Wing & A Prayer
December 2010
For Greenbelt Angels and Volunteers
greenbelt.org.uk
In this issue 3 My circumstances have chnaged‌ Letter from the Chair
14 Home Andrew Rumsey on the theme for Greenbelt 2011
4 News
16 What good is God? Philip Yancey
5 How was it for you? A lookback at Greenbelt 2010 Partners 10 Christian Aid Tracing the tax 11 Methodist Church It happened Volunteers 12 Greenbelt:handmade Volunteer news
Acting Festival Director Jenny Baker Head of Operations Karen Stafford Head of Communications & Business Development Phil Smith Development Manager Jo Bega Acting Programme Co-ordinator Matt Stone Commercial & Communications Co-ordinator Tom Davies Box Office Manager Peter King Acting Finance Manager Lynne Greaves Office & Volunteer Co-ordinator Linda Watson Patron The Rt. Revd. and Rt. Hon. Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury Trustees Esther Baker, Jenny Baker, Jason Barnett (Vice Chair), Paul Bennett (Company Secretary), Gaynor Bradshaw, David Cullen, Simon Hall, Abi Hewitt, Jude Levermore, Karen Napier, Dot Reid, Jonathan Smith (Treasurer), Andy Turner (Chair), Paul Wilson, Pip Wilson, Martin Wroe Greenbelt Festivals Ltd 83 London Wall London EC2M 5ND info@greenbelt.org.uk www.greenbelt.org.uk 020 7374 2760 A company incorporated in England & Limited by Guarantee No. 1812893 Registered as a Charity No. 289372 Editors Phil Smith, Tom Davies Design Jon Fletcher Print Calverts Paper Revive 100 Uncoated, FSC certified, 100% post consumer waste
2
17 Open Festival GB10 programme highlights 18 Israel/Palestine Ben Whitehouse reports on Greenbelt’s 2009 trip Angels 19 Halo Angels news and info 20 Giving response form
Letter from the Chair
My circumstances have changed… Change is challenging. In August we were sad to lose our newly appointed Director Gawain Hewitt. The trustees were very grateful for all Gawain’s hard work, recognising that sometimes things don’t work out. We’ve also been very thankful for Greenbelt’s Head of Content Rachel Stringer, who has moved on after three fantastic festivals, and Programme Co-ordinator Matt Stone who will be leaving in 2011. The changes present opportunities to develop Greenbelt’s staff team and I’m pleased that Jenny Baker as Acting Director will help identify the best options longer term. Further change over the summer included two valuable long-term partners – contributing significant content and funding – pulling out of Greenbelt. While staff brilliantly managed the last-minute situation, it’s a stark reminder of increasingly difficult choices facing partners and associates. It’s one reason I’m so happy to welcome all our new Angels, and to thank the whole Angel community for their ongoing support. It’s November. The week of student protest against a threefold increase in tuition fees. I’m at Hull Truck Theatre listening to stories about the impact of the recession at an event called ‘My Circumstances Have Changed’. It’s like a weird old time gospel meeting, with testimonies of redundancy, attempts to carve a career beyond part-time McJobs, farmers on tax credits being ripped off by supermarkets, numbing long-term unemployment and stories of struggles to remain sane, while continually feeling written off. It’s shocking to note the change over two years from financial crisis provoked by bankers (download Gillian Tett’s brilliant Greenbelt 2009 talk for insights) to our furious new world – the withdrawal of housing benefit, a cut of one-third to the Legal Aid budget and assaults on the ‘feckless’ unemployed. This all feels a long way from a fantastic festival over a sunny bank holiday. Yet, while continually changing, Greenbelt charts the shifts in culture and society, here and now. Uniquely in our mix of festival and celebration is lamentation and indignation, confronting harsh realities and finding hope – alongside inspiration, ideas, connections and support. Greenbelt remains a place to nurture the inner activist and artist in us all, agitating for transformation and justice. And in that sense, nothing’s changed. Andy Turner Chair of Trustees 3
News. Fond Farewells & New Beginnings As mentioned in Andy’s letter overleaf, Gawain Hewitt moved on from his role as Festival Director after the festival. We wish him all the best for the future. Our Head of Content Rachel Stringer has also moved on after three years in the role. Rachel has been instrumental in booking the programme for the last few years, and has worked brilliantly with staff, volunteers, programming group and trustees. For her hard work and enthusiasm we are incredibly grateful. And finally, Matt Stone, our esteemed Programme Coordinator, is moving on too. He’ll be around until February, working on the programme for 2011, before starting an MA in Human Rights. While these roles are being considered and filled, Jenny Baker is Acting Festival Director, guiding the staff team and working on recruiting the right people. If you know someone who would be perfect for the programming roles, point them towards greenbelt.org.uk/jobs before 5 January 2011. Of course, having three vacancies in key roles in the staff team carries both challenges and opportunities. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we begin the recruitment process.
