There was not a cloud in sight as Carla and I sailed into Belfast Docks. We were in the city to attend the Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, a first for Carla and a return visit for me. Many people had told us that a visit to the Titanic Exhibition was a must so we took the overnight ferry from Birkenhead and gave ourselves a full day before the Assembly began.

The architecture of the Titanic Experience building was impressive and it’s design and construction tells its’ own story of the wonder and the tragedy of this most famous of ships. The layout of the exhibition halls and the audio guides are all designed not only to pass on information but to draw people into the experience. From the dream of the designer, to the carelessness of a few, the cowardice of others and the heroism of some, the story unfolds bit by bit. We might expect the story to end as the stern of the ship slips under the cold waves of the North Atlantic taking too many lives with it but the story lives on in the memories of survivors and now in this memorial site.

The question that stares back at me is how well do we as churches invite people into the experience of being the fulfilled and blessed people of God? Do we simply try and give information and worry about details that seem irrelevant to the visitor or do we give them a sense of the dreams of God, the riskiness of the Jesus initiative and the excitement and challenge of a faith story that is rich and deep that demands all our intellect and all our imagination?

Add to that the comment gleaned from the BBC World Service interview with Marilynne Robinson (a Congregationalist and author of the novel ‘Gilead’) that the greatest threat to Christianity is Christianity itself, if it continues its’ judgemental and narrow dogmatic approach to faith. Hope and fear are infectious emotions, hope opens minds and fear closes them. How this prepares me for the PCI Assembly, only time will tell!

Assembly Hall, Belfast