The last day of the Gentse Feesten was devoted to the "empty wallet" market and the AA Gent football (soccer) team.
The empty wallet market is an attempt to get as many vendors together in one place as possible so they can sell out and you can end up with an empty wallet. We did not go since it was raining and had other things on the agenda.
We did climb the Sint Baaf's Tower. Pictures are on the picture page. It was rainy at first by stopped by the time we got to the top. Not particularly sunny and clear but not too bad for Belgium. The tower is only open during the Gentse Feesten.
Sint Baaf's Plein is dedicated to the AA Gent Football Team on the last day of the festival. We were disappointed that there was not a flag flying in top of Sint Baaf's when we were there. The reason was they were waiting for the official team flag to fly.
Last year AA Gent played in the finals for the Belgium Cup. They lost to Anderlecht in a close match. The Anderlecht president would not renew the team trainer's (think head coach) contract for more than one year. Guess who offered him a three year contract. That's right AA Gent. The motto here is wait until next year. They are expecting big things and already 80% of the season tickets are sold.
Other than the football frenzy the last day was quite with many of the other venues not having major performances and some markts (the bloom markt for instance) did not open.
Now we do our formal evaluation and get ready for the team for next year. There are some great opportunities for ministry and ministry evangelism. Pray about how you can participate in the Gentse Feesten 2009.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Zondag
Sunday is here. It is supposed to be a day of rest and will be much less hectic.
There is a community worship service in Baudelopark at 11:00AM (if you want to attend). The original weather forecast was for rain but it looks like it will be nice for at least the first part of the day.
The coffee outreach in the mornings finished on Saturday. There is a small group going this morning but most are getting ready for the service. We have been inviting many non-believers to this event and hope some will attend.
The pannenkoeken (crepes) and coffee outreach also finished Saturday. After working there we put our feet up for a few minutes before hitting the streets again. Finally got home before midnight and to bed after midnight.
The last day of the Feesten is tomorrow, Monday. We will be out and about seeing how it ends and where we can go from here.
It will take some time to evaluate all that we have experienced. We will give you that as we can.
There is a community worship service in Baudelopark at 11:00AM (if you want to attend). The original weather forecast was for rain but it looks like it will be nice for at least the first part of the day.
The coffee outreach in the mornings finished on Saturday. There is a small group going this morning but most are getting ready for the service. We have been inviting many non-believers to this event and hope some will attend.
The pannenkoeken (crepes) and coffee outreach also finished Saturday. After working there we put our feet up for a few minutes before hitting the streets again. Finally got home before midnight and to bed after midnight.
The last day of the Feesten is tomorrow, Monday. We will be out and about seeing how it ends and where we can go from here.
It will take some time to evaluate all that we have experienced. We will give you that as we can.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Hanging On
The enemy was very strong yesterday. Everyone who participated in the outreach commented on it. There was a real sense of open warfare.
Today will be a long one. We hit the tram at 6:30 this morning for the last coffee outreach. Since the enemy was very evident there yesterday it will be interesting to see if there are victories today or if he is even more evident. It is a spiritual battle and as we attempt the release of some of his captives he is not a happy camper. Everyone at the outreach sensed the open warfare yesterday. There are some pictures on the pictures page of past days at the Vlasmarkt Coffee Outreach. Check them out.
This is also the last day for the pannenkoeken (crepes) and coffee outreach at the Burg. Satan has been evident there as well. He does not like God's children trying to interrupt his plans. Pray that we will be able to stand strong in the battle since the war is already won. That is from 2:00 until 6:00.
Then from 8:00 until after midnight we are downtown with other activities. The participants sense the feesten are winding down so they are getting a bit rowdier at night. Pray for us to bring some salt and light into the environment.
Sunday is the community worship service in Baudelopark. We have been inviting people to attend and since it is in the open we are hoping others will see how much joy there is in following God.
We will keep you posted as time and energy allows. Prayer is the sustainer at this point.
Today will be a long one. We hit the tram at 6:30 this morning for the last coffee outreach. Since the enemy was very evident there yesterday it will be interesting to see if there are victories today or if he is even more evident. It is a spiritual battle and as we attempt the release of some of his captives he is not a happy camper. Everyone at the outreach sensed the open warfare yesterday. There are some pictures on the pictures page of past days at the Vlasmarkt Coffee Outreach. Check them out.
