Christian peacemakers bring their message to Greenbelt

Around 30 UK-based Christian peace organisations will come together over the August bank holiday weekend to spread their message of peace at the Greenbelt Christian Arts Festival.

Anglicans, Baptists, Catholics, Methodists, Quakers and Unitarians will be amongst those represented in the festival's Peace Zone.

The multi-denominational peacemakers will invite Greenbelt visitors to explore a commitment to peace from a Christian perspective and will share their knowledge and experience of working for peace at the local, national and international level.

The Peace Zone, located in the G-Source tent, is a project of the Network of Christian Peace Organisations (NCPO) and a unique part of the Greenbelt festival experience. By encouraging festival-goers to embrace peacemaking as a central part of their Christian faith, NCPO hopes to inspire people to incorporate an active commitment to peace and nonviolence into their Christian practice.

Norman Kember, NCPO member and former Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) representative in Iraq, saID: "My commitment to peace and nonviolence is inseparable from my Christian faith, and my involvement with the Network of Christian Peace Organisations reflects this. NCPO's presence at the Greenbelt festival is especially important as it is the festival goers of today who will become the peacemakers of tomorrow."

Visitors to the Peace Zone will have the opportunity to paint themselves into an imaginative art installation featuring peacemakers throughout the ages. There will also be resources for campaigning and action, suggestions as to 'what you can do for peace' and a team of volunteers to talk to about anything peace-related.

Christian peace organisations will be represented on the main Greenbelt programme - including via a forum theatre performance 'A Play on Peace' and a talk by conflict transformation practitioner and Quaker Diana Francis.

The Greenbelt Christian Arts Festival takes place over the August Bank Holiday weekend each year at Cheltenham race course. This year's festival runs from 28 to 31 August.

For more information on the NCPO see: www.ncpo.org.uk