4
Taking Care with Cash
Visit the Holy Land
Through these times of financial trouble, we’re desperate not to cause ourselves difficulty down the line, or place Greenbelt in a precarious position financially. We want to be responsible with the money that we receive from our generous supporters, so we’re trimming back on some less essential things - like printed Annual Reviews and the information mailing in November. Make sure you’re signed up to Dispatches to continue getting all of the information we release. greenbelt.org.uk/dispatches
We’re running a trip to the Holy Land in May 2011. It is certain to be a transformative, enlightening experience. For more information visit greenbelt.org.uk/campaign. This issue of Wing & A Prayer also features an article by Ben Whitehouse, our Literature Programmer, on what going on the trip in 2008 meant to him. See page 18.
Annual Review Speaking of the Annual Review, if you haven’t seen it yet, head over to bit.ly/greenbeltannualreview.
Fairtrade Fortnight It might seem some way off, but once Christmas has passed, the next celebration in our diary is Fairtrade Fortnight (28 Feb – 13 March). If you’re looking to participate, you could start by getting involved in Traidcraft’s Big Brew campaign, encouraging individuals, churches, schools and workplaces to hold a Fairtrade event during Fairtrade Fortnight. Head over to traidcraft.co.uk/ bigbrew for more information...
How was it for you? We had a great time at Greenbelt 2010: The Art of Looking Sideways, and - judging by the roar at Mainstage, the laughter in the Big Top, the singing in the Beer Tent, and the smiles on faces around the site – so did you. But we can’t assume anything here at Greenbelt HQ, so we contacted Greenbelt contributors, volunteers and trustees to find out how their festival went. Here are the results…
Solomuzi Mabuza Speaker I thank God for enabling me to participate at the Greenbelt Festival for the first time this year. It was really a great experience and very rewarding. [It] is a place where families can spend time together just before pupils, learners, students return to school. I was struck by some families who attended some sessions together. This is a good way of teaching the young generation of the connection/s between the local and global social challenges. In the World Social Forum there is a rallying theme: ‘Another World is Possible”. So many activities at the Greenbelt bear testimony that people have a duty to connect with others who are less fortunate in other parts of the world. Space was created for other social issues to be heard. The organisers did not choose easy issues. I left the Festival convinced that the Church will grow from strength to strength. Everyone was treated equally - we all queued for food, followed instructions at the different tents, participated as children of the same family. It did not matter whether one is Gay, Lesbian, Heterosexual, Christian, Muslim or Jew.
Paul Bennett Trustee A feeling of calmness seemed to envelop Greenbelt this year. All festivalmakers and festivalgoers I talked with seemed to notice it. Curious and rather wonderful, especially considering the awful weather last week. By the time the festival started the rain had largely eased off (though we had a difficult night on Thursday as it pounded hard on our tent). That calmness meant I got to see a lot more this year, including some “secret shopping” assignments which took me to parts of the programme I’d not tried before. The gems of the programme were a little harder to find this year, but if you dug deep they were certainly there. Case in point was Jo Mango. She sang for the Operations team early in the weekend, and her set in the Performance Café was the stunning highlight of a great festival for me. 5
Mark Yaconelli Speaker After my talk on God’s compassion, a woman came to me and told me about a recent sexual attack she’d suffered. “Have you shared this with anyone?” I asked. She shook her head. There was a line of people behind her and I had another workshop in 30 minutes. “I can’t talk now,” I told her. “Can you meet me later?” She agreed, and I asked her to meet me at the close of the workshop. She turned to leave then stopped and said in a whisper, “I just feel like God is angry with me.” This broke my heart. I looked her in the eyes and told her as honestly as I could, “God is not angry with you. God grieves with you. I promise you, God is grieving.” I asked her to meet me later that night. She promised she would. I ran to my next workshop, but while I was speaking I scanned the audience looking for the hurting woman. When my presentation ended I left the podium and moved about the room searching for her. I searched and waited for the next hour, but I never found her. For the rest of the festival I looked for the woman in the red sweater. Three months later I still think about her and pray for her and wish I had held onto her sleeve, stayed with her, listened to her, wept with her...
Rozi Rowcroft James Taxi Team Leader Being one of three co-managers of the taxi team, and with all three of us being new to team managing, Greenbelt 2010 was always going to be a challenge (especially with a three month old first baby!) What we didn’t realise was that on top of the normal learning curve there would be The Weather. After 36 hours of solid rain, we were asked at 5pm on the Thursday to put on a taxi service to get volunteers on site; within an hour we were up and running (the main delay being getting fuel!). We forged great relationships with many other teams, provided help to countless volunteers, and then continued through the week to ferry over 7,500 Greenbelters onto and around the site. We also discovered that we’re a source of parental discipline; “If you don’t behave yourself you won’t get a taxi ride on Monday”! It was fun, chaotic, inspiring and God was well and truly with us - I can’t wait to do it again in 2011!
