Greenbelt Act of Communion 2023

Not the sort of angels who support Greenbelt all year round (though we love them too.) No, we’re looking for the sort of angel that brings gifts from God; the sort of angel that comforts us when we are struggling, breathes life into us, inspires us and then kicks us into action. We’re looking for angels on Sunday morning … and we’re confident that they will be among us.

Re-watch the communion service.

As we celebrate 50 years of this festival we all make together, we’re sticking with the same theme for our communion giving, too.

So we’re going to go 50/50. That means we’ll keep 50% of what you give. It will help us keep this show on the road, safeguading this precious space open for as many as possible in these challenging times.  

But we’ll give the other 50% away – in a four-way split that reflects the causes and commitments we’ve focused on during our time at Boughton House.

And here’s who we’ll be giving it to:  

• We’ll give to Citizens UK – to bolster their work on the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme that we’re so proud to be supporting this weekend. But also, importantly, their wider work on community sponsorship schemes to welcome Afghan and Syrian refugees to the UK.
• After another year of terrible heatwaves, storms and floods all caused by climate change, we’re going to continue to support Christian Aid with the project we began with them last year, working with local partners in Bangladesh. They make sure vulnerable borrowers can get access to micro-financing that helps them adapt to climate threats.
• We’ll also be giving to the brand new anti-poverty movement, launched here this weekend by the Methodist Church, made up of a broad coalition of the UK’s anti-poverty agencies and church denominations. These include our friends the Trussell Trust, Christians Against Poverty, Church Action on Poverty and many more.
• And lastly we’ll be giving to the Amos Trust, who are going to be staging an ambitious, high-profile visual arts exhibition of ‘On Location’ in London next year. This will showcase the talent of wonderful Gazan artists working under blockade and occupation – an expression of ‘beautiful resistance’.