Katie Ramharacksingh reports on the LIVE march, rally & festival.
There may have been less numbers than expected for the LIVE march on Sabbath, 21 August but this was c
ompensated for by a higher degree of community involvement. South England Conference Youth director, Colin Stewart, had anticipated up to 10,000 people attending but numbers actually peaked at around 2,500. He explained that the department was looking for community involvement in the estimated figures and that trying to get the surrounding neighbourhood involved was a top priority for them. In an upbeat statement he said, "In the end, we wanted community involvement more than large numbers and we got the community participation we were hoping for. LIVE was much more about the families that lost their loved ones."
The LIVE march took us from Whitehall to Kennington Park. Even though we missed the Pathfinders being amongst us, the crowds were out and ready to march with a purpose, their message; to Live Intentionally Versus Existing.
Families from the community were heavily involved both in the march and the programme at the park. We saw many of them marching with boards reading 'Life Should Mean Life'. Participants later heard sisters, mothers and friends talking about how gun and knife crime had ripped apart their families. The touching stories were a reminder of how our key speaker last year, Pat Regan, was taken from us through the same crimes that she herself fought against. This year's programme was a wonderful tribute to their memories and true worship was given to God who is the only Person that we can count on in such a time of worldwide suffering.
T
he program
me at the park included drama, brought to us by No Labels Academy, singing from a variety of performers, and words of encouragement from both speakers and families from the community. The music aspect was then built on the following weekend when the SEC Youth department, for the first time, held the LIVE Festival in the grounds of the beautiful Chantemarle Christian Resource Centre. Many decided on the option to camp in tents and as the rain lightened into sunshine on the Sabbath, spirits lifted.
On Friday after a few obstacles, which included dealing with the noise requests of an Environmental Officer, the weekend began with music from artists such as Dedicated. The Sabbath morning came bringing more drama, singing, dance and poetry, and those aspiring to do the latter were able to take part in a creative writing workshop after the morning programme. Other workshops covered topics such as, How to be a Player, Music for Today's Youth and Health a
nd Fitness.
The concert on Sabbath evening involved an array of musical talents, from both inside and outside the Seventh-day Adv
entist Church, with acts such as the FOCUS band, Philippa Hana, Joel and Four Kornerz performing. The idea behind the weekend was to have a variety of music to appeal to our different members across the South England Conference, remembering that we all have many diverse tastes and talents.
Responses from the weekend included visions for next year and hopes that the festival will be even bigger and even better than it was this year.
