Christian Anglers UK .... the first month.

Lent is, so Christians more traditionally minded than myself remind me, a season of penitence, and so it is with a heavy heart that I confess that it's now a fortnight since my last fishing session. January until mid February saw me make a respectable5 trips to river or canal in pursuit of pike, but since then the "day job" has taken over and fishing, temporarily, has had to take a back seat.

However, that doesn't mean that the period has been totally unproductive in piscatorial terms. UK Christian Anglers ( www.christiananglers.co.uk ) has reached the end of its first month, been featured in both the angling and church press and started to pick up a loyal following of forum members from across the country. With an average of just under 2000 hits per week, a growing resource library of instructional articles and some lively conversation on the forum the first four weeks have been exciting and encouraging. 

 

A committed team that includes Angler's Mail contributor Bill Rushmer and British angling's foremost blogger Stewart Bloor ( www.theanglingrev.com ) among those steering the project means the future looks bright, with plans to develop the group and to set up a network of church-based fishing clubs.

 

   Bill Rushmer

 

Plans are afoot for a fish-in (diary dates are proving challenging to co-ordinate, partly due to the number of Saturday's I'm losing to weddings that need conducting this summer .... one couple's "happy day" is my lost fishing session!), but despite the calendar log-jam, there are one or two possibilities that we're exploring. The idea will be for a friendly get-together of forum members to fish a sponsored event with the money being donated to charity - watch this space.

 

I've also met with the team at Christian Vision for Men (CVM) in Chesterfield. They were massively excited about the project, and we're looking to do some work with them in the future. A really good bunch of lads who run some quality events and produce the excellent "The manual" daily Bible reading notes. (notes aimed at men, which take a realistic 5 minutes to do amid a busy day). Check CVM out at www.cvm.org.uk

 

                                                             Stewart Bloor

 

Stewart and I have plans to do some filming for the group's Youtube channel, and the intention is to grow the capacity of the group so that occasional weekend angling retreats can take place. The social media presence is completed with a Facebook page which is kept regularly updated.
 Remember, Jesus never told his followers to mow the lawn, decorate the living room or do extra over-time, but He did (in effect) say "Go fish" (Luke 5:4) .......... we intend to!