A guest blog from our partners, Church Times.
How much has the UK changed in the last 150 years? What about the Church?
The Church Times has been reporting the news about the Church for over 150 years. This July sees the publication of our 8000th issue (you can browse it online here). In its history, Church Times reporters have covered two world wars, the coronations of four British monarchs, the ordination of the first women priests, protests against everything from the poll tax to climate change, and, most recently, comment from both sides of the Brexit debate.
Going back to our archives has unearthed many interesting articles. Among them is this report about the second Greenbelt festival in 1975:
“On Monday evening the beautiful Bedfordshire countryside came together with a glorious conglomeration of Christian noise as massive amplifiers pumping out hundreds of watts from the After The Fire rock band competed with bell ringing practice from the local All Saints’ Church.
“[Seminars] covered areas such as architecture, photography, drama and poetry… Eastern religions from a Christian viewpoint and general Christian living in contemporary society.
“Unlike other music festivals held over the same weekend, there was no trouble at this event and the St. John Ambulance Brigade members present were kept busy not with people on drug overdoses but with a large number of wasp stings.”
Fast-forward to 2016 and the Church Times is back at Greenbelt this August, in what will be our tenth year as a festival partner. We are proud to support the glorious conglomeration of music, arts and ideas that is Greenbelt – although we’re hoping to avoid any wasps this year.
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Explore the Church Times digital archive for yourself
To celebrate issue no. 8000 we’re opening up the Church Times archive to everyone until the end of July. Login for free and read our reports of the key events in the life of the Church and the country. Search for your parish or see if any of the clergy you know get a mention. Or just browse any topic that takes your fancy.
To get free access to the archive visit our website: www.churchtimes.co.uk/archive-trial
At Greenbelt, find Church Times in the G-Books tent. Plus look out for our festival highlights magazine, given out free across the site.