6
Rosie Miles Poet If heaven might happen it would look like a racecourse full of people not horses. Everyone would have a place to pitch their tent and there would be a lot of mud and weather. We would all be the same as before except our bladder functions would have dried up. There would be a place on the top floor of heaven to be very quiet. There would also be skateboarding, bands playing underground where the average age is fourteen, a smörgåsbord of stalls to get food. The programme of What Is On In Heaven would be very full. There would be a soundtrack of eternal drumming. The Big Drummer would slow the rhythm so everyone could get the beat. You would be able to sit in one corner of heaven and watch the amazing wide sky. In another you could listen to a man speak clearly of how he fought for human rights when he was alive. You could hear a politician, a priest, a poet, a shy stuttering actor, a Dominican monk, a cultural commentator. You could wonder what would have happened – what might still happen – if Jesus had come as a girl. You could learn to jive or tango (step, two, three, four). You could do none of these things.
You could sit on the steps of heaven’s grandstand and play monster Connect 4 with the friends who helped you pitch your tent, watching all the people wearing wellingtons imprinted with smarties or jelly beans. Ten-foot transvestite angels would waft past blowing bubbles of ambient music. Strangers would smile at you and people would have brought their dogs. There would be a Big Top and jugglers on monocycles and all the people on the doors of heaven’s venues checking that you were wearing heaven’s wristband would be unfailingly cheerful. You would marvel at their ability to herd an impossible number of people into a finite space. Blessed are they who signal to others the end of the queue. In heaven they shall be the salt of the earth. And you would belong there – really belong there – because heaven would not be about keeping your doubt out or your many questions. In fact, if heaven might happen there will be no certainty at all just a community of the wounded who are as lost as you are eating churros dipped in chocolate trying to sing the intelligence of the heart. 7
Gill Bland Last Orders team First time both at Greenbelt and as a volunteer at any festival ever. Foolhardy? Maybe, but completely worth it. Thanks to the enthusiasm of existing volunteers who gently pestered me for several years, I joined the Last Orders team where I learned new skills (filming and a bit of editing), used existing ones, had my Christian perspective expanded and saw some awesome bands, speakers and comedians. With caffeine and laughter fuelled late nights, the Last Orders team is possibly not one for those who like being early to bed, but definitely one for those who want a warm and comedy filled welcome to Greenbelt. I also was pleasantly surprised how much time I had to see all the different parts of the festival. Highlights would have to be running around the site with a pie on a plank, sneaking in to see Tom Hollander (sssh) and of course being part of the team for a full-house night at Last Orders.
Daisy Holland Young Greenbelter I found Greenbelt absolutely, terrifically, amazingly the best. There are hundreds of things that made Greenbelt fabulous this year. The first thing that pops into my mind when I think back is how much I felt at home as soon as I arrived. This is because everywhere you look you get a welcoming smile and once in your tent you can just be yourself! I went to see the Fancy Toys with my mum. We both enjoyed them thoroughly and I would take the opportunity to see them again! I also saw a great dance production called Impact Dance and the film Africa United. I have told all my friends you MUST go and see it, it is BRILLIANT! My mum and dad learnt how to jive, my brother learnt how to juggle and my sister tried to ride a teeny weenie bicycle whilst the rest of us ate delicious hot doughnuts!
8
9
Tracing the Tax Now that winter is truly upon us and with Christmas fast approaching, Greenbelt suddenly seems like a long time ago. At this years festival Christian Aid launched its Trace the Tax campaign. The campaign calls on four FTSE listed companies (Vodafone, Unilever, TUI Travel and Intercontinental Hotels Group) to support our calls for greater financial transparency. That’s because each year tax dodging by unscrupulous companies working internationally costs developing countries approximately $160 billion. That’s more than the global aid budget! This money should be being spent on essential services like schools and hospitals. That’s
10
partner
why we are asking these four companies to support our campaign to end tax dodging. Over the course of this year’s festival over 3,000 postcards were sent to the four companies and more than 400 personal video messages were recorded calling on the companies to join our campaign. It was a fantastic launch for the campaign and has meant that we have hit the ground at a sprint, never mind running. Since Greenbelt the momentum of the campaign has continued to build. Thousands more postcards have been signed and Christian Aid supporters have begun to engage with the four companies in a variety of different ways including texting messages to Vodafone.
