We, Pam, my wife and I, have the privilege of taking today easily after spending the weekend at the Greenbelt 24 Christian Arts Festival. We managed this by camping at a nearby Premier Inn, hiring a mobility scooter and me taking the assisted transport ‘bus’ from, and to the box office to the site entrance at the beginning and end of each day.
As ever, it was a very special experience to see thousands of fellow Christians going from place to place, tent to tent, to hear from others who are passionate leaders about all the big justice and peace issues of the our time.
And for me, it was a particularly special festival. The Iona Community and their publishing arm Wild Goose publications had put out invitations to any authors whose material they had published, to make a presentation of their work in the Community tent. This felt a huge privilege to be able to talk about my blogs, The Cross and The Cosmos (This blog!) and Ecoverses/ Climericks which is where I publish a Climate concern post every 2 or 3 days. I am so grateful to the community for this opportunity.
The experience had just one thing in common with leading a church service. Five minutes before we started, there were a handful (or maybe two) of prospective listeners. Then as we started, there were, I estimate, 90 people in the tent and a considerable number crowding round the entrance. Wonderful!
Yet even more wonderful was the experience once again of worshipping with several thousand like-minded fellow Christians in very special Act of Communion on Sunday morning. The sun shone, after Friday’s rain and Thursday’s high winds, and we were fortunate to be spotted as we made our way into the main (and massive) arena by Mike A who kindly wove his way among the gathering crowd and steered Pam on the mobility scooter and me into the company of friends from Waterbeach, Landbeach and beyond.
Having arrived home yesterday, very weary, I woke in the night eager to reflect my feelings about that outdoor communion.
This is the result which I hope feels to some that maybe they would like to share in a very special August Bank Holiday event next year - beautiful and challenging at the same time.
Links to the Greenbelt site and to The Iona Community’s presence on the web will be found below the poem. Pam and I give grateful thanks for both of them.
The lovely fabric panel pictured here was on display in the Quaker exhibition of Environmental concern expressed in fabric, and echoes themes within my poem
Sharings.
Seldom have I worshipped,
with several thousand others,
children, women and men.
This is Greenbelt 24
Comes a moment
of anticipation;
‘Eat this bread,’
‘Drink this cup’
And a mighty silence
shakes itself out upon us.
We are blessed,
as Heaven surely brushes
the earth, where we are gathered.
Briefly, a thin place.
In the hushed arena
The Spirit whispers;
‘Will you weep for Gaza?’
‘Will you weep for your threatened planet?’
‘Will you weep over the evil of the arms trade
which you allow to determine your economic order?’
I quake inside and wonder:
‘Did a similar, beautiful, challenging peace
descend,
when Jesus broke
a child’s bread and little fishes
in their militarily-occupied country?’
Trevor Thorn: (privileged to have been invited to contribute to the Festival as a Wild Goose/ Iona author)
To see more about Greenbelt CLICK HERE
To see more about The Iona Community CLICK HERE