This is also the last day for the pannenkoeken (crepes) and coffee outreach at the Burg. Satan has been evident there as well. He does not like God's children trying to interrupt his plans. Pray that we will be able to stand strong in the battle since the war is already won. That is from 2:00 until 6:00.
Then from 8:00 until after midnight we are downtown with other activities. The participants sense the feesten are winding down so they are getting a bit rowdier at night. Pray for us to bring some salt and light into the environment.
Sunday is the community worship service in Baudelopark. We have been inviting people to attend and since it is in the open we are hoping others will see how much joy there is in following God.
We will keep you posted as time and energy allows. Prayer is the sustainer at this point.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Keeping Up
Life right now reminds me of the endless hours I spent on the treadmill losing weight to be able to come here. Losing 50+ pounds meant many hours just walking in one place. By the way now I do 14.5 Kilometers (9 miles) in 30 minutes 3 times per week on our elliptical machine. The principle is the same. Lots of sweat and effort and mostly the same perspective.
Since Tuesday we leave home by 6:30AM and usually don't get home before 7:00PM. From about 7:00AM until 9:30 or 10:00 we pass out coffee and hot chocolate to people who choose to party all night. The vast majority are drunk but there are also the security guards, taxi drivers and others who are in the area. So far each day each of us has had at least one (often 2-3) very good spiritual conversations with someone. Lucy even had the same woman come back to her two days later to continue the conversation.
During the middle of the day we continue to survey the ministry opportunities for future Gentse Feesten.
Then we go to another church where we work to serve pannenkoeken (crepes) and coffee for four hours. We also take the time to have other spiritual conversations and invite people to come for a visit on a Sunday. (There are no paper plates and plastic forks here so we wash dishes and cups after every person eats) Then we have to walk across town to catch a tram home. We take care of our necessary business (like today is garbage day and we have to get that out), answer emails and try to remember to write here before falling into bed for a few hours.
It serves to remind us how hard it is here to find people who will even listen to the story of God. But we are reminded daily that God is opening doors and hearts so they are there if we will be faithful. I reminded a young lady who is a new believer, that we tell the story and God does the converting. She is fearless and wades into the midst of the drunks, but then she does lack some experience and gets discouraged. Another young mother has a heart for telling people about the Good News and we were talking about that just yesterday. Then one man became very angry and almost abusive and brought her to tears. Unfortunately that speaks directly to my carnal nature and makes it hard to remember my primary focus.
No moral or catchy idea here. Just the news. Gotta go brush something, wash something grab the trash on the way out so I can stand ankle deep in trash (watching not to step in other things) with my feet sticking to the beer-soaked cobblestones and tell people how much God loves them because He does. I remember that I was not too different than that many years ago and I am here now because someone cared enough and took the time to tell me about a better way. How will they hear unless we tell them?
Since Tuesday we leave home by 6:30AM and usually don't get home before 7:00PM. From about 7:00AM until 9:30 or 10:00 we pass out coffee and hot chocolate to people who choose to party all night. The vast majority are drunk but there are also the security guards, taxi drivers and others who are in the area. So far each day each of us has had at least one (often 2-3) very good spiritual conversations with someone. Lucy even had the same woman come back to her two days later to continue the conversation.
During the middle of the day we continue to survey the ministry opportunities for future Gentse Feesten.
Then we go to another church where we work to serve pannenkoeken (crepes) and coffee for four hours. We also take the time to have other spiritual conversations and invite people to come for a visit on a Sunday. (There are no paper plates and plastic forks here so we wash dishes and cups after every person eats) Then we have to walk across town to catch a tram home. We take care of our necessary business (like today is garbage day and we have to get that out), answer emails and try to remember to write here before falling into bed for a few hours.
It serves to remind us how hard it is here to find people who will even listen to the story of God. But we are reminded daily that God is opening doors and hearts so they are there if we will be faithful. I reminded a young lady who is a new believer, that we tell the story and God does the converting. She is fearless and wades into the midst of the drunks, but then she does lack some experience and gets discouraged. Another young mother has a heart for telling people about the Good News and we were talking about that just yesterday. Then one man became very angry and almost abusive and brought her to tears. Unfortunately that speaks directly to my carnal nature and makes it hard to remember my primary focus.
