Bring what you have

Here is my sermon from today's Eucharist at St Stephen Walbrook:

We live in an age of austerity where our government has implemented a series of sustained reductions in public spending, with more still to come, all intended to reduce the budget deficit. As a result, we live in a time of relative scarcity compared with years of a booming economy prior to this time of austerity.

The reality of living in a time of scarcity has parallels to the feeding of the five thousand where Jesus and those with him are in the wilderness with no food except for the five small barley loaves and two small fish offered by a boy in the crowd (John 6. 5 - 14). Jesus’ disciples essentially despair in the light of their situation as there is nowhere to go to buy food, they have insufficient money for the numbers involved and the boy’s lunch is too small to share with any but a few.

Jesus, however, brings abundance in the place of scarcity. He prepares the crowd to eat, gives thanks to God and begins to share the little that they have. As the sharing commences, the food is found to be sufficient for everyone’s needs with 12 baskets of leftover bread gathered together at the end of the meal.

How did this happen? It began with a young boy bringing barley loaves and fish to Jesus. Barley loaves were one third of the price of the wheat variety; it was the bread of the poor. And then there were the two small fish. The Greek word used for these fish in John’s gospel is “osparion”, which meant they were certainly not fresh fish from the Sea of Galilee. “Osparion” were either small dried or pickled fish. The young boy may have generously offered all he had but that offering was meagre in the extreme. Little wonder that Andrew should say despairingly to Jesus: “But, what are they among so many”?

Yet, Jesus willingly took what was offered and, far from commenting on the poor offering set before him, he gave thanks over the loaves and fish. And, as Jesus gave thanks a transformation took place and there was enough for all to be fed and, we learn later in the chapter, to be satisfied. With the transforming grace of Jesus even our poorest offerings can become something extraordinary.

Tom Wright in his commentary on St John’s Gospel says that all God calls us to do is to bring what we have to Jesus in prayer. We tell Him what we need. We then let Jesus bring the two together and make it enough for all! As that marvellous prayer puts it, the Lord Jesus truly can ‘transform the poverty of our riches by the fullness of his Grace’.

It is easy for us to think that big is best and that what we have and are is too little to make an impact but this story says otherwise. Jesus takes and uses the little that the young boy offers.

Small is beautiful, as E. F. Schumacher reminded us. Our small actions or contribution, combined with those of others, can then have a big effect. This year’s BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal for St Martin-in-the-Fields uses that thought in its slogan ‘Small Action Big Difference’. The butterfly effect which is found in Chaos Theory and the multiplier effect in economics both show, on the basis of research, that small changes and small contributions can have significant effects.

Hattie May Wiatt was a young girl in Philadelphia in the 1880s who began saving towards the building of a church which could accommodate the large number of children going to Sunday School in those days. Hattie May died young and after her death the pastor of the church, Rev. Russell Conwell was given the 57 cents that she had saved. He used these to begin a fundraising campaign which resulted in the building of a church, a University and a Hospital.

What can you give to God today? It doesn’t matter if it seems very little or very small. Brother Lawrence that ‘We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.' In addition, as he did with the small offering the boy made in this story, Jesus can take the little that we can offer and can use, transform and multiply it. The important thing then is that we offer what we can. What can you give to God to today? Whatever it is, the important thing is to offer it – however small it may seem.

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G.F. Handel - The King Shall Rejoice.

Start:Stop - Small Action Big Difference

Bible reading

‘He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”’ (Matthew 13: 31 & 32)

Meditation

This year’s BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal for St Martin-in-the-Fields uses the slogan ‘Small Action Big Difference’. This reminded me of the statement made by Brother Lawrence that ‘We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.'

The Parable of the Mustard Seed is an illustration of this truth. In this brief parable a small action, the sowing of a small seed, leads to the growth of a large plant. Jesus says that, in a similar way, the kingdom of God has small beginnings but grows to become something much larger. As a result, we should, like Brother Lawrence says, in no wise despise small actions.

We see this illustrated in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. Long centuries have come and gone but all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings and queens that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of human beings upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is the ultimate expression of a small action with a big impact.

We could respond to this by thinking what small thing can I do today that will have a big effect but the reality is that we are rarely able to accurately predict future effects. Instead, we can learn, like Brother Lawrence, to value small, mundane actions in the knowledge that, if well done for the love of God, these actions can have significantly larger impacts.

Prayer

Lord God, enable us not to be weary of doing little things for love of You, recognising that you regard not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. Please take and use the little that we offer and multiply it to your praise and glory.

As we do small things for love of you multiply the impact of our actions.

Enable us to sow small seeds of Your love through our actions in those we know and in our communities and workplaces. Bring those seeds to fruition and make their growth be greater than the seed which was sown.

As we do small things for love of you multiply the impact of our actions.

Teach us to value the doing of small, mundane actions recognising that You are equally present in the small things of life as in the great. Give us the eyes of faith to discern You as You come to us at each moment of our daily routine - truly present, truly living, truly attentive to the needs of each person.

As we do small things for love of you multiply the impact of our actions.

Blessing

Giving us eyes of faith, being present in the small things of life, bring seeds sown to fruition, multiplying the impact of our actions. May those blessings of almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, rest upon us and remain with us always. Amen.

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Tears for Fears - Sowing The Seeds Of Love.

Discover & explore: St Erkenwald & St Ethelburga

The final Discover & explore service in the current series at St Stephen Walbrook with the Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields was on St Erkenwald and St Ethelburga and featured music which included: Lord, I want to be a Christian – arr. Moses Hogan; Heaven-Haven – Samuel Barber; Give us the wings of faith – Whitbourn; and The peace of God – Rutter.

In my reflection I said:

As we reflected last week, the official withdrawal of Roman administration in 410 AD did not end Christian belief in England but it was to be almost two hundred years before the next significant phase of expansion. It was in this phase of expansion that St Paul’s Cathedral was founded and the two names most associated with the establishment of the first St Paul’s are Saint Mellitus (our focus last week) and Saint Erkenwald (our focus this week). Erkenwald was the Abbot of Chertsey whose consecration as Bishop of London in 675 AD, following the city’s brief return to paganism, confirmed the return of the Roman Church to London (https://www.stpauls.co.uk/history-collections/history/cathedral-history-timeline).

