A guest blog from Greenbelter Barbara Doye, who is coordinating The Grove programme for the festival this year …
Do you find yourself breathing deeper and travelling further into a sense of the Divine when your feet are on the bare earth and you can see the sky? Would you like to meet others who are like-minded? Do you long to understand nature better – to learn to read the First Book of God?
Come along to The Grove, in our new, quieter space across on the other side of the lake. Use the multi-sensory prayer stations themed on the turning points of the year to reflect on the seasons of life. Celebrate a just harvest, learn about foraging, hear some uncommon prayers which might just help The Common Good.
For those who identify as male, there will be opportunities to explore your spiritual journey in the company of other males. For those who love the dark, come and enjoy the night-time Eucharist with Cathy Bird. For those who are young at heart, play and be refreshed with the Not-So-Hungry Caterpillar!
Or come and chat to us, with sessions every day set aside for you to share your experiences, and ask the sort of questions that arise when you start really considering the lilies. On your own or with others, come to the Grove to tune into the music of the Universe.
The Grove space and programme will be back at Greenbelt. But this year it’s getting back to its grassroots and fringe origins. There won’t be a formal spread in the Festival Guide. Instead, you’ll find the detailed timings for each day on the chalk boards at the festival as you cross the pontoon bridge to the other side of the lake. It’s about discovery and journey. It’s about seeking and finding; about moving to the margins.