Braunston 2010: Songs of Praise

After a hot, sticky night at Ally and Ben's house in Birmingham we drove to Braunston. All the car windows were open, but we still got too hot. I must fix that heater temperature control! The roads were almost empty as we took a direct route through the middle of Solihull and Coventry. We parked in a lay-by near Bridge 90 on the Oxford Canal and walked to the boatyard where the Songs of Praise service was being held. And we almost got there in time for the beginning (unlike at Crick recently, when we arrived just as the service was ending).


service leader and boater Marian Thomas with band

Boaters' Christian Fellowship member Marian Thomas, whose narrowboat Kharis was moored at Braunston for the weekend, led the service. A letter she wrote recently has an arresting beginning:

Letter from Marian Thomas - Licensed Lay Minister

Dear Friends,  I cannot believe that it is now a year since I fell into the canal at the Stop House and turned the experience into a short talk on trust in God at the Marina Service ...

In this year's service Braunston Marina owner Tim Coghlan read from Mark's gospel the passage where Jesus feeds the five thousand. I think that was chosen for the verse which says, "So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place."




The service was held on the "marina point". Most people had dispersed by the time I'd walked over the walkways over the drydocks and got onto the bridge to take this photo.


More from Braunston tomorrow.