Greenbelt kept me going during the mid-1980s when I'd given up on church but
not on God. Today I stumbled across a dusty old box in my spare room (and I
mean stumbled because it's that kinda room) and out of it fell one of the
tapes which I exchanged with my mate Dave while I was away getting an
English degree in Cardiff. We used to spend hours mixing music, chat and
ridiculous sound-effects, much of it Greenbelt-related, and posting the
resultant tapes to each other.
Occasionally we had guest appearances from other daft DJ-inclined pals, and
I would show off by dropping in extracts from interviews I'd done in my role
as features writer on GAIR RHYDD, Cardiff's student weekly, and for STRAIT,
Greenbelt's own mag. The tape I rediscovered today comes from early August
1987 and features Dave getting excited about the prospect of seeing Bruce
Cockburn for the first time, and his mum telling him: 'You should be out in
the sunshine, walking.'
On the other side, I drop in bits of taped conversations I'd had with GB
poet and luminary Stewart Henderson (in Liverpool's plush Adelphi hotel).
And there's 'Two Tribes' from Frankie Goes to Hollywood featuring comments
from our friend Jim: 'If any member of the family should die while in the
shelter put them outside and tag them for identification purposes': 'Is this
an advert for Barratt Homes?'
Funny, those days seem half a world away and yet in other ways closer than
breathing.
Such is life in a community of 6000 members and 173 residents.It is a community shockerer in that Paul lived in the Hostel and was found dead in his room by my collegue Roy.The dealing with is is extra sensitive especially with the 150 children in the building and loads of Parents buzzing in and out.I guess I will blog more later.
Got my broadband and my mother in law fitted over the last few days.That is why,with the other incident, I am blogless.It took from 10am till 6.35pm to get it all fixed and only partly me.The last 'support'call took me 40 +minutes to get through.
so sing like no-one is listening
dance like no-one is watching
work like you don't need the money
and
love like you have never been hurt
pip@pipwilson.com
I like walking through the parish on days like today; 'calm after the storm' sort-of days. People who were yesterday trapped inside, staring blankly at odd-Commonwealth and same-old-Gameboy Games, tentatively re-emerging.
Best bit this afternoon, was walking past two smiling young women tourists who were unselfconsciously taking each others pictures outside Sergeant Pepper's Bistro and the Penny Lane Wine Bar opposite. What's home to me is a great adventure to them. The Penny Lane road sign on the corner is surely the most-stolen one in the country. No wonder our city council is skint.
Funny living in a street made world-famous by a pop song. I guess that makes me and my neighbours the spiritual kin of the inhabitants of Baker Street (Gerry Rafferty), (Positively) 4th Street (Bob Dylan), Tenth Avenue (Freeze-Out - Bruce Springsteen), and of course the northern classic Beezley Street (John Cooper Clarke). Among others.
Murray Street (Sonic Youth) has been on my CD player for a little while. That's the place their Manhatton studios are based; they're the sounds they were creating on Sept 11th, and literally blew the dust off to complete later on last year. Penny Lane warms my heart. Murray Street makes my ears burn.
It was nice to receive an e-mail today from one of the other 3,000 or so, Customs and Exorcists that I work with, here in Southend - Paul McDowell, keyboardist with those Gb legends, the Famous Potatoes. He's also pretty nifty with another type of keyboard here, and is an all-round nice guy. We last spoke in person, last month, at the wedding of another collegue, Maria. She's a Christian and has been to Greenbelt, and she often says that the first Greenbelt she ever went to, was on the day that she got her ' A ' level results, and she discovered she'd failed the lot. Later on that Thursday evening at Deene Park, she attended her first event of Gb, and it was the Very Stinkin' Late Show...which began with Pip Wilson welcoming everyone and saying, " Anyone failed their ' A ' s? ", to which there was a show of hands, " ...well, don't worry, because Jesus NEVER HAD AN 'A' LEVEL! ", which made Maria feel a little better, and she also says, made her fall in love with Pip for ever!
Paul says that he's coming to Gb for the 25th time - and is Pip going to do the Late Show again, this year?!!
Blogger - love that word
Just a recommendation of music for the taste-ear-buds
BBC are at Greenbelt you know. They will attempt to record a "Songs of
Praise" - hope we get some kissing in it. When I did the Rolling Magazine,
for 15 years, some of the magic moments were getting people kissing on
stage. The punters lurrved it! Especially when old people (in their 30's did it) and group/youth workers. Hey Hey Wonder if the beeb will get some kissing going - love it.