Believed to be an early convert of the mission led by St. Mellitus, Erkenwald founded two religious houses on either side of the Thames. The abbey Erkenwald built at Chertsey he presided over, as Abbot, but the other, at Barking, he gave to his sister St. Ethelburga, recalling St. Hildelid from France to train her in the religious life and to guide her in the governance of this double monastery of monks and nuns. His sister remained very close to him and later, when he was Bishop of London, used to accompany him on his journeys.

On the death of St. Cedd, in the plague of 664, Erkenwald, who was descended from the house of Uffa, the royal family of the East Angles, was recommended by King Sebbi, to Archbishop Theodore, as the new Bishop of London. His ministry for the next eleven years was to be one of reconciliation. His diocese still contained some Britons who had remained, when the land was overrun by the Saxons, but the invaders were the predominant population. They had received the Christian Faith first of all through the Roman clergy sent by St. Gregory, but the faith had been established by the monks from Lindisfarne under St. Cedd, who were of the Celtic Church, so the see had a mixed tradition. Moreover, there was a certain amount of resistance to the reforms being introduced by St. Theodore to the English Dioceses, and Erkenwald had a share in healing these divisions in the English Church as a whole, for the quarrel between St Wilfrid and Theodore was finally settled in Erkenwald's house just before Theodore's death (http://celticsaints.org/2012/0430b.html).

St. Erkenwald's sanctity and peacemaking earned him an enduring place in the hearts of Londoners, and there are also many stories of miracles. One curious tale has been preserved, in part in a poem in the Cheshire dialect, of how, during the rebuilding of St Paul's, a coffin was discovered containing the body of a man wearing a crown and with a sceptre in his hand (http://londinoupolis.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/saint-erkenwald-bishop-of-london-abbot.html). Adorned with gargoyles and made of grey marble, the tomb was inscribed with a series of golden characters; however, no scholar was able to decipher them. Once granted permission by the sextons, the mayor took control of the sanctuary and tomb for further investigation. As they opened the lid of the tomb, they found a preserved body and the garments of a king. Puzzled by the identity of the corpse and concerned about a royal, yet forgotten past, St. Erkenwald was summoned to the tomb. After Erkenwald prayed, hoping to learn the identity of the body, a "goste-lyfe" animated the corpse and revived it. Such a "goste-lyfe" most probably refers to the Christian Holy Spirit. As Erkenwald questioned the corpse, it is revealed that he is a pre-Christian Briton and once a just judge that lived during the Britain times—under the rule of King Belinus. His explanation for his royal attire is his impartial rulings throughout his time as a judge. Although he claims he was a fair and just judge, he was forced into a "lewid date". Such a term most likely refers to a state of limbo due to his existence before the salvation of Christ.

This reveals an underlying thread of theological questioning that pervades throughout the poem entitled St. Erkenwald: Did all before Christ go to hell? Erkenwald shed a single tear that baptized and consequently saved the corpse from his "lewid date." With this, the corpse immediately dissolved into dust, as the soul of the man finally entered eternal peace (https://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=St.%20Erkenwald%20(poem)).

This poem therefore addresses the question of whether salvation is possible to persons who lived morally admirable lives without having had the opportunity to receive Christian baptism. The story of St. Erkenwald glorifies God’s grace through the sacrament of baptism. The poet regards the baptism scene as the key issue of his work, as the whole poem points towards this climax. The poet shows that God creates the circumstances for a pagan judge to be saved. God triumphs through the baptism of the judge, making it clear that he is in control of salvation. This teaching is to some extent in accord with that of Hebrews 11 which states that the Hebrew Patriarchs and prophets, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from the followers of Christ, be made perfect. The writer of Hebrews states that Jesus' death wasn't limited to redeeming future people, it also redeemed people in the past. Both the poem and the letter to the Hebrews suggest that the salvation won by Christ affects those who preceded Christ as well as those who lived after his life, death and resurrection.

Latterly, Erkenwald was incapacitated by gout and had to be helped into a wheeled litter, the fore-runner of the Bath-chair, and the remains of this was preserved in Old St Paul's and shown as a relic. Erkenwald died at his sister's abbey at Barking, and there was contention between the priests of St Paul's and the monks of Barking as to where he was to be buried. A great storm broke out, and there was flooding of the river, but then the sun broke through the clouds, seeming to point a golden path to the Cathedral. His body was interred in the crypt, but when the church was rebuilt in 1148 it was translated to a shrine behind the High Altar. It was a favourite place of pilgrimage until the sixteenth century and his feast day was kept on April 30th, the day of his death, with great splendour.

As the first leader of a monastic order for women in England, Ethelburga proved herself a sister worthy of such a brother and Barking became celebrated, not only for the fervour of its nuns, but for the zeal they displayed for the study of the Holy Scriptures, the fathers of the Church and even the classic tongues. Having refused an arranged marriage to a pagan prince, she was banished to a nunnery by Erkenwald. The Venerable Bede wrote of her: “Her life is known to have been such that no person who knew her ought to question but that the heavenly kingdom was opened to her, when she departed this world.” In the Anglican calendar her feast day is October 11th. She epitomises a strong woman who exemplifies the virtues of leadership and commitment to social action even to the point of self-sacrifice (https://stethelburgas.org/who-we-are/our-story/).

Ethelburga’s sanctity was shown when her community at Barking was hit by the plague. First the brothers there were struck. The sisters discovered that the life of prayer involved caring for those who are dying. Which most of the brothers then did. In her wisdom, Ethelburga realised it wouldn’t be long before the sisters too were struck down with the plague. So she took the initiative to prepare the community of sisters to face death themselves, by reflecting on where they’d like to be buried. The answer came as a result of a miraculous incident involving a powerful spiritual light. Then one of Ethelburga’s community had a day-time vision of a human body, bright as the sun, and wrapped up in a sheet, being lifted up into heaven drawn by cords brighter than gold. The nuns took this to a premonition that one of their number would soon die, and be lifted up into heaven, closer to the light. Shortly afterwards Ethelburga herself was struck down with the plague and died. The community took this as a fulfilment of the vision. Ethelburga was then succeeded by her tutor Hildelith as leader of the decimated community. Ethelburga’s life reminds us that true praying isn’t about saying the right words; but rather about living a compassionate life, caring for the sick and dying (Revd Alastair McKay).

