Somewhere To Believe In

This episode of Greenbelt’s ‘Somewhere To Believe In’ comes in the form of a one-off Christmas reflection; brought to you by our friend Beloved Sara Zaltash, a ‘non-denominational rabble-rouser and soul-soother for a world in crisis’.

It was our pleasure to welcome Beloved Sara to Greenbelt for the first time this year, along with her heavenly spiritual chants and adaptation of the Islamic Call to Prayer. And now she’s back again, reflecting on Christmas, with personal stories of community, songs of hope and prayers of blessings.

As Beloved Sara says, we hope ‘you gather around these sounds in warmth and with whatever is dear to you, and that these words shine a beacon of friendship into your Christmas season.’

This episode features strong language and references to drugs.

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Late this November, Greenbelt Festival’s Creative Director, Paul Northup, called me with a request to collaborate on something like a podcast, that wasn’t quite a podcast, to be shared with the Greenbelt community this Christmastime. 

I wish I could say that the first emotion I experienced was humility. I wish I was that saint! In truth, I was overwhelmed with giddy delight. Was I really being asked to share my thoughts, stories and songs with the Greenbelt community, that vital and gorgeous and exceptionally kind bunch of people that had won my heart this summer when I performed at the festival? In truth, it took a whole afternoon of pinching myself before the thrill of Paul’s request subsided, before I could settle into what was being asked of me. Did Greenbelters really want to hear more from me? What can I give them, poor as I am? 

As the start of Advent loomed, Paul and I realised that the task ahead was greater than the time available, and that we needed a different approach. Paul wondered about centering the not-exactly-a-podcast on my voice, seeing as it was my voice that had been received so kindly by Greenbelters at the festival. It was then that I remembered a piece of storytelling I had written for a guest slot at Sunday Assembly East End in December 2016 - a personal story, woven with song, that was Christmassy and yet not-exactly-Christmassy. This story is what we have chosen to share with you this year. 

Funnily enough, Sunday Assembly thought that the story was actually too Christian for their congregation. For me, this story abridges my whole life’s experience of sincere acceptance, inclusion and welcome into Christian community, regardless of how I have shown up. This story does not promote any specific belief or doctrine, except perhaps the belief in the redemptive power of song. 

That’s what we have to give you; we give our hearts. 

Thank you for all of the support and willingness offered by the Greenbelt team and not-quite-podcast contributors. Thank you especially to Abigail Maxwell, a Greenbelter and Quaker who provides us with a sobering prayer of blessing that we can hold alongside the gladness of the season. I pray that our offering greets you in the finest health, that you gather around these sounds in warmth and with whatever is dear to you, and that these words shine a beacon of friendship into your Christmas season.

Yours ever, 

Your own, 

Beloved Sara Zaltash

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00:00 - Introduction

01:45 - In the bleak midwinter

07:33 - A Christmas song

10:04 - Eric

16:16 - School

28:10 - Merry Christmas

28:37 - A prayer of blessing

31:04 - ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ song

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This episode of Greenbelt’s ‘Somewhere To Believe In’ podcast takes a different form. It’s a one-off.

It knits together 45-minutes of reflection, conversation, music and prayer in the form of a listen-and-share service to mark the festival’s 2021 August Bank Holiday weekend incarnation (its 48th) – when only a fraction of the wider Greenbelt community could actually physically be together at the Prospect Farm pop-up camping gathering. 

The hope is that the audio form of the service will give everyone the chance to share and be connected in a unifying act of remembrance – wherever they are. Ideally, the audio is designed to be shared in and listened to at 11am on Sunday 29th August. But, of course, it can be listened to at any time. Again and again.

The podcast takes its title from a wonderful poem by the poet Roger Robinson. It also features music from Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir and the Wild Goose Resources Group, conversations with activists from Christian Aid, Trussell Trust and Refuweegee and readings and prayers led by Greenbelt’s from all corners of the UK. It is lovingly curated and narrated by Pádraig Ó Tuama – poet, theologian, and conflict mediator. (Pádraig also presents 'Poetry Unbound', a podcast from On Being studios.)

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ORDER OF SERVICE

Download the order of service here

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SUPPORT

Last year – despite our not being together – you gave an incredible £33,000 in response to our service appeal. This year, let’s see if we can top that generosity!

