London, 2022
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Sofia Gubaidulina - Repentance.
Sunday, 31 July 2022
Friday, 29 July 2022
Quiet Day: Praying through the Week
Wednesday 14 September, 10.30 am – 3.30 pm, St Mary’s Runwell (Runwell Road, Runwell,
Essex SS11 7HS)
Explore how to hear from and encounter God in the ordinary, everyday things, people, situations and emotions around you.
Reflect in the magnificent mediaeval building that is St Mary’s Runwell, and relax in its beautiful churchyard. St. Mary’s itself is often described by visitors and by regular worshippers as a powerful sacred space to which they have been drawn. Experience this for yourself, while also exploring its art and heritage.
Led by Revd Jonathan Evens, Team Rector for Wickford and Runwell
Cost: £8.00 per person, including sandwich lunch (pay on the day)
To book: Phone 07803 562329 or email jonathan.evens@btinternet.com
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John Tavener - Song Of The Angel.
Signs of Hope, Gospel and Culture
HeartEdge is active in Essex and in the Diocese of Chelmsford through two hubs; the Harlow Archdeaconry Learning Hub (see https://www.facebook.com/Learning-Hub-545693942608410) and Shoeburyness and Thorpe Bay Baptist Church (see https://www.stbbc.org.uk/heartedge). A number of excellent awareness events have already been held as a result, that have grown and deepened the network here.
The next focuses on Congregation and is called ‘Signs of Hope’. This is an evening at Shoeburyness and Thorpe Bay Baptist Church on Wednesday 14 September beginning at 7.30 pm where Rev Erica Wooff, Rev John Goddard and Rev Claire Nicholls will tell stories from their congregations. To book a place email Nicky Snoad at nicky.snoad@stbbc.org.uk. Then, on 8 November, there will be a similar event focusing on Culture.
In between is a further opportunity to explore the relationship between churches and Culture, this time with Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, on whose theology much of HeartEdge’s thinking is based. Sam Wells sees churches as meeting places of human and divine, gospel and culture, timeless truth and embodied experience, word and world. As a result, they are like estuaries.
Estuaries, where salt water mixes with fresh in a confluence of river and tidal waters, are environments of preparation where, for example, young salmon, striped bass, and other fish come downstream after hatching. Churches that regard themselves as meeting places of the human and divine are essentially functioning as estuaries. Creating cultural estuaries in churches happens when the creative capital of an artist, the social capital of a minister or community leader, and the material capital of finance or business, converge.
Explore these ideas further with Sam Wells, Revd Paul Carr (Team Rector, Billericay and Little Burstead Team Ministry), Nicola Ravenscroft (Sculptor), and myself in ‘Gospel and Culture: Churches as meeting places’ at St Andrew’s Wickford on Tuesday 20 September, 10.30 – 3.30 pm. To register, go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gospel-and-culture-churches-as-meeting-places-tickets-391772731787.
For more information about HeartEdge, see https://www.heartedge.org/, including information about their online learning and support groups.
In between is a further opportunity to explore the relationship between churches and Culture, this time with Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, on whose theology much of HeartEdge’s thinking is based. Sam Wells sees churches as meeting places of human and divine, gospel and culture, timeless truth and embodied experience, word and world. As a result, they are like estuaries.
Estuaries, where salt water mixes with fresh in a confluence of river and tidal waters, are environments of preparation where, for example, young salmon, striped bass, and other fish come downstream after hatching. Churches that regard themselves as meeting places of the human and divine are essentially functioning as estuaries. Creating cultural estuaries in churches happens when the creative capital of an artist, the social capital of a minister or community leader, and the material capital of finance or business, converge.
Explore these ideas further with Sam Wells, Revd Paul Carr (Team Rector, Billericay and Little Burstead Team Ministry), Nicola Ravenscroft (Sculptor), and myself in ‘Gospel and Culture: Churches as meeting places’ at St Andrew’s Wickford on Tuesday 20 September, 10.30 – 3.30 pm. To register, go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gospel-and-culture-churches-as-meeting-places-tickets-391772731787.
For more information about HeartEdge, see https://www.heartedge.org/, including information about their online learning and support groups.
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Raphael Ravenscroft - and a little child shall lead.
Church Times - Art review: Feminine Power: The Divine to the Demonic at the British Museum
My latest exhibition review for Church Times is of Feminine Power: The Divine to the Demonic at the British Museum:
'RESEARCH has demonstrated associations between religious beliefs and patriarchal attitudes. Higher religiosity is seemingly associated with stronger patriarchal beliefs. While no religion sanctions violence towards women, religions have been and are one potent source of patriarchal orientations.