Prayers

Almighty God, the light of the faithful and shepherd of souls, who set your servant Erkenwald to be a bishop in the Church, to feed your sheep by the word of Christ and to guide them by good example: give us grace to keep the faith of the Church and to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father, by the power of your Holy Spirit you give your faithful people new life in the water of baptism. Guide and strengthen us by the same Spirit, that we who are born again may serve you in faith and love, and grow into the full stature of your Son, Jesus Christ. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Almighty God, by whose grace Ethelburga, kindled with the fire of your love, became a burning and a shining light in the Church: inflame us with the same spirit of discipline and love, that we may ever walk before you as children of light. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Almighty God, you call us, like St Ethelburga, to be physicians of the soul: by the grace of the Spirit and through the wholesome medicine of the gospel, give your Church the same love and power to care and heal. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Blessing

God is the glory and joy of all His saints, whose memory we celebrate today. May His blessing be with you always. God's holy Church rejoices that Her saints have reached their heavenly goal, and are in lasting peace. May you come to share all the joys of our Father's house. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Samuel Barber: Heaven-Haven (A Nun Takes the Veil).

Anthony D'Amato & Ricky Ross

Great gig tonight at Emmanuel Billericay with Anthony D'Amato and Ricky Ross. Here are two of the best songs from both standout sets: 

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Anthony D'Amato - Ballad Of The Undecided.

Windows on the world (372)

Walsingham, 2014

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Anthony D'Amato - Ludlow.

Discover & explore: St Mellitus

Discover & explore: St Mellitus at St Stephen Walbrook with the Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields featured music sung by ‪the Choral Scholars of St Martin in the Fields including: Come, holy Ghost - Attwood; Christus est stella - Will Todd; Listen, sweet dove - Grayston Ives; and Ev'ry time I feel the Spirit - Spiritual arr. Moses Hogan.

‪Next Monday "Discover & Explore" at 1.10pm will explore St Erkenwald and St Ethelberga in the final service of our #Londinium series - https://ssw.churchsuite.co.uk/events/oyczm38g‬.

In my reflection I said:

Christianity reached Roman Britain in the second-century AD. The official withdrawal of Roman administration in 410 AD did not end Christian belief in England but it was to be almost two hundred years before the next significant phase of expansion. It was in this phase of expansion that St Paul’s Cathedral was founded and the two names most associated with the establishment of the first St Paul’s are Saint Mellitus (our focus this week) and Saint Erkenwald (our focus next week). St Mellitus was a monk who arrived in Britain with Saint Augustine on a mission from Rome instigated by Pope Gregory the Great (https://www.stpauls.co.uk/history-collections/history/cathedral-history-timeline). 

The anniversary of his death in 624 is remembered on 24 April and, by the time of his death, Mellitus had become the first Bishop of London in the Anglo-Saxon period and the third Archbishop of Canterbury. Augustine arrived in 597, sent by Pope Gregory the Great to convert the Saxons, and was followed in 601 by a group of monks that included Mellitus. http://www.thehistoryoflondon.co.uk/the-founding-of-st-pauls-cathedral/

Mellitus seems to have been the most senior of the party, since he is the addressee of the famous papal letter in which Gregory told the missionaries not to destroy the Anglo-Saxons' pagan temples, customs and sacrifices, but to replace them. In writing in this way Gregory would seem to have been applying St Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian Christians to act for the welfare of the church. Their object was to save souls. Anything that would promote that object was proper; anything which would hinder it, though in itself it might not be strictly unlawful, was improper. This is a simple rule, and might be easily applied by all. If we have our heart on the conversion of people and the salvation of the world, it will go far to regulate our conduct in reference to many things concerning which there may be no exact and positive law. It will do much to regulate our style of living and modes of contact with the world. We may not be able to fix our finger on any positive law, and to say that this or that manner of life is contrary to any explicit law of Yahweh; but we may see that it will interfere with his great and main purpose, "to do good on the widest scale possible;" and therefore to us it will be inexpedient and improper. Such a grand leading purpose is a much better guide to direct our lives than would be exact positive statutes to regulate everything, even if such minute statutes were possible. (http://biblehub.com/commentaries/1_corinthians/10-23.htm)

We can see something of this lived out by St Mellitus and, thanks to Bede, we have a detailed account of his activities once he arrived in Kent, and of the many trials and tribulations of the new church. We begin in Book II of the Historia Ecclesiastica (quotations are taken from A History of the English Church and People, trans. Leo Sherley-Price (Penguin, 1974), ch.3-7): In the year of our Lord 604, Augustine, Archbishop of Britain, consecrated two bishops, Mellitus and Justus. Mellitus was appointed to preach in the province of the East Saxons, which is separated from Kent by the river Thames, and bounded on the east by the sea. Its capital is the city of London, which stands on the banks of the Thames, and is a trading centre for many nations who visit it by land and sea. At this time Sabert, Ethelbert's nephew through his sister Ricula, ruled the province under the suzerainty of Ethelbert, who, as already stated, governed all the English peoples as far north as the Humber. When this province too had received the faith through the preaching of Mellitus, King Ethelbert built a church dedicated to the holy Apostle Paul in the city of London, which he appointed as the episcopal see of Mellitus and his successors.

Augustine also consecrated Justus as bishop of a Kentish city which the English call Hrofescaestir after an early chieftain named Hrof. This lies nearly twenty-four miles west of Canterbury, and a church in honour of St. Andrew the Apostle was built here by King Ethelbert, who made many gifts to the bishops of both these churches as well as to Canterbury; he later added lands and property for the maintenance of the bishop's household.”

