Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now

Here's the sermon that I shared this morning at St Catherine’s Wickford:

Who had family to stay for Christmas? Shout out where they came from to establish who came the furthest. Who went away to visit friends or family this year? Again, shout out where, so we can find out who went furthest, and how they got there.

Think about this question. What is the most important part of a journey? The beginning, middle or end? Why we travel, where we travel or how we travel?

At Epiphany we focus on the journey made by the Magi in order to be able to kneel and worship the baby king Jesus (Matthew 2. 1 – 12). In the ancient world, Jupiter was the ‘king star’, and at the time of the birth of Jesus, Jupiter appeared in the night sky very close to Saturn, which represented Israel. If you were reading the sky you’d see ‘new king in Israel’.

That was the starting point for their journey but it didn’t give them exact directions. They didn’t know exactly where they were going on their journey. They knew they were going to find the new king in Israel but they had to trust as they travelled that they would be guided and led to find him. They clearly travelled a great distance and, obviously, didn’t have cars, trains or planes, so they would have probably travelled on camels. But the distance and effort didn’t stop them because meeting the child was so important.

When they arrived, they gave extravagantly to welcome Jesus with gifts, time, effort, the risk of danger, and humility. But their gifts pale next to Jesus coming to earth to show God’s love for us; Jesus came from heaven, eternity and majesty to earth, time and humanity. He went on an even more incredible journey to show us God’s love. After they had found Jesus the journey of the Magi began again as they were guided by God to return home by another route and, as T. S. Eliot makes clear at the end of his great poem about their journey, their lives were forever changed by the experience.

So, their starting point was important but it didn’t tell them how to find their way and when they did finally arrive, their arrival actually meant the beginning of a new journey. All of which means that how we travel may be as important as why or where we travel. In one of my previous Parishes, we used to have a Text for the Year, which on one occasion was about how we travel and was taken from Matthew 6. 34:

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”

Simon Small writes in ‘From the Bottom of the Pond’ that: “Our minds find paying full attention to now very difficult. This is because our minds live in time. Our thoughts are preoccupied with past and future, and the present moment is missed.”

But, he says, “Contemplative prayer is the art of paying attention to what is”: “To pay profound attention to reality is prayer, because to enter the depths of this moment is to encounter God. There is always only now. It is the only place that God can be found.”

This is very much what Jesus seems to be saying in Matthew 6. 34 and also in his teaching on worry and anxiety found in Matthew 6. 24 – 34.

When we are preoccupied with what might happen in the future, we are not living fully in the present and may well misunderstand or misinterpret what is actually going on. Jesus encourages us to live fully in the present because, as Simon Small says, that is where we encounter God.

When we genuinely encounter God in the here and now, we know that his love and forgiveness surround us and that his Spirit fills us. As Jesus prayed in John 17, he is in us and we are in him. When we know this in our hearts in the here and now, we can relax because whatever happens to us, we are accepted, forgiven, loved and gifted by the God who created all things and who will bring all things to their rightful end. We are held in the palm of his hands and, as Julian of Norwich put it, “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well”.

Even in the difficult times, we can still know that this is true because, as Matthew 6. 34 puts it, God will help us deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

Jesus is saying that the more we live in the present and the more we encounter God’s love in the here and now, the less we will be anxious or worried. Prayer is able to help us do both things and therefore helps us to reduce our sense of anxiety or worry. Not because we have listed all our worries to God and believe that he will solve them all for us, but instead because, through prayer, we have encountered more of God’s love and, as a result, trust that he will be with us whatever comes our way.

This is important because so much of our sense of dissatisfaction with our lives and the complaining we do about other people stems from our own worries and anxieties rather than what may or may not have happened or what others may or may not have done. Instead of focusing on other people and what we think they should or should not do or have done, we need to begin with ourselves and our relationship with God by giving our entire attention to what God is doing right now, and not getting worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. Then God is able to help us deal with whatever comes up, whether hard things or blessings, when the time comes.

We don’t know what 2026 will bring, although we do know that we will be celebrating the 150th Anniversary of this building. We can never confidently and absolutely predict the future and, of course, the future will be different for each of us. But, as Brian Davison reminds us, “if the prospect of what lies ahead seems dark or threatening, remember the words with which King George VI reflected on the closing year in his 1939 Christmas broadcast. “I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: ‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’ And he replied: ‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.” (Minnie Louise Haskins).