If this is true, the British Museum’s exhibition “Feminine Power: The Divine to the Demonic” has a job to do in demonstrating the extent to which religions engage with feminine power — in doing so, spanning magic, mercy, wisdom, fury, and passion — and still shape how we perceive femininity and gender identity today.'
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 and those for Art+Christianity are here. See also Modern religious art: airbrushed from art history?
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'RESEARCH has demonstrated associations between religious beliefs and patriarchal attitudes. Higher religiosity is seemingly associated with stronger patriarchal beliefs. While no religion sanctions violence towards women, religions have been and are one potent source of patriarchal orientations.
If this is true, the British Museum’s exhibition “Feminine Power: The Divine to the Demonic” has a job to do in demonstrating the extent to which religions engage with feminine power — in doing so, spanning magic, mercy, wisdom, fury, and passion — and still shape how we perceive femininity and gender identity today.'
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 and those for Art+Christianity are here. See also Modern religious art: airbrushed from art history?
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Joni Mitchell - Shades Of Scarlett Conquering.
Wednesday, 27 July 2022
The Psalms Project
A unique event combining performances of new sacred music with interfaith discussion. Performed by acclaimed violinist Emma-Marie Kabanova, this interactive event features new psalm-inspired works written by an international collection of Jewish and Christian composers. Curated and produced by Deus Ex Musica.
Through a combination of live performances and informal discussions, this event invites listeners to consider the ways these new compositions respond to the Biblical texts that inspired them. What insight into these ancient poems do these works provide for us today? How do they help us experience the psalms in new ways? Can they teach us anything about the spiritual dimension of Scripture? What do they tell us about contemporary sacred music’s ability to contribute to dialogues about faith in our secular society?
Moderated by musician, scholar, and teacher Delvyn Case, this event is open to anyone. No religious background or musical experience is necessary. Attendees may participate in the discussion or simply enjoy the music and the conversation.
Emma-Marie Kabanova - Violinist
Danish/British violinist Emma-Marie Kabanova completed a Master’s degree at Goldsmith’s College, University of London where she specialized in performance of music by late Soviet composers. She completed further studies in violin performance at the Novosibirsk Conservatory and studied privately with a principal violinist of the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra in Moscow, Russia.
Formerly based in Moscow, Emma-Marie was a guest Principal with the Moscow Baroque Soloists, performed with Opera Omnia early opera company and was the artistic director of Globus Music baroque ensemble where she created collaborative projects with singers and dancers from the Bolshoi Theatre, the Helikon Opera and the Stanislavsky Theatre. Recent concerts include appearances with the Oxford Alternative Orchestra UK, The National Chamber Orchestra of Moldova, and at festivals in the UK, Hungary and Turkey.
Emma-Marie teaches violin and has worked as a classroom music teacher. Between 2007 and 2014 she set up musical education projects working with terminally ill children in Siberia and young offenders in an institution in Moscow. In 2017 was given a ‘Points of Light’ award by the UK Prime Minister for this work. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Emma-Marie found it impossible to stay in Russia and returned to the UK where she has been working as a freelance violinist.
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Emma-Marie Kabanova - Kiss On Wood.
Tuesday, 26 July 2022
Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry update
Over the last few weeks we have been updating the website and A Church Near You pages for the Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry. Our website can be found at http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/index.html and the A Church Near You pages at https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/6704/benefice/. Do take a look and let us know of any ways we can further improve.
The churches and congregations of St Andrew’s, St Catherine’s and St Mary’s supported by the Ministry Team form the Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry. We are seeking to be churches, and a Team of churches, that are at the heart of the communities of Wickford and Runwell, while also being with those on the edge.
We want to explore what that might mean for you and how we can best share the riches of current practice and past history within these churches in ways that engage the wider community more fully, whilst also seeing the ways God’s Spirit is at work in the area and joining in. We are looking to see where the energy and life of God’s Holy Spirit is already at work in Wickford and Runwell, so we can get more involved in all that God is already doing here.
As a result, we have begun consulting with our congregations and the wider community on what people value about the area, issues to be addressed, and how churches should engage with the community. Would you be willing to give us your views? If you would, please complete either our our Church survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/QGSJJG5 or our Community survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/QGDCM3F. We would be very grateful if you could share your ideas by completing the survey by Friday 9 September 2022.