So far, so good for the new church, with Augustine established in Canterbury, Mellitus in London and Justus in Rochester. The church founded for Mellitus has since been rebuilt many times over, of course, but it still bears the name by which its first bishop knew it: St Paul's.

Augustine died in 604 (the year that St Pauls was founded) and was buried at what is now St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury: “He was succeeded by Laurence, a member of the original Augustinian mission, who not only sought to consolidate the new faith's position in England but also tried to extend it to Scotland, writing to the bishops of the British church to urge them to 'maintain the unity of the universal church' by following Roman practice.”

But the new church in England was not secure, and was dangerously dependent on the personal support of King Ethelbert - which became a problem when Ethelbert died in 616 as the accession of his son Eadbald proved to be a severe setback to the growth of the young church. Eadbald refused to accept the faith of Christ. The death of the Christian King Sabert of the East Saxons aggravated the upheaval; for when he departed for the heavenly kingdom he left three sons, all pagans, to inherit his earthly kingdom. These were quick to profess idolatry, which they had pretended to abandon during the lifetime of their father, and encouraged the people to return to the old gods. It is told that when they saw Bishop Mellitus offering solemn Mass in church, they said with barbarous presumption: "Why do you not offer us the white bread which you used to give to our father Saba (for so they used to call him), while you continue to give it to the people in church?" The bishop answered, "If you will be washed in the waters of salvation as your father was, you may share in the consecrated bread, as he did; but so long as you reject the water of life, you are quite unfit to receive the Bread of Life." They retorted, "We refuse to enter that font and see no need for it; but we want to be strengthened with this bread." The bishop then carefully and repeatedly explained that this was forbidden, and that no one was admitted to receive the most holy communion without the most holy cleansing of baptism. At last they grew very angry, and said, "If you will not oblige us by granting such an easy request, you shall no longer remain in our kingdom." And they drove him into exile, and ordered all his followers to leave their borders.

After his expulsion, Mellitus came to Kent to consult with his fellow-bishops Laurence and Justus on the best course of action; and they decided it would be better for all of them to return to their own country and serve God in freedom, rather than to remain impotently among heathens who had rejected the faith. Mellitus and Justus left first and settled in Gaul to await the outcome of events. But the kings who had driven out the herald of truth and their army fell in battle against the West Saxons. Nevertheless, the fate of the instigators did not cause their people to abandon their evil practices, or to return to the simple faith and love to be found in Christ alone.

This was a tipping-point for the new church, and could have been the end of Augustine's mission - but for a miraculous dream: On the very night before Laurence too was to follow Mellitus and Justus from Britain, he ordered his bed to be placed in the church of the blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, of which we have spoken several times. Here after long and fervent prayers for the sadly afflicted church he lay down and fell asleep. At dead of night, blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, appeared to him, and set about him for a long time with a heavy scourge, demanding with apostolic sternness why he was abandoning the flock entrusted to his care, and to which of the shepherds he would commit Christ's sheep left among the wolves when he fled. "Have you forgotten my example?" asked Peter. "For the sake of the little ones whom Christ entrusted to me as proof of his love, I suffered chains, blows, imprisonment, and pain. Finally I endured death, the death of crucifixion, at the hands of unbelievers and enemies of Christ, so that at last I might be crowned with him." Deeply moved by the words and scourging of blessed Peter, Christ's servant Laurence sought audience with the king [Eadbald] early next morning, and removing his garment, showed him the marks of the lash. The king was astounded, and enquired who had dared to scourge so eminent a man; and when he learned that it was for his own salvation that the archbishop had suffered so severely at the hands of Christ's own Apostle, he was greatly alarmed. He renounced idolatry, gave up his unlawful wife, accepted the Christian faith, and was baptised, henceforward promoting the welfare of the church with every means at his disposal.

The king also sent to Gaul and recalled Mellitus and Justus, giving them free permission to return and set their churches in order; so, the year after they left, they returned. Justus came back to his own city of Rochester, but the people of London preferred their own idolatrous priests, and refused to accept Mellitus as bishop. And since the king's authority in the realm was not so effective as that of his father, he was powerless to restore the bishop to his see against the refusal and resistance of the pagans.

Bede makes it clear that the new church could do nothing without the support of the king, and that where the king's authority stopped, there was nothing the bishops could do. Laurence died in 619 and was buried near Augustine, and Mellitus, unable to return to London, succeeded him as Archbishop of Canterbury. Bede tells us: Although Mellitus became crippled with the gout, his sound and ardent mind overcame his troublesome infirmity, ever reaching above earthly things to those that are heavenly in love and devotion. Noble by birth, he was even nobler in mind.

Bede concludes: Having ruled the church five years, Mellitus likewise departed to the heavenly kingdom in the reign of King Eadbald, and was laid to rest with his predecessors in the same monastery church of the holy Apostle Peter on the twenty-fourth day of April, in the year of our Lord 624.

That is, he was buried at what later became known as St Augustine's Abbey, where his two predecessors and King Ethelbert were also buried. The sites of the archbishops' tombs can still be seen amid the ruins of the abbey: These brick foundations (protected by a modern canopy) are believed to be the only visible remains of Augustine's original church. This was where the tombs of Augustine, Laurence, Mellitus and Justus stood until the end of the eleventh century, when the Norman rebuilding of the monastery meant that their bodies had to be moved. By this time, all were regarded as the abbey's saints (along with St Mildred of Thanet) and the translation of their bodies into the new Norman church in September 1091 was a splendid occasion; it was commemorated by a series of Lives of the early archbishops composed by Goscelin, which were recorded in several beautiful manuscripts. (http://aclerkofoxford.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-story-of-st-mellitus.html)

Prayers

Eternal God, you called St Mellitus to proclaim your glory in a life of prayer and pastoral zeal: keep the leaders of your Church faithful and bless your people through their ministry, that the Church may grow into the full stature of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Almighty God, the light of the faithful and shepherd of souls, who set your servant Mellitus to be a bishop in the Church, to feed your sheep by the word of Christ and to guide them by good example: give us grace to keep the faith of the Church and to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.

