Aidan's Greenbelt Highlights

Today I returned from a long weekend at the annual Greenbelt Christian arts festival in Cheltenham. This was the third time I had been to Greenbelt. My first time was as a student in 1997 and my second time was just for a day in 2002. Both occasions were memorable for the music. However, this year what caught my attention the most were the talks, although there was one exception to this.

On the Friday night I went to see the band Verra Cruz, whose debut album I bought only a few weeks ago, but in that time I have become happily familiar with the trio's guitar-driven hard rock anthems, layered with thought-provoking lyrics. In a packed Second Stage performance (reaching the maximum capacity of 400 people - way too small for a second stage in my humble opinion!) Verra Cruz proved they could both energise and inspire an audience. But beyond the great music they produce I was interested in the heavy presence of political thought within their songs. During the performance frontman Marc James reflected on 9/11 and introduced the song 'Deliver us' as being inspired by what he had been reading on the UK arms trade. Verra Cruz stand out from your average rock band, not only because of their musical talent, but also because of their religious and political convictions, which are cleverly woven into many of their songs.

So, what of the inspirational talks? Well, I spent the four days of Greenbelt running from one seminar to the next, only pausing occasionally to have a coffee with fellow CPF co-ordinator, Paul Burgin, or to enjoy the delights of Greenbelt food with my girlfriend, and quite often bumping into people we didn't know would be at Greenbelt (the Christian community is a small world!). Amongst the many talks I attended the highlights were the discussion between Jim Wallis (US political activist) and Stephend Timms MP on political engagement; Keiko Holmes' talk on her amazing work on reconciliation between former British soldiers, who were far east prisoners of war during the Second World War, and Japanese communities; an interview with Norman Kember on his experience of being held hostage in Iraq whilst on a Christian peace-makers mission (you can read an article on this in the September edition of the CPF's IMPACT ezine); and the moving interview with Nick Yarris, who was held on death row in the US for more than two decades before being released because he had been wronlgy accused originally.
All in all, a fantastic Greenbelt, and I'm already looking forward to next year.

We would be interested to hear from anyone else who attended Greenbelt this year if you would like to share your highlights or after-thoughts on the weekend's events.

Aidan Liriano (CPF co-ordinator)