We have also begun livestreaming Morning Prayer from our churches on the following days: Tuesdays - St Andrew's; Wednesdays - St Catherine's; and Thursdays - St Mary's. These services can be viewed at our Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/WickfordandRunwellCofE. To see the latest Morning Prayer go to https://www.facebook.com/WickfordandRunwellCofE/videos/1114296376161806.
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Ho Wai-On - Blessed.
Monday, 25 July 2022
How can the faith sector support social prescribing?
I was involved in a breakout session on the question of 'How can the faith sector support social prescribing?' This session shared examples of how different faith organisations are supporting and collaborating with social prescribing schemes and other VCFSE organisations. Also involved were Dr Peter Rookes, Birmingham Council of Faiths - Faith Organisations and Social Prescribing, and Sufia Alam - London Muslim Centre - providing perspectives from Community Organisations.
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Solomon Burke - Don't Give Up On Me.
Sunday, 24 July 2022
A prayer for life and living
Here's the sermon I preached at St Catherine's Wickford this morning:
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray (Luke 11: 1-13), he responded with a model prayer – beautiful, balanced and brief. It has come to be known as the Lord’s Prayer. In his book ‘Discovering Prayer’, Andrew Knowles, a former Canon Theologian of Chelmsford Cathedral, simply and succinctly takes us through the different sections of this prayer for life.
"We begin with God - Jesus reminds us to whom we’re talking. We’re coming to Almighty God who is also our Father. We aren’t phoning through a big order to a supermarket store which sells everything. Nor are we practising some weird and wonderful thought-process guaranteed to release psychic powers. We’re coming simply, humbly into the presence of our Creator, having received the invitation to do so from Jesus himself."
"The prayer begins surprisingly, by calling God ‘Abba’ – ‘Dear Father’. The Jews have several names for God, and a hundred ways of avoiding his holy name. No one had ever presumed to call God ‘Daddy’. Jesus is inviting his friends to share his own intimate relationship with God. This is not like any prayer that has ever been before. This is love talk."
"It’s also good to remember that because God is ‘our Father’, we belong to a great, trans-national, cross-cultural family, some of whom have already died and some of whom are yet to be born. Wherever we are around the world, and at whatever point in time we live, we own God as our Father and Jesus as our Lord. So when we pray this prayer, we’re sharing with our Christian brothers and sisters, across every division of colour and class, of politics and economics, of time and eternity.
We say ‘yes to God’ - Not only do we begin with God, we also ask that all he wants to do in our lives and in our world may come about. We ask that men and women everywhere may realise who he is and humble themselves before him."
The Norwegian artist Grete Refsum notes that “From a theological perspective the only secure thing to say about prayer is that it affects the one who prays. The mature religious attitude to prayer is that one prays in order to change and dispose oneself so as to receive properly what God has willed for us. And through this change in attitude the person who prays becomes better able to cope with the way things go in the world. Such an attitude is expressed in The Lord’s Prayer in the section ’Thy will be done’. Prayer understood in this way actually may represent a survival strategy.
In this perspective, the prayer section ’Your will be done’ is the central section in the Lord’s Prayer. Not only is it placed in the middle of the prayer text, it is in itself the very core. This is quite a scary saying. To acknowledge openly: I am not in control, only God is. And furthermore: the prayer explicitly expresses that ’your’ will – not mine – decides. Your will be done, in consequence, deals with surrendering to that which is going to happen, accepting whatever may come. It represents an acceptance of what has been given to you, without being able to change or direct destiny yourself.
And in this very acceptance and the surrender there may be liberation. The Norwegian resistant fighter and survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp, Kirsten Brunvoll, tells in her biography about her experience in 1944, during the transport to the camp: 'I thought quietly and spoke quietly, but my whole body shivered, and it was impossible for me to be quiet. I was sure that the trucks, which now picked us up, would drive us directly into the gas chambers. All of a sudden I could no longer fight. I said to myself: if it is so that I am to die, so let me die. Thy will be done [Skje din vilje]. Instantaneous I relaxed. The shivering stopped and I was filled with a warmth of happiness, convinced that if I died now, then it was because it was to the best for me.' (Brunvoll, Kirsten. 1964. Veien til Auschwitz. Oslo: Aschehoug. Original edition, 1947, page:153.)” (https://www.artway.eu/artway.php?id=536&lang=en&action=show)
"We ask that God’s kingdom may come - The kingdom of God exists wherever God is King. It isn’t located on a map, nor do we enter it by holding a passport! The exciting truth is that God is already King of millions of lives. He is already acknowledged as Lord in a vast number of situations. We see the effects of his rule when hate is turned to love, when bitterness is dismantled by forgiveness, when disease is overwhelmed by health, and when war gives way to peace.
