The Bishop of Plymouth, the Rt. Rev’d James Grier, and his wife Rev’d Dr Liz Grier have recently returned from Satellites Youth Festival, where they served as volunteers. Satellites is Christian festival held in the summer at the Bath & West Showground for young people aged 13-18.
“Over the week we saw young people taking ownership of their faith and growing in their love of God. One incident perhaps sums this up the best. There was a football tournament one afternoon and before each match the referee reminded the teams what the competition was really about and then invited the young people to pray for the match. The referee was ready to pray if no one did, but in 67 matches not one referee prayed as a young person always stepped up.
“This happened all over site in every situation where prayer was needed, young people were in the midst of it praying.”
Liz and James were one of the hundreds of volunteers who served at a festival this year.
Liz said, “The team we led were an amazing group of people, most of whom had sacrificed annual leave to be there. God did as much in the team as in the lives of the young people.”
One volunteer said, “It was brilliant that young people felt such support and safe whilst being invited to know God’s loving change.”
Another said, “I enjoyed learning from Liz and James and feel much more confident about praying for people in this sort of situation now. Thanks for refining the ‘advice’ as we went along, and regularly reminding the team how best to go about things.”
Also volunteering was Claire Reynolds who served on the Additional Needs team for children. Jonny Schnarr, Youth Advocate, and Sharon Blyth, Children and Families Mission Enabler, volunteered with South West Youth Ministries (SWYM).
The Bishop of Plymouth said, “For me the most powerful moment each year is leading communion. This year it was for the 4000 people on site. For some young people it will be the first ever communion that they have attended.
“Every year the peace is a poignant moment where we encourage everyone to go and make peace with anyone they need to do so. This year, someone messaged their brother in Australia as part of it.
“The theme of the week was ‘Hope and Glory’ and the communion focused on the temple curtain being torn in two, opening the way to the Father.
“In a world of so much hopelessness, especially for young people, it was wonderful to see young people discovering hope not just at a festival but for their lives.”
Each year, Christian festivals run with the help of hundreds of volunteers. If you’re inspired to make a difference next summer, explore what festivals are happening locally and discover how you can get involved.