Like the Magi, we can only travel in hope that we will be guided by God. So, “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” May it be so for each one of us.

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NEEDTOBREATHE - I Am Yours.

Coda - Rupert Loydell: Guest posts and interview

I recently posted a series of guest posts by and an interview with Rupert Loydell which has added to the material about Jesus Rock, CCM and spirituality in rock music published here previously. The first post in this series was a listing of previous posts on these themes - click here. The second post was an interview with musician Nick Battle, click here. The third post was the interview with Rupert Loydell - click here. The fourth post was a new interview by Rupert with Nick Battle - click here. While the final post in the series was an interview by Rupert with Steve Scott - click here. 

Steve Scott is a British mixed-media artist, writer, lecturer, and performer. Upon completing art school in the mid-1970s, Steve moved to the United States at the request of a small record label and began recording songs. He now has ten albums of original work released on several small independent labels. The work ranges from rock music to more experimental poetry and spoken word, performed over electronic loop based compositions. 

I worked with Steve, through commission4mission, to organize some of the different `Run with the Fire’ art exhibitions and events held in and around London, during the Olympic summer of 2012. You can learn more about `Run With The Fire’ by clicking here, here, and here. My own dialogues with Steve can be read here, here, here, here, and here.

One of main reasons for the interview with Steve was a Kickstarter project for two unrealeased albums. Charles Normal, who oversees Solid Rock Records, explained the background to the project as follows:

'In 1977 British Poet / Songwriter Steve Scott signed a recording contract with Solid Rock Records and began recording two albums for the company. He assembled a top-notch band of well-known musicians and performers in the Christian music scene: Larry Norman, Randy Stonehill, Mark Heard, Tom Howard, Alex McDougall (Daniel Amos), and Jon "Wonderfingers" Linn. Both albums (Moving Pictures and Closeups) were completed, but before they could be mixed, mastered, and released, Solid Rock's distribution company Word Records got cold feet because of Scott's lyrics which touched sporadically on “crises of faith” and other legitimate questions that the faithful can occasionally have. There were moments of soul-searching buried in the albums' tracks, questions that the stalwart distribution company didn't want addressed.

The albums never got released so they sat in the Solid Rock archives for 47 years until they began to be reconsidered as the tour de force they were all along.'

The Kickstarter project was a success so the CDs will be pressed in January, and the vinyl records will be available from March. This is great news as, as Alan Thornbury has written, 'The eclecticism evidenced (reggae, delta blues, punk, ballad), the raw power of the studio band, and Scott's cognitively complex refections on the life of a follower of Jesus make the appearance of this record at long last something of a tiny miracle.' Thornbury also notes that: 'There were no easy certainties here, unlike most CCM at the time. Faith sits uncomfortably with doubt on several tracks.'

The difficult history of these two albums and the difficulties that Steve Scott faced in trying to get his music released is indicative of the twists and turns experienced by many creative musicians of faith whose music is too Christian for mainstream labels and insufficiently evangelistic or praise-based for the CCM labels. The following are stories of others who have faced similar challenges in different ways:

Jeremy Enigk: Enigk is described by Wikipedia as: 'an American singer-songwriter, vocalist and guitarist/multi-instrumentalist. He is known as a solo artist, a film score composer, and as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist of the Seattle-based bands Sunny Day Real Estate and The Fire Theft.' Natalie Jacobs notes that: 'Once known as the anguished voice of emo pioneers Sunny Day Real Estate, Jeremy Enigk has done a lot of growing up in public. At 21 years of age, Enigk sacrificed Sunny Day—a band on the verge of a commercial breakthrough—in favor of Christianity, announcing his religious convictions in a 1994 e-mail to friends. Enigk later rejoined his bandmates in various configurations (both in the Fire Theft and a reunited Sunny Day ...), and he issued an ornate, orchestral-pop solo album, Return Of The Frog Queen, in 1996.' The Masquerade argues that the latter album 'was an indisputable innovation in the world of ‘90s indie rock, rewriting a litany of unwritten rules about sound, subject matter, and solo identity for lead singers of successful bands.' Enigk has said of his approach: 'You’ve got to speak it from the heart, if you truly have this relationship or feeling, you know—tell the truth. A lot of the lyrics are always just the same praising. There’s nothing wrong with praising, but I have no problem wrestling with God. Or wrestling with the idea of God. I think it’s good to doubt. I think it’s good to look at the other side of that, as opposed to doing the formula, just doing it to make yourself look like you love God. And that’s really only to impress your fellow Christians, you know?'