This year, your generous giving will be split 50/50 once again.

50% will go towards the vital work that our partners Christian Aid and Trussell Trust do to challenge, advocate, develop and support – globally and domestically.

And 50% will stay with us here at Greenbelt as we work to make sure the festival remains sustainable in these most challenging of times. So we can be back in the fields at Boughton House for a fully-fledged festival in 2022 – and beyond.

Give here

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LINKS AND RESOURCES

Pádraig Ó Tuama

Roger Robinson

Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir

Christian Aid in South Sudan

Trussell Trust

Glasgow protesters praised for blocking UK immigration officers

Refuweegee

Wild Goose Resource Group

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FEATURED TRACKS

‘Lenten Psalm Tone’ by Soul Sanctuary

‘Heaven Shall Not Wait’ by WGRG, Iona Community

‘People Get Ready’ by Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir

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00:00 - Prayer for the earth

00:35 - Welcome to ‘The Job of Paradise’

01:49 - ‘The Job of Paradise’ read by Roger Robinson

02:30 - Pádraig speaks to Roger Robinson

10:33 - Prayer for the artists

11:35 - ‘Psalm 27’ by Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir

16:26 - Chine McDonald and James Wani on aid in South Sudan (Christian Aid)

21:32 - Prayer for those affected by war

22:34 - Pádraig and Jonathan Lees on food banks (Trussell Trust)

27:19 - Scriptural reading

28:31 - Confession

29:50 - Prayer for those responsible for racism

30:26 - ‘Heaven Shall Not Wait’ by Wild Goose Resource Group

32:39 - Pádraig speaks to Selina Hales (Refuweegee) about Glasgow immigration standoff

38:21 - ‘Heaven Shall Not Wait’ by Wild Goose Resource Group

38:56 - Prayer for friendship

39:40 - ‘People Get Ready’ by Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir

42:34 - Prayer for our societies

43:17 - A chance for conversation and response

43:57 - Welcome back

44:13 - Giving

45:19 - Blessing

46:15 - Thank you and credits

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WITH HUGE THANKS TO ALL OF OUR CONTRIBUTORS

SERVICE WRITER, NARRATOR AND HOST

Pádraig Ó Tuama is a poet, theologian, and conflict mediator. He presents Poetry

Unbound, a podcast from On Being studios.

Website: padraigotuama.com

Twitter: @duanalla

GUEST ARTIST

Roger Robinson is a writer, educator, and performer. His most recent collection of

poems, A Portable Paradise, won the TS Eliot prize in 2020.

Website: rogerrobinsononline.com

Twitter: @rrobinson72

GUEST ACTIVISTS

Selina Hales is the Founder and Director of Refuweegee, a Glasgow-based charity

equipping the local community to welcome and support refugees and asylum

seekers making their homes in the city.

Website: refuweegee.co.uk

Twitter: @SelinaHales

Greenbelt Partner Christian Aid is a UK-based charity whose mission is the

creation of a world where everyone can live a full life, free from poverty.

Chine McDonald is Christian Aid’s Head of Public Engagement. She was in

conversation with James Wani, Christian Aid’s country director in South Sudan.

Website: christianaid.org.uk

Twitter: @ChineMcDonald @christian_aid

Greenbelt Partner The Trussell Trust is a charity working to eliminate poverty and

hunger in the UK. They support a nationwide network of Foodbanks.

Jonathan Lees is manager at Epsom Foodbank

Website: trusselltrust.org

Twitter: @jonathanlees55 @TrussellTrust

MUSIC

Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir is a London-based gospel choir committed to creating

and sharing gospel music of the highest standard, especially in the places where

gospel’s power to raise the human spirit is most needed. You can find more of their

music via their website.

Website: soulsanctuarygospel.com

Twitter: @soulsanctuarygc

Lenten Psalm Tone

Music Edwin Fawcett, Lyrics Psalm 26/27 copyright Grail Psalter, performed by

Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir, from the album With All Your Soul (2013).

People Get Ready

Music and Lyrics Curtis Mayfield, arranged Peter Yarde Martin, performed by Soul

Sanctuary Gospel Choir

Wild Goose Resource Group (WGRG) is a semi-autonomous project of the Iona

Community. The Iona Community is a dispersed Christian community working for

peace, social justice, the rebuilding of community and the renewal of worship.

