Celestial Moments at Sea: Is surfing the new church?
It’s Sunday morning. The beach car park is filled with chatter as groups from every generation pull on their suits. Out in the sea, we worship the waves, seek inner joy in nature’s cathedral. We connect with ourselves, with the elements, and with each other. We face frustration, fear and find flow. And we come back to shore rinsed, humbled, and elated. A little bit lighter for having praised the wave Gods under wide-open skies.
This isn’t just a Sunday morning scene in Cornwall. This is Sunday mornings in coastal communities all over the world. Church congregations are dwindling, but surfing congregations are on the rise. Most of us need to believe that there’s something bigger than us that binds us all together. Individually and as a community. That’s where religion was born.
“All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full.” – Ecclesiastes 1:7
Long ago, the Bible used the sea as a symbol of unity, where all people – regardless of their path in life – merged into something vast and unending.” Which begs the question – for those of us that love the ocean – is surfing our church? After all, it’s where people of different nationalities and backgrounds come together, united by their passion and a thirst for deeper connections. For us, riding the waves is a way of celebrating life, a spiritual practice, and a path to soulful connection.
The lineup is where everything is stripped away. Where we are equal with our neighbour. Where we learn life lessons that dictate our paths on land. Whether that’s freedom, resilience or conquering our fears. And the ocean also clearly mirrors the sins of the human race, with plastic and sewage polluting the terrain we revere and rely upon. It’s a place that tells the truth about the state of the wider world we’re living in. And it naturally incites action to make changes.
Once upon a time, on the weekends, families put on their Sunday best and set off to church. Now they meet on the sidelines, the shoreline and in parks. Nature has become our go-to for time together on the days we don’t have to live at a million miles an hour. These are the places we’re not at work, on our screens or at the shops. We are just being. En masse. So for those of us that head to the beach with our surfboards, the ocean is where we unplug and reconnect with the people we love.
And what about the fast-growing number of surfing groups worldwide? Micro-communities that bring people together, nurture their confidence, and invite them to step outside their comfort zone into something new. Encouraging them to dig deep for self-belief, floated by the waves, a sense of community and the buoyancy of being together outdoors. Aren’t these their own mini congregations, coming together to find themselves in something bigger?
You see, religion isn’t just about worshipping a specific God – it’s about belonging. In a time of Trump, war and climate crisis, we all need to find a story that makes this world a better, happier place to be. And the ocean is a place that brings us together to create that story.
So perhaps it’s time to grab your suit and head to the beach this Sunday.
