Greenbelt Festival 2010 perspectives

 

Greenbelt is always a sea of surprises and stimulating encounters... 2010 was another great year and re-inforces my determination to never miss it!

Here are my initial responses:

Highlights:
1) Fr. Richard Rohr on the church
2) Watching the preview of the film 'Africa United'
3) Revd. Dr John Smith's talks which emphatically restated Greenbelt's original vision(s)
4) Shlomo's mainstage mini-set
5) The start and end of the communion service (i.e. unaccompanied singing with no band)

Surprises:
1) Giles Fraser on The English Civil War and the future of the Church of England
2) Martyn Atkins on Methodism and discipleship
3) Foy Vance bumped up to a mainstage set
4) How many talks I managed to attend!
5) Bumping into Clare Short and having a good chinwag

Lowlights:
1) The weather prior to the festival during set-up and the cold in the evenings!
2) Rock band style music in parts of the communion service
3) Many of the mainstage music acts
4) Confetti cannon during the communion service
5) Sensing 'beer and hymns' becoming more organised

Despite being involved as a contributor this year I did manage to attend a couple of Tweetups and was delighted to commune with some of my virtual 'friends' yet missed others altogether. Otherwise it was great to bump into friends from across the years and actually meet, for the first time, folk that I knew about and that knew me too, but until now...!

However, I do think Greenbelt needs to look carefully to ensure that aspects of the original vision that are still valid and distinctly 'Greenbelt' as some of this is in danger of being sidelined. I don't doubt the Greenbelt 'powers' will already be aware of this so I am not going to witter on here!

Greenbelt is for everybody... unless they're not keen on a bit of heaven?

Here's a perspective from a first time visitor: Do Christian Music Festivals Make You Want to Switch Religions?

And on the Greenbelt Blog today a gorgeous poem: 'If heaven (2)' by Rosie Miles

To go or to be... that is the question

 

Whilst the General Synod rolls on... the sense of thinking 'outside the church' gets stronger. Last night in our Home Group we debated the question: "How would you answer someone who said: 'I can be a Christian without being a part of a church'?". My immediate thought was one of enormous sympathy! Overnight I mused that it is actually the question that is wrong, it should be about 'being church' rather than being 'part of', then I would field a completely different and affirming response. Then this morning I was intrigued to read David Keen's blog which had a link to 'Don't Go To Church Sunday', the content with which I obviously concur.

Earlier in my blog I drew attention to Walthamstow's Farmers Market run by a church, they moved their regular Sunday service to a different day to enable them to serve their community better. recently Joe Haward picked up the BBC story about a church buying the local ten pin bowling alley.

Above all this over the last year I have met and shared fellowship with committed Christians who simply don't attend church... the scary thing was that even though I am a regular churchgoer (a Church Warden has little choice!) I am possibly more cynical than they are... shame on me, in a way, but while the C of E and the Anglican Communion seem intent on beating themselves up, what would anyone expect?!

5 Deeply De-Christian Doctrines meme...

Thanks to Joe H for tagging me with 'List 5 doctrines that are taught within the Christian church that you believe to be deeply de-Christian'... I know only have a loose grasp of what the context of the word doctrine should be here ;-)

I think most folk have completed this so forgive repeats: Alice, Richard, Maggi and would love to know what Bishop Nick would write but Liverpool still have injury issues...!

Here are mine and must say it has taken me ages, have had to work so hard to get down to just 5(ish)!

1. That Worship is more (or less!) important than Mission and justice and, even more dangerous, that by solely worshipping you are being missional by default.


2. Judgementalism - seems we are trained to be experts! At a local home group when the question was posed 'why are Christians so judgemental?' a good mate piped up: 'practice'!


3. Consumerism - this claim that the church teaches consumerism should not be a surprise! The first definition of consumerism I found when googling is: 'the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically beneficial'. How many times do we hear that by buying this CD, book, service that we support the ministry of this individual or organisation? What happened to tentmaking?!


4. Sentimentality - includes the dumming down of art and music to wellmeaningless bibledygook (new words warning!) which we are told is fine because it has the word God/Jesus (but it looks like a squirrel) somewhere on/in it... (or something about setting captives free, exalting, lifting names up high, putting tongues in... sorry, I cannot go on, it is TOO upsetting!). Check out this entry from Stan the Man again which includes some language of the immortal bard!


5. Discrimination - anyone in the public sector, business or society would be in serious trouble and not get away with with what the wider church teaches about women, gays and minority groups including the physically disabled. The current stuff about flying bishops (still only male) to serve twitchy C of E communion celebrants so they can receive from a man is highly de-Christian.

Oh, and something extra: Apostolic Succession - well, that's all a bit Dan Brown DaVinci Bollocks stuff isn't it?!

It's High Fashion...

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A gentle video which so ably articulates many of the fears and concerns I have about church and worship... Stan's the man!

Links in to my post about the 2009 Greenbelt Festival Communion nicely!

P

Benedictus Benedicat... Amazing Graces!

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In my upbringing saying Grace before meals was never missed. I have tried to maintain the tradition and am pleased to say, on the whole, have managed to keep it going. I feel it is an important moment to take in our day as we effectively break bread together and to give thanks for our daily manna.

Love this one for brevity:

Good food, Good meat, Good Lord, Let's eat. Amen!

(attributed to Rick Edmondson)

And a poignant one:

For food in a world where many walk in hunger;
For faith in a world where many walk in fear;
For friends in a world where many walk alone;
We give you thanks, O Lord. Amen.

(Source: Huron Hunger Fund, Anglican Church of Canada)

Blowin' in the wind

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Maybe I am becoming more tolerant as I get older? I know I do tend to resist becoming institutionalised and, hopefully, as my roots grow a bit deeper, I can sway more readily as Rob Bell so beautifully described at this years Greenbelt Festival.

In stark contrast I am concerned there is an undercurrent developing amongst some Christians who prefer their Worship to be that which they perceive as only happening when singing so called Worship songs. Evidence of this is clear in the hurtful responses on the Greenbelt website to a request for feedback on this year's (2009) Communion Service. The majority of the complainants stating that Tim Hughes should have ‘led’ the Worship are the very ones with the most unforgiving and consumerist views!

So, is this the future, I wonder? A new breed of Christian who only wants to Worship exclusively their way and with their preferred style of music who don’t get the idea of a ‘community’ of fellow travellers?

I was deeply saddened to read some of these comments on the Greenbelt website, I thought the service was fantastic. It was obvious there were some issues with the music, but, frankly, the music has been grim at around 225 of the last 250 communions I have been to in the last 5 years or so and Greenbelt has only run 36 since 1974. The vision of the service was so much larger than who led worship and whether the music was inspiring.

And why do I sway more? Well, regardless of what I think of so called modern worship music (not a lot!) I do stand up and play it when needed, I don’t walk away from services because ‘the worship is doing nothing for me’ and I try to be sympathetic to other points of view even when I don’t necessarily agree. I am no saint and I often think my preferences are best for everyone but I accept there are times to just let things happen around you for the greater good.

Ok, ok, I have to confess I would really struggle if Greenbelt sold out and did get Tim Hughes, or one of his ilk, to lead the music at communion ;-)

P