God, shepherd of your people, whose servant Mellitus revealed the loving service of Christ in his ministry as a pastor of your people: awaken within us the love of Christ and keep us faithful to our Christian calling.

God of grace and wisdom, who called your servant Mellitus to leave his home and proclaim your Word: grant to all diligence for study, fervour for mission, and perseverance for ministry, that they might shine with your love and truth, for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Blessing

Grant, we pray, almighty God, that the example of your Saints may spur us on to a better life, so that we, who celebrate the memory of blessed Mellitus, may also imitate without ceasing his deeds. And the blessing of God almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, rest upon you and remain with you now and always. Amen.

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Sally Muggeridge - St Augustine of Canterbury.

St Laurence's Larder: An evening of Poems & Reflections

The wonderful St Laurence's Larder say ...

Join us for an evening of Poems & Reflection in aid of St Laurence’s Larder at Christ Church, Brondesbury, NW6 on Friday 24th November. Doors open 7:00pm, with guest poets, Ann Pilling & Caroline Smith.

Ann Pilling won the Guardian Prize for Childrens’ Fiction and Caroline Smith was shortlisted for the 2016 Ted Hughes Award for Poetry.

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Caroline Smith - The Scarlet Lizard.

Light the Well project: SALT installation extension

Anna Sikorska's SALT installation set in the Light Well of St Martin-in-the-Fields is the culmination of the Light the Well community art project and its stay at St Martin's has been extended until 14 December. The installation features in the current edition of Church Times as a photo story.

This installation set in the Light Well has been made by the hands of people at St Martin-in-the-Fields. Individuals from across our shared life – Church congregation, Chinese community, clergy, staff, clients from the Connection and members of our International Group – have, over some time, gathered together over tables of clay and carefully formed the pieces which fill the Light Well. Each porcelain ‘lantern’ is filled with light from a simple string of lamps. They will sit together in-situ for one week, during which we celebrate the Feast of St Martin and also the 30th anniversaries of St Martin-in-the-Fields Limited and the Bishop Ho Ming Wah Community Centre.

Conversations around the tables when making the lanterns touched on ‘cracked pots’, Jesus’ story of searching for the 100th sheep, the continental tradition of ‘St Martin’s day’ paper lanterns, networks of sea buoys, St Paul describing light inside clay vessels, faces, the fragility of our lives and bodies, ‘broken but not crushed’, and Leonard Cohen: ‘Forget your perfect offering / There is a crack in everything / That’s how the light gets in.’ This installation has been the work of Anna Sikorska, Jonathan Evens, Katja Werne, Jim and Sarah Sikorski and everyone who accepted a lump of porcelain and gave it a form. Thank you.

From the 19th November you are invited to be part of changing the gathered constellation into an expanded field, dispersing the pots/lanterns amongst our community and beyond. You will be able to buy a piece to take away and light a small candle inside. Proceeds to the New Art Studio and Art Refuge UK, both charities working with art therapy in the context of migration and displacement. Each lantern costs £10 (cash only) and must be collected on the morning of Sunday 17 December. To reserve a lantern go to the Box Office.

St Martin-in-the-Fields is home to several commissions and permanent installations by contemporary artists. We also have an exciting programme of temporary exhibitions, as well as a group of artists and craftspeople from the St Martin’s community who show artwork and organise art projects on a temporary basis.

The artists and craftspeoples group is organising an Advent Oasis on Sunday 3 December from 2-4 pm in the George Richards & Austen Williams Rooms. This will be another ‘Oasis’ time of quiet scripture reflection, prayer and practical art. Art materials will be available for you to explore, play with colour and be creative through collage, painting, drawing or writing. All are very welcome – please let Helena Tarrant know if you wish to come – tel: 020 7766 1100 or email: helana.tarrant@smitf.org.

Then in January the group are involved in the organisation of an Art Talk on Chinese Textiles - 6.30pm, Monday 15 January 2018, St Martin's Hall. This talk by Jacqueline Simcox will be on Silks From Imperial China: Ming and Qing dynasty costumes and textiles 1368-1911. Free tickets from https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lecture-chinese-textilestickets-38247649750. It is the first in an occasional series of art talks focusing on aspects of Chinese Art and organised with the Chinese Speaking Congregations of St Martin's.

Jacqueline Simcox, who has written numerous articles on Chinese textiles, will talk about some of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) textiles and some of the imperial costumes and festivals and show how they changed when the Machu from the north took over the country from 1644-1911 (Qing dynasty).

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T Bone Burnett - Everything Is Free.

Windows on the world (371)

Walsingham, 2014

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Elbow - Gentle Storm.

Powering the light of Christ in our lives

Here is my sermon from today's Eucharist at St Stephen Walbrook:

Jesus speaks of himself as being the light of the world. Therefore light is a common New Testament metaphor. In Jesus' day light was provided through fire and fire required a container in order to be managed and contained. In this story (Matthew 25. 1 - 13) the container is lamp with a finite supply of oil to fuel the wick. In his second letter to the Corinthians St Paul uses the image of a clay jar with a flame within (2 Corinthians 4. 1 - 12).

This second image has been inspirational for an art installation currently displayed in the Light Well at St Martin-in-the-Fields. The artist Anna Sikorska has worked with many of the different groups at St Martins to create porcelain lanterns which glow when lit from within because of the translucency of porcelain. The lanterns that have been made are glazed ceramic globes whose size, surface decoration and character differ, although the base material - and overall look - is consistent white ceramic, roughly made. In the Light Well these lanterns have been joined together with cord covering the stone floor in a random constellation. The cord also connects a light bulb within each lantern, so each one shines from within.

Porcelain, like all clay, is malleable when wet and able to be moulded and shaped but, once formed and fired, is firm but fragile at one and the same time. Porcelain, however, unlike most other clays, is also translucent meaning that light can be seen through it. It glows with a transparency individual to itself. All these aspects of porcelain are factors in these verses which say that ‘God … has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ’ and that ‘we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.’