No moral or catchy idea here. Just the news. Gotta go brush something, wash something grab the trash on the way out so I can stand ankle deep in trash (watching not to step in other things) with my feet sticking to the beer-soaked cobblestones and tell people how much God loves them because He does. I remember that I was not too different than that many years ago and I am here now because someone cared enough and took the time to tell me about a better way. How will they hear unless we tell them?
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Service
Joshua's famous quote about "Choose you this day whom you will serve. . ." may need to be updated for this century. It may need to be choose this moment or second. We live in an almost instantaneous society. Time is now counted in nanoseconds and even shorter periods of time.
We were off at 6:30AM yesterday to serve coffee to the people who choose to party all night. In one section of town the bars close at 8:00AM and some people stay there all night an listen to way too loud music, drink and dance (plus other things) in the street. We were a part of about 30 people (22 young adults from Texas) who were passing out free coffee and hot chocolate to the crowd. We did get a chance to have some spiritual conversations with people and some were sober.
Lucy talked with one person who slept all night and just came out for the free coffee.
The responses ranged from somewhat receptive/seeking (a very few) to indifferent (many) to antagonistic (a very few). But they saw God's love and Jesus at work. That they cannot deny. When one guy tried to pay me I told him we were doing this because God had blessed us and we wanted to pass along the blessings. He could not believe it was free. I told him it was not it had cost God His only Son so that he could get free coffee. Not sure how much he processed but He heard about God's sacrifice for him.
It was a very good chance to practice Flemish in a real world setting. One young man who is a construction engineer kept telling me how amazed he was at my Flemish. After one year he said I was doing real well. I patted him on the back and told him I was amazed that he was still standing. We laughed and had a good time. He told me he would see me again this morning. I hope so.
We spent the rest of the day with our Team Leaders showing them the ministry opportunities for next year. You too can be a part. Just let us know if God is calling you to help.
So we are off at 6:30AM again this morning to do the same. Then we will spend the afternoon (2:00PM until 6:00PM) giving free pancakes (crepes) and coffee to anyone who will stop by for a visit and perhaps a chat about God. We are serving with the pancake outreach Wednesday through Saturday afternoons. Pray for that and the other groups who are doing street evangelism this week.
By they way, who will you serve this moment? If you do not constantly decide you will be like the person on the commercial and lament "Wow, I could have had a V8." You will miss it. Choose now to serve someone and God will bring that person into your life.
We were off at 6:30AM yesterday to serve coffee to the people who choose to party all night. In one section of town the bars close at 8:00AM and some people stay there all night an listen to way too loud music, drink and dance (plus other things) in the street. We were a part of about 30 people (22 young adults from Texas) who were passing out free coffee and hot chocolate to the crowd. We did get a chance to have some spiritual conversations with people and some were sober.
Lucy talked with one person who slept all night and just came out for the free coffee.
The responses ranged from somewhat receptive/seeking (a very few) to indifferent (many) to antagonistic (a very few). But they saw God's love and Jesus at work. That they cannot deny. When one guy tried to pay me I told him we were doing this because God had blessed us and we wanted to pass along the blessings. He could not believe it was free. I told him it was not it had cost God His only Son so that he could get free coffee. Not sure how much he processed but He heard about God's sacrifice for him.
It was a very good chance to practice Flemish in a real world setting. One young man who is a construction engineer kept telling me how amazed he was at my Flemish. After one year he said I was doing real well. I patted him on the back and told him I was amazed that he was still standing. We laughed and had a good time. He told me he would see me again this morning. I hope so.
We spent the rest of the day with our Team Leaders showing them the ministry opportunities for next year. You too can be a part. Just let us know if God is calling you to help.
So we are off at 6:30AM again this morning to do the same. Then we will spend the afternoon (2:00PM until 6:00PM) giving free pancakes (crepes) and coffee to anyone who will stop by for a visit and perhaps a chat about God. We are serving with the pancake outreach Wednesday through Saturday afternoons. Pray for that and the other groups who are doing street evangelism this week.