But we must remember that God is a father and not a dictator. For this reason his kingdom can only come when individual people invite him into their lives and submit themselves to the changes he wants to make.
This phrase, ‘May your kingdom come’, more than any other in the Lord’s Prayer, has a tendency to rebound on the user. If we really want God’s kingdom to come, then we must open ourselves and our circumstances to God, whatever the cost.
And if we’re looking for the kind of changes in the world that only God can make, we may find that he promptly enlists us in his service! We may find ourselves doing anything from bathing an invalid to mailing a cheque for famine relief. We may even find ourselves called to lob in our whole life as the only fitting contribution we can make to the service of God’s kingdom in a particular situation.
We bring our needs to God - In the second half of the Lord’s Prayer we ask God to meet our basic human needs. We ask him for enough to live on, for forgiveness, and for protection.
‘Give us day by day the food we need’ has a strong echo of the days when the Israelites were supplied with manna in the desert. Every day they had ‘enough’, and the Lord’s Prayer asks that we may have the same experience of God’s faithful provision each day as it comes. In an age when many people are run ragged by their desire for money and possessions, this is a wonderful promise from Jesus. All the same, we should notice that it is everything we need that God will provide, and not everything we want.
‘Forgive us our sins, for we forgive everyone who does us wrong.’ This reminds us that our standard of living is more than a roof over our head, food on the table and a shirt on our back. Our well-being is intimately tied up with personal relationships – within ourselves, between ourselves, and between ourselves and God. Our recurring need here is for forgiveness. We hurt people by our self-centredness, our anger and our prejudice. We hurt God by going our own way in defiance of his loving law, wilfully defiling all that he intended life in this world to be.
So we ask for forgiveness. We feel the need and we say the words. But it’s no easy matter for God to forgive us. It cost him the life of his only Son to show the reality and consequence of sin. As he died on the cross, Jesus took on himself the results of all our sin. This is the only way by which we can be forgiven and restored to spiritual life. This is the Christian Good News: that life with God – something we can never earn and certainly don’t deserve – is his free gift to us through the death of Jesus. Our sins are not only forgiven but forgotten, and if we mention them to God again he’ll wonder what we’re talking about.
But as we ask God to forgive us, we must check if there is anyone who in turn needs our forgiveness. How do we feel about our worst enemy? Is there any member of the family, or anybody at work, against whom we’re nursing anger, bitterness or resentment? Only as we forgive others can we enter fully into the wonderful experience of God’s forgiveness of us. This is not just a nice idea. It’s a condition for our own forgiveness. Elsewhere Jesus warns that if we don’t forgive, then we in turn shall not be forgiven. This teaching alone, if we take it seriously, will completely change our lives.
‘And do not bring us to hard testing.’ Sometimes this is translated, ‘Lead us not into temptation,’ and we may well wonder when, why and how God could possibly want us to be tempted. And we would be right – he doesn’t. But while God will never lure us into evil, he will sometimes allow us to be tested. Just as we will put ourselves through all kinds of discomfort to get fit or lose weight, so God will allow pressure on us to strengthen our faith or increase our insight.
The Lord’s Prayer recognises that temptation is an integral part of our daily life. We’ll never lose it, so we must learn to use it. If we can use the force of temptations to push us closer to the Lord, rather than sweeping us away from him, then we’ll be harnessing their power for our benefit."
So, this is a prayer for life – a prayer about our lives and a prayer on which we can base our lives. That is why it provides both a prayer for us to pray daily and a pattern to use in all our praying – whether in words or actions. Gertrude Chigwedere, who was a very faithful member of St Catherine's congregation, was one who made this prayer her life. We remember her today as a lovely quiet lady who expected nothing but gave a lot. A very kind hearted woman who readily offered to help others. Service to others was her byword, caring for the Mutuku’s children, washing up after the coffee morning’s at Bradwell Court, willingly taking on the laundering of the purificators, and cleaning of the church along with Yvonne Sobers, who remembers her with great affection. She was a friend to all and we miss her a lot. Let us remember her especially today as one who loved and lived The Lord’s Prayer and take inspiration from the example of her life lived well in the Lord’s service. Amen.
