STROUD is to host its first sacred music festival with a Bhangra band, a gospel choir, Sikh Songs, monk chants and Sufi Islamic music.

Festival organisers, The Rev Simon Howell of Holy Trinity Church and Businessman Girish Patel say the event is to celebrate spirituality so the performers will all showcase devotional music.

Mr Howell said: “In many religious traditions there is the idea that there is a thin veil between this realm in which we live and the eternal realm.

“And we believe that certain elements enable that veil to become even thinner - so that the partition between this world and the next becomes almost non-existent.

“Sacred or devotional music is most definitely one of the elements that enables that to happen.

“There is a kind of spirituality in Stroud which has a core belief that the earth is sacred and is currently being desecrated by humans - a core belief which I think underscores many of our belief-systems.

“This will be a fantastic event that will celebrate diversity and peace within the Stroud community.

“And Rector of Stroud, Rev Malcolm King, who is based at St Laurence, is very supportive of our using the Church for this event. We are grateful to him and to the church’s wardens.”

Mr Howell and Girish both play in a band called The Raga Babas alongside musicians from a range of backgrounds, from Hindus, Pagans and Jews to Buddhists and Christians.

Girish said: “Our band is a microcosm of what we are trying to achieve with this festival really.

"It is musical fusion of the differing devotional traditions of the nine members - celebrating those traditions and promoting understanding between them."

The festival on Saturday, July 4 at St. Laurence Church, The Shambles will have both contemplative and up-beat dancing music.

In the afternoon the Church will also be hosting a number of workshops, singing from around the world and chanting from Taizé. The Taizé Community is an ecumenical monastic order in Taizé, France.

The afternoon workshops are free of charge and the evening entertainment, which starts at 6pm is £10.

With St Laurence now cleared of pews, Mr Howell and Mr King hope that it will become a bit of a centre for music and the arts.

“We’re hoping to transform it to a really exciting venue,” said Mr Howell.

The Church is consecrated for Christian worship, and so cannot become a worship centre for other religious traditions, but it can host an arts festival to celebrate the different types of devotional music from different cultures and traditions.

For more information go to http://www.sacredmusicfestival.org.uk/