Website: iona.org.uk

Twitter: @ionacommunity

Heaven Shall Not Wait

Words: John L. Bell & Graham Maule

Music: John L. Bell copyright © 1987 WGRG, Iona Community, Glasgow.

wildgoose.scot

Recording from the CD ‘Heaven Shall Not Wait’ copyright ℗ 1991 WGRG, Iona

Community, Glasgow.

PRAYERS AND READERS

Uriel, Felice and Evodie Thornbury – young family members of the Hilfield Friary

Franciscan Community in Dorset

Vicky and Eve Allen, Greenbeters from East Lothian

Geraint Rees, Greenbelter and CODA festival team member from Rhondda Cynon Taf

Producer

Paul Northup

Engineer

Josh Clipsham, Greenbelt Volunteer

Recorded Talks and Podcast Team

Recordist

Jake Bussell, Greenbelt Volunteer

Recorded Talks and Podcast Team

Publisher

Daisy Ware-Jarett, Greenbelt Digital

Comms Officer

Additional support

Emily Rawling, Executive Assistant and

Copy Editor for Pádraig Ó Tuama

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https://www.greenbelt.org.uk/

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It’s the final episode in series three of our podcast *cries*, and some might say we’ve saved the best ‘til last. We get to it with festival friend and everyone's favourite Lutheran minister, Nadia Bolz-Weber.

With her usual candour, humour and joy Nadia talks about her experiences growing up within a very particular, conservative Christian tradition, her journey away from Christian faith as a young adult and into other spaces that helped her heal, and her return to the fold later on; building a church from the ground-up, based on all the ‘good bits’.

Plus, we have a refreshingly honest chat about religion, sin, struggle and sex. And that time Nadia had a sculpture of a vagina made from melted down purity rings. (You can play along at home by having a drink of your choice every time Nadia says “vagina”.)

Katherine and Paul reflect on a year of podcasting and lockdowns and we respond to some messages from you lovely lot.

Links, resources and episode timestamps (for all you skippers out there) below.

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ABOUT NADIA BOLZ-WEBER

Nadia Bolz-Weber is an ordained Lutheran Pastor, founder of House for All Sinners & Saints in Denver, Co, the creator and host of The Confessional Podcast and the author of three NYT bestselling memoirs: Pastrix; The Cranky, Beautiful Faith Of A Sinner & Saint (Re-released 2021), Accidental Saints; Finding God In All The Wrong People (2015) and SHAMELESS; A Sexual Reformation (2019). She writes and speaks about personal failings, recovery, grace, faith, and really whatever the hell else she wants to. She always sits in the corner with the other weirdos. Read more from Nadia in The Corners or connect with her and other spiritual misfits in a pop-up Chapel for conversation, daily prayer, and exclusive content by visiting thechapel.io.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

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LINKS AND RESOURCES

Nadia’s talks at Greenbelt

Fresh Expressions

House for All Sinners and Saints

Confessional podcast

Feminist Pastor Unveils Vulva Sculpture Made Of Old Purity Rings

More Graves Found At New Site, Canadian Indigenous Group Says

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00:00 - Welcome to Somewhere To Believe In

00:47 - Katherine and Paul catch up

05:58 - Introducing Nadia Bolz-Weber

06:32 - Nadia joins the conversation

07:10 - Nadia on Greenbelt Festival

10:30 - Nadia on the Lutheran church

20:40 - Nadia on founding House for All Sinners and Saints

29:14 - Nadia on struggle and optimism

33:00 - Nadia on sex

36:54 - Nadia on negative feedback

39:49 - Nadia on grace

41:10 - Nadia on insults

44:33 - Katherine and Paul reflect on the conversation with Nadia

01:02:04 - How to get in touch with us

01:02:39 - Thank you’s

01:03:28 - Hidden tracks

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A huge thanks to the Greenbelt Volunteer Talks Team for all their hard work on editing this episode. Our podcast music is ‘I Can Change’ by Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires.

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https://www.greenbelt.org.uk/

#SomewhereToBelieveIn

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This week – in what may be the best recommendation we’ve ever had – we’re talking to theologian, former American footballer, and probably Rowan Williams' biggest fanboy, Danté Stewart.