Maybe I could do a kissing session? including all the video clips I've got
of kisses at Greenbelt. I remember the Mayos doing it. Kisses covered in
baked bean trifle too!!
Another bit of music - look up "Flowetry". Also big in my life today - the mother-in-law (BHP) came to stay for two weeks. Pray for one person - they need it! Also big in my life Greenbelt - will I meet you there - say hello
Having a spare room in the house for once, means that this year I can start getting stuff out for Greenbelt in good time (well that’s the theory anyway – no doubt there will still be a last minute panic pack and drying of freshly laundered clothes with the hairdryer…).
Sitting on the spare bed so far are:
Going about as well as Drew’s shopping I think you’ll agree!
I've been involved in five funerals this week and the last of those, this
afternoon, was perhaps the most traumatic. Not because of the person
involved, who wasn't a churchgoer but was a devout man, always reading his
bible, always quoting it to his grandchildren in a sincere desire to
influence them for good; not because of his family, nice people who spoke
well of him, who valued his 'wise words'. But because to get to Kirkdale
Cemetery involved a half-hour drag along Liverpool's manic ring road Queen's
Drive, and fifteen minutes at the graveside in absolutely torrential rain.
If the occasion had required wit, I would have said, 'ashes to ashes, mud to
mud', because at that point in the ceremony a glob of sludge was what left
my hand and landed on the coffin with a dull thud. No time to chat with
relatives and friends, no time for that usual valuable interaction today. We
just had to get straight back into the cars and go, it was just too wet.
BRMC sing, 'I'm the kind of man who leaves the scene of the crime.' That's
how I felt, dodging the floods and the lorries on the solemn journey back
home.
For audiences up to 15,000 (split equally between the sexes), the HSE Event Safety Guide recommends that 51 metres of gent's urinals is provided.
The racecourse has 73 metres of gent's urinal.
73 is a number larger than 51.
This is good.
Pip Blogger here.......feeling rather reflective on the back of torrential sun, warmth, rain, thunder and lightening. Late night spent with Gilles Peterson, hmmm, I love him. Never met him but I love him as I do Kieran Cunningham (Former is D.J. latter is the hooker for St. Helen's MY TEAM!)
Music touches me really deep, spiritual. It moves me. Catches me in my mood and sort of slits open my soul and pours in liquid 100% honey. So sweet, so soothing. So penetratingly good, beautiful crazy. I've just bought a single, a rare event, but the N.E.R.D. 'Rock Star' goes for it!
I also burn for people. Relationships. I have people in my life who I am troubled by. Others touch and support me, not purposely (I think) but just by their persona - dynamic - tone. Bit like music really.
Others. When we work with people who are troubled deep. It is a challenge to be with them. Meaning, not easy. When someone has a terrible relationship with their mother, - I am thinking of a young man aged 20. Any contact with his mother results in him living at boiling point for a considerable time. Anger management skills are desperately needed because another explosive episode of abuse or violence is yet another massive set-back. Not-the-least for others around him who suffer because of the crash. And then, sometimes, they can become impossible to work with. Cope with. Love is not a problem. Even if I fear him. Even if I feel that danger from his unpredictable energy/violence.
How's that for sharing? Hope you get it and I am not too vague.
Say hello at Greenbelt - I like black fresh coffee or ice cream. But a beer would be welcome. Greenbelt is best lived at touching distance.
bhp
Well, the Bar-B-Q happened - as did thunder flashes and big sounds provided by the creator, together with downpours of epic proportions! The spirit of the 50 people present created a buzz with the huddles under the 'sun' shades and the portable umbrellas. Some fantastic pics will appear on our website soon. Beautiful people enjoying self - and others.
What a privilege to chat to CHRISTINE, born France, lives USA, volunteers at the Y in New York. What a privilege to talk to SHOHEI (Show-hey) from Japan, lives in Yokahama, volunteers at the Y, first ever volunteer from Japan. What a privilege to talk with LYDIE from Senegal, so lost at first, now so confident in her stride, released from her French to speak English, loving the new experiences, and more people - a joy - I bubble.
