arrival, individuals engaged with the concept of chance and the role that it might play within love as they threw darts at polystyrene figures, aiming for a bullseye within the heart targets. Around the room, various stations were assembled according to The 5 Love Languages identified and described by author Gary Chapman.

The first station focussed on Words of Affirmation, presenting people with a series of upturned cards. Some cards had written on them a word deeply rooted in what we understand to be an example of love, others had words of the direct opposite. The challenge was to find a pair by picking two cards up on each turn, the process of which proved increasingly more thought provoking than the words in question.

Elsewhere, Quality Time was well and truly experienced as visitors were invited to take two minutes for themselves, by fitting some headphones with calm, ambient music and an eye mask as they settled into a big comfy sofa. Some resurfaced considerably later than others, given the novelty it clearly was for them.

Whilst reflecting on Receiving Gifts, people at this station had the opportunity to make a present for someone else by icing and decorating a biscuit. Rather than focussing entirely on how we prefer to receive love ourselves, the gift-making encouraged us to think about those who need us to show them what love is.

The act of showing love usually involves giving something of ourselves. Often it is a gamble, sometimes even a risk. We thought about this at the Acts Of Service station,

where there was a chance to fill out a 'promise cheque,' for someone known to us; a sort of I.O.U, whether that be the resolution to make someone a cup of tea every day for

a week, or something a little more challenging.

For some, Physical Touch is a necessity not just a luxury. Two of our team were offering hand-massages to those exploring this. If nothing else, they went away smelling sweetly of coconuts and almonds.

To finish with, everyone was able to complete the love language quiz in

order to discern their own personal and preferred way of receiving love. Developing a heightened awareness of different peoples' unique acknowledgments of love challenged us as to how we might respond accordingly. Each person left with a valentines card and in it, a poignant excerpt from 1 John. This message about the source of our love served as a powerful reminder, enabling us to place into valuable context what we had considered that evening;

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us.

God is love.

Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

We love because he first loved us.

On 27th February, join us at The Brunswick for the next event in our series, an open discussion on love.

Unconditional Love

2011-02-01T10:46:00.014Z

Our love season began this Sunday with a look at Unconditional Love in an unconventional way.

The theme came about because one of our team spotted a graffiti wall in north central Brighton with those exact words (see it being created here). We used it for our promotional postcard image this time and it sparked a whole series of ideas which we're going to explore in our next three events.

Unconditional Love was our first attempt at a guerilla style evening and we asked people to come to the graffiti ready for an urban journey. Behind this meeting place is a concrete multistorey car park and we set up a number of installations in the space which itself was covered in graffiti. Everyone who turned up was invited to explore the space while asking themselves the question "is this unconditional love".

In one corner there was a Rob Bell video loop all about the different kinds of love in the Old Testament, across from this was some love neon with a haunting audio loop of the song "Jesus blood never failed me yet".

In the middle of the whole space were two perfect human figurines which surprised us by dancing around wildly in the wind despite our best efforts to anchor them. This installation invited people to think about the qualities that they like in a person and those that we dislike and write these on ticks or crosses which were then pinned to the figures. On various surfaces and expanses of concrete were long ribbons of poetry or quotes from the Bible about love.

Beyond team members showed their commitment to our cause by acting the balcony scene from Romeo & Juliet or playing the part of rough sleepers who find solace in each other and the poetry of the Song of Songs. After half an hour of this we headed away, under the kissing sculpture which is situated in this area to the Circus Circus pub to warm up, have a drink and discuss what we'd all seen and experienced.

Our next exploration of love is only 2 weeks away on St. Valentine's Eve. Our venue is amongst all the slot machine and games of chance on Brighton Pier in the Victoria Bar and is entitled Unlucky in Love.

Christmas Eve

2010-12-25T07:28:00.014Z

Our final beach hut of 2010 was an extravanganza of dressing up as we asked everyone to come dressed as a nativity character to help us try and best the world record for the largest nativity. The hut was dressed as the stable complete with empty manger (Jesus wasn't born until Christmas Day) and live chickens (the only camel in Sussex wasn't able to travel because he hasn't got a transport licence!). Loads of people came dressed up and took turns to sit in the hut and have their photo taken in a little nativity scene, you'll find a selection of those posted below.