Josh Caterer: Caterer is described by Chicago Music Wiki as: 'The creative mastermind behind the [Smoking] Popes, Josh composed the majority of their repertoire of distinctive, pop-influenced punk-rock songs, many of which have an intensely melancholy air underneath their driving beat. Lyrics of his early songs evoke feelings of fear, failure, intense despair, purposelessness, and romantic love as a redeeming agent. His later songs are marked by a more positive outlook, and many center upon the uplifting nature of religious faith and upon the importance of examining one's spiritual path.' Caterer broke up 'the Smoking Popes, on the cusp of national stardom and chucked his rock records to find what he wanted in a newfound Christian faith.' Seven years later — 'having searched and researched his soul, started a separate Christian band called Duvall and become a father of two' — he revived the Popes, saying: 'At the time, the best way to respond to my decision to follow Christ was to quit the band. I did it with a sense of permanence. But my understanding of the faith has grown to the point where I can see how to encompass the Popes. On the one hand, I can do it without compromising my faith; on the other, I can do it without using the Popes as a platform for expressing my faith.' He has been a worship leader at several churches and his solo albums include The Light of Christ (2012) and One Step Closer to Home (2014). A recent song, “Allegiance”, was written 'really quickly, two days after the election' as Caterer explains,'I was filled with overwhelming emotions: rage and disgust, and I just had to get it out'. 'I feel like probably my own personal motivation for feeling like I need to say that has to do with the fact that people know I’m a Christian, so a lot of folks probably assume that I’m also a Republican and that I probably voted for Trump. The thought makes me sick that there would be anybody out there mistakenly assuming that I voted for this monstrosity.' As a means of providing his own personal light in the darkness, Caterer did what he knows best. 'I know that it’s possible to feel hopeless and like there’s nothing I can do, but I know there is one thing I can do: I can write a song.'

Brian Fallon: Joseph Hudak writes that: 'Fallon has carved out a career by trying to make sense of the world. With Gaslight Anthem, he sang about the mysteries of life (and cars and girls) with more than a few religious allusions tossed in. In “The ’59 Sound,” one of the band’s signatures, Fallon nods to the “Everlasting Arms” of Deuteronomy; in “I Believe Jesus Brought Us Together,” with his group the Horrible Crowes, he calls out Jesus by name; and in “Vincent,” off ... solo LP Local Honey, he writes of baptisms and the forgiveness of sin. In the hymns of Night Divine, Fallon’s Christian roots are even more overt. His version of the late-1800s hymn “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” is hushed and reverent, while his take on “Virgin Mary Had One Son” blends elements of both Odetta’s performance and Joan Baez’s. On “O Holy Night,” a notoriously difficult song to perform, he goes all in with strained notes and a cracking voice. Intentional or not, it’s a perfect representation of human frailty and mortal limitations.' Fallon has said: 'I’m an old-school Jesus/God, very traditional guy because I was brought up Christian. But I don’t agree with a lot of Christian people and I don’t think they agree with me.'

Gene Eugene: The Christian Underground Encyclopedia entry for Eugene begins: 'Gene “Eugene” Andrusco (April 6, 1961–March 20, 2000) was a Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musician. Andrusco was best known as the leader of the funk/rock band Adam Again, a member of The Swirling Eddies (credited as Prickly Disco) and as a founding member of the roots music super-group Lost Dogs.' As 'the owner of The Green Room recording studios in Huntington Beach, California. Gene recorded and produced hundreds of albums at The Green Room including albums by the Aunt Bettys, The Choir, Daniel Amos, Michael Knott, The Waiting, Crystal Lewis, Plankeye, Starflyer 59, and others. In 1987, Eugene, Ojo Taylor and another investor formed Brainstorm Artists International (B.A.I.), which became an important label in the development of the West Coast alternative music scene.' Michael Farmer suggests that: 'Larry Norman, let’s say, invented Christian rock and was largely responsible for the way it sounded in the 1970s. Terry Taylor (of Daniel Amos and the Swirling Eddies) turned it into a genuine art form and had a hand in most of the important Christian alternative rock records of the 1980s. The man more responsible than any other for the sound of 1990s Christian alternative rock, on the other hand, is Gene Eugene.' Farmer writes that Adam Again 'were as soulful and funky as Christian rock has ever been legally allowed to be' and that 'Eugene’s powerful, sorrowful voice [was] at the center.' Eugene stated that Adam Again's music was 'very spiritual and really honest' unlike the 'sloganism and pandering' 'that’s what sells': 'Music is first for this band. The music brings the lyrics out. Images come to me as I hear the music. I’m in a writing thing this year and last where I kind of write without thinking. It’s sort of a “stream” thing. It’s really the most spiritual way for me to write. Sometimes I’ll just write then later on I’ll figure out what it means. Sometimes I won’t ever figure out what it means.'

