Lost in Wonder, the first Methodist show at the Edinburgh Festival
09 August 2023
In this blog, Revd James Patron Bell, Minister in the Forth Valley Circuit, explains how the City of Edinburgh Methodist Church in partnership with Hope & Anchor will offer for the first time a Fringe-registered show to engage with festival goers and give them a reflective and creative space.
As the streets of Edinburgh fill with the thousands who come from all over the world, to enjoy the Edinburgh International Festival, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the Art Festival, the International Book Festival and International Film Festival, along with the over three thousand shows that make up the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the city becomes a little hectic.
The whole city can seem to be in a rush, to get to the next show, to find some food, to get to the next thing going on. With crowds of performers trying to promote their show, encouraging those who have come seeking something to come along.
The Hope & Anchor crew will be stepping into this to offer some sacred space, with Lost in Wonder. An immersive storytelling experience, offering a micro-Sabbath experience with moments of silence and reflection, and moments of creative participation, this is a show that is good for our souls and connects us more deeply with ourselves and with the people around us.
This work comes from the exploration done by the Lost in Wonder group during the 2022 Fringe when the hectic nature of the time was seen, and the offering of space to pause was identified as something the people called Methodist could offer.
So Lost in Wonder came about as an experiment for 2023 to engage with the festivals as part of them rather than standing to one side, and is a joint endeavour drawn from the Evangelism and Growth Team of the Methodist Church, Methodists from across Scotland and along with the local congregation at the City of Edinburgh Methodist Church.
So come and be Lost in Wonder for as long as you need – three minutes or three hours. Every evening between 5-8 pm, from the 14 to the 19 of August in Nicolson Square Gardens.