The mayor of Brighton and his wife came down to act as official witnesses along with Roger French, chief executive of Brighton Buses. We also had the draw for the Choccywoccydoodah Madonna and child cake which went to a family who have been to every hut except one.

Unfortunately we didn't get enough people to break the record as we had around 150 in costume and the record is 250. We reckon there were at least 300 at the event overall but most chose to dress in warm modern clothes rather than attempting Biblical dress.

Our next event is on 30th January entitled Unconditional Love and you can get details of that on our website. Have a great Christmas and may the God of love be present with you and your families at this time.

Beach Hut 23

2010-12-23T21:11:00.008Z

Tonight we had a guiding light to lead us onwards in our journey towards Christmas.

Carrie had created a beautiful coloured lantern which hung in front of hut 341 to draw people along the seafront to our penultimate hut. The lantern depicted different forms of travel in tissue paper mosaic making it look almost like a stained glass lamp hanging on the promenade.

It was a very cold and windy night but like true travellers we had brought everything we needed to keep the cold out. Not only mulled wine and mince pies but a wood burning brazier helped us to hold back the elements and enjoy the candlelit scene.

Inside the hut there was a silhouette of Bethlehem with a very cute little Joseph and donkey made out of wool.

This is our last regular hut as tomorrow we are trying something a little different. We hope to break the world record for a live nativity and so want as many people as possible to come to hut 395 dressed as their favourite nativity character. We hope to see hundreds of shepherds, wise men, angels and maybe even a few Mary and Josephs. The mayor is coming to help us keep count and we will also be making the draw for the winner of the Choccywoccydoodah cake. So come to hut 395 by Hove Lagoon to celebrate Christmas Eve in Beach Hut Advent style!

Beach Hut 22

2010-12-22T22:17:00.006Z

The theme tonight was star and the hut was classically designed with a black backdrop and a very interesting cracked mirror star as the centre of attention.

The star came from St. Luke's church Prestonville where it can be seen during any of the Christmas services, hanging at the front of the church. It's made of lots of shards of mirror which reflect any light or image projected into them creating a varied effect which changes as you move around the star.

The display tonight was put together by Martin Poole who heads up the Beyond team as Alison who owned the hut has recently been in hospital and is still convalescing and unable to get out to prepare something herself.

The mirror effect of the star was given additional detail by the addition of half a dozen laserpods and a rotating star ball. As the lights glittered and flashed around the hut we were reminded of the words of John 1 - "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it".

Next is our penultimate hut - number 341.

Beach Hut 21

2010-12-22T07:52:00.009Z

One of the comments people have made about the Beach Hut Advent Calendar is that for them it is a kind of Christmas pilgrimage. The walk along the seafront to find the hut each night in a different location alongside the journey through the month as we get closer to Christmas all form part of a path to Christmas.

Beach hut 21 put some of this thinking into practice and invited people to consider their own personal journey up to the present in the same way that Mary and Joseph had to travel on that first Christmas. There was an interesting juxtaposition tonight with the fact that so many people currently are unable to travel because of the weather situation but that didn't stop lots of people coming down to the beach from as far away as Bournemouth.

There was not only lots to look at but also lots to do at this hut. There were travel themed items in the hut and alongside it a huge map of the UK and the world and a chance to plot your journey from birth to today using pins and lengths of wool. In addition people could also write the name of a person who had been important to them in this journey on a star and add this to the overall display. By the end of the evening the map was a mass of wool and stars acting as a testament to the pilgrimage of our lives and those around us.

As we continue our pilgrimage towards Christmas we want to make everyone aware of a goal we have set for Christmas Eve. We want everyone who comes to hut 395 to dress as a nativity character as we're hoping to break the world record for the largest live nativity. So if you're close to Brighton and don't mind coming out in a dressing gown and tea towel, come and help us make history.

Next hut is not far away at number 357a.

