Father Robert King Writes from the Glastonbury Festival

01 July 2008

The Glastonbury Festival is as an enormous international festival for contemporary performing arts on a Somerset farm. The Sanctuary Marquee provides an excellent welcome from local Christians for festival goers.

Trained volunteers offer support and are on hand 24 hours a day to offer pastoral support and a safe place to rest as well as the festival essentials of life such as a glass of cold water and a loo roll. This is a real example the Church's continuing engagement in today's world. As a Church we are called to proclaim a message of hope to a world that is often fearful of the future or despondent at it's a lack of humanity. To be a Christian is to engage with people offering a message of joy and hope.

This year's well attended and prayerful Mass was celebrated on the feast of St Peter and St Paul. As pairings go the two apostles are very different characters. Peter the fisherman called to leave his nets and follow Christ, who was chosen to be the rock of the Christian faith. A very human disciple who at times could be impetuous and denied Jesus three times. Paul the fervent Pharisee, who persecuted the apostles before his conversion. The apostle who became the fearless preacher of the Christian faith to the nations. Both have Christ at the centre of their lives and both know what it is to be forgiven. God takes that which is human and makes it holy for the proclamation of the Gospel. Experiences of grace are what give us hope and prompt us to inspire hope in others.

Glastonbury is a time to celebrate the creative dimension of the human condition. Large numbers of people form an eclectic community for a diverse array of music and contemporary performance arts. They are united by a passion for life. Catholics are called to gather as a community each Sunday for the celebration of Mass. For many it's what they do each Sunday, for others it's a time to call at the door of the Church as they return to the practice of their faith. For me it's always a privilege to join both dedicated volunteers and Glastonbury devotees for the celebration of Mass.

Father Robert King

Listen to the Mass in the multimedia panel on the right.  You can also hear Father Robert's report where he's in conversation with festival goers.  Hear more in last week's report.