With fire in his belly, Danté “takes us to church”, telling us the story of his own faith journey; from his childhood spent learning of Black revolutionary power, to his full immersion into white evangelical culture as a college football star. And, ultimately, his decision to turn his back on white evangelicalism and to re-nourish and re-build his spirituality and identity as a Black man instead.

Plus, all this gets Katherine and Paul asking: what does healthy religion look like? And how can Greenbelt go beyond showcasing diverse performers and do more to create spaces that are designed for everyone?

Links, resources and episode timestamps (for all you skippers out there) below.

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ABOUT DANTÉ STEWART

Danté Stewart is a writer and speaker whose voice has been featured on CNN, The Washington Post, Religion News Service, Christianity Today, Sojourners, The Witness: A Black Christian Collective, Comment Magazine, and more. As an up-and-coming voice, he writes and speaks into the areas of Black literature, embodiment, and theology. He received his B.A. in Sociology from Clemson University. He is currently studying at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. 

Website | Twitter | Instagram 

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LINKS AND RESOURCES

Under The Skin With Russell Brand: #105 Alienation and Extremism w/ Angela Nagle

Rowan Williams

Where to Start with Octavia Butler

Culture And Imperialism by Edward Said

Harry and Meghan detail royal struggles, from discussions of baby's skin tone to suicidal thoughts

The Divided Mind of the Black Church: Theology, Piety, and Public Witness

The Black Arts Movement (1965-1975)

It is like growing up black one more time by Toni Morrison

Clemson University

Two Days, Two Deaths: The Police Shootings Of Alton Sterling And Philando Castile

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

Audre Lorde

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00:00 - Welcome to Somewhere To Believe In

00:47 - Katherine and Paul catch up

08:08 - Introducing Danté Stewart

08:06 - Danté joins the conversation

09:40 - Danté on the pandemic 

13:40 - Danté on staying resilient

20:00 - Danté on history and change

24:50 - Danté on growing up

28:00 - Danté on white institutional spaces

32:10 - Danté on exile from those spaces

37:50 - Danté on his faith journey

43:08 - Katherine and Paul reflect on the conversation with Danté

55:35 - Next week on the podcast

56:32 - How to get in touch with us

57:10 - Thank you’s

58:00 - Hidden track

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A huge thanks to the Greenbelt Volunteer Talks Team for all their hard work on editing this episode. Our podcast music is ‘I Can Change’ by Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires.

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https://www.greenbelt.org.uk/

#SomewhereToBelieveIn

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Get your best philosophical hats out for this episode because we’re doing a deep dive into the not-so-holy-trinity of dinner table topics – religion, politics and belief – with Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK.

Andrew gives us the 411 on what it means to be a Humanist. And we wrestle with some meaty questions, like: Where does morality come from? Are religions dying out? Can good ever come from causing offence? And does it really matter what we choose to believe?

Plus, Katherine, Paul and Andrew share in their admiration for Frank Turner, a proud humanist and iconic Greenbelt Festival headliner. And Katherine gives us our first lesson in the history of Anarchism... and it might not be what you expect.

Links, resources and episode timestamps (for all you skippers out there) below.

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ABOUT ANDREW COPSON

Andrew Copson was appointed Chief Executive of Humanists UK in 2009, having previously been its Director of Education and Public Affairs. He is also the current President of Humanists International, a position he’s held since 2015. His books include The Little Book of Humanism (2020) and The Little Book of Humanist Weddings (2021) with Alice Roberts; Secularism: a very short introduction (Oxford University Press, 2019); The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Humanism (2015) with A C Grayling. His writing on humanist and secularist issues has appeared in The Guardian, The Independent, The Times and New Statesman as well as in various journals.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

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LINKS AND RESOURCES

Methodist Church allows same-sex marriage in 'momentous' vote

Humanists UK

Frank Turner - Glory Hallelujah

Little Book of Humanism

humanist (n.)

