Greenbelt …

I returned home from England Monday afternoon after missing my Sunday afternoon flight (stupid mistake on my part … but that’s another story). It was a wonderful weekend at Greenbelt.
My sessions were amazingly well attended, especially because …
– at my first session, the electricity wasn’t working so I used a bullhorn to speak to several thousand people, who sat patiently, straining to catch the gist of my message.
– at my second session, a fire alarm went off, forcing a thousand or so people to leave bleachers and sit on tarmac, but again, they stayed and listened with amazing attention.
– also at my third session (where we reprised my first session, this time with electricity), it started to rain, but people just pulled out umbrellas and nobody moved!
– at my fourth session, we joked that it would probably start snowing (it was pretty chilly, but not that chilly!). You can see some pictures here.
A special dimension of Greenbelt is seeing old friends and acquaintances … including Andrew Jones from NZ and Scotland (among other places), Fuzz Kitto from Oz, Jonny Baker from the UK, David Dark from the US, Gareth Higgins from Ireland (soon to be from the US), Pete Rollins from Ireland, Steve Taylor from the UK and LA, and Phil Yancey from Colorado. And it’s also a place to meet new friends – including Frank Schaeffer and Sarah Miles, folks I’ve looked forward to meeting for a long time, and whose company and conversation were really enjoyable.
In only got to listen to one band … Aradhna, which I’ve become a big fan of. There was so much music going on, but I was almost constantly either speaking or in meetings.
There’s a rumor spreading that a “faith-art-justice” festival in the spirit of Greenbelt is being planned for the US. As someone involved in the dreaming and planning for this, I can tell you that the rumor is true … stay tuned.