Home › Greenbelt Festival 26 - 29 August 2011

Greenbelt Festival 26 - 29 August 2011

in

Church Urban Fund is very pleased to be sponsoring the Kitchen venue at Greenbelt again this year.

Greenbelt Festival is held over four days at Cheltenham Racecourse. The Kitchen hosts a unique mix of talks, workshops and interactive sessions covering a wide range of community-based topics, designed to provoke discussion and shared thinking on issues around tackling poverty, being community, and living out faith.

Church Urban Fund has an information stand in the Kitchen, and staff and volunteers will be around to talk to you about getting involved in tackling poverty, as an individual, church or faith group.

Full details about this year's programme, along with how to book tickets, is available on the Greenbelt website. Highlights to look out for in the Kitchen are:

 

Friday 26 August

5 pm - Church Urban Fund reception: Poverty in England - how should the Church respond?

Recent violence and unrest in England has provoked a lot of discussion and debate about the state of society. But what were the riots really about? We have invited some friends of Church Urban Fund and Greenbelt to share and discuss their opinions on the underlying causes of the rioting. Come and join the conversation.

6:30 pm - Big Society: big state, big deal, big con?

Bishop Tim Stephens, Alison Gelder, Savitri Hensman and Niall Cooper

A round-table discussion on justice, welfare, charity and the BIg Society.

 

Saturday 27 August

9:30 am - Getting real about homelessness: the complexity of compassion

Jonathan Gebbie, Alison Gelder, Dave Smith, Alastair Murray, Jon Kuhrt and Sally Leigh

Homelessness is an emotive issue, and one of the most visible forms of poverty. Join the panel as they debate: 'This house believes that giving money to people begging does more harm than good'.

12:30 pm - Effective youth outreach in tough places

John Wheatley

Engaging with young people in deprived or difficult areas can be hard work, tiring and frustrating - but also deeply rewarding. John Wheatley shares his experience and insights.

2 pm - Living Local

Jessica Davies

An exploration of how to live in community, outside of the conventional channels but within the church. What difference does it make to be Christians living together in a neighbourhood?

5 pm - Jesus never served quiche

Rob Wicks

Sharing a meal, or serving food for others, is one of the most intimate, sociable and generous ways of building relationships, and references to food and eating occur throughout the Bible  - so why aren't there more dining tables in churches? A talk with pictures, discussion and sharing - bring something to eat!

8 pm - Taking it to the streets

Ben Whitehouse, John Papworth, Jed Weightman, Tamsin Osmond, Niall Cooper, Lucy Pearce and Paul Miller

Does direct action change anything? Is it a vital political tool, or the politics of posture?

 

Sunday 28 August

12:30 pm - Giving away the gospel

Dawn Lonsdale

Unlock is a Christian charity that works with urban churches of all denominations to share their faith in ways that meet the needs of local communities. Dawn Lonsdale shares stories from Unlock's work and leads discussion on how others can use some of Unlock's methods in their own local contexts.

3:30pm - Social action: social enterprise

Phil Levermore and Hugh Lee

Phil and Hugh founded EBICO - a flourishing not-for-profit energy company - 12 years ago as a means of providing fair energy tariffs for some of the poorest and most vulnerable users. In this session, they discuss the role of social enterprises in building the Big Society, and how to foster social entrepreneurship.

6:30 pm - There's no such thing as (the Big) Society...

Richard Wilkinson, Ed Cox, Ann Morisy, Maurice Glasman and Jacqui Christian

...or is there? What does the vision of a big society mean for the people who are expected to deliver it? A panel of experts examine the choices facing faith and civic groups.

 

Monday 29 August

9:30 am - Mental illness: staying in relationship and holding on to hope

Robyn Vessy, Jo Enright, Lois Collings, Iain Arnott, Alison Hogger Gadsby and Alistair Pearson

The panel discuss the often profound impact of mental illness on relationships with family and community.

12:30 pm - Working with other faiths to tackle poverty

Richard Sudworth

What does Christain community work look like in multi-faith areas? Richard Sudworth talks about his experience of a Muslim majority area in Birmingham.