Anarchism

Two Monkeys Were Paid Unequally: Excerpt from Frans de Waal's TED Talk

Nicholas Walter

Teacher suspended for showing a picture of Prophet Muhammad refuses to return to work over fears for his life 

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00:00 - Welcome to Somewhere To Believe In

00:47 - Katherine and Paul catch up

05:16 - Introducing Andrew Copson

05:46 - Andrew joins the conversation

06:10 - Andrew on lockdown

07:06 - Andrew on Frank Turner

08:35 - Andrew on Humanism

12:30 - Andrew on morality

16:20 - Andrew on restoration

19:30 - Andrew on social codes

21:20 - Andrew on religious trends

27:22 - Andrew on his Humanism

30:27 - Andrew on blasphemy and offence

35:52 - Andrew on beliefs and values

40:30 - Andrew on certainty

42:20 - Andrew on challenging power

49:05 - Katherine and Paul reflect on the conversation with Andrew

01:06:05 - Next week on the podcast

01:07:05 - How to get in touch with us 

01:07:38 - Thank you’s

01:08:24 - Hidden track

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A huge thanks to the Greenbelt Volunteer Talks Team for all their hard work on editing this episode. Our podcast music is ‘I Can Change’ by Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires.

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https://www.greenbelt.org.uk/

#SomewhereToBelieveIn

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We’re feeling humbled and full of love this week as we chat to artist, speaker, writer and priest, Mpho Tutu van Furth.

Mpho tells us about her experiences living under apartheid as a young girl and the freedom and justice that so many South Africans, including her family, fought for.

We also hear about Mpho’s journey into priesthood and how she reluctantly handed her license back to the church after their (unfortunately unsurprising) reaction to her ‘lovely can of worms’ – AKA falling in love with a woman. Perhaps most importantly, Mpho reminds us how interconnected and interdependent we all are, and that showing a little bit of care can do a whole lot of good.

Plus, Katherine and Paul reflect on some similarities they see between Mpho’s apartheid memories and life in modern-day Palestine. Like the rest of us, Paul and Katherine jump on the football bandwagon, and Katherine officially joins the #FreeBritney movement. 

Links, resources and episode timestamps (for all you skippers out there) below.

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ABOUT MPHO TUTU VAN FURTH

The Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu van Furth is an episcopal priest, an artist, an author, an accomplished public speaker and retreat facilitator. She has had many roles in non-profit leadership. She was the founding executive director of the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation. She continues to work for environmental justice, human rights and equal access to opportunity for all people without regard to race, class or gender. With her wife, Marceline, she has established and is Executive Director of the Tutu Teach Foundation to enhance access to opportunity for women and girls. Ms. Tutu van Furth and her wife live in the Netherlands. They have four children and two (amazing) grandchildren.

Website | Instagram | Facebook

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LINKS AND RESOURCES

Why Longtime Britney Spears Fans Are Demanding to #FreeBritney

Did Rudiger try and bite Pogba?

A history of Apartheid in South Africa

Domas: Carrying Apartheid’s book

The June 16 Soweto Youth Uprising

Space and power in South Africa: The township as a mechanism of control

The Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation

What does ubuntu really mean?

Truth and Reconciliation Commission

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00:00 - Welcome to Somewhere To Believe In

00:48 - Katherine and Paul catch up

00:00 - Katherine and Paul on Prospect Farm

08:49 - Introducing Mpho Tutu van Furth

09:52 - Mpho joins the conversation

10:05 - Mpho on lockdown

13:27 - Mpho on South African identity

16:49 - Mpho on the living under apartheid

23:33 - Mpho on privilege

27:05 - Mpho on her journey to priesthood

29:00 - Mpho on Marceline

33:58 - Mpho on church and her sexuality

36:00 - Mpho on small acts of kindness

38:00 - Mpho on personal spirituality 

40:56 - Mpho on being loving

43:47 - Mpho on ubuntu

44:50 - Mpho on enjoying the journey

47:18 - Mpho on forgiveness

48:13 - Katherine and Paul reflect on the conversation with Mpho

01:01:20 - Next week on the podcast

01:01:58 - How to get in touch with us 

01:02:35 - Thank you’s

01:03:24 - Hidden track

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A huge thanks to the Greenbelt Volunteer Talks Team for all their hard work on editing this episode. Our podcast music is ‘I Can Change’ by Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires.

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https://www.greenbelt.org.uk/

#SomewhereToBelieveIn

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This week we bask in the warmth of Rabbi Herschel Gluck – an incredible Orthodox Jewish leader  – whose entire life seems to be one big act of love. 

Aside from being in awe of Rabbi Gluck’s gentle soul and kind nature, we talk about his life-long dedication to his community, his outlook on the good that could come from the pandemic and his belief that we can work together to create a better future; without losing sight of our own traditions, cultures and values.

