Between

Saturday, 31 October 2026

Windows on the world (592)

Wickford, 2026

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ABBA - I Have A Dream.

Thursday, 29 October 2026

VCS Bible & Art Daily - Fishman in Excelsis, Artwork by Paul Thek

The Visual Commentary on Scripture offers a daily email exploring the Bible through art. Through concise but vivid day-by-day encounters, Bible and Art Daily will take you on a series of journeys through the world of Scripture and the history of art. The VCS have brought together experts in theology and art history to carefully curate a treasury of week-long series, each exploring a particular theme, an artistic medium, or a biblical character. Find out more and subscribe here.

My most recent commentary to feature in Bible and Art Daily came in the Series: Fish - Episode 7 of 7: Fishman in Excelsis, Artwork by Paul Thek

About this Series: Fish - There are a lot of fish in the Bible. They are often signs or instruments of God at work. Indeed, large quantities of fish are one of the ways in which Jesus reveals his power and teaches his disciples what their role must be when they begin catching people in their ‘nets’. Artists have enjoyed making signs of fish, too, ever since the ‘ichthus’ became one of the very first Christian symbols. This group of commentaries highlights some of the key appearances made by fishy creatures in the Bible and Christian art.

The VCS is a freely accessible online publication that provides theological commentary on the Bible in dialogue with works of art. It helps its users to (re)discover the Bible in new ways through the illuminating interaction of artworks, scriptural texts, and commissioned commentaries. The virtual exhibitions of the VCS aim to facilitate new possibilities of seeing and reading so that the biblical text and the selected works of art come alive in new and vivid ways.

Each section of the VCS is a virtual exhibition comprising a biblical passage, three art works, and their associated commentaries. The curators of each exhibition select artworks that they consider will open up the biblical texts for interpretation, and/or offer new perspectives on themes the texts address. The commentaries explain and interpret the relationships between the works of art and the scriptural text.

Find out more about the VCS, its exhibitions and other resources through a short series of HeartEdge workshops introducing the VCS as a whole and exploring particular exhibitions with their curators. These workshops can be viewed here, here, here and here.

My first exhibition for the VCS was 'Back from the Brink' on Daniel 4: 'Immediately the word was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men, and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.' (Daniel 4:33). In the exhibition I explore this chapter with William Blake's 'Nebuchadnezzar', 1795–c.1805, Arthur Boyd's 'Nebuchadnezzar's Dream of the Tree', 1969, and Peter Howson's 'The Third Step', 2001.

My second exhibition was 'A Question of Faith' and explored Hebrews 11 through the paintings of New Zealand artist Colin McCahon. McCahon is widely recognised as New Zealand’s foremost painter. Over 45 years, his work encompassed many themes, subjects and styles, from landscape to figuration to abstraction and an innovative use of painted text. His adaption of aspects of modernist painting to a specific local situation and his intense engagement with spiritual matters, mark him out as a distinctive figure in twentieth-century art.

My third exhibition was 'Fishers of People'. This exhibition uses Damien Hirst's 'Isolated Elements Swimming in the Same Direction for the Purpose of Understanding (Left) and (Right)', John Bellany's 'Kinlochbervie', and Paul Thek's 'Fishman in Excelsis Table' to discuss Matthew 4:12-22 and Mark 1:14-20. These artworks give us what is essentially a collage of the kingdom whereby we are invited to imagine the kingdom of God as a body of water in which Christians are immersed and through which they are raised.

My fourth exhibition was 'Before the Deluge', a series of climate-focused commentaries on Genesis 6 looking at 'The Flood' by Norman Adams, 'Noah in the Ark and a Church' by Albert Herbert, and 'Noah's Ark' by Sadao Watanabe.

My fifth exhibition reflects on 1 Thessalonians 2:17–4:12. It is called 'Establishing the Heart' and includes works of art by Antoine Camilleri, John Reilly and Stanley Spencer. This exhibition explores how pleasing God in our everyday lives - by living quietly, minding our own affairs, and working with our hands - leads us to see life, work and art as prayer.

For more on the artists included in these exhibitions click on the following links: Antoine Camilleri, John Reilly, Stanley Spencer, William Blake, Arthur Boyd, Peter Howson, Colin McCahon, Damien Hirst, John Bellany, and Paul Thek.

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Sweet Honey in the Rock - Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around.

Wednesday, 28 October 2026

Interview Update

Since my last Interview Update, I have had an interview published by ArtWay with Nicola Ravenscroft and an interview for Artlyst with Sean Scully and Hughie O'Donoghue.