Now come Wednesday - I go into another busy Y day, Chapel, still on the theme of Jesus 'touching' people, staff Bible Study and Stephen (I don't like how he spoke to his accusers) he got stoned.
Funny how I want to share more personal feelings, issues, confidential - but not possible. But there is much happening - not always joys! I do believe it is important - to share these things with SOMEONE (no person is an island). That is why we are BIG on team work and support systems. Otherwise the delicate work with broken, disruptive, hurting, unskilled, poorest,
emotionally inadequate - would be impossible.
Love 'em, love 'em, - is the way - it's just how?
It helps by remembering :-
"There is no such thing as a difficult person, only difficult behaviour"
Love - BHP
George Corness, who I cremated today (Don't panic folks, he's a Vicar - ed.), was a 'war hero' of sorts, someone who had survived five years as a prisoner of war, death marches and prison camps in Germany and Poland, and had carried with him a humour and dignity which helped others alongside him through their ordeals. And - here is a special form of heroism - after his captivity he had the opportunity to retaliate against his enemies, but unlike others, he refrained. He explicitly forgave.
I'm no fan of modern warfare, I actively resist the popular sentimentalism about war which lazily permits to go unchallenged the obscenities of the arms industry, the west's brutalization of civilian populations in eastern lands, and so on. But I want to celebrate human endeavour in the face of wickedness, and George Corness's story merits that.
The Jewish writer Elie Wiesel made this observation about the Second World War:
There were some men and women who, in many places, did opt for humanity. Surrounded by terror, oppressed by absolute evil, they had the courage to care about their fellow human beings... They were alone - as the victims themselves were alone - so the question we must confront is what made them so special, so human, so different?
Maybe it was that through their ordeals they had come to terms with the ultimate questions. I wondered out loud if that was the case for George, whether these words of Julia Esquivel could possibly have also been his. How I hope they may be mine:
I am no longer afraid of death;
I know well
its dark and cold corridors
leading to life.
I live each day to kill death;
I die each day to beget life,
and in this dying unto death,
I die a thousand times and
am reborn another thousand
through that love
from my People,
which nourishes hope!
Ah, the memories....reading some of the fascinating Blogs that have been posted during the last couple of weeks or so, has got me thinking back to the spring of ' 89, when I first came across the names Pip Wilson and John Davies, and others like John Peck, Ellen Wilkie and Martin Wroe in the magazine where I first read their writings, ' Strait '. What an influence that publication had on me.
I became a Christian after a real Damascus-Road experience at work, that went on all afternoon, that Friday. I went from being someone who was totally on the outside of faith, religion and church, to someone who began reading the Bible, attending Morning Service on Sunday and thinking very deeply about every detail of my own life, as well as every area of the bigger picture. I'd been inspired into a real paradigm-shift, to use a current buzzword, but nearly a year on, although I'd somehow managed something of a 180 degree turnabout in myself, I was still finding the Christian walk, and church, very hard - I still do, but He never said that it would be easy...
But then in late April 1989 I happened across the new issue of, ' Strait ', the Greenbelt magazine, in the Southend Christian Bookshop and it was like a sight for sore eyes...I realised that you could be an authentic Christian and not have to have two heads, in fact there seemed to be an implicit imperative to be able to understand and relate to modern music, films, theatre, fashion from a Biblical standpoint and a warm permission to be in-the-world-but-not-of-it...now I knew where those words were coming from! I devoured that particular issue and all the books and records that were mentioned in it, including someone who I'd never heard of, Bruce Cockburn, who had a new album out, ' Big Circumstance ', and judging by Graham Cray's write-up, was well and truly the goods. It was all so inspiring ; it was like the world was suddenly falling into place and making sense (slight exaggeration), like Cliff walking along one day and hearing something like he'd never heard before, coming from a radio someplace, and discovering that it was a singer called Elvis Presley.
I eagerly started tracking down back copies and had a similar experience all over again when I read Martin Wroe's interview with a certain John Smith...I made a point of going to this Greenbelt, that I'd already heard people talking about in 1988. If it was the Festival of the magazine, it had to be good....
Although the theme of this year’s festival is Kiss of Life, we do try to keep Greenbelters’ experience of this to the metaphorical rather than the literal.
Accordingly I find myself once more up to my eyes in the risk assessments for the many and varied venues (47 at last count!).