In October Christian Aid held a mass lobby of parliament with nearly 2000 supporters calling on their MPs to tackle tax dodging as well as climate change. Over the coming months the pace of the campaign will not let up. As we move into the New Year we hope that local actions focussed on the companies, will begin to increase. The Trace the Tax action pack provides a guide to how to engage with the four companies locally with suggestions that should suit all audiences. Your continued support is crucial in this campaign. If successful it could make a major contribution in the fight against poverty. If you want to get involved visit: www.christianaid.org.uk/actnow/
The Methodist Church at
Greenbelt 2010 It happened! The Methodist Church became a Greenbelt partner and a wide variety of the Methodist people showed up with the tents, waterproofs and wellies, to support not only the many thousands of Methodists who are keen supporters of Greenbelt – but also the festival itself. Greenbelt has an ethos expressed in its commitment to justice, creativity, worship and people that Methodists aspire to. It is a positive engagement with the world, a refusal to be a ghetto defined by fear of the secular, and a refusal to be silenced in our joy in creation and God’s promises in the light of secularism. Our Tent was great. We had some excellent speakers, and some of them we supplied. The theme for ‘Galilee’ was ‘Discipleship’ –which is a big deal for us right now, and a pretty big deal for Christians of all stripes.. In its origins Methodism is firstly a movement for discipleship, a
group of women and men who want to follow Jesus, act out his agenda in his world, learn to love more, be more, give more, live more in the light of the Gospel. I know that most of the time, like most humans, we fall short of this, but dreams matter, and this event helped. It was great to listen to our General Secretary inspire us with a modern vision for Discipleship against a noisy back drop of the Beer and Hymns event murdering some of the finest Wesleyan hymns! We are asking ourselves the question for 2011, ‘what does it mean for a denomination to be a partner at Greenbelt?’ ‘What can we offer and bring?’ ‘What do we hope to learn and gain?’ We are acutely sensitive to the ecumenical nature of Greenbelt, and more importantly perhaps, the openness of Greenbelt to people outside the denominational and indeed faith community itself. Such a question is part of, ‘what does it mean to
be a Church at all?’, and as we enjoyably struggle to answer such a question, we hope to bring some creative, radical, inspiring, and really Greenbelt friendly answers. We want to add to what Greenbelt offers the church, and to share with and learn from the whole church about we can live out our faith in action, the arts and worship. As you read this, Methodist or not, you may have your own ideas of how we might answer these kind of questions. We are partners of Greenbelt because we believe that Greenbelt is a great and worthwhile event, and because we want to encourage all Christians to be part of it. If you can help us, we would be most grateful. Next year, we want to offer more to Greenbelt, because we’ve already found that this is the best way to get more out of it. Mark Wakelin Secretary for Internal Relationships – The Methodist Church
partner
11
Moving on
Team Leader Days
Volunteer Gatherings
As we begin to plan for the 2011 festival some of our volunteers have decided to step down from their current roles – either to try something new, or to enjoy a bit more of the festival.
If you are the leader or deputy in your volunteer team please note the dates of this year’s training days in your diary.
It often feels like a long time between festivals and its good to catch up with other volunteers near where you live. There will be ‘gatherings’ up and down the country on Saturday 14th May – probably a pizza. If you’d be able to organise something in your area please let Linda know linda@greenbelt.org.uk.
A great big thank you to all of them for the time and hard work they have put in over the years and for all the skill and experience that they have contributed too. Some of our Team Leaders have also moved on. A special thank you to: Steve Threlfall-Rogers – Access Andy Forster – Fire Safety Ian Miller – Venue Management Sue and Ian Harvey-Smith – Children’s Festival Ben Pugh – Communion Derek Hill – Visual Arts Claire Barber, Steevi Warden and Nick Adley join the stewarding Team Leaders as deputies in the Site and Backstage steward teams. Louise Detain will manage the Access team and Alice Parker will be responsible for the Children’s team. 12
Saturday 12th March at All Hallows in London Saturday 19th March at Heaton Chapel near Stockport This is a great opportunity to begin to plan for 2011, to catch up on new developments from Greenbelt staff and to share good ideas with leaders of other teams. HR and Development Consultant (and Greenbelter) Rebecca Rumsey will be with us again this year as we think through the issues involved in managing a volunteer team.
Volunteer for 2011 If you’ve never volunteered at Greenbelt before why not make 2011 your first year, or if you feel like a change – there are details of volunteering opportunities on our website www.greenbelt.org.uk/ volunteer. If you’d more information or help finding a role to suit you please email Linda linda@greenbelt.org.uk or phone 0207 3742760.
