Peace in the prayer tent at Watchet Music Festival  

Watchet’s music festival in Somerset returned this year - and the church-run prayer tent offered many festival goers the opportunity to pause and reflect

Three stages provided music from Friday to Sunday over the August Bank Holiday weekend with popular acts The Fratellis, Level 42 and Belinda Carlisle headlining the mainstage. Amongst the traders and entertainers and with amazing sea views, the church-run prayer tent offered festival goers the opportunity to pause and reflect, and take a moment to consider peace: peace within, peace with others and peace for our world.

'Peace seemed like a really important theme this year,' explained Andy Levett, member of Watchet Baptist Church and part of the prayer tent team, 'and in our woodland prayer space [inside a marquee] we were able to create a space that was accessible to people of all ages, with many writing prayers of their own and others taking away prayers written for them by the team.'    



The tent was busy throughout the weekend, from early morning conversations with traders, afternoons chatting with local families and teenagers, and saying ‘Good night’ to campers when the stages fell silent just after midnight.

The team included a Baptist minister and an Anglican reader as well as students back from university,  and artists, poets and musicians. It gathered at regular points throughout each day to pray together, and on Sunday morning the team led a festival service with a difference from the Udder Stage, a mix of music and spoken word to start the day. The service included a spoken word from Mike Sherburn, the minister of Watchet Baptist Church.
 

Andy added, 'It’s amazing to have this opportunity to be part of such a brilliant community run event and to have such a creative team to breathe life into our part of it.'