Movement_158_Digital

ig-named artists such as Lamb, Three Colours Red and
Goldie to perform on the bill to raise awareness. Also in the
1990s, Midnight Oil performed, their lead singer Pete Garrett
being one of the very early voices to raise awareness around
the impact of climate change. “How can we dance / When
our earth is turning / How do we sleep / While our beds
are burning?” Pete would later become a prominent Green
politician in Australia.
It was around this time that Greenbelt also formed a new
partnership with Christian Aid, a partnership that has
endured to this day. Through this relationship the festival
and festivalgoers have learned about the interplay between
campaigning, advocacy and aid, and so developed a mature
understanding of the way in which modern-day aid and
development works. These days, Greenbelt campaigns
jointly with Christian Aid each year on a particular justice
concern in the run-up to, at, and after the festival. At one
stage even the Department for International Development
partnered with the festival, recognising in the Greenbelt
constituency a group of engaged and activist people
committed to making a difference.
In the year 2000, Greenbelt joined forces with Christian Aid
and other agencies to host a special ‘Drop the Debt’ day to
mark and focus on the Jubilee 2000 campaign designed to
write off the debts of the developing world and give those
countries a fresh start. In 2005, the festival had a special
focus on the ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign – including
building a giant yellow-brick road onsite!
Other agencies besides Christian Aid – both domestic and
global – have partnered with the festival along the way,
deepening and broadening its sense of justice, advocacy,
activism and campaigning. From working with the Children’s
Society to campaign for the reintroduction of free school
dinners to collaborating with the Flesh and Blood campaign
to record the world record amount of organ and blood donor
pledges at a festival, Greenbelt has sought to embed itself
with a wide range of justice activism.
Today, the festival is committed to dialling up its activist
edge still further – and is consciously focussed on climate
change, UK poverty, migration and Israel-Palestine.
Having mainstreamed its commitments to the human rights
of Palestinians and Israelis through a special three-year
‘It’s Not Just’ campaign and its inclusion and celebration
of LGBTQIA+ contributors and festivalgoers, Greenbelt is
always looking to break new ground as it seeks to follow
after a God whose heart is for justice and the flourishing
of all. Most recently this has led the festival to develop
conscious attention on issues of racial inclusion and justice,
intersectional concerns, and gender justice.
As a creative space, Greenbelt is always restless, never
content to rest on its laurels. It is a festival always seeking to
keep up with the work of God’s Spirit in the world; to seek
the Spirit’s presence out and then to join in. Its commitment
to creativity and the imagination mean that it is not only an
arts festival – celebrating human creativity in all its forms –
but also a justice festival – imagining what it’s like to be in
someone else’s shoes and working to create a better world
for everyone. And in all this, the festival is informed by the
life, teaching and example of Jesus Christ of Nazareth who
came that all might have life in all its fullness.
To find out more about Greenbelt and to book tickets for the
2019 festival ‘Wit and Wisdom’, visit www.greenbelt.org.uk
Greenbelt
ASK THE MOVEMENT
As part of a blog series on Discipleship, we asked the movement....
WHAT CREATIVE
THINGS DO YOU DO TO
DEEPEN YOUR FAITH?
USING THE
INTERNET
“I follow Michael Hardin’s live video
teaching on Facebook and read
Anabaptist theology online, mostly
Ted Grimsrud.”
Social media isn’t necessarily evil, it’s just a tool. We
can use it wisely (or not so wisely!) to help us further our
understanding of God and deepen our relationship with
God (or to waste hours mindlessly scrolling...). Following
theologians, reverends, priests, the Pope(!), authors,
speakers or other Christian friends on Facebook, Twitter
and Instagram can be a great way of interspersing our feed
with bits of nourishment throughout the day, especially
if we’re being mindful of what we’re looking at and even
seeking it out for specific purposes.
We find these people on Twitter in particular really
challenge and deepen our own faiths and remind us that
though the world may be burning, there is still some good
out there: Dr Rachel Mann (@RevRachelMann), Rachel Held
Evans (@rachelheldevans), Jason Chesnut (@CrazyPastor),
Broderick Greer (@BroderickGreer) The Pope (@pontifex),
Father James Martin (@jamesmartinsj), Nadia Bolz-Weber
(@sarcasticluther), Revd Rob Lee (@roblee4), Bernice King
(@berniceking), Congressman John Lewis (@repjohnlewis),
Revd Sally Hitchiner (@SallyHitchiner).
CONTEMPLATION
AND REFLECTION
“I lead intercessions at church
sometimes, and I’ve found that just
sitting with the readings and hymns
for the week and physically writing
out the intercessions by hand is a good
contemplative practice for me.”
“Contemplative prayer”
Leading other people in worship means putting in the prep
time ourselves! If you struggle to make the time to read the
Bible or pray and you want to give more of your time to it,
this might be a good option for you. Why not volunteer to
lead a study at your small group?
Contemplation and meditating on the scriptures is a great
way to deepen faith, as it gives you a focus and a longer
period of time in which to really chew the words over and
let them resonate with you deeply. Contemplative prayer is
a great practice that can help focus our mind and connect
with God in a really deep way.
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MOVEMENT Issue 158
MOVEMENT Issue 158
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