Anticipation is building for Stroud’s annual Festival of Wonder, a celebration designed to help us recapture a sense of awe and wonder at God’s creation and bring light, cheer and wonder to the darkness of winter.
Running from 21 to 23 November, it brings together both professional and amateur performance including music, drama, comedy and circus, workshops, sounds, silence and reflective space, food warmth and community.
Almost all of the events are free and suitable for all ages.
Bryan Court, Chair of the Festival of Wonder Operations Team, said: “The festival is a free gift to our community and the ethos behind it is to encourage people to reimagine what Church might be like and certainly what the church building might be like. What we’re hoping is that it would just spark in people the beginning of a journey of faith.
“I think a lot of people have perceptions of a church building as somewhere fairly dark, fairly unfriendly, somewhere where you go for funerals or weddings, but nothing much else. Some people think that, if you go to church, they probably want your money to repair the roof, perceptions like that.
“I wanted to encourage people to reimagine what church might be like. So, at the Festival of Wonder, we put a trapeze frame in the church. The idea really was about getting people to come in and look up — looking up in the sense of looking to the wonder of God, but also looking up into the building and looking up. We’re not looking to preach to people. what we’re wanting to do is open their hearts and their minds to wonder of God and His creation and all that he hears and does for us.
“The aerial show, which is really the centre part of the circus performance, will have people performing up in the height of the church. It’s very exciting and it really does encourage people view the church in a different way space.”
The storyline this year is the pearl of great price, a Bible story in which a merchant sacrifices everything he owns to buy the pearl — it symbolises the pricelessness of the kingdom of heaven.
One key part of the welcome is the consideration for all needs. There are two free sold out performances tailored specifically for people with additional needs. Brian explained, “The circus performance at the heart of the weekend, is done in a way that’s accessible to those whose needs are particular, whether it be a physical disability or a neurodiverse factor or sometimes just the sheer excitement of being in a crowded place with performances going on all around them. That’s been very key to us, to try and bring the church to a group of people who would normally not find it accessible.
“Last year a parent asked if their our son could sit without anybody behind him. So we created a special seating area where there was nobody sat behind him, but he was still able to see. Their level of appreciation for that degree of consideration was made it all worthwhile.”
Festival of Wonder is a partner of the Diocese of Gloucester – the organisation has been part of the Diocesan 10:10 Circle, building on our partnerships within the diocese, sharing skills and expertise, and receiving support from other partners.
Kathryn Warner, Diocesan Mission and Pastoral Officer, said: “Festival of Wonder is very grateful for the funding they’ve received from the Diocesan LIFE Together Fund, to both invest in delivering this year’s event, and in developing opportunities to grow and develop over the coming years, in partnership with colleagues across the Diocese. They have also received funding from Sylvanus Lysons towards this year’s event.”
Throughout the weekend’s professional and community performances, there is a team of pastors and quiet reflective space so that people can make sense of all that they have seen and experienced.
You can see the full running order here »
News Hub
