Writing from Glastonbury, Ruth Harvey reflects on biblical examples of protest and working for peace

I’M typing this piece – letter by letter – on my mobile phone in a field adjacent to two very large, very loud music venues. The constant thrum of drum and bass and techno pulses through my body.

When I raise my eyes from this tiny screen, I’m met with a remarkable array of sights: huge festival tents, hand-painted bins, music posters, ferris wheels, junkyard sculpture, fields of tipis, throngs of humanity, and plenty of protest signs. “Actions Speak Louder”. “Respect”. “Revolt”.

I am reminded that speaking truth to power is not confined to abbeys or churches, parliaments or protest events. But in fields and in music venues, in tiny tea tents and glades across the globe. I am in the Iona Community space at the Glastonbury Festival. Across the site there is also the Church Tent hosted by Churches Together in Somerset, and closer at hand there is the Coracle Prayer Tent in the Healing Fields, which itself is nestled between the Hindu Temple and a Shamanic Healer.

The Iona Community team of volunteers has been coming to Glastonbury since 1997. We are here to offer rest, companionship and sanctuary to those who need it.

We are also at Glastonbury representing the Iona Community’s commitment to justice and peace. Since 1967 we have campaigned loudly against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. While we are here, our anti-nuclear campaigners, along with faith leaders including our very own Moderator, Sally, and other members of Scottish Christians Against Nuclear Arms (SCANA) are once again praying and protesting outside the Faslane Naval Base. Their protest? The presence of nuclear warheads on our soil. We sum up our feelings in our Justice and Peace Commitment thus: “We believe that that the use or threatened use of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction is theologically and morally indefensible and that opposition to their existence is an imperative of the Christian faith.”

We are passionate about peace because we are passionate about life.

Mary, full of life, sang of revolution (Luke 1: 46-55). Echoing the prophets (Isaiah 2:4) she sang truth to power. Was it the promise of new life which prompted her protest? Perhaps. It certainly reinforced her vigour.

“We are passionate about peace because we are passionate about life.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones

but has lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things

but has sent the rich away empty.

Like Mary, Jesus squarely faced confrontation and conflict (see his words to the Pharisees and Scribes in Matthew 23). In response to aggression, to war, to plans for war, Jesus’ message was one of love (Mark 12: 30-31); of reaching out to the other (Luke 19: 1-10); of embracing and raising up the lowliest in society (Luke 21: 1-4); of speaking truth to power (Matthew 27).

We can, and should, cite the peace and non-proliferation treaties and the agreements, holding those with power to account. We can and we should uphold the non-violent stances and the many unheard protests against war. We can and we should quote the figures – the economic impact of fueling war rather than feeding the poor, the carbon emissions produced by war-mongering, penalising further those who suffer from the consequences of climate crisis.

At the same time, as I look over at the weary souls who have found rest on the carpeted banks of our little Iona glade at Glastonbury, I see a further truth. Jesus came to bring life in all its fulness. Life, rest, companionship and sanctuary to all. Our commitment to justice and peace, is a commitment to life for all.

Ruth Harvey is Leader of the Iona Community. Find out more about, and join the Iona Community at www.iona.org.uk