My interview with Nicola focuses on her bronze sculpture at the Royal Free Hospital which stands as a lasting tribute to the courage, compassion, and dedication of NHS staff. In my joint interview with Sean and Hughie, they reflect on the nature of friendship while discussing aspects of their Irish identity, their experiences working during a hostile period for painting, the subsequent triumph of painting, and their experiences creating works for sacred spaces.'

For more on Nicola, click here for my Artlyst interview with Nicola, and here for an ArtWay Visual Meditation on her work. Click here for a poem published by Stride Magazine that was inspired by Nicola's series of 'in the language of angels' images. I have also written short stories about Nicola's mudcub sculptures (now called EarthAngels), which we exhibited at St Andrew's Wickford. The first story in the series is 'The Mudcubs and the O Zone holes.' The second is 'The Mudcubs and the Clean-Up King'. The third is 'The mudcubs and the Wall'.

See also my other pieces on Sean Scully, here, here and here.

As a result of these interviews, I am updating this index of interviews. I have carried out a large number of other interviews for Artlyst, ArtWay, Church Times, International Times, Seen and Unseen, The Big Picture and Art+Christianity. They provide a wide range of fascinating insights into the approaches and practices of artists, arts professionals, clerics, curators, performers, poets and writers.

They can be found at:

Artlyst

ArtWay

Church Times

International Times

Seen and Unseen

Art+Christianity

The Big Picture

Meeting Christ in Sundry Places: Jonathan Evens in conversation with Francis Hoyland

Also see my interviews with artist Henry Shelton here and here and David Hawkins, former Bishop of Barking, here, here and here. I have also published an interview with artist, poet and writer Rupert Loydell, who has also interviewed Nick Battle and Steve Scott.

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De'Borah Powell & The Benefactors - Open My Eyes.

Somewhere to belong

Here's the sermon that was shared at St Andrew's Wickford this morning:

We all want a place to belong – somewhere to call home. You might have found that place. You might still be looking. A house or a family don’t necessarily make home. We yearn for something more – a safe haven, a place of refuge where we can truly be ourselves.

When children are asked to come up with five words or phrases that sum up what is needed in a home, they come up with words like: safety, warmth, happiness, food, water, somewhere to sleep, shelter, people who love you there.

The letter to the Ephesians, of which we have heard a section read this morning (Ephesians 2.17-22), says that these things can be found and experienced by becoming a part of God’s family. The starting point in the letter for talking about this possibility is very different though because it begins by talking about two groups of people who are separated from each other by significant barriers.

The letter is speaking about the way in which the Jews were separated from the Gentiles, on the basis of the Law of Moses, by racial, religious, cultural and social barriers. In addition, there were also sub-divisions with women and children being viewed as less important than men. Jews were understood to be God’s chosen people and very close to God while the Gentiles were seen as the distant heathens.

Christ tore down these barriers through his death on the cross. He died and rose again to bring us freedom in the form of the gift of love. The law of love and grace fulfils the Law of Moses meaning that the barriers between Jew and Gentile have been torn down because the old rules and regulations no longer apply in the same way and can no longer divide us.

In this way Christ created a unity that wasn’t based on racial, religious, cultural or social stereotypes, time or context, but a unity based on, and through, him for the whole world and in all periods of history. The new mixed-race Church is not so much the joining of the Jewish and Gentile people – with each trying to negotiate their own starting points – but rather a completely new humanity. And if Christ can unite Jews and Gentiles in this way then no other gulf should ever be that great again!

So what does all this mean for us today? Firstly, the emphasis on unity means that no one person, group or nation is more important than another. No one is a stranger or a foreigner because now we are all united in one body through Christ. The universal Church now contains all of us as members of God’s family, his house. This ‘oneness’ has to be demonstrated in our relationships with each other and in our behaviour. So we should welcome and respect everybody equally in our daily lives whether they are on our doorstep or in another country.

Secondly, by using the imagery of family and house, the Letter to the Ephesians shows that God wants to have a close relationship with us, like the ones we try to achieve in our own families and friendships. He no longer wants to be worshipped at a distance and in a temple that is man-made. Instead, we have become his temple through Christ dwelling within us. This is why our behaviour and our relationships have to reflect his Spirit working in our hearts. We are called to be holy and to model Christ’s love for us.

Thirdly, to do this we need Christ as the cornerstone of our building, our lives. Just as without a cornerstone a house is not properly supported, we cannot survive without Christ. God’s purpose for humanity is revealed through Christ. It is Christ who bridged the gulf between Jew and Gentile through his death on the cross and therefore it is Christ who unites us. It is through Christ that we become the temple in which God dwells through his Spirit. As a recent worship song says, “It’s all about you, Jesus.”