In the installation the lit lanterns are lit by light bulbs powered through the electrical cord connecting them together. In today’s Gospel reading the fuel for the light is oil. Half of the women in the story thought ahead, realised that they may well have to wait some time and brought with them sufficient supplies of oil so that when they bridegroom did finally arrive, much later than planned, they had all they needed to be ready for his arrival, unlike the other five who had to go to buy more oil and then were too late for the wedding feast. The point is that Jesus wanted his disciples to be like the wise women; he was emphasising to them the vital importance of being ready and prepared for what was to come.

So, to sum up, light in these stories symbolises Jesus; he is the light of the world that illuminates the darkness of our lives. The containers for the light are our bodies. The light of Christ enters our lives at baptism or conversion but is then intended to shine out from within, like the glow created by the lightbulbs inside the translucent porcelain lanterns. For this to happen the clay must be thin and with cracks; both of which make it fragile. The analogy is to the faults and fallibilities in our lives which paradoxically enable Christ to be seen more clearly.

If the clay jar, the container of the light, were to be perfectly formed, then the light inside would not be seen from the outside. The light of Christ would effectively be hidden. People would look at our perfect life and not Christ, because they would only see us. Instead, St Paul says, because we are not perfect and have difficulties and flaws we are like cracked clay jars, meaning that it is then clear that where we act or speak with love and compassion, this is because of Christ in us, rather than being something which is innate to us or simply our decision alone.

Finally, we need a consistent source of power for the light within. The wise women prepared for the wait by bringing sufficient supplies with them to keep their lamps lit. For the installation, the source of power is the cable which connects all of the lanterns. Our source of power, as Christians, is the Holy Spirit and we need to be constantly filled with the Spirit in order that we are consistently empowered to shine with the light of Christ. In his letter to the Ephesians, St Paul encourages us to go on being filled with the Holy Spirit or to drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him (Ephesians 5. 18 - 20). The Spirit empowers Christians to live a life of growing and overcoming, of transforming our lives to become like Jesus Christ. So, like the wise women with their supplies of oil, we can never have too little of the God’s Holy Spirit.

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Bruce Cockburn - Closer To The Light.

HeartEdge update - events & articles

HeartEdge, the growing ecumenical network of churches initiated by St Martin-in-the-Fields, is attracting increasing interest as we take our introductory event around Great Britain.

Our West Midlands regional event was held at St Martin in the Bullring on 11 October with 60+ participants. Feedback included: ‘Each element gave me food for thought and made me reflect and inspired.’ ‘A thought provoking, inspiring day.’ ‘Very well paced, well structured.’

Our South West Regional event was held at St Michael’s Church Centre Stoke Gifford on 8 November with 70+ participants. Feedback included: ‘This day was a great investment and blessing.’ ‘My mind is spinning with challenge, brilliant!’ ‘Firestarter.’ ‘A wonderful day and thought-provoking, poignant, going back to my church to see if it’s possible to join HeartEdge.’

Here is some of the twitter comment on our South West event:

• IC and @NewRootsOnline in Bristol for @HeartEdge_ started with great cakes so looks promising
• The singular benefactor model can “shrink the imagination of the congregation...” We’re doing #heartedge in #Bristol #WestCountry
• “The Benefactor model and the Stewardship model have things going for them - but neither are working...”
• Commercial and cultural activity as alternative to benefactor and stewardship. The story of Vivaldi - composer, violinist, priest and entrepreneur... “Use the weight of the world to grow our mission, not shrink!”
• Every enterprise is a social enterprise because each enterprise has to decide where to invest it’s profits - dividends to investors or social concern
• “”Everything I do is small - and that’s OK...” @bee_rachael on keeping things simple and clear. “The Spirit is bigger than me... it’s a little bit of faithfulness...
• We call our Asset Based Community Development day Redcliffe Treasures Day...” 
• @naomibmiller from #Bristol #Cathedral “All kind of partners are important. Key thing is to know your eccentricity and find the right fit. #Church has a key role nurturing community partnerships... invite people in to take part!” 
• "New connections made. Insights from Sam Wells, both inspiring and liberating - a clarion call to a new confidence in sharing Fullness of Joy with our world .....!"

Our next event is at GreyFriars Kirk in Edinburgh on Tuesday 21 November. 'At the Heart. On the Edge.' is a day hosted by Revd Dr Richard Frazer, Minister of Greyfriars Kirk, and Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, which includes theology, ideas, solutions and support, with a programme developed jointly by Greyfriars Kirk and St Martin’s.

The event will explore mission and ministry in relation to:

• Congregation – Liturgy and worship for day-to-day communal life – gathered and local
• Commerce – Starting and sustaining distinctive enterprise to generate finance for your church
• Compassion – Growing participation and volunteering to address social need locally
• Culture – Using art, music and performance to reimagine the Christian narrative in your context

Rt Revd Dr Derek Browning, Moderator, General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has said:

'Every now and again a venture comes along that captures the imagination, and speaks to some of the needs of our day. ‘At the Heart, On the Edge’ is one such venture.

How do we reach out with compassion to those on the edges of faith and life, and what do we learn from them when we get alongside them? What does our faith and our experience of life challenge us to explore and to share? How do we take our faith and put it into practice so that it might make a difference for good? Pope Francis has said that this work is not merely for institutions and leaders, it is for all of us, a move from ‘organised religion’, to ‘organising religion.’

“Along this path, popular movements play an essential role, not only by making demands and lodging protests, but even more basically by being creative. You are social poets; creators of work, builders of housing, producers of food, above all for people left behind by the world market…The future of humanity does not lie in the hands of great leaders, the great powers and the elites. It is fundamentally in the hands of peoples and their ability to organise. It is in their hands, which can guide with humility and conviction this process of change. I am with you.”

I am delighted not only to support this event but also to encourage as many as possible to attend. Here we might find another model to enable the authentic action and voice of Jesus to be seen and heard through our network of parishes, groups and organisations across the country.'

The following day I will be speaking on HeartEdge at a seminar organised by Churches Together in Southgate, Oakwood and Cockfosters - Wednesday 22nd November 8pm at Southgate Methodist Church. In my talk I will draw on examples from my own ministry and case studies from HeartEdge members to highlight work being carried out by churches in their communities to inspire work in Southgate, Oakwood and Cockfosters. 