Volunteer Profile Helen Morant, Comedy Programmer “What’s that noise?” I say, over the phone. There is the sound of rattling metal. “I’m just putting some sausages in the oven,” says Helen Morant. Helen is Greenbelt’s comedy programmer, the woman in charge of ensuring everyone is kept appropriately amused over the weekend. When I asked why she’s the comedy programmer, she said “Because I am really funny, probably the funniest person on site. Basically people just hung around me in groups, laughing, and they thought she’s got something, she really has.” She’s probably joking. Probably. She first came to the festival in 2006 as a volunteer, which leads to a shameful admission: “I’ve never been as a punter, and never sat through a whole talk”. Volunteering as part of the team pulling Last Orders together, Helen was picked out for her role as Producer by longterm Greenbelter and sitcom writer James Cary: “His perception was that I was organised and liked music and comedy.” Was that perception true? “It was true.” It’s sometimes difficult for journalists to get elusive comedians to, you know... open up. For indeed, Helen has a background in comedy herself. She had always enjoyed comedy,
particularly the live stand-up experience, and so went on a comedy course. She spent a bit of time gigging before looking for other ways to explore her love of comedy. Greenbelt provides an aspect of that exploration turning her passion into an exciting programme for our festivalgoers. Comedy, however, isn’t the only thing up Helen’s sleeve. Rather worryingly - for me, perhaps - that thing is medicine. Helen trained as an anaesthetist, before putting down the needles and doing something slightly different: “I am the Editor of Online learning at the British Medical Journal - I run a website that doctors and other health professionals visit to keep their knowledge up to date. We write learning modules, and also make podcasts and short films.” “It must be difficult to reconcile your comedy career with a career in medicine,” I say. “It is,” says Helen. There is a bit of a pause. Her step up to Comedy Programmer came naturally: “Having done Last Orders for three years, it was a good chance to do something a bit different.” The challenges of the role are varied, ranging from “finding time to do the admin during the year”, through to “herding comedians”. Surprisingly, one of the biggest challenges for booking Greenbelt comedy is entirely out of Helen’s hands: “The Edinburgh Fringe is on at the same time as Greenbelt. It’s the thing that all new comedians always do as it’s very important for anyone developing their career in comedy, which can make it tricky to get people.” The acts that Greenbelt book have to be considered carefully. “Although the main criteria we look for is that acts are good and funny, we always think about the audience. We want to provide
some comedy that pushes boundaries and challenges a Greenbelt audience, and some that doesn’t. We also want to encourage and nurture new Christian comedians, as comedy is a dark, dark place.” She repeats that, ominously. “A dark, dark place.” Helen also tries to “get the balance right between new comedy and old favourites”. In 2010, Milton Jones was keen to return - “Milton had been to Greenbelt plenty of times before, but not for a few years. He is becoming increasingly famous.” Greenbelt also welcomed Robin Ince in 2010: “Robin is renowned for being an atheist, but he is also very interested in dialogue about religion, and a very nice man. We also thought it might be good for Robin to meet some relatively normal Christians, as a refreshing break from the angry sort he normally meets.” With such a fine lineup, Comedy at Greenbelt had a great year in 2010, but Helen considers her highlight to be “working with an amazing and really hard working Comedy team, who all seemed to have a great time, despite working their socks off”. She manages a small team of individuals, who look after various items of programming Last Orders, Happy Hour, Get Up Stand Up, and the featured acts. Plus, at the festival in 2010 she got to introduce Milton Jones to Centaur. That must have been exciting, right? “It was a fun, exhilarating experience,” she says, drily. And if you volunteer for the programming side, there’s no telling who you’ll bump into: “I met Tom Hollander and Olivia Colman. I was a completely starstruck idiot, and said ‘Hello’ as if they were old friends. I then realised what I’d done and had to say ‘You don’t know me, but I know who you are from the telly’.” 13
Starting to Dream In summer 2011, we’ll be coming together under the theme of “Dreams of Home”. To get us thinking about what that could mean, here’s vicar, Ship of Fools columnist, and Greenbelt speaker Andrew Rumsey... Home: the most important place in the world. At least that’s what the IKEA advert on my tube map says - which may explain why I’m always so keen to get back home whenever I’m shopping there.
Security’ shapes US domestic and foreign policy and, in Britain, forms the backdrop for much of the communitarian debate currently in the air - the ‘Big Society’; transition towns; youth gang crime and so on.
As advertisers know, there are few words more emotionally charged than ‘home’: it’s one of those trigger words that immediately fires powerful images and feelings within us. In one way or another, home matters deeply to everyone and is one of the few things we’ll consider dying for.
Because it matters so much to us, homelessness is one of our most lamentable conditions. And at the personal level, the desire for home is the hidden motor driving much of our life’s ambition and purpose – it shapes our built environment; the places we want to live in, the routes we take, the art on our walls – all of what one writer calls ‘the infraordinary’ – the everyday pattern of life which is so familiar it becomes invisible.