Beach Hut 20

2010-12-20T18:06:00.008Z

Tonight was the worst weather so far with constant rain and a cold wind which made putting everything together extremely difficult (and uncomfortable!).

This is the kind of weather that hardy shepherds would have been used to as they stayed out all year round looking after their flock. Tonight Janina had recruited just such a hardy soul to sit in hut number 324 as part of her theme, although he had the advantage of a modern umbrella as some protection against the elements.

The backdrop featured a glass beaded star and despite the wind and rain a few candles managed to flicker in the darkness, adding some warmth to the darkness in the hut.

Nights like this make you wish we were doing this calendar in Australia in the nice summer sun but at least it gives us some insight into the kinds of hardships that some of the characters of the first nativity could have endured.

Next hut is almost right in the middle of the Hove seafront at number 268.

Beach Hut 19

2010-12-20T07:22:00.007Z

The hut this Sunday night looked as though it had been abandoned, and not just because lots of people were at carol services this evening. The theme was Nazareth and the hut was set up as though it was Joseph's home and he and Mary had left in some haste to get to Bethlehem for the census.

To make sure they would manage the journey OK our team imagined the holy family had a meal before they left and the remains of the bread, fish and wine were still on the table waiting to be cleared up on their return.

We knew this was Joseph's hut because the tools and materials of his trade were stacked outside. It's interesting to think about the ordinary daily life that Jesus was being born into on that first Christmas and the effort that Mary and Joseph must have gone to in travelling from their home to Bethlehem so close to the birth of their son.

Next up is hut 324.

Beach Hut 18

2010-12-18T20:39:00.008Z

Tonight we had our first ever memorial hut as part of the Beach Hut Advent calendar. Lisa bought hut 424 after her friend Laura Beckerson died and wanted to create something in memory of her for her involvement this year. She asked Beyond team member Kirsty Tyler to do something on an angel theme and tonight's hut was the result.

Kirsty produced an absolutely beautiful pair of angel wings which looked as if they were made of steel feathers but in fact were created from mirrored paper which we had experimented with during the summer for our Greenbelt service. Every feather was cut and shaped individually and carefully crafted into an overall wing shape. The wings were then hung in a simple blacked out hut with a few lights to accentuate the detail that had gone into their making.

There was quite a strong, cold wind tonight and this rustled the feathers on the wings and caused them to move and sway so that the light glittered and sparkled across them.

If angels have wings half as fabulous as these then it's no wonder that the shepherds were amazed when they saw them on that first Christmas night.

One of the things we didn't realise until people started to do it was that these were perfectly placed for posing as an angel and at the end there was a queue of people waiting to have their photo taken as the angel of the beach.

Next up is more art from the Beyond team in hut number 381.

Beach Hut 17

2010-12-18T07:39:00.012Z

The wise men visited Brighton tonight, following the star which hung low over the Pavilion in a beautiful tableau created by Sue and John Murgatroyd. This was the first time hut 27 had been been involved and it was clear to everyone how much work had gone into creating the scene.

Brighton Pavilion was rendered in all it's glory as a large black and white backdrop sitting underneath a giant embroidered gold star set in a clear blue sky.

The wise men were very individual with the leader pointing the way ahead to those who followed behind.

To add to the star theme Sue had made little fairy cakes with a gold star on each one and for the first time these proved so popular that we had some chocolate left at the end of the night.

The layer of snow (and a very dramatic snowstorm at the beginning of the event) added to the magic of the night although it was so cold that the juice that we normally serve to the children froze in the bottle over the course of the hour we were outside!

This hut was the furthest East that the Beach Hut Advent Calendar has ever been and the next hut is at the very opposite extreme as it is almost the furthest West we could go being number 424 by Hove Lagoon.

Beach Hut 16

2010-12-17T07:53:00.008Z

The heavenly choir came out in full force on Thursday night accompanied by a host of angels in a heavenly light. The people of All Saints Hove put together a fantastic hut with angels from the Christmas tree in church alongside loads of tealights in glass jars and interesting 'candle bags' that lined the way into the hut.