Rabbi Gluck also shares how he still struggles to grasp the effect that the Holocaust had on his family, and speaks of the continuous trauma generations of Jewish communities still experience because of it.

Plus, Katherine and Paul update us on the plans for Prospect Farm and get an unexpected visit from our new podcast sponsors, Hello Fresh.

Promo code: JustKidding.

Links, resources and episode timestamps (for all you skippers out there) below.

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ABOUT RABBI HERSCHEL GLUCK

Rabbi Herschel Gluck OBE is a British Rabbi based in Stamford Hill in North East London. Born in London and based in the city for most of his life, he is a committed member of a wider ‘global village’, having studied at Yeshivos in France, Canada and the USA and working with communities across the world. Rabbi Gluck was appointed an OBE in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to interfaith understanding. In the past year he has been quoted in British Parliament for his lifetime commitment to inter-communal understanding and his work countering Anti-Semitism in the UK.

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LINKS AND RESOURCES

Oysgezoomt: The Yiddish word of 2020

Holocaust

Kindertransport

Tzedakah

The Scream

Rabbi Herschel Gluck’s talks at Greenbelt Festival

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00:00 - Welcome to Somewhere To Believe In

00:48 - Katherine and Paul catch up

05:00 - Katherine and Paul on Prospect Farm

06:46 - Introducing Rabbi Herschel Gluck

07:22 - Rabbi Gluck joins the conversation

08:10 - Rabbi Gluck on becoming a Rabbi

09:47 - Rabbi Gluck on duty and care

11:40 - Rabbi Gluck on finding precious moments

12:45 - Rabbi Gluck on lockdown

14:09 - Rabbi Gluck on community

15:30 - Rabbi Gluck on modern Judaism

20:30 - Rabbi Gluck on generations of Jewish experience

23:50 - Rabbi Gluck on change

27:00 - Rabbi Gluck on Greenbelt Festival

28:10 - Rabbi Gluck on being interfaith and refugees

34:00 - Rabbi Gluck on charity

36:50 - Rabbi Gluck on being humble

38:08 - Rabbi Gluck on art as connection

40:57 - Katherine and Paul reflect on the conversation with Rabbi Gluck

57:54 - Next week on the podcast

58:41 - How to get in touch with us 

59:30 - Thank you’s

01:00:19 - Hidden track

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A huge thanks to the Greenbelt Volunteer Talks Team for all their hard work on editing this episode. Our podcast music is ‘I Can Change’ by Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires.

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https://www.greenbelt.org.uk/

#SomewhereToBelieveIn

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This week on the podcast it’s our absolute privilege to chat with Yvonne Ridley, a journalist and activist who has one of the most fascinating life stories we think you’ll ever hear. Plus, her very enthusiastic peacocks have their say, too.

We talk about Yvonne’s experience as a prisoner of the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, the promise she made to her captors to study Islam and read the Quran if they released her, and her unexpected faith journey thereafter, as she decided to leave the Christian faith and embrace Islam.

Plus, as well as talking about her decades of work to combat harmful Muslim stereotypes, we dig into her relentless activism for issues as wide-ranging as Scottish independence, peace in Gaza, justice for Rohingya Muslims, and more generally, what it means to be a ‘radical’.

Meanwhile, Katherine and Paul reflect on one year of podcasting – no, we can’t believe it either – and their potential new careers as daytime TV hosts.

Links, resources and episode timestamps (for all you skippers out there) below.

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ABOUT SISTER YVONNE RIDLEY

British journalist Yvonne Ridley made global headlines when she was captured by the Taliban in 2001. Since then she has moved from London to Scotland, becoming active in the independence movement. She has published a number of books including her harrowing experience with the Taliban and another on the Rise of the Prophet Muhammad. She worked as a senior editor to establish Al Jazeera's English website in Qatar before returning to the UK to play central roles in the start up TV projects Islam Channel and Press TV. When she's not working as a journalist in humanitarian and conflict zones she writes historical fiction from her remote farm in the Scottish Borders. She was nominated for a Nobel peace prize in 2019 for humanitarian work involving Syrian women prisoners and helping Rohingya refugees compile evidence of war crimes.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