Although it’s a necessary exercise, it can be a bit of a thankless task and sometimes when it’s 1am in the morning and you’re still sending replies and wading through the paperwork you can feel your motivation lag. Then you open up a message and contained within it is a little glimpse of a future gem: the description of an amazing art display, the running schedule for a new venue, a new twist on age old worship: the bizarre, the bold, the unexpected, the simple, the somewhere out-there, the deep down in here, the inspirational, the devotional, the wild and the mild, the…downright Greenbelt.
Knowing that the planning work now is a part of enabling these dreams to come to fruition in August is what keeps me going in the wee small hours.
That and copious amounts of caffeine.
Some of my favourite queries so far include:
Answers on a postcard to:
"I know a fair bit about risk management and would like to help next year", care of volunteers@greenb...
In the park opposite my house a group of lads are playing football. I know most of them: they live just round the corner; two were confirmed at our church last year, one is likely to be next year; they and their mates are a friendly lot, a rag-tag mixture of shapes and sizes that boys are around fourteen. They've put coats and a supermarket bread tray down as goalposts and they are trying 'set-pieces', standing in formation in a rough arc around the goal, one crossing the ball in, one flicking it on, a third attempting a shot. That's the intention, anyway.
Now, my playing days are over and I was never that brilliant when I did play, but I have to say from my first-floor vantage point here, they're not very good. I've seen few crosses reach their intended target, many misdirected headers, and a very untroubled goalkeeper. Still, they're enjoying it just like I used to enjoy it during summer holidays and every available break-time right throughout secondary school. And watching them and writing this has been a welcome relief for me from putting together three funeral addresses and a 'wedding thanksgiving' service.
In its Northants days Greenbelt held a five-a-side competition; I played once in a GB 'Board' v. Celebrities game and got the assist to our winning goal (if I remember rightly, Cole Morton finished it). Maybe we should revive the tradition - it would give me an excuse to get out across the road to get some practice in, in the intervening days when I need to do something to combat the midweek liturgical overload.
Got a big Bar-B-Q at our house on Tuesday evening. International BBQ indeed. Will have our own Board Members, Senior Staff, International Committee and our 20 or so internationals who will be at Greenbelt drinking in the vibe and blessings.
So............shopping at w/e to make excellent kebabs, desserts, and beer of course. Also time to catch the sun and my Gilles Peterson new CD hmmmmmmmm my favourite D.J.
Sunday night my daughters, Joy and Ann (I hate 'em) went off without telling me to the London venue 'Cargo' to catch Gilles live and telephoned me late to tell me they were chatting to him - AND - telling him about me (I wonder! telling what?)
Saturday was a 50th birthday party (I mix with older people you know). Mo was my first P.A. when I arrived here at Romford YMCA some 17 years ago. She still tells people I interviewed her wearing my red glasses and red shoes. And when she got the job she shared my office which included my Juke Box and a pinball machine. She's fantastic, I loved the bopping and mixing and seeing friends.
Nice to share with you too. As John Smith used to say (Greenbelt speaker 2002) Don't be cool - be hot.
A quick blog today, you'll be relieved to hear....I'm helping someone move into a one-bedroomed house, here in Southend at the weekend and I know that it will be a busy time for her, and for her parents who are coming down to stay on Friday. She's got both a bed and a sofa-bed that are due to be delivered, more furniture for her to buy and other highlights that await her in a few days time, so I'm gonna try and get as much other stuff of my own done during the week, before the weekend hits! It does mean that I may not be available to help at Bar 'n' Bus, the youth-club-cum-drop-in that I help to staff on the Golden Mile, on Friday night.
The trouble that we had, two weeks ago, could've been nipped in the bud, had we not been a bit thin on the ground in terms of volunteers, what with other adults being away on other youth events that night. Even last week, with a near full-compliment of staff, we still had the lad who clambered out of a first-floor window and dangled himself directly above the passers-by below, before we stopped him. So I must make a mental note to pray that all the other available volunteers can be there, even if I can't, although with one or two already on holiday it will still be a busy night for those who do manage to run the show, that evening! We have had our work praised by various secular Bodies around town, and have a high-profile in Southend, and when we're fully staffed, everything goes smoothly.... and yet still we find it a real test of faith to keep going sometimes, and to find funding, support and volunteers - although God has never failed us yet and has sometimes, miraculously answered prayer. But why is it, that some Christians seem so apathetic in comparison, at the same time? Why is it that we have to keep appealing for help and that that help often seems to be so slow in materialising, from the church?