My co-authored book ‘The Secret Chord’ is an impassioned study of the role of music in cultural life written through the prism of Christian belief. Order a copy from here.

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Steve Scott - Not A Pretty Picture.

Living willow sculptures at Hyde Hall

Every winter the team at RHS Garden Hyde Hall creates spectacular living willow sculptures in the Winter Garden by binding the willow stems together into fantastical shapes. The theme behind this year’s sculptures is ‘after dark’ and you can find of all sorts of creatures and creations you’d expect to see in the garden at night. Salix alba var. vitellina ‘Yelverton’ is a favourite willow to sculpt with, both for its fantastic colour and vigorous growth, meaning it has lots of side shoots to play with.

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The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound.

Windows on the world (552)

South Woodham Ferrers, 2025

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Smoking Popes - Allegiance.

 

Artlyst - The Art Diary January 2026

For the January 2026 Art Diary for Artlyst I have highlighted my personal selection of upcoming exhibitions and installations throughout 2026. These reflect my regular interests in art that engages with creativity, ecclesiastical contexts, environmental concerns, reconciliation, relationality, remembrance, social justice, or spirituality. Venues featured include, among others, Guildford Cathedral, Two Temple Place, American Museum & Gardens, Sir John Soane’s Museum, Wiltshire Museum, Compton Verney, National Gallery, Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts, The Courtauld, Serpentine North Gallery, and Laing Art Gallery.

My other pieces for Artlyst are:

Interviews -

• Michael Petry Discusses In League With Devils with Revd Jonathan Evens
• Sean Scully A Humility Towards Nature
• Winslow Homer: American Passage An Interview With Biographer Bill Cross
• Grayson Perry Tapestries On Show At Salisbury Cathedral
• Sidney Nolan’s Africa: Interview With Andrew Turley
• Ilona Bossanyi: Tate’s Ervin Bossanyi Stained Glass Window Mothballed After 2011 Redevelopment
• Louis Carreon: Sampling Art History
• Modus Operandi - What Makes Successful Public Art: Vivien Lovell Interviewed
• Genesis Tramaine: A Queer Devotional Painter
• Lakwena Maciver: Review-Interview Hastings Contemporary
• Nicola Ravenscroft - Sculpture With A Peaceful Stillness
• Artist Hannah Rose Thomas – Tears of Gold – Interview
• Marcus Lyon: Human Atlas Explorations
• Elizabeth Kwant Interview
• Helaine Blumenfeld: Undulating Structures
• National Gallery Explores ‘Sin’ In New Exhibition – Interview Dr Joost Joustra Curator
• Betty Spackman: Posthumanism Debates
• Christopher Clack: Connecting The Material And Immaterial
• Peter Howson Artlyst Interview
• Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker On The Legacy Of ArtWay
• Alastair Gordon A Testament To His Faith
• Katrina Moss Chaiya Art Awards Interview: Where is God in our 21st century world?
• Apocalypse Now: Michael Takeo Magruder Interviewed
• Jonathan Anderson: Religious Inspirations Behind Modernism
• Caravan – An Interview With Rev Paul Gordon Chandler On Arts Peacebuilding
• Art Awakening Humanity Alexander de Cadenet Interviewed
• Michael Pendry New Installation Lights Up St Martin In The Fields
• Mark Dean Projects Stations of the Cross Videos On Henry Moore Altar