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TAKE ACTION

Fundraiser: Gaza Children's festival (Amos Trust)

Fundraiser: Rebuild Gaza's Samir Mansour Book Store (Clive Stafford Smith)

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LINKS AND RESOURCES

Free Radical: Yvonne Ridley

Why is there a war in Afghanistan? The short, medium and long story

Historical anti-war protest in London: 15 February 2003

The Day I Realized I Would Never Find Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq

Respect Party

Scottish National Party

Action for Independence 

All Under One Banner

Timeline: the humanitarian impact of the Gaza blockade

Peace Activist Boats Sail Into Gaza Sand

Myanmar Rohingya: What you need to know about the crisis

Malak Mattar

Clive Stafford Smith Podcast episode

Reprieve

Books by Yvonne Ridley

Eden Burning

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00:00 - Welcome to Somewhere To Believe In

00:47 - Katherine and Paul catch up

04:50 - Introducing Yvonne Ridley

06:32 - Yvonne Ridley joins the conversation

06:42 - Yvonne on her animals

07:44 - Yvonne on her experience in Afghanistan

13:16 - Yvonne on pro-war propaganda

17:37 - Yvonne on the movement against the Iraq War

20:38 - Yvonne on ISIS and religious extremism

22:04 - Yvonne on media accountability

25:50 - Yvonne on radicalism

28:32 - Yvonne on grassroots politics

32:28 - Yvonne on activism in Gaza

36:10 - Yvonne on Zionism 

38:40 - Yvonne on being hopeful

43:55 - Katherine and Paul reflect on the conversation with Yvonne

58:30 - Next week on the podcast

59:21 - How to get in touch with us

59:58 - Thank you’s

01:00:48 - Hidden track

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A huge thanks to the Greenbelt Volunteer Talks Team for all their hard work on editing this episode. Our podcast music is ‘I Can Change’ by Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires.

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https://www.greenbelt.org.uk/

#SomewhereToBelieveIn

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The second conversation in our ‘Keeping the faith’ series is with Sister Teresa Forcades who – with good reason – has been dubbed ‘Europe’s most radical nun’.

Sister Teresa joins us from her Monastery on the mountain of Montserrat, near Barcelona in Catalonia, where she lives with thirty Catholic Benedictine sisters. We discuss her open criticism of the very Catholic Church she serves, her feminism, her politics, her general mission to speak out in order to create a more loving and fair society, and her experiences of being silenced for doing so.

Plus, as a physician and expert in public health, it would have been rude not to ask Sister Teresa for her professional thoughts on the pandemic, the vaccination programme and the role of big pharmaceutical companies. Which, as you may have guessed already, she has a lot of alternative (some would say ‘controversial’) things to say about.

Katherine and Paul reflect on the conversation with Sister Teresa and Katherine, in particular, is taken aback by how refreshing Sister Teresa’s views are in comparison with her Catholic schooling. And Paul is reminded by Sister Teresa about just how important it is to be made to look more closely and think again.

Links, resources and episode timestamps (for all you skippers out there) below.

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ABOUT SISTER TERESA FORCADES

Teresa Forcades i Vila (1966) is a physician, theologian and Benedictine nun in the mountain monastery of Sant Benet de Montserrat (Catalonia, Spain). Master of Divinity (Harvard, 1997), doctor in Medicine (U. Barcelona, 2004) and doctor in Sacred Theology (Facultat de Teologia de Catalunya, 2007). From 2015-18 she took a leave of absence from her monastery (exclaustration) to become politically active in the Catalan movement for independence. Since 2017 she has been the director of the journal of Christian critical thought Iglesia Viva and hosts a weekly radio program on Catalan radio. She is also the principal of the Sinclètica Monastic School of theology.