By they way, who will you serve this moment? If you do not constantly decide you will be like the person on the commercial and lament "Wow, I could have had a V8." You will miss it. Choose now to serve someone and God will bring that person into your life.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Sunday - A day of Rest
Sunday started out kind of sunny (for here) and warm. Due to the congestion we went to one of our favorite churches and the one we home-base from. De Burg is where we will spend Wednesday through Sunday working with local believers to serve free pancakes (crepes) and coffee in an effort to reach out to the festival attenders.
There was a guest speaker. He is the father of one of the young mothers who attends the church. He is originally from The Netherlands and has pastored there. He now pastors in one of the communites that surround Brussels. During his message he made a reference to Benjamin Franklin. He said that Franklin was an American statesman and he was aware that there were Americans in the crowd.
After the service Lucy was busy helping with the coffee and cookies service since the cell group we attend is responsible this month. I helped take up the regular offering and the missions offering since the people who were assigned did not make it. So after the service Jozef and I were counting and recording the receipts.
Most special speakers are compensated for their time and expenses. So as Jozef took the offerings to the treasurer I went to give the honorarium to the speaker. Since he has a sister who lives in America he wanted to strike up a conversation. It led to America, pastoring, starting churches in Belgium and Evangelism in general among other topics. Just some of the things pastors talk about since it is our life. Our chat took most of the next hour and was very enjoyable. At one point when his wife came by he introduced me to her. She said, "Oh you are one of the Americans." in English. Piet responded that yes I was an American, a fellow pastor and that I spoke Dutch so she could speak to me in Dutch. We chatted in Dutch although he too speaks English.
After the service as we waited for the tram we discovered that we had probably already experienced the high temperature for the day as it was cooler and the wind chill was making it even more so.
When we got home we got a message from some fellow Americans and servants who live near us. She was having back problems and wanted to know if she could come by and soak in our tub since they only have a shower in their apartment. So after we all ate she came by. We talked about the Gentse Feesten and things to do since they are only here for a few months. After her soak her husband came by and we chatted for a while.
Then it was out into the city again. The main thing on our agenda was the fireworks display at the Watersportsbaan. It is 30 minutes of fireworks coordinated with some original music written and performed by some Flemish young people. We thought it was well worth the cost of admission (free) however some of the other folks were complaining on the way out. We now speak Dutch well enough to understand why they were disappointed. It is amazing how expectations differ.
Once again we got home after midnight (it does not get dark enough for fireworks until after 11:00PM).
Today (Monday) is the national holiday (similar to July 4 in America). It celebrates the signing of a document of organization and installation of the first king which was done in 1831. It is supposed to be the coolest (temperature wise) national holiday in 100 years. As I write this it is raining on and off.
But we are out into the festivals again today to find ways to connect with some of the nationals. Lucy had a good idea yesterday and we will try it today. Keep checking the picture page for pictures. We will post as time allows.
Stay tuned . . . more to come.
There was a guest speaker. He is the father of one of the young mothers who attends the church. He is originally from The Netherlands and has pastored there. He now pastors in one of the communites that surround Brussels. During his message he made a reference to Benjamin Franklin. He said that Franklin was an American statesman and he was aware that there were Americans in the crowd.
After the service Lucy was busy helping with the coffee and cookies service since the cell group we attend is responsible this month. I helped take up the regular offering and the missions offering since the people who were assigned did not make it. So after the service Jozef and I were counting and recording the receipts.
Most special speakers are compensated for their time and expenses. So as Jozef took the offerings to the treasurer I went to give the honorarium to the speaker. Since he has a sister who lives in America he wanted to strike up a conversation. It led to America, pastoring, starting churches in Belgium and Evangelism in general among other topics. Just some of the things pastors talk about since it is our life. Our chat took most of the next hour and was very enjoyable. At one point when his wife came by he introduced me to her. She said, "Oh you are one of the Americans." in English. Piet responded that yes I was an American, a fellow pastor and that I spoke Dutch so she could speak to me in Dutch. We chatted in Dutch although he too speaks English.
After the service as we waited for the tram we discovered that we had probably already experienced the high temperature for the day as it was cooler and the wind chill was making it even more so.