Therefore, as we build our lives on Christ:

we should be united in faith;
we should build up the Church by the way that we live our lives;
we should welcome all people without discrimination;
we should thank God for sending his Son to save us by his death and resurrection;
we should live faithfully in prayer; and
we should trust in God’s Spirit working through us.

By sharing what we have, we can make home a reality for others when they lack provision, nurturing, belonging, support or refuge. By offering our time, energies, resources and prayers, we can create the sense of belonging that God wants all people to find in him. May it be so for us. Amen.

(Based on materials from the Mothers’ Union resource pack entitled ‘Home’)

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Matt Redman - The Heart Of Worship.

Tuesday, 27 October 2026

Artlyst: Sean Scully And Hughie O’Donoghue - The Big Interview

My latest interview for Artlyst is with Sean Scully and Hughie O'Donoghue:

'Sean Scully, who was recently named an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, one of France’s highest cultural honours, was born in Dublin, moved to London in 1949 and settled in America in the mid-1970s. He is best known as a painter of monumental works in oil, although he is also a printmaker, producing woodcuts and etchings. Hughie O’Donoghue was born in Manchester, England, in 1953 and now lives and works in London and Erris, Co Mayo, Ireland. He uses figuration and abstraction to explore themes of human identity, memory, and experience, and draws on history, mythology, and personal records to create works that resonate with emotional intensity.

Initially admirers of each other’s work, the two artists have subsequently become good friends. In this joint interview, they reflect on the nature of friendship while discussing aspects of their Irish identity, their experiences working during a hostile period for painting, the subsequent triumph of painting, and their experiences creating works for sacred spaces.'

See also my other pieces on Sean Scully, here, here and here.

My other pieces for Artlyst are:

Interviews -

Monthly diary articles -

Articles/Reviews -

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Art History workshop with Maurizio Galia

Art History workshop with Maurizio Galia
Fine Art Teacher since 1990
The rise of Contemporary Arts in the XIX Century and its run until the current days.

Friday 6 November, 2.00 - 4.00 pm

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

Maurizio Galia, from Turin, Italy, is a highly versatile art professional who has traversed various creative realms throughout his career. His artistic journey began as an illustrator for advertising, a role that laid the foundation for his future endeavours. Since 1990, he has also shared his extensive knowledge and passion for the fine arts as a dedicated teacher. His teaching experience extends beyond Italy, including a collaboration with a British institute in London in 2019. His commitment to education aligns with his desire to nurture the artistic talents of others.

His workshop will provide a panorama of art movements from the XIX Century to the Present. Discover key artists and art movements from Neo-Classicism to Contemporary art and Jacques Louis David to today’s top names.

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AQUAEL - Altri Tempi (Featuring Federica Gili)

Saturday, 24 October 2026

International Times: Hope, Heart and Home

My latest set of album reviews for International Time s are on Hope Is A Heavy Thing by Joy Oladokun, You’re Not a Ghost Anymore: Heart by Joseph Arthur, and Buddy Miller by Buddy Miller:

'The roots of what was originally known as rock ‘n’ roll are to be found in a blending of blues, country, and gospel. Folk music was added to that mix in the early sixties, while r&b, soul, country rock, and folk rock each major on one of those main strands.

Fusing these core strands in ever new combinations offers a constant source of inspiration which artists such as Joy Oladokun, Joseph Arthur, and Buddy Miller consistently tap.'

For more on Joy Oladokun see here and for Joseph Arthur see here.

For more of my writing on music, see my article for Seen and Unseen entitled 'Rock ‘n’ roll’s long dance with religion' and my co-authored book with Peter Banks, ‘The Secret Chord’, which has been described as an impassioned study of the role of music in cultural life written through the prism of Christian belief. The book can be purchased from Lulu - https://www.lulu.com/shop/jonathan-evens-and-peter-banks/the-secret-chord/paperback/product-1pey2g67.html?q=peter+banks&page=1&pageSize=4. Covering a range of musical styles and influences, from gospel music to X Factor, The Secret Chord conveys enthusiasm for music and its transformative powers. The book asks is there really a 'Secret Chord' that would both please the Lord and nearly everybody else as described in Leonard Cohen's popular song 'Hallelujah'? Posts related to the themes of 'The Secret Chord' can be found here.