Monthly diary articles -

• The December Art Diary
• The November Art Diary
• The October Art Diary
• The August/September Art Diary
• The July Art Diary
• The June Art Diary 2025
• The May Art Diary 2025
• The April Art Diary 2025
• The Art Diary March 2025
• The Art Diary February 2025
• The Art Diary January 2025
• The Art Diary December 2024
• The Art Diary November 2024
• The Art Diary October 2024
• The Art Diary September 2024
• The Art Diary August 2024
• The Art Diary July 2024
• The Art Diary June 2024
• The Art Diary May 2024
• The Art Diary April 2024
• The Art Diary March 2024
• The Art Diary February 2024
• The Art Diary January 2024
• The Art Diary December 2023
• The Art Diary November 2023
• The Art Diary October 2023
• The Art Diary September 2023
• Jeremy Deller In Rennes And Brittany Post-Impressionism – August Diary
• The Art Diary July 2023
• The Art Diary June 2023
• The Art Diary May 2023
• The Art Diary April 2023
• The Art Diary March 2023
• The Art Diary February 2023
• Surveying New Exhibitions With A Spiritual Twist January 2023 Art Diary
• Christmas: The Art Of Faith December 2022 Diary
• Soulages And Strange Clay November 2022 Art Diary
• Alexander de Cadenet And Michael Forbes October 2022 Diary
• Spiritual Joseph Beuys Plus More: September Diary
• Holiday Snaps – End Of Summer Art Diary
• Art Search: August 2022 Diary
• Re-imagining Essex July 2022 Diary
• Art Illuminating spirituality June 2022 Diary
• Venice To London May 2022 Diary
• Jacob Epstein, Louis Carreon, Titus Kaphar, Betty Spackman – April 2022 Diary
• Audrey Flack Carlo Crivelli And Robert Indiana – March Diary
• My Art Diary And Other Thoughts February 2022
• And On An Art Note: End Of Year Diary 2021
• International Autumn Art Exhibition Reviews
• And On An Art Note: End Of Year Diary 2021

