Loving God Loving People at UK Music FestivalScot Bower - 1 Sep 2011
How do you create a space for prayer at the heart of a vibrant UK music festival?
Away from from the mayhem of the children’s field and its 5 metre dragon, free-for-all drum kit and circus tent. Far from the impressive main stage where women of all ages are going crazy for James Blunt, opposite the sweaty punk venue there’s a peaceful place. The Eden People space is a chill out zone and many of the festival goers dropping in are looking for a place to escape before they re-engage with the weekend party.
I’m struck by how much this tent feels like a Prayer Room; there’s the fairy lights and reassuring white fabric, creative stations that wouldn’t be out of place in any prayer space and of course a few people praying. The place is teeming with festival goers who don’t seem to want to leave. It could be the draw of free smoothies and a massage but to be honest I think it’s more to do with the presence of the Spirit and the listening ears of the Eden People staff who are on hand to serve and love the people.
Colin Brice is one of the founders of Eden People and I catch up with him over a coffee and quiz him about Eden People which began 13 years ago and have been running the chill out space at Guilfest for the last 12.
Eden love to be creative in how we engage with people; releasing Gods Spirit and His Word through creative means and very different (unconventional) ways to bring people in contact with a living God and His people. We engage with people mostly on their ‘territory’ in cafes, pubs (bars), art galleries, Eco/Spiritual gatherings, community and music festivals like this one, at Mind, Body, Spirit & psychic fairs, key pagan/earth or religious dates and generally where people invite us in to an event.
As we talk Colin frequently refers to Eden People being both 'Christ centred' and 'people centred', he uses the phrases almost interchangeably. The 2 phrases are obviously not interchangable but they are inextricably linked for any mission-minded follower of Jesus. This is the response Jesus had when He was quizzed about the ‘greatest commandment’ (Mat 22 34-40). Jesus wouldn’t separate the love of God ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your soul’ with the love of people to 'love your neighbour as yourself’. This is the crux of all mission, whether it’s at the heart of a music festival, on an Alpha course or chatting with mates in a café, we love God and we love people. Christ centred and people centred. And so I ask Colin what the Eden People specific is, how are they expressing love for Christ and love for people?
Eden use all kinds of triggers to help people engage with God; massage therapy, dream interpretation, something we label ‘Insight’ where we ask God to speak to people prophetically through objects / pictures / words, Spiritual (soul) reflective sites, relaxation, meditation and blessing card readings (Jesus Deck & Ruach Cards).
A lot of the Eden People experience is wrapped up in prayer, volunteers take the chance to pray for healing or a simple prayer of blessing for many of those that come into this space. In many ways this is what a Prayer Room would look like if it grew legs and wandered into a music festival!
One Eden volunteer wrote:
A family of adults (daughter, son, mum, dad, various friends girlfriends boyfriends etc) got their faces painted- they seemed a bit drunk! The daughter was saying about when she went in the Eden People tent and got prayed for her anxiety and she felt a weird sense of peace and the Holy Spirit (she didn’t call it that just a weird feeling she couldn’t understand)- she was excited and confused and hoped it solved her anxiety problem as nothing else would. She was encouraging others to go inside for prayer.
Another said:
I counted 18 people that I got to either prophesy over or pray with or both – that was AWESOME! Won’t recount every story, but the general vibe was that people would do the prophesy objects thing and then we’d ask the Lord for words for them and then tell them what the Lord thought about them and their situations. It was wonderful to see their faces as they realised that the Lord knew their lives and that He loved them and had a plan for them.
The Eden People experience isn’t confined to music festivals either, you could find them hosting music and poetry evenings at a local café or setting up art installations on the High St.
Colin continues:
Use of the creative arts is key also; with artists, musicians and poets enabled to share faith through their work and gifting at cafes/venues or through exhibitions and installations.
Thinking creatively and ‘outside the box’ has enabled us to meet, pray and share Gods heart with thousands of people. All these ‘ways’ have also encouraged, strengthened and realised Christ’s followers and made the sharing of faith fun, exciting and fruitful.
There were certainly many smiling faces as I left the Eden people tent to re-engage with the festival that evening. And as I walked away with my own smile I marvelled at the genius of God and the obedience of people like Colin that take prayer to the streets. Whether it’s Prayer Spaces finding their way into schools or Sacred places like the Eden People tent in the corner of a muddy English field, prayer is bursting out all over the world. Prayer Rooms are growing legs and finding their way into our communitities! Come On!
Eden people are currently looking for a support worker to join the team. If you could you see yourself as part of a team passionate about people experiencing Jesus in different environments and if your skills lend themselves to project support, creativity, prayer and community engagement get in touch with colin by emailing [email protected] or read the job description. To find out more about the work of Eden People visit their website.
Do you have experience of prayer rooms at arts festivals or music venues? Have you seen prayer reach out to centres of creativity? Share your stories in the comments section below or post them on our Facebook page.