(Much of this sermon is taken from 'Discovering Prayer' by Andrew Knowles, Canon Theologian of Chelmsford Cathedral, published by Lion Publishing PLC)
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray (Luke 11: 1-13), he responded with a model prayer – beautiful, balanced and brief. It has come to be known as the Lord’s Prayer. In his book ‘Discovering Prayer’, Andrew Knowles, a former Canon Theologian of Chelmsford Cathedral, simply and succinctly takes us through the different sections of this prayer for life.
"We begin with God - Jesus reminds us to whom we’re talking. We’re coming to Almighty God who is also our Father. We aren’t phoning through a big order to a supermarket store which sells everything. Nor are we practising some weird and wonderful thought-process guaranteed to release psychic powers. We’re coming simply, humbly into the presence of our Creator, having received the invitation to do so from Jesus himself."
"The prayer begins surprisingly, by calling God ‘Abba’ – ‘Dear Father’. The Jews have several names for God, and a hundred ways of avoiding his holy name. No one had ever presumed to call God ‘Daddy’. Jesus is inviting his friends to share his own intimate relationship with God. This is not like any prayer that has ever been before. This is love talk."
"It’s also good to remember that because God is ‘our Father’, we belong to a great, trans-national, cross-cultural family, some of whom have already died and some of whom are yet to be born. Wherever we are around the world, and at whatever point in time we live, we own God as our Father and Jesus as our Lord. So when we pray this prayer, we’re sharing with our Christian brothers and sisters, across every division of colour and class, of politics and economics, of time and eternity.
We say ‘yes to God’ - Not only do we begin with God, we also ask that all he wants to do in our lives and in our world may come about. We ask that men and women everywhere may realise who he is and humble themselves before him."
The Norwegian artist Grete Refsum notes that “From a theological perspective the only secure thing to say about prayer is that it affects the one who prays. The mature religious attitude to prayer is that one prays in order to change and dispose oneself so as to receive properly what God has willed for us. And through this change in attitude the person who prays becomes better able to cope with the way things go in the world. Such an attitude is expressed in The Lord’s Prayer in the section ’Thy will be done’. Prayer understood in this way actually may represent a survival strategy.
In this perspective, the prayer section ’Your will be done’ is the central section in the Lord’s Prayer. Not only is it placed in the middle of the prayer text, it is in itself the very core. This is quite a scary saying. To acknowledge openly: I am not in control, only God is. And furthermore: the prayer explicitly expresses that ’your’ will – not mine – decides. Your will be done, in consequence, deals with surrendering to that which is going to happen, accepting whatever may come. It represents an acceptance of what has been given to you, without being able to change or direct destiny yourself.
And in this very acceptance and the surrender there may be liberation. The Norwegian resistant fighter and survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp, Kirsten Brunvoll, tells in her biography about her experience in 1944, during the transport to the camp: 'I thought quietly and spoke quietly, but my whole body shivered, and it was impossible for me to be quiet. I was sure that the trucks, which now picked us up, would drive us directly into the gas chambers. All of a sudden I could no longer fight. I said to myself: if it is so that I am to die, so let me die. Thy will be done [Skje din vilje]. Instantaneous I relaxed. The shivering stopped and I was filled with a warmth of happiness, convinced that if I died now, then it was because it was to the best for me.' (Brunvoll, Kirsten. 1964. Veien til Auschwitz. Oslo: Aschehoug. Original edition, 1947, page:153.)” (https://www.artway.eu/artway.php?id=536&lang=en&action=show)
"We ask that God’s kingdom may come - The kingdom of God exists wherever God is King. It isn’t located on a map, nor do we enter it by holding a passport! The exciting truth is that God is already King of millions of lives. He is already acknowledged as Lord in a vast number of situations. We see the effects of his rule when hate is turned to love, when bitterness is dismantled by forgiveness, when disease is overwhelmed by health, and when war gives way to peace.
But we must remember that God is a father and not a dictator. For this reason his kingdom can only come when individual people invite him into their lives and submit themselves to the changes he wants to make.
This phrase, ‘May your kingdom come’, more than any other in the Lord’s Prayer, has a tendency to rebound on the user. If we really want God’s kingdom to come, then we must open ourselves and our circumstances to God, whatever the cost.
And if we’re looking for the kind of changes in the world that only God can make, we may find that he promptly enlists us in his service! We may find ourselves doing anything from bathing an invalid to mailing a cheque for famine relief. We may even find ourselves called to lob in our whole life as the only fitting contribution we can make to the service of God’s kingdom in a particular situation.
We bring our needs to God - In the second half of the Lord’s Prayer we ask God to meet our basic human needs. We ask him for enough to live on, for forgiveness, and for protection.
