Northumbrian Collective members James and Julie were at the Greenbelt festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Here are some of their thoughts about their time there.

Julie: Hi James, it’s good to see you again. When I saw you last, we were at Greenbelt in the fields at Boughton house. How was Greenbelt for you?

James: I enjoy Greenbelt greatly. Perhaps we should say that, for those who don’t know, Greenbelt is an Arts Festival with a Christian foundation. I find it a place now where I meet with friends and encounter thinking and topics which, in the rural town in the Peak District where I live, you don’t generally encounter. But there’s also a great opportunity to experience theatre, music, comedy and poetry – all of the arts – which is great. So it’s always a good weekend. How about you?

Julie: It’s my fourth year there so it’s becoming familiar. I kind of know what to expect, but there’s always things that surprise me and new performers to discover. I enjoy the mix of stuff to make me think, speakers, music, comedy and theatre. I also appreciate being with good friends and meeting others who I bump into there, like yourself, and catch up over a drink – and then there are the conversations I have with absolute strangers. I had a couple of amazing conversations with people I’ve never met before and will probably never see again but there was definitely something of God in those conversations.

James: Do you want to elaborate on one of those conversations, without breaking confidentiality?

Julie: Okay, I had a conversation with someone I met at Queer & Hymns – and I hope I listened well!

I’ve been to Beer & Hymns many times; it’s one of my firm fixtures that I will not miss, but this year time I also went to Queer & Hymns which included short testimonies of people who would identify as queer and how their faith makes a difference to them. I think it is really important that these stories are listened to well, and that people are willing to step out of their comfort zones and listen to the experiences of others that might challenge them. In between the songs I got chatting to the person I was sat next to. I don’t really want to share details of their story but they were from the queer community and currently work in a Christian leadership role and, over the course of the hour that I sat next to them, I heard about some of the challenges they faced and had overcome and also the lovely acceptance they have found in the churches they work in. So, the conversation was deep and covered a mixture of lamenting and sadness but also hope and celebration.

James: Yes, I think clearly Greenbelt is a place where the LGBTQ+ community feel safe and able to be themselves, which is great. But it also presents the need to engage and think well and deeply about issues about the place of various expressions of sexuality within the Christian church.

I went to listen to Dave Tomlinson talk about Loving your cancelled neighbour. And of course there was one particular person who had been removed from the program because she took a perspective which was not welcomed by the LGBTQ+ community. One of the things that impacted me there was firstly that Dave (speaking on a personal level, although he is a trustee of Greenbelt) was disappointed with the fact that such a decision had been made. This was in answer to a question from the floor. And afterwards I approached the person who had, in a very helpful and sensitive way, asked the question. She was obviously nervous about doing so and you could hear the hesitancy. And so I just went up to her afterwards and said, “thank you for asking that question, and well done.” And she was really grateful. And I wasn’t alone in doing that. We were joined by someone who I would observe to probably be a trans woman. And she said, “I too was disappointed at the fact that this speaker was taken off the program. And actually, when I heard it, I went and bought her book and read it.” And I was admiring of that. I thought that was an example of being open and gracious to those who you might inherently think you would disagree with or find challenging and difficult. And she came and sat next to us for the next session, which was great. And it just felt as though for that brief moment or so we had made a connection. Thinking more deeply, I can still sense the things I first felt within myself around such matters – my first church was a fairly staunch evangelical church for whom Greenbelt would have been anathema. The things you first learn are very difficult to unlearn, and I find that there is still a sort of defensive mechanism that easily kicks in. And I don’t like that necessarily, but it’s still there. And I have to work my way through it. And that’s where you start thinking deeply on a personal level.

Julie: Yeah. Yeah.

James: And I probably wouldn’t do that if it wasn’t for Greenbelt.

Julie: Yeah, there’s something about the safety of the place that allows people to open themselves up to be challenged. Going back to the cancelling of that potential speaker, I’ve thought about that a lot since I heard about it. I’m aware that I’m coming from a place of privilege, as a heterosexual, cis woman I’ve never had to face the prejudices that my LGBTQ+ siblings have faced. It’s important we listen to them when they say how inviting certain people to speak at Greenbelt affects them. Coming to the festival may be a real haven for them, away from their potentially difficult and challenging contexts, so it does need to be safe.

James: Yes.

Julie: But I too was disappointed that there isn’t also room for a speaker that may say some things that are a little bit upsetting. There is a risk that Greenbelt becomes an echo chamber. But it’s difficult, isn’t it? There’s a tension between creating safety for those who are often attacked whilst also creating opportunities for that growth on a personal level that you described. Being exposed to ideas that challenge and make us uncomfortable can lead to thinking deeply about something and learning about another’s point of view. I’m still thinking about that and I think yeah, it’s tricky.

James: The other place where I found myself listening and then reflecting were two fantastic, singers and in the course of their sets both announced vociferously, “I am a butch lesbian.”

Julie: Yeah I knew I know which two you mean and I’ve just bought tickets to go and see one of them!

James:  I reacted within and asked “do I need to know that? Why is that something that needs to be declared as forthrightly as you declare it from the stage when actually you sing brilliantly and your songs are so thought provoking?” And this of course is my old self rising up. So we were talking about this with friends later over a glass of wine back at our accommodation. And you then think about it from the place of the other. And actually, it’s not about me. It’s actually that there will be some sitting in the audience who need to hear that, and realise that’s someone like me up there.

Julie: Yeah. Yeah.

James: I read then a very small reflection on Greenbelt in which someone had posted some photographs and they said they long for the day when that doesn’t need to be announced much in the same way as whether a priest is male or female. By and large it is not an issue and it doesn’t have to be remarked upon as it used to be. And I think that was a point well made. And so for the sake of the other it maybe needs to be said but I live with the hope that the day will come when it doesn’t need to be said because safety exists and identity is a given, as it were.

Julie: When you first started speaking about this, I was thinking they, the performers, need to express who they are and there’s a pride in that. Yes, they are role models for others and that’s important – but for that individual artist to speak out their identity may be really empowering, because they’ve probably had to hide who they truly were for years – or had to face abuse because of who they are. I think this links to living authentically.

And that’s another thing I love about Greenbelt: seeing people – on and off stage – living their authentic, beautiful lives. I love that, it’s freeing and joyful.