6th December - Hut 227

The weather took centre stage this evening, defying the forecasters who predicted that it would be mild and dry. What the team from St. Bartholomew's school got instead was continuous rain and a strong, blustery wind which made the whole event a bit of a challenge.

The children of year 6 at the school had learnt how to craft beautiful three dimensional stars and written their own proverbs on each star.

The stars were black, gold, silver or white and were in variety of sizes and styles.  The weather came into it's own as the wind caused the stars to dance and swirl around.  

The proverbs were sometimes just one word repeated on all the surfaces of the star or made up a phrase such as 'See the Beauty in Others'.

They not only filled the hut but also lined up along the apex, and forming and interesting contrast with the stripes of the doors and surrounded by Christmas lights which twinkled and shone in the rain.

Despite the weather we still had a good number of people drop by including some visitors who came direct to the hut from Hove station, having just traveled down from York.  We were also visited by a TV crew from Meridian and so should be on the TV sometime over the weekend.

Tomorrow we're at hut 191 with another school.

5th December - Hut 177

One of the features of the Beach Hut Advent Calendar (which some think is a flaw!) is that it draws people out in all weathers at one of the most inclement times of year.  We thought the weather was going to be a little challenging tonight as it rained immediately before an after the event, but was dry from 5.30-6.30.  We were prepared for bad weather though and keen to maintain the unbroken record of openings since the beginning of this event in 2008.




This is an attitude close to the heart of the team that put together hut 177 tonight as they run The Outdoors Project.  



This is an organisation which runs after school clubs in 20 different schools across the city and as the name suggests, these take place outdoors and include games, woodcraft, craft and creativity.

The children were asked to create woodcraft stars to be part of the installation in the hut for tonight.  These were made from sticks and wrapped in coloured wool and came in all shapes and sizes.




The stars formed a galaxy inhabiting the ceiling of the hut, suspended above a strange creature who has been making a pilgrimage across Brighton over the past few months, eventually ending his snail trail here.

This is Fern the Nature Punk who has been part of the Snailspace art trail that has been running across the city in aid of The Martlets hospice.  






Fern is a junior snail sporting a crest of nerf missiles as nerf is one of the popular games run by The Outdoors Project.  We had hoped that we might see the snail trail created as Fern followed the star to the hut but unfortunately the rain washed it all away.

Tomorrow we're at hut 227.

4th December - Hut 410

The venue for our hut tonight was a slight journey eastwards from the previously advertised hut 403 as hut 410 became available for the Kings School to use after we had gone to press with all our publicity.   It was only a difference of 15m and no-one seemed to notice the change.





Making a journey - even a short one like that, and especially travelling from the East to the West, is very much part of the Advent tradition.





This is a time when we begin to retell the story of the journey that Mary and Joseph made to Bethlehem; that the shepherds made in leaving their flocks to go into the village to see the newborn child and of course for the wise men travelling from the East as they follow the star.






We were reminded of that journey by a mirrored art piece which covered the floor of the hut, inscribed in gold with the words "We have seen his star and we have come to worship him".

Over the years people have spoken about the Beach Hut Advent Calendar as a pilgrimage as attendees travel the length of the seafront, away from the bustle and glaring lights of the shops, to find the hut opening for that night.

Ultimately we hope that the journey finds a destination in the hope of light in the darkness and the presence of God with us.

The next hut is number 177 close to the King Alfred leisure centre.

3rd December - Hut 194

Photo courtesy of AlexBamford.com

The hut this evening kicked off a series of huts which will be created by schools or school related groups.

Tonight hut 194 was put together by Windlesham prep school on Dyke road in Brighton.






Stars of various sizes and types were spattered around a black background, interspersed with twinkly lights.







These stars not only decorated the walls but hung from the roof of the hut, creating a  sense of a world full of stars.

Candles and a lantern graced the floor of the hut adding a sense of warmth and welcome.

Photo courtesy of AlexBamford.com

We were blessed with calm, clear weather for the first time this year which really helped the audibility of the school choir who sang a number of Christmas themed songs.  They will be on song again next week at St. Luke's Prestonville during their end of term service on the afternoon of Thursday 13th December.

The next hut will be created by The King's School and will start at number 403 but may take us on a journey to somewhere else.  Join us to find out!

2nd December - Hut 305

The theme for the Advent Calendar this year is Follow the Star (something which the Church of England is also focussing on as a Christmas theme starting on Christmas Eve #followthestar).



Mary Bacchoo at hut 305 combined the star theme with a passion for ecology, linking these with the fact that there is more microplastic in the ocean than there are stars in the Milky Way.

Her installation featured a spiral trail which led to the hut containing a giant star.

Photo courtesy of AlexBamford.com

The spiral was made from ecobricks which are created by stuffing single use plastic bottles with up to 120 plastic shopping bags.  These can then be used to build houses in places where there is a shortage of housing.

