Greenbelt 2011

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 31 August 2011 11:59:35

My amble towards main stage turned into a run as I heard the opening of "The Emily Davidson Blues". I stood mesmerized by the enthusiasm of youth and anger of disillusionment which flowed from Grace Petrie. Via the odd trip to Top Shop and a series of what if endings we ended up with "Farewell to Welfare". Musically I think this initial act was my favourite of the weekend.

Show of Hands followed with some newish material and a reasonable set. Martyn Joseph's set was somewhat saccharin and a disappointment. It lacked the cynicism and passion which I think sets his excellent stuff apart from his ok quite dull material. That said anything Martyn Joseph related can be forgiven because he both curated this evening and worked like a trojan all weekend. As the rain continued to fall the words "In 1649 to St. George's Hill" rang out, beginning a set which often went "Back to Basics" but also included some amazing new stuff commenting and reflecting on the events of this past summer.

Saturday I headed off to hear Brian McLaren explain "How Christians Could Destroy the World in Five Minutes (and How to be Sure We Don't) before TOH arrived, (not related). Later in the day we headed off to hear Rob Bell but had to leave  5 minutes in because his voice just does my head in.

Sunday started by playing hunt the American sleeping in the worship installation. Having left TOH to also deal with her sleep deprivation in Sacred Space I headed off to the main communion.I always find this deeply moving as it is truly inclusive. After delivering TOH, (now woken), Communion in a Bag we threw together a picnic and listened to the end of IDMC.

Then it was off to kill time. Our American friend suggested a book reading by Stella Duffy. We weren't sure, but had nothing better to do. This was our accidental find of the festival and we thanked our friend loads afterwards. Duffy is, apparently, a kick ass Buddhist feminist writer and she was discussing her new book Theodora in ways which us state educated kids could relate to, (note here this was a joke related to this Guardian review). This is an amazing historical tale which truly engaged us.

TOH then went to hear Reg Bailey and Rachel Aston discussing the Mothers' Union Bye Buy Childhood campaign (which is being used as a gimmick by Cameron). I arrived part way through and almost had to be physically restrained. Whilst I agree with much of the ethos behind this I think the enactment of this campaign will ultimately disempower parents and actually could potentially as a result harm our children. This is something I will explain in a later post as it is complex.

TOH then headed off to Phyllis Tickle's talk which made her a little cross. "Wishy washy post-modern" was TOH's comment. TOH therefore questioned her - and if you want to know more you'll need to read her blog post when she writes it. Whilst this was going on I headed off for the Brian McLaren summarises and advertises his book through displaying images without actually mentioning it once session.

Evening saw Duke Special on Mainstage and then it was off to Abide for some stories with daddy followed by There Might be Buscuits and then rounded off by more John Row.

Monday we went to a masterclass on preaching given by Nadia Bolz-Webber. If you are a preacher get the talk - we have because it goes through the process Bolz-Webber uses and is the most useful thing we have heard in ages. TOH also found it very moving due to the level of passion.

Then TOH decided to avail herself of the snuggle worship installation whilst I went to hear Barbara Glasson. The Glasson talk was something I found amazingly useful for a range of reasons - not least because her use of the "coming out" metaphor spoke both of my own experience and articulates it for others. Having been accosted by a teenager we knew, whose uncle is a friend of ours, we found ourselves going to experience some street dance. This was a kind of school assembly based on visiting artists having run a workshop. It was suprisingly enjoyable.

In the evening TOH and our American friend enjoyed the Unthanks and had some lovely bonding time which TOH really appreciated because said American will be hugely missed when she goes home whilst I went raving. Note to self - it was 20 years ago when I enjoyed rave worship at Greenbelt, it is no suprise that after enjoying losing myself in Andy Hunters DJ set my back went and I did a kind of OAP shuffel back across site to enjoy Mavis Staples. A lovely hot chocolate with TOH sorted me out though.