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Written by Christopher Franklin
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Saturday, 29 December 2007 |
Chris Franklin reports on LDCF's attendance at 2007's Greenbelt.
This August, Cheltenham Race Course was the venue for the 33rd Greenbelt. The theme this year was ‘Heaven in ordinary’ - striving to find God and live out our faith in the everyday. Headline acts included Billy Bragg, Coldcut, and the inevitable Delirious?
Alongside the many stands selling clothes made from hemp, shoes made from old tyres and the widest range of foods you can imagine was the G-Source exhibition tent, full of organisations ranging from the Royal Air Force Chaplains' Branch to Operation Noah, Divine Chocolate, and of course from the Christian Socialist Movement and the LDCF.
Manning the stand were Martin Turner, Zöe Franklin and your humble correspondent. Sandwiched between Micah's Call and Friends First, whose stand consisted of a huge double bed containing a lone mannequin ("Is someone missing in your life?" - no, not Jesus! Someone else!), and opposite Scripture Union, we received a huge range of visitors.
A number of people approached the stand simply looking for free pens or an argument about policy, but such troubled individuals were won over by Martin's singing and sent on their way clutching a "Why Vote Lib Dem?" leaflet. The vast majority of people approached us with an open mind and the opening line "I'd never heard of LDCF - what do you do?", resulting in several new members signing up, or at the very least being sent on their way clutching a copy of "Why vote Lib Dem?". We were also privileged enough to play host to a number of LDCF members - thanks to all those who dropped by and brightened our day. Martin was also interviewed by a ‘citizen journalist’ from 18 Dougty Street. This can be viewed online here.
Our attendance at Greenbelt 2007 raised people's awareness of LDCF and may even result in some new Lib Dem voters. Looking forward, we're keen to maximise our impact and benefit from Christian conferences - if you have any thoughts on which ones to attend, how we should approach it, or would like to volunteer to man the stand, please approach the Exec.
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