The centrepiece was a beautiful arrangement of angels against a glowing backlit backdrop. The choir from the church came down and entertained us with some carols until the rain started to come down in earnest along with a bitter wind and it was felt that the children should go somewhere warmer.

There were lots of little details to this evenings hut including a pile of pebbles each stamped with a little angel mark to remind people of the message of the angels on Christmas night.

Next hut is our closest one to the centre of Brighton and is number 27.

Beach Hut 15

2010-12-15T19:13:00.010Z

In the damp and the dark hut 332 brought a little light into the world tonight. The theme was light and the darkness could not overcome it because every part of the hut was festooned with Christmas lights. Even the miniature Christmas Tree had it's own set of lights twinkling away.

Despite the unexpected drizzle and cold there was something summery about the display - maybe it was the deckchairs, maybe it was the driftwood ornaments, or maybe it was books that local writer Cathy Watts was selling all about the Sandies. All of these things conspired to remind of lighter, sunnier days.

No matter what the weather people still turn up and we now have a regular little band of hardy souls who have got stamps on their cards nearly every night and are determined to try and win that chocolate cake.

Next hut is number 73 and will feature an absolutely heavenly choir.

Beach Hut 14

2010-12-15T07:59:00.012Z

For the 14th hut opening of the Advent Calendar the themes of Donkey, stable and inn all featured as Sam, Tim and Joel created a wonderful, welcoming hut complete with straw bales, a bar and complimentary brandy macs.

The inn rules were on display on the bar and to help keep out the cold there was a chimnea blazing away and hot roast chestnuts available.

At times The Donkey Inn did have no room as people sat around on the straw bales and enjoyed the warmth and good company. Things were going so well that it looked like it would continue long past the usual 6.30 cut off time.

The next hut is number 332.

Beach Hut 13

2010-12-13T20:03:00.007Z

Janette Tozer has been a great supporter of the Beach Hut Advent Calendar ever since it began and has produced a painting for us every year so far. Tonight her subject was Mary and she produced a new artwork for hut number 374 which is owned by one of her art students.

The evening was cold and misty which gave a lovely atmosphere to the event as the hut glowed in the candlelight and families came towards us through the golden light of the seafront lamp posts.

We had lots of children visiting tonight and it was great to hear their shouts as they ran around the promenade and in and out of the beach huts and to think of Mary listening out for the cry of her baby when he was born and his laughter and tears as he grew up.

Janette also enlisted the help of other artists including a nun who paints icons and collage artist Jenny Buchanan.

Next hut is close to the King Alfred and is number 177.

Beach Hut 12

2010-12-13T08:15:00.011Z

The 12th of December was launch night for new charity initiative I Leave My Mark who chose the theme of Gifts for their hut as they wanted to focus on the gift of life. I Leave My Mark is inviting people to make their mark by giving their fingerprint and donating £1 or more which will go to a variety of charities to support traumatised and bereaved children.

Their main event will be in beach hut 44 on Boxing Day when the hut will be open all day collecting fingerprints and donations. You can find out more about this on their website.

Debbie and her helpers managed to get a whole Christmas tree into their hut and everyone who came along had the opportunity to put their fingerprint on a small card and then hang it on the tree as a Christmas decoration. In the spirit of charity and helpfulness the tree was donated by a local tree seller and decorations by Lulu and Hitch who have been generous in their support of this new venture.

Next up is hut number 374.

Beach Hut 11

2010-12-12T06:59:00.009Z

The theme tonight continued to look at the wise men who have featured a number of times in our huts this year. We've had all three wise men and we've also had Frankincense and tonight was all about gold.

The hut was sumptuous as it was all decked out in gold and reds including a treasure chest and some enormous gold coins affixed to the outside of the hut. Ann-Marie collaborated with the same artist that she worked with last year to produce an enormous painting of a gold casket atop her hut in place of the three wise men that she painted last year.

The treasure chest was full of chocolate coins but people didn't want to disturb the display and seemed more interested in the chocolate on offer along with the mince pies and mulled wine.

The next hut is number 44 and will be the launch of the charity I Leave My Mark.