This seminar is an opportunity to ask 'what are the needs of our community, in our part of north London? How can we work together as churches to address issues of poverty, loneliness and exclusion? All who are interested in the role of churches in the community and anyone with ideas on how churches can support our community are most welcome to join us.'

At Greenbelt I contributed to a session entitled 'Cathedrals and commerce: The challenge facing large churches'. This was in The Exchange, a new venue for 2017 that provided the opportunity over the weekend to think together about enterprise for the common good. I was part of a panel chaired by Cliff Mills which explored the reality that large churches are getting involved in enterprise activity to stay open and asked how we can find the right way through commerce and cathedrals. I talked about these questions in relation to HeartEdge, together with The Very Revd John Witcombe, Dean of Coventry Cathedral, Alison Inglis-Jones from the Trussell Trust, and Jonny Gordon-Farleigh from Stir to Action.

Stir to Action have kindly published a post about HeartEdge on their blog. In this post I say that:

'In common with Stir to Action’s Unlocking the Next Economy initiative, HeartEdge is interested in finding new ways for churches to engage with their local communities while also creating revenues to help them survive. That’s because St Martin-in-the-Fields, which has initiated HeartEdge (a growing ecumenical network of churches and other organisations in the UK and beyond), has developed a model for its ministry that sees diverse congregations involved in commerce, culture and compassionate community activities.'

Recently in the Baptist Times, Andy Goodliff explained why Bell Vue Baptist Church in Southend has joined HeartEdge. Andy says:

'HeartEdge asks what are the obvious and hidden assets we have as churches, and how might they be used in ministries of culture, commerce and compassion that shape the church’s life and mission, so that they do not become just things we do, but become part of we are.

Many churches are engaged in compassion ministries - foodbanks, night shelters - but few of us are really taking seriously the opportunities to do mission through culture and through commerce. And our compassion ministries tend to be the kind where we do things for people, rather than seeing them as gift to us.

This word gift is important. Instead of seeing the deficits in our church life, the vision of HeartEdge challenges you to see the assets, those often unrecognised or not fully appreciated gifts, which can become something more in the kingdom of God.'

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Ricky Ross - Bethlehem's Gate.

Start:Stop - Light shines through lines of stress

Bible reading

For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. (2 Corinthians 4: 6-12)

Meditation

St Paul told the Christians in Corinth that they had the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ in their hearts, but that this treasure was in clay jars, so that it might be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and did not come from them (2 Corinthians 4. 6 - 12). If the clay jar, the container of the light, were to be perfectly formed, then the light inside would not be seen from the outside. The light of Christ would effectively be hidden. People would look at our perfect life and not Christ, because they would only see us. Instead, St Paul says, because we are not perfect and have difficulties and flaws we are like cracked clay jars, meaning that it is then clear that where we act or speak with love and compassion, this is because of Christ in us, rather than being something which is innate to us or simply our decision alone. He used this image of light in containers seen through cracks, or thin translucent clay, to assure the Corinthian Christians that they had the light of God in their lives, despite the fallibility and frailty of those lives.

At St Martin-in-the-Fields, the artist Anna Sikorska is currently helping us reflect on these themes through ‘Light the Well’, a community art project which she has undertaken with the whole church community. The project has involved making porcelain lanterns (glazed ceramic globes). The size, surface decoration and character of each lantern differ, although the base material - and overall look - is consistent white ceramic, roughly made. The lanterns were made by laying strips of porcelain onto a round support. Once made, the lanterns were fired and are then suitable for being outside. They develop cracks in the firing, through which the light inside will also be seen. In the Light Well at St Martin’s these lanterns have been joined together with cord covering the stone floor in a random constellation. The cord also connects a light bulb within each lantern, so each one shines from within.

Porcelain, like all clay, is malleable when wet and able to be moulded and shaped but, once formed and fired, is firm but fragile at one and the same time. Porcelain, however, unlike most other clays, is also translucent meaning that light can be seen through it. It glows with a transparency individual to itself. All these aspects of porcelain are factors in these verses which say that ‘God … has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ’ and that ‘we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.’

These cracked translucent lanterns lit from within are a visible realisation of St Paul’s image of light in clay jars. By linking the lanterns together, this installation also highlights another aspect of this passage. Paul writes that ‘We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.’ Paul writes of us in the plural. We are afflicted, but not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. It is as we come together to engage with affliction, perplexity, forsakenness, and being struck down that we carry in our body the death of Jesus and show the life of Jesus. It is as we come together, linked, like the lanterns, by the light of Christ that we become the Body of Christ.

These verses picture us as fragile clay or porcelain containers. We all, as individuals, have the light of Christ within which can be seen by others as a result of our fragile nature; either the lines of stress in our lives or the thinness of our skin. Each of us are like cracked or translucent clay jars because of our flaws and vulnerabilities. It is through these lines of stress – the suffering, rejection and scorn with which we engage - that the light of Christ is seen. It is as we join together in living for the sake of others – linked together as the lanterns are linked in the Light the Well installation – that we become the Body of Christ and reveal him most fully in the world. In this way, this installation shows us what it means to be the Body of Christ – the Church – in the world today. When we come together as fragile individuals glowing with the light of Christ in and through our fallibilities, we are the Church as it is intended to be.

Prayers

Lord Jesus, in your face we see the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. Your light in our lives is like a flame inside a cracked clay jar, with your light seen through the lines of stress and tension that characterise our lives. As flawed people in a fragile world, we recognise that there is a crack in everything. We recognise, too, that it is through the cracks in our existence that your light gets in and shines out. We share in the vulnerability and suffering that was your experience of death in order that your life is also seen as being our strength in weakness. May we not be crushed, driven to despair, forsaken or destroyed, but in the stresses and tensions of our lives know your power loving and sustaining us. May we no longer strive after perfect offerings and pray instead that every heart to love will come, but as a refugee. Lord, in your strength and vulnerability, hear our prayer.

