WATER

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!