Saturday, October 30, 2004

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....... very moved I was ...... at the start of Greenbelt this year there was a reading/prayer/statement by Garth Hewitt.
In many ways it is a statement of belief for me - the binding of the WHOLE of life together with faith.
It was the the way we kicked off the festival as we all shouted - 'let freedom ring'.
This is the text from the Greenbelt website - well worth a visit for inspiration and more .....
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Let Freedom Ring
A prayer from Greenbelt 2004
Adapted by Garth Hewitt from Martin Luther King, for the Greenbelt Festival 2004 Opening Ceremony (at the request of Jason Barnett).


I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, and the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.


This is our hope. This is the faith that inspires us.


With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.


So as we’re Freedom Bound: Let Freedom Ring


Yes - let freedom ring to every corner of our land and our world:


From Whitehall and Westminster to bring compassion for all - with a determination to ‘study war no more’ and to bring hope and healing to our land.


Let freedom ring from the Harmondsworth reception centre where refugees and asylum seekers fleeing to this land for safety are treated first as criminals.


Let freedom ring for the Roma, or travellers, who are unacceptable to most county councils and many people of this land.


As we’re Freedom Bound: Let Freedom Ring


Let freedom ring for the Muslim treated as guilty before being found innocent.


Let freedom ring from the places of urban or rural deprivation in our land where communities feel cut off from the benefits that many of us take for granted.


Let freedom ring from every Mosque, Synagogue and Church with a message of dignity and hope for all.


Let freedom ring from our press with love for all people regardless of ethnic background, nationality or religion.


As we are Freedom Bound : Let Freedom Ring


Let freedom ring bringing release from fear and hunger from the villages and refugee camps of Darfur, Sudan.


Let freedom ring from behind the wall in Palestine where a nation is kept prisoner deprived of human rights, and suffering daily abuse.


Let freedom ring from the land of Israel so all may live in safety, dignity and justice regardless of race or religion.


Let freedom ring from Belmarsh prison all the way to the shameful oppression of Guantanamo Bay, and from the horrors of Abu Ghraib to the hills of Kabul.


As we’re Freedom Bound: Let Freedom Ring


Let freedom ring from the forgotten children on the streets of Africa, Latin America and Asia, so that the street children of today may find dignity and a hopeful future.


Let freedom ring for those suffering with HIV/ AIDS, that suitable drugs will be made available to them, 25 million in Africa alone.


Let freedom ring for the Dalits of India, formerly known as Outcasts - 750 million still suffer daily abuse. Let freedom ring for the Dalit drummers who should have been with us at this Festival but have had their visas denied.


Let freedom ring from our churches and our society so all are included with justice regardless of ethnicity, gender or sexual preference.


Let freedom ring to the towns and cities across Iraq where so many thousands have died, where so many still live in fear of death without security and rights. For Shia, Sunni, Kurd and Christian - let freedom ring.


As we’re Freedom Bound: Let Freedom Ring


Let freedom ring from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation, so that decisions are made for the benefit of all and not just for the benefit of the rich and powerful.


Let freedom ring so that there is a globalisation of justice - so that the poor are included.


Let freedom ring from the arms traders of this land so they beat their weapons of destruction into ploughshares, and find other ways of helping the community instead of killing our neighbours.


As we’re Freedom Bound: Let Freedom Ring


Let freedom ring from our hearts and minds and lifestyles, so that we are part of the community of love and justice that reflects the message and ways of Jesus.


Let freedom ring from this year’s Greenbelt Festival to say we have not forgotten a world in need - to say we reject the side of the oppressor and want to walk the road of love of neighbour. We want to be freedom bound ... but not on our own. We want to be freedom bound - but not at the expense of others. So we say let freedom ring for all the people of the world.


As we’re Freedom Bound: Let Freedom Ring


This is our hope - this is our faith - and when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every town, we will be able to speed up the day when all of God’s children, black and white, women and men, young and old, will be able to join hands and to sing in the words of the old spiritual: “Free at last, free at last; thank God almighty, free at last.”


So as we’re Freedom Bound: Let Freedom Ring

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