Lord Jesus, you are the light of the world and the light in our darkness. May your light be a flame to build warmth in our hearts towards family, neighbours and all those we meet. We place in your care all those we come to remember today. Give us, we pray, comfort in our anxiety and fear, courage and strength in our suffering, patience and compassion in our caring, consolation in our grieving. But above all, give us hope now and always. Lord, in your strength and vulnerability, hear our prayer.

Lord, may your light enlighten us in our decisions and be a fire to purify us from all pride and selfishness. Set our hearts on fire with love for you, so that we may love you with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul, and with all our strength, and our neighbours as ourselves. So that by keeping your commandments we may glorify you, the giver of all good gifts. Lord, in your strength and vulnerability, hear our prayer.

Blessing

Enlightenment in our decisions, purification from pride and selfishness, strength in weakness, God’s power loving and sustaining us. May those blessings of almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, rest upon you and remain with you always. Amen.

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Innocence Mission - Morning Star.

Patronal Festival and Light the Well

Our Patronal Festival service Thirty Enterprising Years’ tonight celebrated 30 years of commercial life at St Martin-in-the-Fields and reflected on the place of the place of our business in the future of our community. The preacher for this service was Revd Dr Sam Wells, who offered a series of beatitudes for business. The service was followed by the unveiling of a plaque for Canon Geoffrey Brown and a party in the Crypt with celebrations, food and a quiz.

The Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields sang in the Light Well alongside Anna Sikorska's SALT installation which is the culmination of the Light the Well community art project.

Set in the Light Well from 11 – 18 November, this installation has been made by the hands of people at St Martin-in-the-Fields. Individuals from across our shared life - Church congregation, Chinese community, clergy, staff, clients from the Connection and members of our International Group - have, over some time, gathered together over tables of clay and carefully formed the pieces which fill the Light Well.

Each porcelain ‘lantern’ is filled with light from a simple string of lamps. They will sit together in-situ for one week, during which we celebrate the Feast of St. Martin and also the 30th anniversaries of St Martin-in-the-Fields Limited and the Bishop Ho Ming Wah Community Centre.

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Anton Bruckner - Locus Iste.

Light the Well project: SALT installation - night time images

Anna Sikorska's SALT installation set in the Light Well of St Martin-in-the-Fields from 11 – 18 November is the culmination of the Light the Well community art project.

This installation has been made by the hands of people at St Martin-in-the-Fields. Individuals from across our shared life - Church congregation, Chinese community, clergy, staff, clients from the Connection and members of our International Group - have, over some time, gathered together over tables of clay and carefully formed the pieces which fill the Light Well.

Each porcelain ‘lantern’ is filled with light from a simple string of lamps. They will sit together in-situ for one week, during which we celebrate the Feast of St. Martin and also the 30th anniversaries of St Martin-in-the-Fields Limited and the Bishop Ho Ming Wah Community Centre.

Conversations around the tables touched on “cracked pots”, Jesus’ story of searching for the 100th sheep, the continental tradition of “St Martin’s day” paper lanterns, networks of sea buoys, St Paul describing light inside clay vessels, faces, the fragility of our lives and bodies, “broken but not crushed”, and Leonard Cohen: “Forget your perfect offering / There is a crack in everything / That's how the light gets in.”

This installation has been the work of Anna Sikorska, Jonathan Evens, Katja Werne, Jim and Sarah Sikorski and everyone who accepted a lump of porcelain and gave it a form. Thank you.

From the 19th November you are invited to be part of changing the gathered constellation into an expanded field, dispersing the pots/lanterns amongst our community and beyond. You will be able to buy a piece to take away and light a small candle inside. Proceeds to the New Art Studio and Art Refuge UK, both charities working with art therapy in the context of migration and displacement. Each lantern costs £10 (cash only) and must be collected on the morning of Sunday 19 November. To reserve a lantern go to the Box Office.

Anna Sikorska lives and works in London. She studied for a BA in Fine Art at the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, London and completed an MA in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art, London. She has exhibited in many group and solo exhibitions. Anna has work permanently sited at Marusici Sculpture Park, Croatia.

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The Innocence Mission - O Lord Of Light.

Light the Well project: SALT installation - day time images

Anna Sikorska's SALT installation set in the Light Well of St Martin-in-the-Fields from 11 – 18 November is the culmination of the Light the Well community art project.

This installation has been made by the hands of people at St Martin-in-the-Fields. Individuals from across our shared life - Church congregation, Chinese community, clergy, staff, clients from the Connection and members of our International Group - have, over some time, gathered together over tables of clay and carefully formed the pieces which fill the Light Well.

Each porcelain ‘lantern’ is filled with light from a simple string of lamps. They will sit together in-situ for one week, during which we celebrate the Feast of St. Martin and also the 30th anniversaries of St Martin-in-the-Fields Limited and the Bishop Ho Ming Wah Community Centre.

Conversations around the tables touched on “cracked pots”, Jesus’ story of searching for the 100th sheep, the continental tradition of “St Martin’s day” paper lanterns, networks of sea buoys, St Paul describing light inside clay vessels, faces, the fragility of our lives and bodies, “broken but not crushed”, and Leonard Cohen: “Forget your perfect offering / There is a crack in everything / That's how the light gets in.”

This installation has been the work of Anna Sikorska, Jonathan Evens, Katja Werne, Jim and Sarah Sikorski and everyone who accepted a lump of porcelain and gave it a form. Thank you.

From the 19th November you are invited to be part of changing the gathered constellation into an expanded field, dispersing the pots/lanterns amongst our community and beyond. You will be able to buy a piece to take away and light a small candle inside. Proceeds to the New Art Studio and Art Refuge UK, both charities working with art therapy in the context of migration and displacement. Each lantern costs £10 (cash only) and must be collected on the morning of Sunday 19 November. To reserve a lantern go to the Box Office.

Anna Sikorska lives and works in London. She studied for a BA in Fine Art at the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, London and completed an MA in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art, London. She has exhibited in many group and solo exhibitions. Anna has work permanently sited at Marusici Sculpture Park, Croatia.

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Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Let The Day Begin.