So many issues in contemporary politics and society relate to this theme. It’s at the heart of the situation in the Holy Land, of course, and concerns over asylum, immigration and the rise of radical Islam. ‘Homeland 14
The English word which literally means ‘the longing for home’ is ‘nostalgia’ – first diagnosed in
the seventeenth century as an illness to be treated with leeches and opium; but now viewed as a kind of mass therapy. In early cases of nostalgic sickness, patients apparently displayed a tendency to have visions and hallucinations (goodness knows how the opium helped that…), and arguably home has always been a vision - an imaginary, idealised place, a utopia, a heaven. As soon as children can walk they learn how far they can stray away from home before it gets scary. Freud had a word for this which we translate ‘uncanny’ but in German is unheimlich – ‘unhomely’. The unheimlich is the nightmare flipside to our dreams of home; the familiar and everyday turned horrific and alien. It’s Doctor Who where
dustbins and teapots turn nasty; it’s the children’s story Coraline, whose mother turns round in the kitchen to reveal buttons sewn in instead of eyes. To be unable to get home, as she was, is truly to be lost. In the Bible, home is wherever God is: ‘Lord you have been our home, our dwelling place throughout all generations’, sings the Psalmist. Home is a dominant theme in scripture, which journeys from one ideal home, the Garden of Eden, to another, the New Jerusalem, by way of Jesus Christ – and while foxes have holes and the birds have nests, the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. St Augustine saw our earthly longing for home as an echo of eternity: ‘our hearts are restless’, he prayed, ‘until they find their
rest in thee’. And, for people throughout history suffering violence and oppression – from the first Christians being thrown to Nero’s lions for whom John wrote his book of Revelation (whether fuelled by leeches or opium we can’t say), to the African-American slaves who sang, like Woody Guthrie after them, ‘I ain’t got no home in this world anymore’, heaven was a radical, empowering vision: a place of liberation, a place of salvation and welcome, a place to belong. At the London Transport museum recently I saw one of those nostalgic old railway posters that, for some reason, stopped me in my tracks: All it said was ‘So swiftly home by Southern Electric’. So swiftly home. And immediately I felt
the ever-present pang of the consumer and had to have it, to buy it: for it to belong to me, so that I might belong in return. But though it’s where we dream of getting back, paradoxically, home is often the place we are also most desperate to leave – the railway promising escape as much as homecoming. Nevertheless, the aim remains the same: we flee from one home to seek another and will do almost anything to find it. And that’s really the problem with home: we love it to death. It is, after all, the most important place in the world.
15
What Good is God? Philip Yancey (Greenbelt speaker in 2001 and 2008) released his new book What Good Is God? in September. It’s a collection of pieces in which Philip journeys to ten locations around the world to speak about redemption, hope and grace. Together, they form an incisive look into the benefits of faith, and the continual search to uncover hidden meaning behind loss, death or poverty. This extract is from the book’s introduction, and gives a great sense of the themes Philip is seeking to explore...
In late November 2008 my wife, Janet, and I were completing a tour of India sponsored by my publisher. I had spoken on themes from my books in five cities and the last stop involved a public event in India’s largest city, Mumbai (formerly Bombay). As it happened, that was the horrifying night when terrorists attacked tourist sites with grenades and guns, killing 172 people. The city went under lockdown and we had to cancel the scheduled event. Instead I spoke at an impromptu service at a small church in the suburbs on a night shrouded in fear and grief. Later, as we prepared to leave India, shooting erupted in the airport and guards with machine guns searched us and our luggage five separate times before we boarded one of the few international flights still operating. During the long plane ride home, still rattled by our narrow escape, I thought back to other intense times from my travels: shuttling interview subjects into dingy hotel rooms in China in order to avoid detection by the secret police; listening to accounts from the dazed students at Virginia Tech barely a week after their tragedy as I was still recovering from my own life-threatening accident; interviewing a roomful of prostitutes about their grim life stories. As I get involved in such extreme situations, one question looms above all: what good is God?
“What Good Is God” by Philip Yancey is available now from Hodder & Stoughton. Buy it from our online book store – greenbelt.org.uk/books 16
In my travels I have found certain themes to be universal, regardless of the personal application. The question ‘What
good is God?’ occurs in some form to every person who experiences pain or death or poverty or unfairness - in other words, to everyone. Indeed, as I look over the last few years’ itinerary, it seems clear that I deliberately choose journalistic assignments that contribute to my own search. For a period of time I step into the lives of those who have experienced far more oppression, violation and chaos than I ever will. I hope and pray that something of what I have learned in these ten places will become part of your search, just as they have been part of mine. When I went to New York to discuss this manuscript with the publisher, on a lark I bought tickets to see Aretha Franklin, ‘the Queen of Soul’, perform at Radio City Music Hall. The climax of the concert came as she rendered the gospel song ‘One Night with the King’. Spending time in the King’s courts could change your course forever, she sang, and then paused to let the words sink in. With renewed breath she belted out the strong promise that a night - or even a moment - in the presence of the King can change everything. Such an encounter leaves no one the same. Six thousand fans — New Yorkers — rose to their feed applauding wildly and yelling for more. Aretha had tapped into a deep longing in all of us, the desire for change, the belief that somehow God can wrest permanent good out of this flawed planet and us, its flawed inhabitants. Dare we entertain such a hope, such a faith?