‘Give us day by day the food we need’ has a strong echo of the days when the Israelites were supplied with manna in the desert. Every day they had ‘enough’, and the Lord’s Prayer asks that we may have the same experience of God’s faithful provision each day as it comes. In an age when many people are run ragged by their desire for money and possessions, this is a wonderful promise from Jesus. All the same, we should notice that it is everything we need that God will provide, and not everything we want.
‘Forgive us our sins, for we forgive everyone who does us wrong.’ This reminds us that our standard of living is more than a roof over our head, food on the table and a shirt on our back. Our well-being is intimately tied up with personal relationships – within ourselves, between ourselves, and between ourselves and God. Our recurring need here is for forgiveness. We hurt people by our self-centredness, our anger and our prejudice. We hurt God by going our own way in defiance of his loving law, wilfully defiling all that he intended life in this world to be.
So we ask for forgiveness. We feel the need and we say the words. But it’s no easy matter for God to forgive us. It cost him the life of his only Son to show the reality and consequence of sin. As he died on the cross, Jesus took on himself the results of all our sin. This is the only way by which we can be forgiven and restored to spiritual life. This is the Christian Good News: that life with God – something we can never earn and certainly don’t deserve – is his free gift to us through the death of Jesus. Our sins are not only forgiven but forgotten, and if we mention them to God again he’ll wonder what we’re talking about.
But as we ask God to forgive us, we must check if there is anyone who in turn needs our forgiveness. How do we feel about our worst enemy? Is there any member of the family, or anybody at work, against whom we’re nursing anger, bitterness or resentment? Only as we forgive others can we enter fully into the wonderful experience of God’s forgiveness of us. This is not just a nice idea. It’s a condition for our own forgiveness. Elsewhere Jesus warns that if we don’t forgive, then we in turn shall not be forgiven. This teaching alone, if we take it seriously, will completely change our lives.
‘And do not bring us to hard testing.’ Sometimes this is translated, ‘Lead us not into temptation,’ and we may well wonder when, why and how God could possibly want us to be tempted. And we would be right – he doesn’t. But while God will never lure us into evil, he will sometimes allow us to be tested. Just as we will put ourselves through all kinds of discomfort to get fit or lose weight, so God will allow pressure on us to strengthen our faith or increase our insight.
The Lord’s Prayer recognises that temptation is an integral part of our daily life. We’ll never lose it, so we must learn to use it. If we can use the force of temptations to push us closer to the Lord, rather than sweeping us away from him, then we’ll be harnessing their power for our benefit."
So, this is a prayer for life – a prayer about our lives and a prayer on which we can base our lives. That is why it provides both a prayer for us to pray daily and a pattern to use in all our praying – whether in words or actions. Gertrude Chigwedere, who was a very faithful member of St Catherine's congregation, was one who made this prayer her life. We remember her today as a lovely quiet lady who expected nothing but gave a lot. A very kind hearted woman who readily offered to help others. Service to others was her byword, caring for the Mutuku’s children, washing up after the coffee morning’s at Bradwell Court, willingly taking on the laundering of the purificators, and cleaning of the church along with Yvonne Sobers, who remembers her with great affection. She was a friend to all and we miss her a lot. Let us remember her especially today as one who loved and lived The Lord’s Prayer and take inspiration from the example of her life lived well in the Lord’s service. Amen.
(Much of this sermon is taken from 'Discovering Prayer' by Andrew Knowles, Canon Theologian of Chelmsford Cathedral, published by Lion Publishing PLC)
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Ladysmith Black Mambazo - I'll Take You There.
Saturday, 23 July 2022
Windows on the world (387)
London, 2022
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First gathering for creatives
Last night we held a first gathering for creatives at St Andrew's Wickford to share our plans for a regular Arts-based event there including exhibitions, performances, lectures and services. There was the opportunity to see a small exhibition (for one night only) with work by Terry Fyffe, Maurizio Galia, Maciej Hoffman, Kelly Latimore, Zi Ling, Kim Poor, Nicola Ravenscroft, John Reilly, Bruno Salaün and Alan Stewart, our hidden painting (‘Descent from the Cross’ by David Folley), hear Blessed by Ho Wai-On (a composition inspired by the Beatitudes in a video using imagery from St Andrew’s), enjoy a short poetry reading by Tim Harrold and myself, plus a song from Simon Law.