Photo courtesy of AlexBamford.com

The spiral was also lit by solar lamps which have been especially designed for communities in the third world where there is no electricity.





Inside the hut was a nativity scene made from ecobricks and some information about the importance of a spiral in reminding us of the journey of life as a cycle of rebirth, seasons and time passing.




A spiral points us towards transformation and insight and in a similar way ecobricks transform our view of plastic as a resource to build with rather than waste to dispose of.  

As you see the stars at night may you be inspired by the possibility of the transformation that light brings into the darkness.

Photo courtesy of AlexBamford.com

The next hut is number 194 and features the first school this year.

1st December - Hut 17

So the final Beyond Beach Hut Advent began today, marking the last time that Beyond will run this event.  This doesn't mean that the Hove beach huts will never again be used to mark the days of Advent, it's just that Beyond is stepping down from this year onwards.  It's hoped that others will take up the baton of bringing light to the seafront at this special time of year and there have been some conversations about this but nothing concrete has emerged yet.  



If you would like to see this wonderful community art event continue and can give some time towards this please email info@beyondchurch.co.uk and if there is enough interest we'll convene a meeting early in the new year.

Hut 17 was our inaugural hut this year and Sarah Sutherland-Rowe created a classic image that almost had a mediaeval flavour to it.



The image was created with the help of the children who attend Messy Church at All Saints Hove and a number of the children turned up to see their handiwork.  This was literally on display as the central angel image had wings with feathers made from the handprints of the children.






There was a contemporary edge to the whole scene though as Mary and Joseph were represented in modern dress, having scooted to the hut on Christmas light festooned scooters.




The Advent message is not just about something historical that happened in the past but is recognition that Jesus comes to us today and is just as relevant now as he was 2,000 years ago.





So we're off to a great start and tomorrow we're at hut 305, halfway between the King Alfred and Hove Lagoon. 

The Light Service - 4th February 2018

For the last 18 months Beyond has been focussing on a programme of guest speakers on the first Sunday of each month which has been a fantastically rewarding experience.  We've heard from Nadia Bolz-Weber, Ian Adams, Stuart Townend & Iain Archer, Sally Hitchhiker, Richard Beck, Cole Moreton and Kester Brewin.  We've also had the Nine Beats crew come into town with an amazing gig by Revd. Vince Anderson and an evening of spoken word and music from Mark Scandrette and Heatherlynn.


Now we are returning to our core programme which is artistic events that aim to inspire, provoke, stimulate and give space for reflection and meditation.  The first of these was The Light Service on Sunday 4th February.




We've created light events in the past and this evening was a chance to put together some of the things that we've learned from these to create a 'service' that asks what it means to say that 'God is light and in Him is no darkness at all'.






We began by spending some time thinking about the nature of light and how fundamental that is to our existence.  This then moved into a time of considering darkness, both in our lives and literally as the lights in the space were all turned off.






After a period of confession and reflection we were exposed to different light experiences, beginning with a video of a light installation by Chris Levine entitled light.








Then everyone was invited to move around the space and simply experience the wonder of light through various installations that had been started up.  These ranged from disco glitter balls to a whole room full of Green laser light, fibreoptic lamps and a cluster of laserpods.




After 15 minutes of exploration of the wonder of light, we all came together to share the peace followed by a final reflection and the breaking of light (in the form of glowsticks) as a commitment to be those who bring light to others.







Our hope is that people left enlightened, illuminated and with a renewed commitment to being bringers of light to those around us.

We will now begin a series of Sunday evenings during Lent when we will be looking at different artistic interpretations of the Stations of the Cross.  7.30pm starting Sunday 18th February until Sunday 25th March.

We were in the dark before,

but now God has given us light.

We will live like people who have the light.

People who have the light do what is good and right and true.
For if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, 
we have fellowship with one another, 
and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

24th December 0 Hut 395

Christmas Eve is here along with our biggest crowd and a special piece of art in hut 395.  

The Beyond team always keep Christmas Eve for ourselves as we like to create some art as part of an evening schedule that includes carol singing, a reading and some prayers that all follows a similar theme.

The theme tonight was birth and new life as we are on the eve of Jesus' birthday.  The hut contained a large projection of an image of the expectant Mary beautifully rendered in a modern icon style. 

Through the wonders of modern technology we were able to see into her womb and watch an ultrasound of her baby as he wriggled and moved around. 

This image was surrounded with garlands of flowers and at the foot of the hut were hundreds of daffodil buds.  These were there to remind us of new life and everyone was encouraged to take a flower with them and put it in water as it will then burst into life tomorrow.

The whole thing was accompanied by a heartbeat soundtrack when we weren't singing carols.  All the carols we sang focussed on Jesus' birth and we read the account of his birth in the second chapter of the gospel of Luke.

This felt like a fitting climax to our tenth Beach Hut Advent Calendar as we look forward to the birth of Jesus tomorrow.  We wish you all a blessed Christmas and pray that you will experience the new life that comes from knowing Jesus.