Anyway, I've received e-mails from Gavin Hall and Steve Foster regarding arrangements for the, ' Smacker ', venue at Gb, and looking at todays date, the Festival will have got underway, just a month from now, which is a nice thought! Looking at, ' A Wing and a Prayer ', the Gb Angels newsletter that came in the post recently, helped whet my appetite for the Fest still further, as did reading the colour listings-guide, that came with Saturday's Guardian, last night....it features a small advert for Greenbelt, and listed some the names appearing there...Rowan Williams, Faith, Folk and Anarchy, Ricky Ross...ah, Ricky Ross, memories of Deacon Blue at Gb in 1990, of the man himself doing an impromptu solo performance of Deacon Blue's , ' Dignity ', from Mainstage in ' 98, at the end of Saturday night, which incidentally is one of my all-time favourite songs....roll on August!
Wow, I can't believe it's Monday night already ..... and then there's part of me that can't believe it's only Monday night! The day has just disappeared and yet I feel like so much has been crammed into the space of 24hours. You can certainly tell it's almost August.... phones in the office have hardly stopped as people realise that in order to book before the 31st July deadline for cheaper tickets they had to do it today.... or tomorrow - yikes!
Still there are the odd gems (some very odd) which brighten up the day..... like the lady who phoned and asked "is this the Greenbelt info line" and when I said yes she just replied, "oh good, thanks, bye"..... but I guess when she really does need some question answered she will be sure she has the right number!!!! And then there are the phone calls that remind you what a lovely bunch of people Greenbelters are, which is great especially when I feel submerged beneath the logistics of getting eveything done..... all the bookings so we'll are ready to send out the tickets next week and the todo list which seems to be getting longer rather than shorter!
And now it's time to call it a day - and pray that the thunder storms forecast don't start until after I've walked to the station tomorrow morning!
Ah, Monday morning joy!!! The weekend started here when I contacted Gavin Hall on Friday afternoon, by e-mail, to introduce myself and to start planning for Greenbelt - Gavin is also a Seminar Venue Manager at the Festival and will be the senior partner when the two of us are in charge of the, ' Smacker ', tent in a few weeks' time. I also contacted Steve Foster, who leads Holy Joes, who will be doing alt. worship in the venue each night, to see what their requirements will be. I'm looking forward to tasting the Holy Joes experience for myself, for the first time.
Friday evening was spent at Bar 'n' Bus on Southend seafront. It's a Christian Drop-in and Youth centre that started life as a bus that set-up every Friday night and provided a safe space for children and teenagers on the seafront to go, where there was a free non-alcoholic bar, advice, friendship. Staffed by Christians, it became very popular and Essex police went on record, stating that when the bus was there and open for business, crime on the busy seafront area dropped by 70%. We're now in the premises of an old, disused nightclub on the Golden Mile and I help out on Fridays...and we had a good night...we're still feeling the effects of a fortnight ago, when we had to close early because of trouble - it rarely happens, although this time we still had to persuade a lad, who had clambered out of a first-floor window, above the Golden Mile, to come back in and not be so silly...usually we have impeccable behaviour and the only trouble is when the ping-pong balls go missing, or when the money gets stuck in the pool table.
FAST FORWARD! to Saturday and against the backdrop of the aftermath of the Big Brother result, I spent a day helping someone before the move, next weekend, which meant most of the day going around the likes of MFI, B & Q, Argos etc., and despite the heat we were very productive and the end result was a new bed and a new sofa-bed for her...oh, and a big dent in her bank-balance. Saturday night was a great meal in an Italian restaurant. Sunday was two excellent church services and a trip back along the seafront in between! Thousands of people! Hazy, glowing scenes, out across the water!
REWIND to Saturday afternoon, where I fitted in a qiuck visit to a Nursing Home. Much of my spare time is normally spent helping/visiting the elderly, lonely, refugees etc., and I'm usually to be found in Homes or Southend Hospital at that time during the day. This however was a quick trip to see how Ruth, 89, was...I found her, as usual in the TV lounge where most of the guests, perhaps because of the temperatures, were fast asleep, and where the telly was screening the Aussie Steve Irwin, who usually wrestles crocs, snakes and other friendly creatures, for fun - and where I surreally tried to talk to her against the din of snoring, and Steve playing with man-eating sharks....
