"Take an olive seed"

Today's photograph is of the sign outside the Greenbelt Festival pub, one of the very many and varied tents erected on Cheltenham Racecourse for the weekend. I was helping man the stall of Christian Ecology Link at Greenbelt, an interesting experience for me. I wore a CEL T shirt, to increase my visibility (as if needed). Normally I am not to be seen dead in one.

"Take an olive seed" was the theme of the Sunday Morning Worship at the Festival, said to have been attended by 15,000 people. It was brilliantly devised to celebrate the diversity of those attending, and of the traditions that come together within the Holy Land: there were prayers and readings in both Hebrew and Arabic.

And the Kiss of Peace, for these Swine Flu aware times, was transformed into the elbow bump of peace, as demonstrated here by two of my neighbours. They were volunteering on behalf of CAFOD, drawing attention to the need for climate justice. Appropriately, the CAFOD stall was next door to CEL's: both were well-patronised, any any rate during my sojurn.

Of course, masses of those at Greenbelt seemed intent on other things than climate justice or a greener church: that's why CEL is needed. However, the people who bothered to stop by seemed keen to meet up with others in their local area: I collected quite a few email addresses, and have been busy since I returned putting people in touch with one another. It's good to be able to help with the sort of introductions and connections that only a national organisation like CEL can make.