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James Stygall went to Greenbelt this year, like most years. This is what he discovered and the links to find out more. Email the with your stories of this summer's Christian festivals.
I’ve been for five years now and have heard, seen and variously been “wowed” by Martyn Joseph, Delirious?, the Reduced Shakespeare company, Courtney Pine, Note for a child, the poet laureate Andrew Motion, Jackie Pullinger, The Archbishop of Canterbury, Baptist peace activist Norman Kember, the Polyphonic Spree, World Wide Message Tribe, top DJ Andy Turner, Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, Bishop Graham Cray, Australian “minister to the Hells Angels” Rev John Smith [not our one!], Riding Lights theatre company….. The list could go on and on!! (Oh and the Ukulele orchestra of Great Britain…. ) Greenbelt 2007 started well and just got better. After a couple of weeks of unremitting gloom, rain and general naff weather, five minutes outside of Cheltenham the sun left the clouds and for the next three days it was glorious summer again. Having found the rest of the group I go with (which always seems to involve me driving around the site about three times) and got the tent pitched, out comes the programme. This is the worst part of Greenbelt! It is possible, between 6.00pm on Friday and 12.00 midnight on Monday to go at a talk, concert, exhibition, reading, play, comedy night, etc. in over twenty locations. Even without food or sleep one person can only do a tiny fraction of the total. How to choose? I try to get a mix of the familiar and the completely new, the vaguely standard to the downright peculiar! Highlights? It would be far easier and quicker to list the lowlights, except that I really can’t think of any. I shall try and be selective though… John Bell talking on the forgotten but inspirational female characters of the Bible, many of whom I have to confess I hadn’t heard of. A challenge to preachers to teach the whole bible! The “Trance Mass”: take the basic constituents of a communion service, add trance music, dance, subtle lighting, cutting-edge video projection and no chairs! Took its time to get going, but really well done, and a very inspiring way to worship. Billy Bragg, a bit of a hero of mine. At least 5,000 people crowd around the main stage to hear him sing songs of protest, justice and love as only he can. Sublime. Mark Townsend combined some great magic tricks with a raw and honest portrayal of his own faith into an affirmation that God loves us just as we are. Graham Cray (billed as the only bishop with 50 days of rock music on his computer!) dissected the latest Arcade Fire album and the lessons it contains for the church. Now I just need to get the album!
Hummingbird. Three female singer-songwriters combined in glorious harmony: kind of a UK Dixie Chicks if that makes sense…. The f-word: forgiveness. Pictures and stories from around the world, from those who have found the strength to forgive in the midst of great brutality and evil. Many are incredibly moving, most are very challenging. Communion service. 15,000 gathered to worship God, pray, take bread and wine, listen to God's word. The sun beats down, the music is superb. Just awesome. Quote of the week: “I can’t see the speaker – there’s a giant penguin in the way!” (you had to be there..) Keith Ward. Keith is Professor of Divinity at Oxford and he takes on Richard Dawkins' latest book with humour, intellect and passion. The church needs a few more like Keith Ward. Soweto Kinch. Incredibly good jazz saxophonist – who suddenly becomes an incredibly good rapper! Backed by a superb jazz band, who also do hip-hop as well as anyone. With live video mixing on the screen to boot. Mind blowing.
Chas and Dave. Yes, THAT Chas and Dave. One hour of no-nonsense “Cockeney knees-up”. All together now: rabbit, rabbit, rabbit, rabbit… Brilliant. Duke Special. Really lovely songs, great band, completely mad drummer! Delirious? And so to the last act of Greenbelt 2007. I had always thought that Delirious were superb, but a bit same-y: once you’d heard one song you’d heard them all. Well since the last time I saw them (Greenbelt 2004) there’s been a bit of a change: the songs have a harder edge, they’re not as predictable. Plus the video projection is state-of-the-art, the crowd is the same as the band (i.e. delirious!) and God blesses us with one of the most majestic skies I’ve ever seen. An incredible end to the best Greenbelt ever (well the best I’ve been to!).
So that was Greenbelt. Or rather my Greenbelt – for others it was no doubt very different, but, I suspect, equally wonderful. God willing, I’ll be back next year – I thoroughly recommend it.
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Since starting in a Suffolk field in 1974 (2000 people and
600 police!)
Matt Redman, Predictably the Main Stage was heaving but I
managed to get close enough. A truly inspirational time of musical worship – the
man and his band were using all their considerable talents to really praise God.
And that’s by no means all I saw. Yet there were so many
things I missed: John Smith on environmentalism and worship; Graham Cray on
disciples and citizens; the head of