Lots of other stuff, including lots of phone-calls, too. It's great to hear some of the Manc bands being used as the soundtrack to the Commonwealth Games, especially the Charltans and the Stone Roses, ' This Is The One ', I love it. Phew, what a scorcher! Back to work!
Delightful timing as the latest edition of PLANET, 'The Welsh Internationalist' magazine, dropped through my letterbox this morning, PLANET's interested in all aspects of culture, current affairs, politics, poetry, and has global reach from an Aberystwyth base (check it out at ). This issue features an interview with Archbishop-designate Greenbelter Rowan Williams. I wonder, reader, if you share my excitement at the prospect of a church leader so creative, open and engaged, as the following extract demonstrates:
PLANET: All of your writing - poetic, theological and political - consistently challenges the reader to think again about our certainties and responses. Would you agree that the challenge to conventionality is the strongest element of your writing?
WILLIAMS: Probably, yes, because my religious and theological loyalty was engaged very early on by how you cope with emptiness, suffering and death. That's where the heartbeat of my religious commitment lies and it's also very much true of my poetry. I'd point to a poet of faith like George Herbert and say look at what he's doing - it's not at all as cosy as some people think it is. Again he's pushing the boundaries: "Is God still there if I say this? What if I say this to God? Is He still there? What if I say 'get lost' to God?" It's a sort of enactment through poetry of what faith is. It's not a liberal shrugging off of commitment. It's saying, rather, how far does commitment take me? What can I grasp if I keep on pushing? In Herbert, of course, what happens is God pushes back. When the poet says "get lost" to God, God answers: "No"! So you're pushing the boundaries but the boundary then APPEARS; you arrive at something. And that's what I try to achieve - yes, it's about challenging certainties and responses but it's also about searching for a certainty that's plausible and credible.
I interviewed Ken Montgomery from the YMCA today about Greenbelt. He is the chief geezer of Greenbelt YMCA - very present at Greenbelt for some 15 years
Pip: What’s happening with Greenbelt/YMCA this year?
Ken: We have an exciting programme with lots of things happening at Greenbelt YMCA. We have a group of 20 young people from Ten Sing Norway coming especially to lead music, dance and drama workshops, every morning and every afternoon, plus impromptu things going on around the site as a result. We also have the Bishop of Jerusalem coming back this year, he is doing a seminar with us on ‘Promised Land versus Home Land’. He is also going to be sharing a panel with the new Archbishop of Canterbury designate, Archbishop Rowan Williams. We have resident artists on site, a resident sculptor, and we are going to have the opportunity for people to record their own music on computer, perhaps write their own songs. We’re
just going to have an amazing time.
Pip: Where can we find Greenbelt YMCA?
Ken: When you walk down into Greenbelt at Cheltenham Race Course go to the ‘Humanic area’, the youth area, you will see a big Greenbelt YMCA sign on the outside of the marquee, which is 80 foot by 40 foot. Within that there will be a 24 hour Café, which will open at 5pm on the Friday afternoon and close at probably close 9am on the Tuesday morning. There will be a stage in there where the seminars will take place, plus arts and the workshops for dance and music. We will be looking to see if we can ‘up’ the ambiance of the venue for people coming is so there will be a bit of a wow factor. Between the our venue and the Humanic venue, which Phil Wright from Forest YMCA runs, we have got a fenced in area where we are going to be putting a pond and hopefully a fountain within that and then round that there will tables and chairs with parasols. We may even be turning that into a milk bar area outside serving milk shakes and all that sort of stuff, but just a chilled place to sit and relax.
Pip: Can any YMCA person visit the Festival?
Ken: We have about 50 volunteers in the team, including the people from Norway. If anyone has a couple of hours to help clear tables or things like that they can contact me and make themselves known to me at the Festival. Their help would be greatly appreciated. It was really busy last year and we have tried to address that but any extra help would be great. If YMCA staff want to come with their families and friends can they just come along and say hello and maybe just muck in for a couple of hours, just for a day, they should feel free to do so. Tickets from www.greenbelt.org.uk .
Greenbelt is a fantastic experience for young people and we struggle with things which deal with the spiritual development aspect of our work and this is one classic example to expose young people to experiences that sit really tight within that.