Meet the Milton Keynes man who is helping at pop-up church on Glastonbury Festival site
The iconic Glastonbury Festival is underway with thousands of people coming through its gates.
As well as live music from world-famous artists through to up and coming stars, there are many other aspects of this unique event, including a pop-up church, where a Milton Keynes man is to be based for the next four days.
Lewis Simonds, who is based at St Frideswide’s Church in Water Eaton, is helping out at The Church of Glastonbury, a pop-up site opposite The Pyramid Stage on Worthy Farm.
The pop-up church will be open from 9am through until 6pm during each day of the festival.
Its daily offerings are morning prayer at 9.30am, marriage and relationship blessings at 11am and 3pm, a service at 1.30pm and evening prayer at 5.30pm.
There is also a peace garden service at 10.30am on Saturday June 28 and a eucharist at 10.30am on Sunday June 29, followed by a catholic mass at 2.30pm on the same day.
Speaking to the BBC Simonds said: "The reason I came here was for a chance to be with real people, in a real place, in their real lives.
"It's a very gentle expression of church, where people can come and rest from the shade or rain to talk to someone, if they want."
Simonds said that as well as giving spiritual guidance and helping festival-goers his team would also be handing out cups of water.
These could prove extremely valuable with temperatures expected to peak on June 29 at around 28C at Worthy Farm.
Simonds has been training in the church for three years and is due to be ordained as a deacon in Oxford next month.
Once ordained, he is set to work alongside the vicar at St Frideswide’s Church the Revd Catherine Butt.
Away from his work at The Church of Glastonbury, Simonds is hoping to catch some of the acts at the festival, including Alanis Morissette.
US pop star Olivia Rodrigo, British band The 1975 and rock performer Neil Young are among the acts scheduled to headline at the festival, which will be taking a break next year to allow the land to recover.