I first went to the Greenbelt Festival 40 years ago. In those days it was a fairly traditional festival format, with one big stage and a few smaller venues around that had speakers or smaller bands. It was a showcase for a vibrant Christian music scene and was very youth orientated. I throughly enjoyed it and went for the next few years until in 1988 we tried it with a young baby, and decided it didn’t really work with a push chair! 

In the meantime Greenbelt started to change, becoming more of a an arts festival with a heavy emphasis on social justice. But, it also had some financial problems, a couple of wet years and an attempt to buy it’s own permanent site had almost brought the festival to collapse. It moved to Cheltenham Racecourse and began to be re-imagined. We heard enough good things about it to return in 2000. Our children were old enough not to need pushing around, the racecourse site gave the opportunity for a wider variety of talks, activities, music, but most of all, for me, it became a wonderful place of spiritual renewal. It’s inclusive theology was in step with my own and its focus on a whole variety of social justice issues, fuelled by a strong faith identity provided a place to be challenged as well as renewed. The music by now was less upfront Christian, but the artists were also people asking questions about our world and how we engage with it and i discovered lots of artists and speakers who continue to inform, challenge and influence me. 

In 2008, as part of my sabbatical, I decided to volunteer and found myself managing a venue. That meant that I couldn’t pick and choose who I listened to, I found myself watching films, or hearing speakers that I would never have chosen to sit through. So often, I was glad I did. I also got to meet Grommet when one of the animators from Aardman brought him along to a talk he was doing. I’ve continued to volunteer, managing venues as diverse as the Big Top, or small niche venues. I’ve managed equipment failures, floods, artists who overrun, or arrive late, audience members who co-operate and those who don’t! More recently, I’ve provided oversight of a number of venues, wearing a very fetching high viz, pink jacket whilst supporting the often young stewarding teams as they deal with whatever a festival can throw at them. 

In 2009 over a few beers, a number of URC friends started grumbling about the almost exclusively Anglican offerings in the worship venues, and decided to offer something different. UnReCognised was born, and you met some of the group at my induction. Over the years we have produced a number of worship activities that seek to engage with scripture and find different ways to worship than a liturgical stereotype. As the URC became official partners with Greenbelt, we were able to offer our experience to the URC and support URC led activities. This year we are doing that again.

Greenbelt returned to a greenfield site in 2014, at Broughton House, Northamptonshire. It is a wonderful venue. Like many festivals the last two years have been difficult, but the festival continues to develop and with the support of a loyal base hopes to be able to thrive again. The URC are taking on a larger role; running the cafe, inviting speakers, and on the Sunday afternoon putting on an act of worship to celebrate our 50th anniversary. That is where UnReCognised is involved, and the big challenge is that we are going to link up with yourchurch – a digital church linked to the URC. From a field with terrible mobile signal we will stream this celebration live! So  put 4:30pm, Sunday 28th August in your diaries and join us online marking the URC at 50 in a (I expect) very different way from the one that will come from Westminster Hall in October. Or even, better come along to Greenbelt 26-29 August, there are special deals for URC groups on the Sunday https://urc.org.uk/greenbelt/bring-your-church-group/.

We all need spaces of renewal, and times when we see the world in a new light. Greenbelt has been that for me and we have been on a long journey together that has been fruitful and creative. I hope you have such places and if you are looking for a new one – why not give Greenbelt a try? 

be blessed, Craig (see if you can find me in the picture)