We are always looking to make our festival better value for money and more affordable so that the widest range of people can come along and join in the festival excitement. We offer discounts for single parents and students; for church leaders experiencing the festival for the first time; for unemployed people, and those living with disability. But we wanted to do more, and so we started the Open Festival scheme, in which we give up to 200 free weekend passes to those who really need them. Application is nice and simple – it just requires one letter sent to the Greenbelt office – and groups and individuals get sent passes to enjoy the party. But don’t take our word for it... last year, the Genesis Trust (genesistrust.org.uk) applied on behalf of a group of their Life Skills members. Life Skills is a scheme run by the Genesis Trust to help homeless and vulnerable people move forwards in their lives and make positive progress, through courses in subjects like computer skills, literacy and numeracy, practical efforts at getting people back into work, and social activities like crafts, trips out and spiritual support.
Here’s what a Life Skills member had to say about their time at Greenbelt: I found Greenbelt to be a positive experience. The festival was very entertaining and social with a variety of music, seminars and activities. The atmosphere was lively yet easy going and it was nice to attend a festival where the vast majority of people were friendly... My favourite performances were from Beverley Knight and Lovers Electric and it was a real eye opener going to the Sunday service at the Trinity church – quite different from what I’ve been used to in the past. And it was positive from the point of view of the Trust as well. Here’s group leader Carey Skelton: We are still reaping the benefits of going away as a group to Greenbelt... [the group] really enjoyed being part of a group and feeling that they belonged. We’re running the Open Festival scheme again in 2011, so if you know of an individual or group who would benefit from a free ticket to the festival, see greenbelt.org.uk/open-festival, or send a letter of application on one side of A4 to the Greenbelt office before the 30th March 2011. Applications can be sent to: Open Festival, Greenbelt Festivals, All Hallows on the Wall, 83 London Wall, London, EC2M 5ND 17
Israel/Palestine Greenbelt last ran a trip to Israel-Palestine in 2009, and Literature Programmer Ben Whitehouse went along. We asked him to remember the experience and to let those who are considering joining the next Greenbelt trip to the Holy Land know what to expect… The phone call came early in the day when I was at my desk at work. “Ben, a space is available on the trip to Israel/Palestine with Greenbelt, do you want it?” Without any thought of anything I said “Yes” and then “When is it?”; in very short succession my boss had given me the time off, I’d checked my passport was up to date and I was getting vaccinations arranged with my Doctor. I was really going; this wasn’t one of those ‘get-to-itone-day’ ideas, I was really going to get on a plane and see the places I’d seen on the news and read about in the Bible; I was excited and scared. The trip was organised for members of the Greenbelt teamvolunteers and staff members and coordinated by the Amos Trust. The tour would take in significant locations associated with the life of Jesus, meetings with various partners of the Amos trust and witnesses on both sides of the Israel/Palestine situation. I loved the chance to walk where Jesus walked, meet with inspiring human rights activists, peace campaigners and ordinary, holy people. The history is fascinating, the welcome warm and the knowledge of our local Palestinian guide, Wisam, allowed us to connect the stories of then with the reality of here and now.
18
My significant memory of the trip is of the “barrier”, the “security fence” or the “apartheid wall”. It may have many names but the impact on the landscape is devastating. To really understand the wall and the impact it has you have to see it at four in the morning. One morning a small group of us got up to see the experience of the daily commute from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. Imagine a snaking queue of around 3000 people for one turnstile. People are sleeping, prayer mats are unrolled, conversations are held, and food is sold. At an unseen signal and a seemingly random moment the queue changes suddenly into a rushing mêlée, the checkpoint is open, people run, climb and clamber. It was sobering to see the systematic humiliation of these workers and know that it goes on every day. People sleep in the street to queue for hours and have their papers checked. Even after all of this they could still be refused entry by the Israeli soldiers and if there’s a security lockdown no one will go through, potentially jeopardising their source of money.
I was struck by how many graffiti artists had used the wall as a canvas for art, small acts of resistance in the blank face of occupation. Interestingly the TED prize for 2011 has been awarded to photographer JR. In 2007, with business partner Marco, he staged the project “Face 2 Face,” which some consider the biggest illegal photo exhibition ever. JR and a grassroots team of community members posted huge portraits of Israelis and Palestinians face to face in eight Palestinian and Israeli cities, and on both sides of the security fence/separation barrier. I like that this terrible concrete scar on the landscape is turned into an art gallery in places, a restaurant menu at another – both acts of resistance reminding us that there are other possibilities. For more information on the Greenbelt trip to the Holy Land in May 2011, see greenbelt.org.uk/campaign, or send your details to info@greenbelt.org.uk
halo.