Beach Hut 10

2010-12-10T21:11:00.007Z

Tonight we were transported to the modern day Holy Land to consider an issue that has been talked about for thousands of years and which is still as relevant now as it was when the angels appeared to the shepherds. Tonight was all about Peace.

At that first nativity the angels gathered above the hillsides of Bethlehem proclaiming peace on earth, goodwill to all, while the people of Israel lived under Roman occupation in far from peaceful conditions. Our hosts for tonight reminded us that this is an area which is still not peaceful as the conflict and occupation of Gaza continues to be a source of unrest.

Local poet Naomi Foyle came along to read some of her poems and to inform us all a little more about the situation.

We were also visited by a local BBC news team who did a live broadcast from the hut just before 7pm allowing us to talk a bit about the way the Beach Hut Advent Calendar aims to remind people of the real meaning of Christmas as well as giving the people of Brighton & Hove a chance to be creative in homage to a creator God.

Next hut is just three huts along from where we were tonight at number 195.

Beach Hut 9

2010-12-09T20:57:00.007Z

Tonight we went sailing between Hove Lagoon and the English Channel with a display that extended far beyond the doors of the hut and halfway across the promenade. I Saw Three Ships is an odd carol as no-one really knows what it means. There is no sea around Bethlehem so ships couldn't sail into the town. There is some evidence to suggest the song refers to the ships that carried the relics of the wise men to Cologne in the 12th century while others think that the three ships refer to Mary, Joseph and Jesus.

For our purposes we take them to stand for the wise men bringing gifts to the baby Jesus. The children at the White House had spent quite some time preparing for this hut by making the ships as well as numerous little bells hanging from rope tethering the hut to the nearby lamp post.

Inside the hut was not only the star guiding the ships into harbour but a whole crowd of pottery people also made by the residents of the house.

Next hut is number 198.

Beach Hut 8

2010-12-09T07:15:00.017Z

Tonight Mandy and John turned hut 225 into an Inn, complete with pub background soundtrack, bar and even a pub quiz. Of course a hostelry like this needs a pub sign and it was easy to find our inn/beach hut thanks to the beautiful sign hanging above the door inviting people to 'pier inn' and connecting the tavern of 2,000 years ago with modern day Brighton.

This is the first time that mulled wine has been served from inside the hut as John set himself up as Innkeeper and took over bar duties for the night.

To really give the flavour of a traditional pub, Mandy had organised for local all female Morris Dancing troupe Cuckoo's Nest to come and provide some entertainment. The squeezebox and violin music along with the jingling of bells and crack of their sticks as they danced created a wonderful atmosphere. You could just imagine Mary and Joseph sat in their stable round the back of the inn in Bethlehem, listening to the jollity next door as they prepared for the birth of their son.

Next hut is number 403 and is being put together by the White House children's home.

Beach Hut 7

2010-12-08T06:22:00.010Z

Babies was the theme for tonight and there was an interesting juxtaposition of images as Karen created a nursery/manger/beach hut. Of course we're still in Advent when we wait for the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day so the manger/cot was empty in preparation for the birth of the Son of God.

It's thought provoking to put yourself in the position of Mary and Joseph as expectant parents who would normally at this stage be preparing for the arrival of their baby by setting up the nursery but instead were trying to make their home in a poor stable. These thoughts brought Karen to thinking about the plight of some babies born in the winter here in the UK and the needs of the Trevor Mann baby unit at the Royal Sussex hospital in Brighton.

She has started to collect mittens, socks and bonnets for the unit and we would like to encourage anyone who would like to do something for others this Christmas to consider a small gift to the unit. You can do that online here or drop any knitted gifts in directly to the unit.

The next hut is number 225 near the Babylon lounge and there may be dancing!

Beach Hut 6

2010-12-07T06:21:00.007Z

Local painter Catherine Cunningham took artistic control on the 6th night of our Advent Calendar and chose to focus on Joseph as her theme for the evening. As a painter she decided the centrepiece of her hut would be a portrait of Joseph created on the day of the hut opening and she produced a striking image which reminded some of the famous self-portrait of Van Gogh in it's composition and style.

