Answering my own questions

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 05 April 2006 21:08:33

More thanks to those who have given me input for the essay either in comments or posts Never Conforming being the most recent. Thought I'd share my own experiences.

I have done Greenbelt, Spring Harvest and Detling. In terms of Greenbelt and Spring Harvest particularly I think that experiences of both have to be split into those as a youth and those as an adult.

The experiences as a youth were not those that you would necessarily associate with wholesome Christian conferences and as such I will not go into detail here. However, here are a few of the highlights, which I believe I can share:

1. Spring Harvest year one - Budget accomodation in the old style chalets which were soon demolished. It was so cold we had to constantly boil sausepans of water to keep warm.

We went to one seminar, topic spiritual warfare - it was complete with OHP flying about the tent when a storm kicked off, and people screaming. V. scary for a bunch of young people who definately did not go to that type of church and had never heard of deliverance ministery or any of the other wierd and wonderful charasmatic terms which were flying about with the equipment. Otherwise it was slightly more hedonistic than spiritual. It all put me off Spring Harvest for a long time.

2. Greenbelt various years in the late 80's - most violent moshing I've ever been involved in - damage 1 split lip, how many people can you fit in the back of a VW van? Lots. Had the good idea of buying some cans to sell on the campsite, but decided to have a party and gave them away. Friend being challenged by police who claimed that we had only come to cause trouble (which we hadn't), gave classic reply "If we'd have wanted trouble we would have gone to Reading this weekend." Nearly fainting, so getting pulled out of crowd and lying in the first aid tent listening over the radios in there to the reports of the Jesus Army trying to storm the festival.

So as you can see not very spiritual but we did enjoy some good music and good laughs and we did make it to the communion services - probably far more of a success spiritually than Spring Harvest.

As for these events when I was older, that will wait until tomorrow (probably). Far more wholesome, so far more boring.