worth the trampled grass

The festival went very well. Not too overwhelming and lots of fun. Good to see old and new friends. I enjoyed one of the discussions on parenting, and was impressed by the care and maturity of the parents there. Our talks on pilgrimage also went well, with lots of good questions and positive responses (as well as some discomfort and resistance when I challenged the glorification of "community"). It was great to sit by the edge of our gravel road and talk to a group gathered in the grass.

The bands were also very good, the Psalters and mewithoutYou especially. They had fabulous live shows, and the audience danced so hard a huge cloud of dust rose in front of the stage like incense. Heather traded some homemade strawberry jam for a Psalters album, and for some art by our friend Chico (I thought both were very generous with their trades).

The only thing that grated on me was when they had famous people like Jim Wallis and Ron Sider ("elders," they were called) phone in and address the crowd. Don't we have much better elders in our own communities? Why do we need celebrities (with all the compromises they have made to get and maintain their fame)? It was just a reminder of how much popularity and mass appeal have been a focus to the leaders of this "movement." A disappointment. But other than that, a fun and interesting weekend.