I haven't wet a line or wielded a rod since December (although plans are afoot for a couple of trips to the canal in the next few days), but that doesn't mean that I've been altogether inactive, or unproductive. In fact, I've been pretty busy, and a plan is very much coming together. Regular readers of this blog will know that I and my friend Stewart Bloor, fellow angler and fellow Christian minister have been plotting and planning for a while to set up a Christian fishing network, website, Facebook page and Youtube channel, and we're now just weeks from launching. The logo sits at the top of this page (you saw it here first), and the website, which will include a lively forum for debate, discussion and sharing about "all things fishing", with sections for different angling disciplines ( carp, barbel, pike, pleasure angling, sea and game fishing all have their own areas), along with a bragging board for member's photo's, a growing range of instructional articles and video's and some faith based content, is in its final stages of testing. Here's a cheeky peek at the homepage ....
As well as providing an online home for Christian anglers, and a place for fishermen who might be tentatively exploring some of the bigger questions of life, there are also plans to set up and connect a network of local fishing clubs run from churches, and to hold fishing days, charity fundraising events and also weekend "retreats" that'll include fishing, camping, camaraderie and opportunities for reflection and sharing of faith.
Along with me and Stewart are a couple of other forum leaders who are keen anglers and active in the churches they attend, as well as a well known angling journalist who is lending his help and support to the project.
For me the launch of the group will be the culmination of a dream I've harboured for some time, and an opportunity to integrate my faith with my fishing, and to use my fishing not only as a way of recharging my batteries and pursuing an outdoor passion that I've had for over 30 years, but also as a vehicle for mission and ministry. Here I am being interviewed about the group while in America when it was in its earliest stages of planning and invention:
So, we're nearly there, watch out for more details in the Angling press over the coming weeks. But for now it's back to the fireside to make some pop-up traces for deadbaiting .... the canal and its pike are beckoning me, and I can't ignore them forever.
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