When we got home we got a message from some fellow Americans and servants who live near us. She was having back problems and wanted to know if she could come by and soak in our tub since they only have a shower in their apartment. So after we all ate she came by. We talked about the Gentse Feesten and things to do since they are only here for a few months. After her soak her husband came by and we chatted for a while.
Then it was out into the city again. The main thing on our agenda was the fireworks display at the Watersportsbaan. It is 30 minutes of fireworks coordinated with some original music written and performed by some Flemish young people. We thought it was well worth the cost of admission (free) however some of the other folks were complaining on the way out. We now speak Dutch well enough to understand why they were disappointed. It is amazing how expectations differ.
Once again we got home after midnight (it does not get dark enough for fireworks until after 11:00PM).
Today (Monday) is the national holiday (similar to July 4 in America). It celebrates the signing of a document of organization and installation of the first king which was done in 1831. It is supposed to be the coolest (temperature wise) national holiday in 100 years. As I write this it is raining on and off.
But we are out into the festivals again today to find ways to connect with some of the nationals. Lucy had a good idea yesterday and we will try it today. Keep checking the picture page for pictures. We will post as time allows.
Stay tuned . . . more to come.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
It Has Begun!
On Friday the keys to the city were officially turned over to the Honorary Burgemeester of the Feesten. But the official start was the parade yesterday. The parade starts in a older part of town with very narrow streets and winds its way through the heart of the city and out to the northeast. Basically it makes a very crooked and convoluted "U". As soon as we can we will post some pictures from the parade on your website. Here are a few samples.
The weather was supposed to be rainy and nasty. It did sprinkle a couple of times and was windy and cold. But the sun popped out occasionally and when it did it was warm enough to shed the jackets and enjoy.
The parade (according to one police officer I heard) was supposed to last 30-45 minutes. Don't know how it was near the end since we were towards the beginning. Coordination was a challenge and it took close to 2 hours for the final unit to pass by our location.
Next we went off to a cafe to do the Flemish thing of drinking a coffee or cold drink and being a part of the culture. Plus after standing for about 2.5 hours we needed to sit. By the way we saw the end of the parade (again) from the cafe as it passed by.
Next we made our way through several of the pleins (areas where there are stages and events set up). We were looking for an evangelism group from the Netherlands but they must not have arrived yet.
At Bij Sint Jacobs Plein we watched a concert of drummers. It is the oriental style drumming and very elaborate and entertaining. None of the drummers appeared oriental and most looked very Flemish.
We stopped to get and eat some friets (Belgium French Fries). You get them in a paper cone with one of several sauces. They did have Heinz ketchup but most of the sauces you would not recognize. We chose mayonnaise since this is the traditional topping. While we ate we watched a street performer who was juggling and doing stilt walking. He spoke to the crowd in English.
One effort this summer is Vlaanderen Zingt (http://www.vlaanderenzingt.be/) sorry the link is in Dutch. It is an effort to get 350,000 Flemish people to join in a sing-a-long this summer. On the website you can find the song list. It is 37 songs long. There were three choirs from the city that joined together to lead in the singing. Oh by the way, we sang all 37 songs over the three hour period. It was broadcast locally on TV and will be repeated on Sunday. We were on the camera a few times.
As you can see by the song list, the Flemish love American and English music. They also love to sing and celebrate in a large group like this. They switched easily into the French songs as well. Most Flemish speak at least three languages and four or five is not uncommon.
Some of the songs are dance numbers and have conga-line type dances. They did that as well. Of course you recognize what you have to do with the Village People's Y-M-C-A. You can imagine a plein packed elbow to elbow (and other body part to body part front and back) singing and dancing. It was a sight and challenge. The European personal space is much smaller than the American personal space.
We imagine there were several thousand (guess 4-5 thousand) people there. As the singing continued so did the drinking. So by the end there were some pretty rowdy people near us. But it was part of history and we got to participate. Three hours of singing, dancing and standing on your feet in a large crowd takes its toll. Not on the ones around us. The next concert started at 11:00PM and there are ones that start about 12:30AM as well. The crowd around us was partying and some were feeling no pain.