Articles/Reviews -

• Into Abstraction Meaning Connection And Hope Firstsite
• Nigerian Modernism Explored Tate Modern
• Can We Stop Killing Each Other? – Sainsbury Centre
• Millet Life on the Land National Gallery
• Lubaina Himid With Magda Stawarska Kettle’s Yard
• Arpita Singh Social Observations Serpentine North
• Siena: The Creative Achievement Of Christendom
• An Uncommon Thread Hauser & Wirth Somerset
• Michelangelo Leonardo Raphael At The Royal Academy Review
• Modern Art Oxford Reopens After £2million Redesign
• Leonora Carrington Still Relevant Firstsite Colchester
• Ken Currie, Kehinde Wiley, Susie Hamilton Three Exhibitions About Communities
• The Victorian Radicals And Other Related Exhibitions
• Cedric Morris And Arthur Lett-Haines Gainsborough House
• Lunar Lullabies, David Lock and Concrete Dreams Three Shows To See At Firstsite
• Tate Expressionists Exhibition Reveals Spirituality and Past Gender Disparity
• The Last Caravaggio National Gallery
• Issam Kourbaj Kettle’s Yard And Heong Gallery Cambridge
• Li Yuan-chia And Friends Kettles Yard Cambridge
• Antony Gormley Explores Self Awareness White Cube Bermondsey
• Holbein: Politics Religion And Draughtsmanship – The Queen’s Gallery
• R B Kitaj And Philip Guston: Figurative Painting Celebrated
• Paula Rego And Lord Harries Respond To Art And Religion
• A World In Common: Contemporary African Photography Tate Modern
• Chris Ofili Exploring Sin At Victoria Miro
• Ai Weiwei - The Artist of Resistance - The Design Museum
• Saint Francis of Assisi A Timely Exhibition - National Gallery
• Why Critics Have A Problem With The Pre-Raphaelites?
• Religion and Spirituality in Post Impressionism National Gallery
• Black Artists From The American South Royal Academy
• Donatello: The Divine Fused With The Human V&A
• Lucian Freud And His Circle Surveyed In Two London Exhibitions
• A Question Of Clay: Strange Clay – Hayward Gallery
• William Kentridge: Merging Politics With Aesthetics – RA
• Winslow Homer: Beyond The Sea – National Gallery
• Hidden Depths: The Woman in the Window – Dulwich Picture Gallery
• Heavenly Visions: Churches As Spaces For Contemporary Art
• In The Black Fantastic London’s Best Summer Exhibition
• Hew Locke And The Christian Roots Of Carnival – Tate BritainLes Lalanne, Schütte And Gursky London Spring Exhibition Highlights
• Sensuous Sickert and Philpot Two Major UK Solo Exhibitions
• Raphael The Human And Divine – National Gallery
• Damien Hirst The Visceral Reality Of Death
• Ali Cherri: Artist in Residence National Gallery
• Surrealism Outside The Usual Story – Tate Modern
• Marcus Lyon Creates Fields of Vision At St Martin-in-the-Fields London
• Van Gogh Self Portraits The Infinite And The Ordinary
• Marvellous Icons: The London Jesuit Centre
• Albrecht Dürer Travels Of A Renaissance Artist – National Gallery London
• Diasporan Identities: Life Between Islands Caribbean British Art – Tate Britain
• Isamu Noguchi: Socially Engaged Art – Barbican Centre
• Pablo Bronstein: A This-World Vision Of Hell
• Bosco Sodi: In The Beginning Of Wisdom
• George Condo Lockdown Works Hauser & Wirth
• Theaster Gates Clay As A Profound Metaphor
• Mark Rothko: Mesmerising And Intimate Works On Paper
• Roger Cecil: A Once In A Generation Welsh Painter
• Tino Sehgal: Location, Nature And Pandemic – Blenheim Palace
• Michael Armitage And The Power Of Art – Royal Academy
• Marie Raymond And Post-War Avant Garde Painting In Paris
• Rachel Kneebone: A Complex Tableau Of Organic And Geometric Forms
• Rodin: Suffering And Conflict – Tate Modern
• Barbara Hepworth: Symbols Of Art & Life – Hepworth Wakefield
• 20th Century Women Artists Challenging Conventions In Britain
• Chaiya Art Awards 2021 Gallery OXO
• Marc Chagall’s Exquisite Stained Glass Window Commissions
• George Gittoes Equal parts artist and warrior
• Keith Haring: Personal Spiritual Imagery
• Sean Scully: Philosophical Poetic Pastoral The 12 / Dark Windows
• Arthur Jafa: The Art Of Cutting And Pasting
• Blackpentecostal Breath: Spirit-Led Movement Jumps From Music To Visual Art
• Made in USA Ed Ruscha An American Perspective
• Robert Smithson: The Archetypal Nature Of Things
• If Jesus Is A Man Of Colour Why Did We Make Him Aryan?
• Cosmic Patches And Quilts Five Exhibitions
• Everyday Heroes: Southbank Exhibition Celebrates Low-paid Key Workers
• Entwining Spiritualism And Art – Three Shows
• Of Church And The Visual Arts
• Has The Word Master Reached Its Sell-By Date?
• The People Behind Community Is Kindness Billboard Campaign
• André Daughtry: Art, Rebellion And Racial Justice
• Salisbury Cathedral 800 Years Of Art And Spirit
• Home Alone Together Twenty Five Artists
• Botanical Mind Online: Art, Mysticism and the Cosmic Tree
• Salvador Dalí The Enigma of Faith
• Art And Faith A Time For Seeing
• Andy Warhol: Catholicism His Work, Faith And Legacy
• Kiki Smith: Embodied Art
• Art and Christianity Awards A Positive New Millennium Legacy
• Arnulf Rainer: 90th Birthday Exhibition Celebrated At Albertina Museum
• A Belonging Project And Exiles Loss and Displacement
• Robert Polidori: Fra Angelico Opus Operantis
• Art, Faith, Church Patronage and Modernity
• Contemplating the Spiritual in Contemporary Art
• Mat Collishaw Challenges Faith Perspectives With Ushaw Installation
• Waterloo Festival Launches At St. John’s Waterloo
• John Bellany Alan Davie Spiritual Joy and Magic
• RIFT Unites 17 Art and Science MA Graduates At Central St Martins
• Visionary Cities: Michael Takeo Magruder – British Library
• Van Gogh’s Religious Journey Around London
• William Congdon Holy Sites And The Kettle’s Yard Connection
• Mark Dean Premieres Pastiche Mass At Banqueting Hall Chelsea College of Arts
• John Kirby: The Torment
• Underlying The Civilised Facade
• Curating Spiritual Sensibilities In Changing Times
• Homeless Highlighted: New Beau Exhibition At St Martin-in-the-Fields
• Ken Currie: Protest Defeat And Victory
• Bosco Sodi: A Moment Of Genesis
• Bill Viola And The Art Of Contemplation
• Art In Churches 2018: Spiritual Combinations Explored
• Sister Wendy Beckett – A Reminiscence
• Guido Guidi: Per Strada Flowers Gallery London
• Peter Howson: The play is over – Flowers Gallery
• Camille Henrot: Scientific History And Creation Story Mash Up
• Nicola Green Explores Recent And Contemporary Religious Leaders – St Martin-in-the-Fields
• Art And The Consequences Of War Explored In Two Exhibitions
• Helaine Blumenfeld Translating Her Vision
• Sam Ivin: Physically Scratched Portraits Of Asylum Seekers Exhibited
• Sacred Noise: Explores Religion, Faith And Divinity
• Bill Viola: Quiet Contemplative Video Installation St Cuthbert’s Church Edinburgh
• The ground-breaking work of Sister Corita Kent
• Picasso To Souza: The Crucifixion Imagery Rarely Exhibited
• Michael Takeo Magruder: De / coding the Apocalypse – Panacea Museum
• Giorgio Griffa: The Golden Ratio And Inexplicable Knowledge
• Arabella Dorman Unveils New Installation At St James Church Piccadilly
• Can Art Transform Society?
• Art Awakening Humanity Conference Report
• Central St Martins in the Fields Design Then And Now
• The Sacramental And Liturgical Nature Of Conceptual Art
• Polish Art In Britain: Centenary Marked At London’s Ben Uri Gallery
• Refugee Artists: Learning from The Lives Of Others
• The Religious Impulses Of Robert Rauschenberg
• The Christian Science Connection Within The British Modern Art Movement
• Artists Rebranding The Christmas Tree Tradition
• Art Impacted - A Radical Response To Radicalisation
• The Art of St Martin-in-the-Fields
• Was Caravaggio A Good Christian?