On the floor of the hut was an acrostic using the letters from Joseph's name to spell out some of the thoughts he may have had as the provider and protector for the birth of the Son of God.

Further drama was added to the evening by the lighting which was a mix of candles, Christmas lights and flaming torches to guide Advent pilgrims to the spot on the beach which was only 4 huts away from our Sunday night location.

After almost a full week a small community is beginning to form around the nightly visits to the beach and amongst those is photographer Julia Claxton who has been capturing some wonderful images from each night. You can see her work here and get a different perspective on the progress of the calendar.

We're back up to Hove Lagoon for our next hut which is number 410.

Beach Hut 5

2010-12-06T06:10:00.009Z

Tonight was the unveiling of the Choccywoccydoodah cake which formed the centre of their hut display and is also the prize for the person who attends most huts. Their theme was the Madonna and Child and the cake took pride of place within a beautifully simple hut so that the focus was entirely on the sculpture although it faced strong competition from the table laden with cake and chocolate that was manned by Choccywoccydoodah staff.

Chief amongst these was Davide who really got into the spirit of the event with a modern interpretation of an angel in a very smart white suit and glittery wings ably assisted by another member of staff as a workaday shepherd.

They did sterling work circulating around the crowd dispensing cake and showering people with glitter.

All of this was accompanied by carols from the Rainbow choir and a TV crew who are making a documentary series about the Brighton chocolatier which will be screened sometime in March on the Good Food channel which is part of the UKTV group.

Hundreds of people turned up to join in with the fun, sharing cake, chocolate, carols and an appreciation of the true meaning of Advent as we look forward to the birth of Christ on Christmas Day (not to mention the countdown towards winning that cake on Christmas Eve!)

Next hut is also by Hove Lawns, number 84 where the theme will move from Jesus mother to his father.

Beach Hut 4

2010-12-04T20:17:00.007Z

As if by magic the snow and freezing cold of yesterday disappeared overnight to be replaced with pouring rain and howling winds and we all agreed we preferred the cold to the wet! The weather meant that coming out tonight was quite a trial and this was reflected in the hut which featured an enormous cross as the centrepiece. Fortunately the cross we had to bear was slightly lifted by the large gazebo set up outside the hut which not only contained the display and the light but also protected us from the rain.

The theme tonight was Jesus and the Cook family chose to show the full extent of Jesus life from the cradle to the grave, or in this case the manger to the cross. Alongside these images of life and death were some reminders of Jesus' own heritage in the form of a menorah and chocolate Hanukkah Geld as today is the fourth day of Hanukkah. The children that came were given a Dreidel sheet showing them how to make a spinning top and play the game, something which Jesus must have done as a boy himself.

The whole evening was presided over by a glittering neon star which guided the Advent pilgrims to the hut through the stormy weather.

The next hut should be very special as Choccywoccydoodah have taken over hut decorating duties and have promised a chocolate Madonna and child, free cake and lots of fun. See you at hut 79a.

Beach Hut 3

2010-12-03T19:27:00.008Z

Tonight you really needed to be at the hut to get the full effect because Ian & Christine had chosen Frankincense as their theme. Their hut looked sumptuous as it was dressed in gold drapery reminding us of another of the gifts brought by the wise men, but the overwhelming sense was the smell as various forms of incense wafted their smoke along the seafront.

Central to the display was a Thurible lent by St. Margaret's church in Rottingdean but there were also incense sticks burning to add to the effect.

The weather was crisp and cold with hardly any wind which helped the smells to stay around and kept people close to the hut.

Already we're beginning to establish a sense of community amongst those who have come every night and there was a great atmosphere on the seafront tonight.

We discovered that today is Follow Friday and consequently we seem to have picked up a lot of Twitter followers as we post a picture every night live from the hut. If you want to join in you can find us on #BeachHutAdvent.

The next hut is also close to the lagoon as it's number 399.