After 10 hours of feest vieren (feast celebrating and participation) we jumped on the tram to head home. Today it is church and then into the festivals again. This goes on for 10 days.
More to come. Stay tuned.
The weather was supposed to be rainy and nasty. It did sprinkle a couple of times and was windy and cold. But the sun popped out occasionally and when it did it was warm enough to shed the jackets and enjoy.
The parade (according to one police officer I heard) was supposed to last 30-45 minutes. Don't know how it was near the end since we were towards the beginning. Coordination was a challenge and it took close to 2 hours for the final unit to pass by our location.
Next we went off to a cafe to do the Flemish thing of drinking a coffee or cold drink and being a part of the culture. Plus after standing for about 2.5 hours we needed to sit. By the way we saw the end of the parade (again) from the cafe as it passed by.
Next we made our way through several of the pleins (areas where there are stages and events set up). We were looking for an evangelism group from the Netherlands but they must not have arrived yet.
At Bij Sint Jacobs Plein we watched a concert of drummers. It is the oriental style drumming and very elaborate and entertaining. None of the drummers appeared oriental and most looked very Flemish.
We stopped to get and eat some friets (Belgium French Fries). You get them in a paper cone with one of several sauces. They did have Heinz ketchup but most of the sauces you would not recognize. We chose mayonnaise since this is the traditional topping. While we ate we watched a street performer who was juggling and doing stilt walking. He spoke to the crowd in English.
One effort this summer is Vlaanderen Zingt (http://www.vlaanderenzingt.be/) sorry the link is in Dutch. It is an effort to get 350,000 Flemish people to join in a sing-a-long this summer. On the website you can find the song list. It is 37 songs long. There were three choirs from the city that joined together to lead in the singing. Oh by the way, we sang all 37 songs over the three hour period. It was broadcast locally on TV and will be repeated on Sunday. We were on the camera a few times.
As you can see by the song list, the Flemish love American and English music. They also love to sing and celebrate in a large group like this. They switched easily into the French songs as well. Most Flemish speak at least three languages and four or five is not uncommon.
Some of the songs are dance numbers and have conga-line type dances. They did that as well. Of course you recognize what you have to do with the Village People's Y-M-C-A. You can imagine a plein packed elbow to elbow (and other body part to body part front and back) singing and dancing. It was a sight and challenge. The European personal space is much smaller than the American personal space.
We imagine there were several thousand (guess 4-5 thousand) people there. As the singing continued so did the drinking. So by the end there were some pretty rowdy people near us. But it was part of history and we got to participate. Three hours of singing, dancing and standing on your feet in a large crowd takes its toll. Not on the ones around us. The next concert started at 11:00PM and there are ones that start about 12:30AM as well. The crowd around us was partying and some were feeling no pain.
After 10 hours of feest vieren (feast celebrating and participation) we jumped on the tram to head home. Today it is church and then into the festivals again. This goes on for 10 days.
More to come. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Marginal Living
I can remember quotes and ideas but usually have a hard time remembering who said them. I remember a quote about living in the margin. One definition of margin is the empty space surrounding the important content. For example you remember the English course writing requirements where you had to have a specific marginal space on all sides. I had a seminary professor who actually measured it and you could see the red marks where he indicted the margin should be.
According to him, there should be nothing in the margin. All the content was to be inside. The margin was to be totally empty. A good definition of margin.
As the Gentse Feesten near (for which the weather forecast is rain - this is Belgium) there are people who will live in the margin for those ten days. First of all, the margins get physically smaller. European personal space is smaller than American personal space so packing more people into the same space is acceptable. The margins will get smaller as you walk down the street as people will bump into and jostle one another in the crowd. But that is not the margin to which I am referring.
But people will live in the margin (the definition of empty, outside the content bounds). Many of the values that society sees as important slip away during this ten-day festival. Some begin to sleep during the day and stay up at night. Many try to party all night as many nights in a row as possible. Other social customs and hibitions seem to be ignored. (They have indicated there will be no wilde plassen (public urination) allowed. Not an exclusively a male action but primarily. There will be a 60 euro fine if caught. I wonder if the drunks who do this frequently will remember that when they are totally wasted?