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Sister Ray Davies - Lindisfarne.

Church Times - Music: A Grand Chorus: The Power of Music at the Foundling Museum, London

My latest exhibition review for Church Times is on A Grand Chorus: The Power of Music at the Foundling Museum:

'The Foundling Hospital played a significant part in the treasured place that Messiah holds among choral societies in the UK. Handel conducted performances annually in the chapel of the Foundling Hospital from 1750 onwards and, as a result, Messiah’s reputation as a work linked to charitable causes spread, and it began to feature regularly, and as a finale, in the music festivals that began springing up regularly across England in this period.

This exhibition is not only engaging and interesting in its own right, but also marks the beginning of a new three-year programme focusing on music and care, which will investigate the impact music has on us as individuals and as a society.'

Other of my pieces for Church Times can be found here. My writing for ArtWay can be found here. My pieces for Artlyst are here, those for Seen & Unseen are here, and those for Art+Christianity are here.

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Handel - Messiah.

Upcoming events in the Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry

Here are the upcoming events in the Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry during January and February:

Fear not, for I am with you: An exhibition of religious paintings by David Sowerby

9 January – 3 April 2026

St Andrew’s Church, 11 London Road, Wickford SS12 0AN

View the exhibition and hear David speak about his work at ‘Unveiled’, the arts & performance evening at St Andrew’s Wickford, Friday 9 January, 7.00 pm.

St Andrew’s is usually open: Sat 9am-12.30pm; Sun 9.30am-12 noon; Mon 2-3.45pm; Tue 1-4.30pm; Wed 10am-12 noon; Fri 10am-1pm. https://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html 

David Sowerby

Born 24th October 1954

Studied Foundation at Middlesbrough Art College

BA (hons) Art and Design at The Central School of Art (London)

I worked as a freelance illustrator and teacher throughout my life and eventually retired as a Principal Lecturer at The University of the Arts London.

I now support a range of charities, both local and national, via my mutual interest and fascination with art and creativity. 

An earlier exhibition was just prior to the first lockdown which was held at The Transition, Chelmsford, with proceeds going towards The British Heart Foundation raised just over £6,000.

I continue to support local and national charities, contributing a large percentage of any sales to such charitable organisations and causes.  

My work can be viewed on my Facebook pages, search for David Sowerby with more available to view at Sowerbycreations (Facebook again) 

Unveiled

A regular Friday night arts and performance event
at St Andrew’s Church, 7.00 – 9.00 pm
11 London Road, Wickford, Essex SS12 0AN

See below for our Spring 2026 programme and http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html for more information.

Exhibitions, open mic nights, performances, talks and more!

Unveiled – a wide range of artist and performers from Essex and wider, including Open Mic nights (come and have a go!).
Unveiled – view our hidden painting by acclaimed artist David Folley, plus a range of other exhibitions.