Beach Hut 2

2010-12-02T19:24:00.009Z

The whole of Brighton & Hove might have shut down because of the snow but that didn't stop us opening hut 449 tonight despite all sorts of obstacles and difficulties. The first problem was that Jane, Andre and their daughter Florrie couldn't get to the seafront as they were snowed in on the other side of Brighton.

The second difficulty was that Florrie was diagnosed with chickenpox this morning so really shouldn't be going out in such extreme weather. We wish her a swift recovery and not too much discomfort.

Fortunately the family had already done a lot of the background work in the hut yesterday so we arranged a liaison half way up Dyke road and Andre hiked up with the remaining items for the display and Martin and Sally set to work trying to recreate the family vision.

The theme tonight was the wise men who traveled through trial and tribulation to see the newborn king and many people braved the elements tonight to see the hut. They were rewarded with a beautiful evening of crisp, cold snow and a beautiful, colourful hut which somehow captured the essence of the Christmas spirit.

Tomorrow it's hut number 425 when we'll be thinking about one of the gifts that the wise men brought.

Beach Hut 1

2010-12-02T06:16:00.005Z

The 2010 Beach Hut Advent Calendar launched in style last night thanks to St. Christopher's school, Hove who put in an incredible amount of work to recreate Bethlehem for us.

The lower school have spent the last few weeks creating lots of little Bethlehem buildings which were all put together in the hut by Ros Lomax, Jude Richards and Sally Poole to create a whole city which spilled out beyond the hut onto the sandy floor that they had imported for the occasion.

The Junior choir led by Richard Coppack came to entertain the crowds with a selection of carols and Christmas songs. Many of the children had been in the school nativity earlier in the day and stayed in costume for our evening event.

The snow earlier in the day gave the whole event a very Christmassy feel and the mulled wine, mince pies and chocolate were very welcome as over 150 people turned up to celebrate the start of our third annual Beach Hut Advent Calendar.

The heavy snow overnight will make opening hut 449 tonight quite a challenge but we plan to do all that we can to make sure the event goes ahead so get your sledges out and we hope to see you at Hove Lagoon at 5.30pm tonight.

Soul Celebration

2010-11-03T10:10:00.014Z

All Hallows Eve saw us down at Hove Lagoon for our Soul Celebration, a chance to think about our mortality, our souls and our heavenly home. We had two bases at the lagoon - the Lagoon Watersports club who opened the bar for us, and one of the storage buildings at one corner of the lagoon. These two venues represented our earthbound selves and our heavenly home.

The bar was dark and foreboding (and crowded!) with a video loop of rotting fruit and vegetables playing. In here we asked people to reflect on how much they possessed by writing out a Beyond cheque with an estimate of their financial worth. We also had a chance to consider what we would write for our obituary. We then took the cheques and burnt them - we come into the world with nothing and we leave the world with nothing, and used the ashes to bless each person as they left to journey to heaven with the Ash Wednesday blessing "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return".

Following a string of lights along the edge of the lagoon brought everyone to our second location where they found a place of light, beauty, triumphant music and a party going on. We projected images of flowers bursting into bloom onto the building in direct contrast to the rotting plants in the bar and people discovered traditional halloween pumpkins not carved with ghoulish faces but happy and smiling and with these words carved into them:
God's home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever.

Everyone was given a glass of champagne and encouraged to write up things that gave them a taste of heaven. Here's a taste:

Seeing things as they truly are
Affection from a child
Seeing a beautifully formed wave up close
Snow sparkling in the sun
Being truthful with everybody

Then we took the pumpkins to the waters edge and the words that were carved into them were read out as each pumpkin was launched into the lagoon to float away to heaven along with this blessing:

Go gently on your voyage, beloved.
Slip away with the ebb tide,
rejoice in a new sunrise.

May the moon make a path across the sea for you,
the Son provide a welcome.
May the earth receive you and the fire cleanse you
as you go from our love
into the presence of Love's completeness

Natural Fingermaze

2010-07-26T09:00:00.009+01:00

This year we used the Fingermaze in Hove Park to help us reflect on the seasons of the year and how those relate to the personal and spiritual seasons we all go through in our lives. We divided sections of the Fingermaze into the four seasons and dressed those sections to create a flavour of the time of year.

