commission4mission Newsletter No. 1 – January 2009

Founding members – Jonathan Evens & Henry Shelton

Pentecost Festival logo

'Pieta' by Rosalind Hore

Our patron Bishop David, who will give the keynote speech at the launch of commission4mission

Welcome to the first commission4mission newsletter. Future newsletters will be a source of information for commission4mission members but this first edition is being widely distributed as part of our initial publicity leading up to our launch event on Saturday 7th March.

Information and updates about members can be included in future newsletters and should be sent to Jonathan Evens at: jonathan.evens@btinternet.com or 2 Regent Gardens, Ilford, IG3 8UL.

commission4mission launch event

commission4mission will be launched on Saturday 7th March with an exciting event to be held at St Alban’s Romford (Kings Road/Princes Road, Romford, RM1 2SR) beginning at 2.00pm.

Our patron Rt. Revd. David Hawkins, Bishop of Barking, will give the inaugural commission4mission address. Bishop David says: “I think there is a big need to re-engage with the Arts. I think that there is great scope in the Church encouraging creative expression in everyone as this is a way of helping us to be fully human. Where appropriate that flowering of artistic expression can be expressed in Church as, for example, an outflow of worship. We are fellow-creators with God and need to remember that he is creator as well as redeemer.”

St Albans Romford has been chosen as the venue for the launch of commission4mission on account of more than 20 separate commissions leading to twelve Diocesan Advisory Committee Design Awards. Among the most significant of these are fifteen Stations of the Cross by Charles Gurrey, a Christus Rex by Peter Eugene Ball, stained glass windows by Patrick Reyntiens and a chancel ceiling mural by Mark Cazalet. Fr. Roderick Hingley, the Parish Priest who has led the transformation of St Alban Protomartyr, Romford from being a modest suburban church into a place of beauty and excellence that can be seen as a centre for significant works of Ecclesiastical Art, will lead a tour of the artworks at St Albans.

Car Parking will be at Manor Primary School, Shaftesbury Road, Romford RM1 2PH. RSVP to Jonathan Evens (020 8599 2170 or jonathan.evens@btinternet.com).

Showcase Exhibition & Study Day

An week-long exhibition to showcase commission4mission artists and a Study Day on the commissioning process are being planned for Chelmsford Cathedral in November 2009.

The exhibition will open on Monday 2nd November and will continue until the Study Day on Saturday 7th November. Contributors to the Study Day will include our Patron, Bishop David, and the Cathedral Dean, Peter Judd.

Please put this date in your diaries. More information about exhibiting and the Study Day will be available soon.

Pentecost Festival Art Exhibition

The Pentecost Festival is a London weekend festival with hundreds of events celebrating diversity in the Christian faith: multi-culturalism, arts, politics, ecology, worship. Co-ordinated by Share Jesus International over the Pentecost weekend 26th - 31st May, the festival is highly visible and takes place in the parks, coffee shops, bars, churches, clubs and theatres of central London. In 2008, the festival's inaugural year, the capital saw 10,000 people enjoy over 150 events at more than 60 venues and outdoor spaces.

The Festival will include an art exhibition on Saturday 30th May at a Central London venue. commission4mission will have a section of this event for members to exhibit. There will also be space for members to carry out public demonstrations of their work. If you would be interested in being part of the exhibition and/or demonstrations, please contact Jonathan Evens on 020 8599 2170 or jonathan.evens@btinternet.com for more details. commission4mission will be profiled in the programme and on the Festival website, which will also be linked to web-based information about commission4mission. You will also have the opportunity to sell any of your resources.

Member profile: Rosalind Hore

“I am a sculptor and painter of Christian subject – Christ figures, nativity sets, Ecce Homo, Stations of the Cross etc. I work in clay, plaster, concrete (figures can also be bronze cast at the foundry). My paintings are mostly in acrylic of the events in the life of Christ.” Rosalind’s Pieta is currently on display at St Laurence’s Upminster.

Faith & Image

Faith & Image (FAIM) is a forum for all who have an interest in art as a medium of spiritual expression. The group seeks to gain insight and understanding from all art forms, all traditions and cultures. FAIM offers a programme of talks, discussions and visits. Speakers include a wide range of artists, architects, craft workers, art and design historians. FAIM and commission4mission plan to collaborate on a number of events and activities in future.

The next FAIM event will be an evening focussing on the current ‘Byzantium’ exhibition at the Royal Academy followed by a group visit to the exhibition on the following day. The ‘Byzantium’ evening will be on Thursday 19th February, 8.00pm, St Mary’s Woodford, Woodford High Road, London E18. The exhibition visit will be 10.00am on Friday 20th February at the Royal Academy. For more details and to book contact Mark Lewis at pharos@sketchbook.wanadoo.co.uk.

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Arcade Fire - Crown Of Love.