Passing out in the parks is still acceptable and there are places where throwing ones shoes (laces tied together) over wires across the streets is the rage. Modesty has a different level in Europe and some things seen in public here would not be seen in America. But that level declines during the festivals. It is not "you can see anything you want" but there are some things that you will not want to see.
It seems people leave behind the normal morals and actions. In essence they begin to live in the margins of acceptability. Why? Mostly because there are not fixed values. If man is the highest authority then man sets the standards and people can have different sets of standards. But if there are absolute standards then the margins are fixed.
Now this is not so say that hedonism and immorality run rampant like in some cultures where "carnival" means throw every bit of decency to the wind. And the vast majority of Festival participants are great people with good values. But more people live in the margins (outside of the normal social standards) during the Gentse Feesten than before and after. That is one reason some of the Gentenaars choose to take vacation and leave town for those ten days. It is just not the same as it was. Even some Europeans are finding it too extreme.
Living in the margin has become the norm rather than the exception. People have no problem setting their own standards. Just last week a policeman was in a fight and shot someone with his service weapon while off duty. Most police agents can not carry their service weapon off duty and he did not have permission to do so. The fight started because a guy on a motorbike cut him off while the policeman was on his bicycle. (Don't get me wrong bromfietsers (motorbike riders) can be a real pain. They are second only fietsers (bicyclists) in my book). But the police agent thought it okay to live in the margin and attack the young man (according to most news stories).
Just one example of the "if I think it is right then it is right" marginal living that plagues many first world countries.
Pray for us as we seek to be salt and light in this environment. Other local believers are trying as well but they are vastly outnumbered. We have a big God and we are praying for Him to do things that get attention during this event. We are asking that He use us to help change the margins for some of the folks this year. That they will choose to live in His love and not in their margin. That is the ultimate freedom and there is no hangover the next day.
According to him, there should be nothing in the margin. All the content was to be inside. The margin was to be totally empty. A good definition of margin.
As the Gentse Feesten near (for which the weather forecast is rain - this is Belgium) there are people who will live in the margin for those ten days. First of all, the margins get physically smaller. European personal space is smaller than American personal space so packing more people into the same space is acceptable. The margins will get smaller as you walk down the street as people will bump into and jostle one another in the crowd. But that is not the margin to which I am referring.
But people will live in the margin (the definition of empty, outside the content bounds). Many of the values that society sees as important slip away during this ten-day festival. Some begin to sleep during the day and stay up at night. Many try to party all night as many nights in a row as possible. Other social customs and hibitions seem to be ignored. (They have indicated there will be no wilde plassen (public urination) allowed. Not an exclusively a male action but primarily. There will be a 60 euro fine if caught. I wonder if the drunks who do this frequently will remember that when they are totally wasted?
Passing out in the parks is still acceptable and there are places where throwing ones shoes (laces tied together) over wires across the streets is the rage. Modesty has a different level in Europe and some things seen in public here would not be seen in America. But that level declines during the festivals. It is not "you can see anything you want" but there are some things that you will not want to see.
It seems people leave behind the normal morals and actions. In essence they begin to live in the margins of acceptability. Why? Mostly because there are not fixed values. If man is the highest authority then man sets the standards and people can have different sets of standards. But if there are absolute standards then the margins are fixed.
Now this is not so say that hedonism and immorality run rampant like in some cultures where "carnival" means throw every bit of decency to the wind. And the vast majority of Festival participants are great people with good values. But more people live in the margins (outside of the normal social standards) during the Gentse Feesten than before and after. That is one reason some of the Gentenaars choose to take vacation and leave town for those ten days. It is just not the same as it was. Even some Europeans are finding it too extreme.
Living in the margin has become the norm rather than the exception. People have no problem setting their own standards. Just last week a policeman was in a fight and shot someone with his service weapon while off duty. Most police agents can not carry their service weapon off duty and he did not have permission to do so. The fight started because a guy on a motorbike cut him off while the policeman was on his bicycle. (Don't get me wrong bromfietsers (motorbike riders) can be a real pain. They are second only fietsers (bicyclists) in my book). But the police agent thought it okay to live in the margin and attack the young man (according to most news stories).
Just one example of the "if I think it is right then it is right" marginal living that plagues many first world countries.