Winter was all dead and barren with dry leaves and dead wood, spring was new buds, young flowers and leaves, summer was full flowers and a burst of colour while autumn celebrated the harvest and the fruitfulness of the season.

Within each section was some form of heart as we began the meditation with a reminder that we are formed of the dust of the earth ourselves:

God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
As we are made from the earth, we could be said to be people of clay.
The four seasons are reflected within our hearts of clay.

Each of the seasons had some words to help us meditate on how this relates to our own spiritual and personal development and the walk finished at the centre of the Fingermaze with the gift of a piece of map printed with some words about the journey of our lives.

Everyone received a card with the following blessing to accompany them on their journey through life:

May God guide you.
May God bless your walk with the secret love and warmth of your heart.
May you see in your walk the beauty of your own soul.
May the sacredness of your walk bring healing light and renewal to you and to those who walk with you.
May your walk never weary you.
May it release in you wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration and excitement.
May you be present in what you do.
May you never become lost in bland absences.
May the walking never burden you.
May your beginning find you awake and alert, approaching your walk with dreams, possibilities and promises.
May you find grace and fulfilment as you walk.
May you finish, blessed, sheltered and protected.
May God calm, console and renew you.

Beach Hut Spirituality

2010-06-28T08:11:00.011+01:00

On the hottest day of the year so far, while most of the country were inside watching England get thrashed by Germany, we were out at the beach with a summer art installation.

During the beach hut advent calendar in December many people asked us if we could do something in the summer and so 6 months later we thought we'd give it a try. The idea was not to re-create huts from last year but to re-imagine some of the themes for a summer setting.

We took Isaiah 9 as our inspiration - The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; On those living in the shadow of death a light has dawned. The art that was showcased in the cold and dark of midwinter was now exposed to the glorious sunlight of midsummer.

A number of huts were open by Hove Lagoon including one which had been open on the coldest night of the year last December.
We also arranged other pieces of art around the area to create an open air exhibition/installation. We were also able to use some of the things that were already there and turned an old rusted shelter which had been fenced off into a piece of art with origami butterflies created by one of our team.

Scattered around the area were various aids to meditation which we also gave to passers-by in a leaflet explaining who we were and what we were trying to do.

This included some words from the Anam Cara:

I arise today
through the strength of heaven
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendour of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind.
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

It was definitely nicer to be out at the huts in the summer and we've already started to think about how we can create some kind of summer beach hut event for the future. In the meantime our next two events are also outside as we're doing a Blessing of the Surf at Paddle Round the Pier next Sunday 4th July at 9am and will be on the Hove Park Fingermaze on 25th July.

Pete Rollins Insurrection Lite

2010-05-18T16:38:00.018+01:00

The Royal Sovereign, a new venue for us at Beyond was the setting for our Fringe Festival Event: Pete Rollins Insurrection Lite talk.

The event was scheduled for 7.30pm, however, we were completely unaware of how many people would turn up. The core group from Beyond attended, along with members from The Garden. Due to the fact that the talk was an official Fringe event and we were advertising with our ice block we met many new faces at the pub.

The talk ended up starting around 8.00pm with standing room only. Martin introduced Pete, who structured his talk into three different sections with various readings and poems in between. The main sections being: Chapter 1 - Deus Ex Machina, Chapter 2 - To Believe is Human, To Doubt Divine, Chapter 3 - I Believe in the Insurrection.

During the talk, the room was absolutely intent on listening and interacting with Pete's words. Although there was noise filtering into the room from the adjacent pub, it seemed to die away within the first few minutes. The crowd had a sense of unity, all engaging with Pete's talk as a whole.

After, Pete stayed around to answer questions and discuss his views. Many people stayed for hours, discussing and socialising. The group that I engaged with personally, did not cease to talk about ideas which arose from Pete's talk and how they fit into our lives, both practically and spiritually.

You can listen to the introduction and first section via the links below. The last two sections have been added.

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Pete with Beyond's Ice Meditation