My earlier pieces for IT are: an interview with curator Jacquiline Creswell; an interview with the artist Alexander de Cadenet; an interview with artist, poet, priest Sp encer Reece, an interview with the poet Chris Emery, an interview with Jago Cooper, Director of the the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, a profile of singer-songwriter Bill Fay, plus reviews of:

'Arthur: A New Life' by Amy Jeffs:
Anish Kapoor at Hayward Gallery
Flowers from the Graveyard by Michael McDermott
an IMMERSE performance by Wilderthorn at Bradwell Chapel
albums by Switchfoot, Jon Foreman and NEEDTOBREATHE:
'Walls and Windows' at The Minories in Colchester
'The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art and the birth of America's Culture Wars' by Isaac Butler
'Moving Pictures' and 'Closeups' by Steve Scott, 'Never Mind the Ballads Here's Nick Battle' by Nick Battle, and 'Blank Arcades' by Andrew Rumsey
Michael Takeo Magruder -Reconstructed Landscape{s}
The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex and Controversy in the 1980s
In Another World: The Four Seasons of Talk Talk
Hulda Guzman: Please awake - asked Nature kindly' at Turner Contemporary;
'Devotions' by Lucy Caldwell and 'Catholic Modernism and the Irish ‘Avant-Garde’: The Achievement of Brian Coffey, Denis Devlin, and Thomas MacGreevy' by James Matthew Wilson;
the 'Stations' project from Dunlin Press;
'William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy';
Joseph Arthur in concert;
installations by Chiharu Shiota and Yin Xiuzhen at Hayward Gsllery,
U2's 'Days of Ash', Mumford and Sons' 'Prize fighter' and Moby's 'Future Quiet';
'Collected Poems' by Kevin Crossley-Holland;
'Lux' by Rosalía;
'Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere';
'Great Art Explained' by James Payne;
'Down River: In Search of David Ackles' by Mark Brend;
'Headwater' by Rev Simpkins;
'The Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art' by Jonathan A. Anderson;
'Breaking Lines' at the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art,
albums by Deacon Blue, Mumford and Sons, and Andrew Rumsey,
also by Joy Oladokun and Michael Kiwanaku;
'Nolan's Africa' by Andrew Turley;
Mavis Staples in concert at Union Chapel;
T Bone Burnett's 'The Other Side' and Peter Case live in Leytonstone;
Helaine Blumenfeld's 'Together' exhibition,
'What Is and Might Be and then Otherwise' by David Miller;
'Giacometti in Paris' by Michael Peppiatt,
the first Pissabed Prophet album; and
'Religion and Contemporary Art: A Curious Accord', a book which derives from a 2017 symposium organised by the Association of Scholars of Christianity in the History of Art.

Several of my short stories have been published by IT including three about Nicola Ravenscroft's EarthAngel sculptures (then called mudcubs), which we exhibited at St Andrew's Wickford in 2022. The first story in the series is 'The Mudcubs and the O Zone holes'. The second is 'The Mudcubs and the Clean-Up King', and the third is 'The mudcubs and the Wall'. My other short stories to have been published by International Times are 'The Black Rain', a story about the impact of violence in our media, 'The New Dark Ages', a story about principles and understandings that are gradually fading away from our modern societies, and 'The curious glasses', a story based on the butterfly effect.

IT have also published several of my poems, including 'Spencer Reece at Bemerton' which is based on the visit that I made to Bemerton in 2026 with Spencer Reece, 'The ABC of creativity', which covers attention, beginning and creation, and 'The Edge of Chaos', a state of existence poem. Also published have been three poems from my 'Five Trios' series. 'Barking' is about St Margaret’s Barking and Barking Abbey and draws on my time as a curate at St Margaret's. 'Bradwell' is a celebration of the history of the Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall, the Othona Community, and of pilgrimage to those places. Broomfield in Essex became a village of artists following the arrival of Revd John Rutherford in 1930. His daughter, the artist Rosemary Rutherford, also moved with them and made the vicarage a base for her artwork including paintings and stained glass. Then, Gwynneth Holt and Thomas Bayliss Huxley-Jones moved to Broomfield in 1949 where they shared a large studio in their garden and both achieved high personal success. 'Broomfield' reviews their stories, work, legacy and motivations.

To read my poems published by Stride, click here, here, here, here, here, and here. My poems published in Amethyst Review are: 'Runwell', 'Are/Are Not', 'Attend, attend' and 'Maritain, Green, Beckett and Anderson in conversation down through the ages'.

I am among those whose poetry has been included in Thin Places & Sacred Spaces, a recent anthology from Amethyst Press. I also had a poem included in All Shall Be Well: Poems for Julian of Norwich, the first Amethyst Press anthology of new poems.

'Five Trios' is a series of poems on thin places and sacred spaces in the Diocese of Chelmsford. The five poems in the series are:

These poems have been published by Amethyst Review and International Times.

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Joy Oladokun - Dear Maria.