Spring Programme 2026

• 9 January (7.00 pm) – ‘Fear not, for I am with you: An exhibition of religious paintings’ exhibition viewing evening. Meet artist David Sowerby, see his exhibition & hear him speak about his work. David worked as a freelance illustrator and teacher and was a Principal Lecturer at The University of the Arts London.
• 23 January (7.00 pm) – ‘Writing on the Arts’. A talk by Jonathan Evens reflecting on his experiences of writing on the Arts for publications including Artlyst, ArtWay, Church Times, International Times, Seen and Unseen and Stride Magazine, among others.
• 6 February (7.30 pm) – Meet film director Will Norman and see his acclaimed film My Brother Bob, which explores the meaning of quality of life and won Best Documentary at the UKFF. Will Norman is a London based director known for his surreal and playful approach to storytelling across commercials and music videos.
• 27 February (7.30 pm) – Rev Simpkins in concert. Rev Simpkins’ music mixes the colourful folk tradition of Appalachians Mountains with the melodiousness and carefully-observed lyrics of the Kinks. Close harmonies intertwine with banjo, French horn, and bass. “Melodious, chaotic, gloriously energetic, the fruit of the fevered musical imaginations of Matty Simpkins.”
• 13 March (7.00 pm) – ‘Nevendon to Wickford’. A talk by Geoff Whiter of Wickford Community Archive. Geoff’s talk will include a number of unseen photographs of Wickford Town centre.
• 27 March (7.30 pm) – Open Mic Night. Everybody is welcome to come along & play, read, sing or just spectate. See you there for a great evening of live performance!

These events do not require tickets (just turn up on the night). There will be a retiring collection to cover artist and church costs. See http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html for fuller information.

Rev Simpkins 

Suffolk-Essex musician, Rev Simpkins, presents an evening of acoustic music of great imagination and charm.

The Rev will perform songs from his acclaimed folk albums such as ‘Big Sea’ and ‘Saltings’, together with songs from his band album ‘Pissabed Prophet’. The gig will also feature songs from the Rev’s most recent album ‘Headwater’, a collection of fever dreams and reflections on awe and delirium, recorded in the aftermath of an extreme reaction to immunotherapy treatment for stage 4 cancer. These songs recreate sounds and visions experienced on the hospital ward.

The Rev’s sweeping melodies, rich harmonies, and fascinating lyrics have won him both a cult following and national acclaim. This is a rare chance to experience the breadth of the Rev’s  work in one evening.

"Bizarre Post-Punk mastery...Ludicrously cool" 8/10 Vive le Rock on ‘Pissabed Prophet’

“Headwater takes us into new ruminative territory with its industrial electronic soundscapes and use of drones and silences to bring us into contemplation.” International Times

Nazareth Community Gathering

Saturday 17 January, 2.00 pm

St John’s Church, Outwood Common Rd, Billericay CM11 2LE

A first meeting of the incipient South Essex Nazareth Community including: Study (Letter from Nazareth); Sharing (Wonderings); Staying With (Preparing a 7S’s Rule of Life); and Sacrament (Eucharist).  

A contemporary Rule of Life: Silence, Service, Scripture, Sacrament, Sharing, Sabbath, Staying With

All are welcome to find out more and take part in this initial Gathering to begin forming a Nazareth Community in South Essex.

WICKFORD AND RUNWELL 

PARISH STUDY DAY 2026 

THE BIG STORY: THE BIBLE IN FIVE ACTS 

Saturday 31st January 2026 

9.30am - 2pm in St Andrews church 

Lunch provided.

Explore the amazing story told through the Bible from Creation to Jesus and the Early Church and look into the future and what it means for us.

... discuss ...

Discuss is a youth discussion group meeting monthly on Fridays, 7.00 pm, St Andrew's Centre. All discussion topics chosen by the group. All teens and twenties are welcome.

Dates:

• 16 January
• 20 February
• 20 March
• 17 April
• 15 May
• 12 June
• 10 July

Pancake Party

St Catherine’s Hall

17th February 2026

Between 2.30 pm and 4pm

£5 for pancakes and tea or coffee

There will also be a raffle

Sign up lists coming soon, pay on the day

WICKFORD AND RUNWELL PARISH 

LENT 2026 

Inspired to Follow: Who is my Neighbour 

A journey through Lent 

A course from St Martin-in-the-Fields in conjunction with the National Gallery, exploring Art and the Bible Story. We are offering this six week course from week commencing 23rd February. The final week will be decided by each group. 

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Rev Simpkins - In The Marsh A Desert.