Website

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LINKS AND RESOURCES

Sister Teresa Forcades: Europe's most radical nun

Europe: a Nun’s Eye View (2017) - Greenbelt recorded talk

Teresa Forcades i Vila in conversation with Martin Wroe (2017) - Greenbelt recorded talk

Núria Calduch - First woman appointed Secretary of Vatican Biblical Commission

Jan Brueghel The Elder – The Crucifixion

On the Abolition of All Political Parties by Simone Weil

A Letter Concerning Toleration by John Locke

The Peril of Not Vaccinating the World

Ivermectin for Covid-19

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00:00 - Welcome to Somewhere To Believe In

00:49 - Katherine and Paul catch up

03:01 - Introducing Sister Teresa Forcades

05:50 - Sister Teresa joins the conversation

06:19 - Sister Teresa on her monastery

07:24 - Sister Teresa on young women wanting to become nuns

12:19 - Sister Teresa on feminism, misogyny and sexuality

22:00 - Sister Teresa on vaccines and public health

31:14 - Sister Teresa on being silenced

33:40 - Sister Teresa on politics and democracy

39:00 - Sister Teresa on church and politics

45:08 - Katherine and Paul reflect on the conversation with Sister Teresa

1:00:40 - How to get in touch with us

1:01:25 - Thank you’s

1:02:10 - Hidden track

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A huge thanks to the Greenbelt Volunteer Talks Team for all their hard work on editing this episode. Our podcast music is ‘I Can Change’ by Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires.

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https://www.greenbelt.org.uk/

#SomewhereToBelieveIn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Somewhere To Believe In! We’re calling this series ‘Keeping the faith’ because this time around we’re having no-holds-barred conversations with people who get stuck in BECAUSE of what they believe.

Arguably, no one has done more to keep the faith than our first guest; former superintendent in the Met police, man-on-a-mission to change a racist police system from within, subject of one of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe films and general truth-to-power-speaker, Leroy Logan.

We talk about Leroy’s incredible life. From some of his formative years being spent as a young boy in Jamaica seeing Black people in positions of power to his short career in science and his ultimate ‘calling’ to the police force – a decision which resulted in him joining the ranks of the officers who beat-up his father, and a decades-long mission to call out toxic police culture and replace it with love, respect, service and care.

Plus, a lot has happened since we last had a podcast chat, so Katherine and Paul get us up-to-date on all things Greenbelt Festival, Prospect Farm and – most importantly – which lockdown hobbies have stuck and which haven’t.

Links, resources and episode timestamps (for all you skippers out there) below.

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ABOUT LEROY LOGAN

Dr Leroy Logan MBE is a former superintendent in the Metropolitan police. He retired in 2013 after 30 years' service. He is also a former chair and founding member of the Black Police Association. Leroy is one of the UK’s most highly decorated and well known black police officers. A highly respected and well regarded commentator on policing in black communities, he believes that there is still much work to do in creating a more equitable and fair criminal justice system.

Website | Twitter | Book

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LINKS AND RESOURCES

Leroy Logan’s book ‘Closing Ranks: My Life as a Cop’

Small Axe: Red, White and Blue

Black Police Association

Macpherson report: what was it and what impact did it have?

VOYAGE (Voice of the Youth and Genuine Empowerment) PROGRAMME

Damilola Taylor investigation and report

Stephen Lawrence Steering Group

Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities: The Report

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill

Parm Sandhu speaking on Channel 4 News about racism in the MET

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00:00 - Welcome to Somewhere To Believe In

00:56 - Katherine and Paul catch up

04:25 - Katherine and Paul on cancelling Greenbelt Festival (again)

07:10 - Katherine and Paul on Prospect Farm

08:45 - Katherine and Paul on why we’re not doing a digital festival this year

09:44 - Introducing Leroy Logan

11:39 - Leroy joins the conversation

12:37 - Leroy on East London

13:16 - Leroy on moving to Jamaica

15:59 - Leroy on growing up

16:30 - Leroy on faith and policing

19:40 - Leroy on feeling called to join the police

22:30 - Leroy on hostile environments and standing up to make a difference

25:46 - Leroy on racist and toxic police culture

31:30 - Leroy on George Floyd and Derek Chauvin

37:48 - Leroy on reflecting, learning and improving

42:40 - Leroy on Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series

46:35 - Leroy on speaking for those who don’t have a voice

48:56 - Leroy on police and protest

53:03 - Katherine and Paul reflect on the conversation with Leroy

59:52 - Katherine and Paul on protecting your right to protest

1:01:40 - Next week on the podcast

1:02:27 - How to get in touch with us

1:03:05 - Thank you’s

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A huge thanks to the Greenbelt Volunteer Talks Team for all their hard work on editing this episode. Our podcast music is ‘I Can Change’ by Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires.

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https://www.greenbelt.org.uk/

#SomewhereToBelieveIn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.