Here in Wickford and Runwell we have responsibility for three of the oldest and most interesting buildings in the area. These are buildings with significant heritage interest, interesting works of art, and space for concerts, exhibitions, performances, workshops and other events. The buildings contain artworks by local artist Val Anthony, Victorian architect William Butterfield, Walsingham artist Enid Chadwick, local muralist Anthony Corbin, internationally exhibited artist David Folley and local woodworker David Garrard. David Folley's large 'Descent from the Cross' at St Andrew's Wickford is a major work by an artist who has exhibited widely across the UK and Europe, including at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, in London, in Sweden and Germany, and at important contemporary international art fairs in Edinburgh and Dublin. The churches already host a range of craft and writers groups including Flower Arranging, Lace making, Meet and Make, and Scribblers, among others, with scope to host other such groups.
We wish to build on this base by developing a network of artists and performers - local, regional and national - who can deliver events including concerts, exhibitions, lectures, performances, and workshops. St Andrew's Wickford offers flexible space in which to organise and hold a wide range of cultural and community events. We wish to develop St Andrew's as a cultural centre for the area supporting other spaces including St Mary's Runwell and St Catherine's Wickford. A vibrant programme of cultural events combined with the heritage interest of these buildings would hold potential for bringing considerable numbers of new visitors to Wickford in ways that would benefit the Town Centre more widely.
We began with The Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields in concert last Sunday and were encouraged to have a full church. We received an enthusiastic response and began to build up a database of contacts. People said: “Really enjoyed it, one of the songs brought me to tears, looking forward to what comes next.” “It was a pleasure to hear such wonderful voices and to see people enjoying a relaxing Sunday afternoon.” “It was an excellent concert, so pleased we went, thank you.” “Thoroughly enjoyed this concert and thank you St Martins in the Field choir for visiting Wickford.” “Great to have so many people in Church enjoying such wonderful music.” "Thank you to all involved in bringing the Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Andrew’s church in Wickford. To have a concert of such a standard in our town is absolutely fantastic. The choir were simply superb and the music was glorious."
What happens next? We plan to develop a regular Friday night offering with a mix of performance, talks, exhibitions and services. We also plan to have a programme of temporary art and heritage exhibitions and installations that will enable the building to be open regularly and will bring schools and other visitors to the site.
The Friday night programme begins on 2 September with The Psalms Project, a unique event combining performances of new sacred music with interfaith discussion. Performed by acclaimed violinist Emma-Mare Kabanova, this interactive event features new psalm-inspired works written by an international collection of Jewish and Christian composers. Curated and produced by Deus Ex Musica. Through a combination of live performances and informal discussions, this event invites listeners to consider the ways these new compositions respond to the Biblical texts that inspired them. What insight into these ancient poems do these works provide for us today? How do they help us experience the psalms in new ways? Can they teach us anything about the spiritual dimension of Scripture? What do they tell us about contemporary sacred music’s ability to contribute to dialogues about faith in our secular society? Moderated by musician, scholar, and teacher Delvyn Case, this event is open to anyone. No religious background or musical experience is necessary. Attendees may participate in the discussion or simply enjoy the music and the conversation. More details can be found here.
On Tuesday 20 September we will also hold a day conference on Church and culture with Revd Dr Sam Wells as keynote speaker.
We are also organising an exhibition of sculptures by Nicola Ravenscroft in the autumn (2 September - 25 December) followed by 'The Blind Jesus (No one belongs here more than you)' project in the New Year running through to Easter. Nicola Ravenscroft's mudcub sculptures are earth children, earth’s little messengers for peace calling us into possibility, hope and healing, into recognising our universal inseparability, our connectedness with each other, our connectedness with the universe, and our connectedness with beloved planet Earth. As well as being shown at schools and churches, these sculptures have featured in educational research undertaken by the University of Cambridge. More information about the sculptures can be found at https://withtheheartofachild.com/cambridge-research/ and https://nicolaravenscroft.com/mudcubs/.
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Ho Wai-On - Blessed.
Friday, 22 July 2022
Church Times - Betty Spackman: The art and the conversation
My latest feature article for Church Times is an interview with Betty Spackman surveying her career and work:
'“In some branches of — particularly Protestant — Christianity, there has been a history of discouraging, or even disallowing, involvement in the arts, particularly the visual arts, and for my generation it was a very difficult struggle to find affirmation as an artist of faith. Thankfully, there is now more freedom and acceptance of the arts in the Church — but, of course, now there are new issues to deal with.”
While not a pioneer in the art world, in Christian circles “I was perhaps one of the early artists of faith exploring some of these things — and was pretty alone at the time.” People such as the German artist Joseph Beuys were “among many who brought together all the things I love: material, performance, social engagement, installation, etc.”.
