Sunflower Festival

I have to be honest as I sat last night thinking about all of the work that had gone into arranging this event I was a bit worried. Would we get more than one man and his dog turning up?

As I distributed flyers around the campsite an hour before the event I was struck by how much the festival resonated with me. In many ways these are my people with a generation in between. 20 years ago I would have fitted right in :) I wonder would Jesus have felt the same way as he walked around?

We were due to start at 12 however things were a little bit hectic and it was probably closer to 12.10 by the time we got started. The format we had chosen was for readings from the writings of CS Lewis. (Thanks to Brian for picking the readings!)

I felt that the first couple of readings went well and we had attracted a small crowd of around 20 people. It was at this point that Shauna Tohill took to the stage. I must say it was delightful to meet Shauna, she is a very talented and gracious young woman.

Shauna was like a magnet and before long the group had grown to maybe 50 people. Its very hard to tell and I don't want to exaggerate. This is a massive lesson for me- if you are involved in something where people need to come to a venue then its vital to have a guest who they can relate to. She spoke very well also about her faith and life.

Next it was time for two more readings and by this stage it felt like we had settled into a rhythm. The Shaken Bones took to the stage and we were treated to some folk gospel with an American twist. Peter McCauley then shared a word about his faith and played a beautiful song of his own. This felt consistent with what had come before and the guys did a great job. I really enjoyed the final reading, it was almost shakespearian. I believe that the Lord helped me to bring the gravitas of the reading across. It felt great to be sharing Lewis' thoughts with the people gathered.

I then thanked everyone for coming and invited everyone to join me in prayer. I really felt God's presence with us as we joined together. As we prayed we asked for healing for Shaunas back. Her friend put her arm around her as we prayed. I hope the visitors came away thinking as the Romans did- see how these Christians love each other.

Thank you Jesus for the privilege of serving you in this way.

Amen