The development of the Anthem. . . 

The inspiration behind the Anthem was to create a community song that reflected the beauty and spirituality of Glastonbury, a song that could serve to bring our community together. A song through which we can all express the many gifts we can offer to  the world and brings us all together in our community activities, our festivals, our schools and in our everyday lives.
 

Dr Lynne Sedgmore CBE has been coming to Glastonbury as a pilgrim since 1989, got married here in 1994 and moved here in 2010. So when Morgana West, co-founder and manager at Glastonbury Pilgrim Reception, had a powerful dream about creating a new song for Glastonbury and asked her to produce the lyrics, she felt deeply called to do so.

Both Morgana and Ananda O'Kelly helped to further develop the words. The music took longer via a classical version, then a guitar version until its culmination into a  beautiful choral score written by Sally Pullinger for the Avalonian Free State Choir.

Our work also involves taking things one step further by pro-actively encouraging and supporting people of good heart and intention on their own path through life. Most of us know only too well that there is widespread agreement in that bridge building can be successful in helping to reduce prejudice and hostility between different groups, propelling people into living peacefully alongside each other. In a community such as Glastonbury, where diversity is both flourishing and glaringly apparent, many of our visitors often remark on the kindness and love that is, at times, quite palpable. As expected though, where harmony and love is shining a very bright light, discord and hate can be found in equal measure. After all, as human-beings, full of complex contradictions going about our human-doings, we often find ourselves facing the challenge of a need to become consciously aware of where we are placing our focus and of how our actions might be contributing to the ‘whole’. The legend of the Holy Grail has a high profile here, believed by many to have been hidden in Glastonbury, it's predecessor in the stories, the Cauldron of Ceridwen. Many come in search of its 'truths' and it is a well-known 'secret' that the 'hiding place' is within each and everyone of us, we are the Grail, we ourselves are the Cauldron.  It is our own thoughts, and deeds that allow the Light to shine forth out of our own vessels and it is of our own actions we are reminded to frequently ask the question;
     "Whom does the Grail serve?".

Karimah was attending, not only under the mantle of her own faith, but also in her role as URI Coordinator along with two other URI CCs: The German Muslim-League Bonn CC and URI Germany CC. I was very appreciative that she had been willing to take some time out to chat with me about the organisation and allow me the opportunity to bring to her an awareness of some of our own work here in Glastonbury. Her welcome was heart-warming and my instincts have nudged me to say that our paths will once again cross in the future. Others attending the conference were also willing to take time out and chat with me. Rabbi Michael Hilton, a Reform rabbi of Kol Chai Hatch End Jewish Community and writer, author of ‘The Christian Effect on Jewish Life’, Sheikh Bashir Dultz, the spiritual leader of the German Muslim-League and co-founder of global URI and its branches and Peace Ambassador Tatomir Ion-Marius, World Peace Prayer Society representative, all re-stoked the fire beneath me, evaporating the mists of earlier and encouraged me to forge ahead in creating the Cooperation Circle.

Before I left, I gifted a Glastonbury Unity Candle to Karima; this will return to Germany with her where it will be used in URI events. In return I was given a poster that reminds us of the Golden Rule, the ethic of reciprocity in that we should treat others as we would like others to treat us. The words on the poster are the maxims from many different beliefs around the world that reflect the Golden Rule, so known since the 1600's. However, the concept itself pre-dates it and can be found as far back as early Confucianism. (551–479 BC)

Glastonbury Pilgrim Reception Centre Manager and Co-founder Morgana West (sixth from right, front row)  spent the weekend of Imbolc  (31st Jan - 2nd Feb) at Ammerdown, a beautiful Christian Retreat and Conference Centre near Bath and open to people of all faiths and none with a special emphasis on dialogue, reconciliation and renewal.

Writers, Leaders, Founders and Movers & Shakers within the Christian and Pagan communities had been invited by Ammerdown to join together and converse with the intention of building bridges between differences in celebration of their common love of the Earth. 

Morgana says;

"Myths on both sides were explored and dispelled, insights were made and new-found respect and understanding blossomed. Warm friendships were forged out of the common bonding; new relationships were developed." 

"Imbolc belongs both to the Goddess and to St Brigid. I  have always felt that Brid's evolution from Goddess to Saint linked Pagan and Christian traditions in the same way as the Cauldron of Cerridwen and the Holy Grail were combined in Arthurian legend and that she acts as a bridge between the two worlds; successfully making the transition back to Goddess again for many people and with most of Her traditions retained."

"To attend this historic event, especially at Imbolc, has been an honour.  It was pure nourishment for my soul, unique in that it was something that could ONLY be done by Christians AND Pagans. At the simple closing ceremony in the chapel we gathered around the Brid/Brigid altar. I offered up a prayer asking that after we had all parted and returned to our own worlds, Brid's  light might shine brightly from within us all encouraging harmony, understanding and tolerance between people of all faiths and beliefs."