29th and 30th July I'm going to be a Living Book in a Human Library!

Our Human Library is going to be at the WOMAD festival, which is one I've been attending for many years now. WOMAD stands for 'World of Music, Arts and Dance'. It brings together artists from all over the globe with the central aim being to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance.

Peter Gabriel was one of WOMAD's co-founders and he says this:

 "WOMAD allows many different audiences to gain an insight into cultures other than their own through the enjoyment of music. Music is a universal language, it draws people together and proves, as well as anything, the stupidity of racism."

It is in this context that The Human Library operates. It is an innovative concept designed to promote dialogue, reduce prejudices and encourage understanding. The Human Library is set up as a space for dialogue and interaction. Visitors are given the opportunity to speak informally with “people on loan”.

The Human Library enables groups to break stereotypes by challenging the most common prejudices in a positive and humorous manner, promoting tolerance and understanding. It is a 'keep it simple', 'no-nonsense' contribution to social cohesion in multicultural societies.

My book title is A Questioning Christian. Here's my book description ...

   I’m a Christian. So what does that say to you? Are you thinking: ‘steer clear, she’ll try to convert me’, ‘she’s probably a hypocrite like most of the others’ or perhaps you think ‘she’s probably very nice but leads a really boring life’ or even ‘that’s bound to be someone honest, reliable and helpful’. The Christian label means so many things to so many different people … are you wondering what type I am?

   I can tell you that I’m a questioning type! And I’m lucky enough to do that for a living as Director of Christian Research. Why? What? How? When? Who? Whether? I spend my time asking the questions and looking for answers.

   If you like, you can come and ask me things like ‘So what?’

I'm looking forward to the festival, and to talking to people in the Arboretum at Charlton Park about what life is like as a questioning Christian. But I'm most interested to hear what questions people want answering . I wonder how many people will want to read me!