Pray for us as we seek to be salt and light in this environment. Other local believers are trying as well but they are vastly outnumbered. We have a big God and we are praying for Him to do things that get attention during this event. We are asking that He use us to help change the margins for some of the folks this year. That they will choose to live in His love and not in their margin. That is the ultimate freedom and there is no hangover the next day.
Monday, July 14, 2008
A Race Against Time
That was the title of an article in the Gentenaar (local newspaper) this morning. Some construction began as early as last Thursday but most of the stage construction and other major changes began this morning.
In many places as many as 80 people will work around the clock in more than a dozen places to get things ready for the official beginning this coming Saturday.
I am working on a sermon and Lucy has been trying to get other things ready since we will be going non-stop from this coming Friday morning.
It is hard to get one's mind around just how massive this festival (actually it is more than a dozen simultaneous festivals) really is. Last year more than 1.5 million people were a part of some or all of the activities. There are some people who begin sleeping during the day so they can party all night. Others fore go sleeping to party hardy.
God and eternity are not on their minds or the radar. Pray that we can help some find the ultimate and eternal celebration in Heaven. They are looking for happiness in all the wrong places. Pray that we can help refocus the attention of some.
We will keep you posted so check back often.
In many places as many as 80 people will work around the clock in more than a dozen places to get things ready for the official beginning this coming Saturday.
I am working on a sermon and Lucy has been trying to get other things ready since we will be going non-stop from this coming Friday morning.
It is hard to get one's mind around just how massive this festival (actually it is more than a dozen simultaneous festivals) really is. Last year more than 1.5 million people were a part of some or all of the activities. There are some people who begin sleeping during the day so they can party all night. Others fore go sleeping to party hardy.
God and eternity are not on their minds or the radar. Pray that we can help some find the ultimate and eternal celebration in Heaven. They are looking for happiness in all the wrong places. Pray that we can help refocus the attention of some.
We will keep you posted so check back often.
Friday, July 11, 2008
The Gentse Feesten (Gent Festivals)
The Gentse Feesten (Gent Festivals) dominate our city for ten days every year. The enormous festival includes a parade, international music, dance, theatre and puppetry festivals, fireworks displays and much much more. There are at least 9 performance stages and activities on 12 different pleins (sites in the city). Plus there are street activities that span the spaces in between. Here is a link to some publicity pictures. The words are in Dutch but you can still look at the pictures to get an idea of what it is like.
http://www4.gent.be/gent/vrijetij/feesten/2005/publicatiefotos/publicatiefotos.htm
Mornings are quieter with some cultural events and tours of the different places in the city. Afternoons are more cultural and there are family friendly-events everywhere. Evenings are more devoted to concerts and the serious party crowd. Most pleins have concerts that last until 2:20 to 3:00AM.
More than 1.5 million people attended the festivities last year.
The festival was created in the middle of the 19th century by the elite people of Gent aiming to attract prosperous people to the city. From horse races, jousts, tournaments, hot air balloons and parades of giants, the festivities have gone through numerous changes before arriving at the format they have today.
No less than four separate international festivals add lustre to the overall festivities: the Blue Note Records Festival, the International Street Theatre Festival, the International Puppetbuskers Festival and the dance festival 10 Days Off.
Watch this site for our daily encounters and impressions of the 2008 Gentse Feesten.
http://www4.gent.be/gent/vrijetij/feesten/2005/publicatiefotos/publicatiefotos.htm
Mornings are quieter with some cultural events and tours of the different places in the city. Afternoons are more cultural and there are family friendly-events everywhere. Evenings are more devoted to concerts and the serious party crowd. Most pleins have concerts that last until 2:20 to 3:00AM.
More than 1.5 million people attended the festivities last year.
The festival was created in the middle of the 19th century by the elite people of Gent aiming to attract prosperous people to the city. From horse races, jousts, tournaments, hot air balloons and parades of giants, the festivities have gone through numerous changes before arriving at the format they have today.
No less than four separate international festivals add lustre to the overall festivities: the Blue Note Records Festival, the International Street Theatre Festival, the International Puppetbuskers Festival and the dance festival 10 Days Off.
Watch this site for our daily encounters and impressions of the 2008 Gentse Feesten.
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