Greetings Angels – and an especially warm welcome to all Angels who have signed up since the last edition of a Wing and a Prayer. How was Greenbelt for you? Did you find glimpses of the unexpected as you took a sideways look on the world? It was fantastic to see so many of you at our Throng of Throngs event in the Performance Café at the start of the Festival. We were treated to exclusive performances by the everpopular Jude Simpson and the sweetly melancholic Social Services, as well as an update by our chair Andy Turner and a heads-up of festival highlights by Rachel Stringer, our head of content.
Angel news and information. greenbelt.org.uk/angels
Huge thanks go to Jo Thomson and her team, who hosted the Angel Lounge over the course of the weekend. It was a hive of activity, with T-shirt customising workshops, phone charging and ‘meet a Trustee’ sessions. Once again we enjoyed borrowing the sumptuous Fairtrade Furniture, enabling all of you to really ‘lounge’ in style…
Talking of communication, we’ve added some new material to the Angels area of the website – so have a look when you get the chance: username: angels – password: high13igh. And if you’d like to take part in something a little more interactive, do join our private Facebook group – just search ‘Greenbelt Angels’ and you should see us there.
We’ve heard some great stories about this year’s festival as well as lots of constructive feedback. We always welcome your views so if you’ve still got something you want to say, why don’t you email it through to angels@greenbelt.org.uk? We’re committed to putting on the very best festival we can – so if you’ve had a post-festival brainwave, please let us know.
So thanks again to all of you Angels out there. Without you, the third leg of the stool, the Festival would simply topple over. Thank you for continuing to support Greenbelt in such challenging economic times – and for being such a valuable and irreplaceable part of the fabric of Greenbelt.
19
Greenbelt Angels To become a Greenbelt Angel, to increase your Angel giving, or make a one-off donation, complete this form and return it to Greenbelt Festivals 83 London Wall, London EC2M 5ND
Gift Aid declaration – please complete if you are a UK taxpayer I am a UK taxpayer and I wish all donations I make from the date of this declaration until I notify you otherwise to be tax effective under the gift aid scheme Higher rate taxpayers can claim further tax relief in their selfassessment tax return Signature
Date
Name Please remember to notify us if your circumstances change, i.e. you no longer pay Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax equal to the tax the charity reclaims (currently 28p for every £1 you give)
Originators ID Number
6
8
5
3
1
0
CAF, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4TA
Your details
Instruction to your Bank or Building Society to pay by Direct Debit
Title
Name(s) and address of account holder(s)
First Name
Title
Surname
First Name
Address
Surname Address
Postcode Contact no. (day)
County
Postcode
Account details Bank/Building Society account number
I would like to (please tick as appropriate) Make a one-off donation
Branch Sort Code
Make a regular donation and become an Angel
—
Increase my regular giving
Name and full address of your Bank/Building Society
Please complete payment method A or B
The Manager
A. I wish to make a one-off donation By Cheque enclosed for the sum of
£
Please make cheques payable to Greenbelt Festivals Ltd and if you’re a UK taxpayer, please fill in the Gift Aid declaration at the top of the page. B. I wish to make a regular donation by Direct Debit I authorise Greenbelt Festivals Ltd to debit my account Monthly / Quarterly / Annually (delete as applicable) The sum of From this date
£ / /
Please complete the mandate on the right and read and retain the Direct Debit Guarantee below
Bank / Building Society Address
County
The efficiency and security of the Scheme is monitored and protected by your own Bank or Building Society. If the amounts to be paid or the payment dates change, CAF/ GREENBELT will notify you at least ten working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise 20 agreed.
If an error is made by CAF/ GREENBELT or your Bank or Building Society, you are guaranteed a full and immediate refund from your branch of the amount paid. You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by writing to your Bank or Building Society. Please also send a copy of your letter to CAF, Administration Services, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4TA. A copy of this guarantee should be retained by the payer
Postcode
Instruction to your Bank or Building Society Please pay CAF Re Greenbelt Direct Debits from the account detailed in this instruction subject to the safeguards assured by the Direct Debit Guarantee. I understand that this instruction may remain with CAF Re Greenbelt and if so, details will be passed electronically to my Bank/Building Society. This replaces any previous instruction Increase
The Direct Debit Guarantee This Guarantee is offered by all Banks and Building Societies that take part in the Direct Debit Scheme.
—
Decrease
New Angel
Signature Date
For CAF official use only This is not part of the instruction to your Bank/Building Society Date of first payment on or after CAF Reference Number 6208-03-
/ / 20