my life pt 2

what those various bits and pieces are that i pass off as work ... in no particular order


Greenbelt

A christian arts festival that is 31 years old this year ... just about now we all have a lot of work to do as we slip into the last few weeks of preparation ... 19 thousand people watching bands and theatre ... listening to speakers

my involvement started many years ago when i was an actor in a christian theatre company and performed at the festival ... over the years i have done many things there ... performed directed and produced shows ... managed the in-house record and merchandise store ... hosted and produced holy joes debates and worship (we are doing alternative worship there this year) ... and more recently been a member of the team that books and produces the performing arts side of the festival

i am passionate about greenbelt and i always feel honoured to be able to be involved ... it always feels as if we are creating God's playground on earth and even though it is hard work and costs me time and money and energy i can't imagine my life without it

i always panic about my role and wonder if there isn't a better person to do my job there, i want so much for everything to go ok and for everyone to enjoy it as much as i think they should that i find it hard to sleep and worry constantly about something i might have forgotten and have sudden moments during the festival when i feel exhausted and wonder why i do it

then i watch a child's face full of delight as they watch something i helped to organise ... or listen to a friend tell me about a band they saw and how brilliant they were ... or work for hours to set up a worship thing and then watch people slide into the arms of God ... or sit having a rare break and a much needed coffee and suddenly friends gather and instantly you are sat amongst brilliant funny awe inspiring people and you realise that this place really can be heaven on earth sometimes ... and it all seems worthwhile


ACG

Arts Centre Group has been around for about 34 years ... i became a member when i was very young ... it was started because christians who worked in the arts often found themselves away from church on tour or performing in shows and never had the time to build relationships with a church community ... there was also the thing that working in the arts was a little frowned on by christians ... and while this is probably less so now it can still happen
ACG tries to create a space for members to be able to network with other christians and host regular events for them to attend so they can spend time with other christians ... they offer prayer support and nurturing and try to create a christian community that members can feel a part of

i was invited to join the board about 18 months ago and have become very involved in many aspects of the organisation ... that sounded like a CV comment … but as time goes on i am bound to cover some of what that is as it takes up a lot of my time

at the moment i am working on getting our database up to scratch ... designing a new website with more interactive elements and a better look ... and managing our office ... (which in reality means i have responsibility but delegate the actual doing bits to others who know how to do it properly) as well as the next bit which is explained in the next section



arts fabriek

ACG currently have an office in a church in Knightsbridge ... we have to leave there as they need the space ... instead of just finding another office somewhere the board have decided to try to source a building to be our base and to create an multi functional arts centre

i have taken on the role of building a team to make this happen ... we are trying to find a redundant church or building that we can have and then raise lots of money to refurbish it and equip it ... it is a dream project that we feel is long overdue and we have just started so it probably means this blog will have a lot to say about it as we go along

so far we have gathered a few people to talk and plan and written to some high up church people to see if they have a building we can borrow ... i think this is going to take a little bit of time and energy over the next few years


Holy Joes

a church that meets in a pub ...well it usually does ... we are currently homeless and that is a job that i have to do soon ... start searching for a new pub for us ... anyway ... we do meet in a pub every tuesday ... except for now when we are on our summer break ...

it started nearly fifteen years ago ... a small group of christians that were disenchanted with church started to meet and talk and worship together ... unruly, unstructured and understanding would be a fair description

a man called dave tomlinson lead the group and steered it through the next decade ... during which he wrote a book called the post evangelical and studied for an MA in theology and got ordained as an anglican priest after he left to go to St Luke's Holloway www.saintlukeschurch.org.uk ... i gradually accepted the fact that i would need to step into his shoes and lead the group ... not an easy task ... and nearly 5 years on i still panic at the responsibility ... i don't do theology and i worry myself sick that i will make mistakes with people

we continue to involve ourselves with greenbelt and other events and as we travel on we realise that holy joes as a community is the most important thing ... the people first the product second


S:Vox (not much there yet)

i am a survivor of sexual abuse and recently have met and got involved with an amazing group of people who are trying to provide some help and support for survivors.

I agreed to serve as a trustee of S:Vox it is early days as we are just registering as a charity but we are working in the background to get things going ... S:Vox will be at Greenbelt hosting some panel discussions and workshops

i guess i need to return to this subject another day