'“In some branches of — particularly Protestant — Christianity, there has been a history of discouraging, or even disallowing, involvement in the arts, particularly the visual arts, and for my generation it was a very difficult struggle to find affirmation as an artist of faith. Thankfully, there is now more freedom and acceptance of the arts in the Church — but, of course, now there are new issues to deal with.”
While not a pioneer in the art world, in Christian circles “I was perhaps one of the early artists of faith exploring some of these things — and was pretty alone at the time.” People such as the German artist Joseph Beuys were “among many who brought together all the things I love: material, performance, social engagement, installation, etc.”.
Such artists “were a constant inspiration, and were challenging both intellectually and artistically”, but were already on her radar, “because these were ways I was already beginning to work”.'
Read my Artlyst interview with Betty Spackman here and a diary piece including her latest work 'A Creature Chronicle' here.
Read my Artlyst interview with Betty Spackman here and a diary piece including her latest work 'A Creature Chronicle' here.
My other feature articles for Church Times are here, here, here, and here.
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 and those for Art+Christianity are here. See also Modern religious art: airbrushed from art history?
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 and those for Art+Christianity are here. See also Modern religious art: airbrushed from art history?
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Carolyn Ahrends - Becoming Human.
ArtWay Visual Meditation: Invited to be with Jesus
My latest Visual Meditation for ArtWay is on 'The Blind Jesus (No one belongs here more than you)' by Alan Stewart:
This image has been commissioned by Celia Webster, Co-Founder of Wave (We’re All Valued Equally), as part of a project in which it seeds other images of the Last Supper that are truly for everyone. Schools, churches and community groups are being invited as part of this project to create their own Last Supper images.'
'The Blind Jesus (No-one belongs here more than you) is an image in charcoal of the Last Supper which includes the central character of a visually impaired Jesus, surrounded by twelve people of differing ages, backgrounds and abilities. At the table, an empty chair invites the viewer to find themselves at the table.
This image has been commissioned by Celia Webster, Co-Founder of Wave (We’re All Valued Equally), as part of a project in which it seeds other images of the Last Supper that are truly for everyone. Schools, churches and community groups are being invited as part of this project to create their own Last Supper images.'
For more on The Blind Jesus (No-one belongs here more than you) see here, here and here. My interview with textile artist Belinda Scarlett can also still be read on the ArtWay site.
My visual meditations include work by María Inés Aguirre, Giampaolo Babetto, Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Alexander de Cadenet, Christopher Clack, Marlene Dumas, Terry Ffyffe, Jake Flood, Antoni Gaudi, Nicola Green, Maciej Hoffman, Lakwena Maciver, S. Billie Mandle, Giacomo Manzù, Sidney Nolan, Michael Pendry, Maurice Novarina, Regan O'Callaghan, Ana Maria Pacheco, John Piper, Nicola Ravenscroft, Albert Servaes, Henry Shelton, Anna Sikorska, Jan Toorop, Edmund de Waal and Sane Wadu.
My Church of the Month reports include: All Saints Parish Church, Tudeley, Aylesford Priory, Canterbury Cathedral, Chapel of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, Hem, Chelmsford Cathedral, Churches in Little Walsingham, Coventry Cathedral, Église de Saint-Paul à Grange-Canal, Eton College Chapel, Lumen, Metz Cathedral, Notre Dame du Léman, Notre-Dame de Toute Grâce, Plateau d’Assy,Romont, Sint Martinuskerk Latem, St Aidan of Lindisfarne, St Alban Romford, St. Andrew Bobola Polish RC Church, St. Margaret’s Church, Ditchling, and Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, St Mary the Virgin, Downe, St Michael and All Angels Berwick and St Paul Goodmayes, as well as earlier reports of visits to sites associated with Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Marc Chagall, Jean Cocteau, Antoni Gaudi and Henri Matisse.
Blogs for ArtWay include: Congruity and controversy: exploring issues for contemporary commissions;
Photographing Religious Practice; Spirituality and/in Modern Art; and The Spirituality of the Artist-Clown.
Interviews for ArtWay include: Sophie Hacker, Peter Koenig and Belinda Scarlett. I also interviewed ArtWay founder Marleen Hengelaar Rookmaaker for Artlyst.
I have reviewed: Art and the Church: A Fractious Embrace, Kempe: The Life, Art and Legacy of Charles Eamer Kempe and Jazz, Blues, and Spirituals.
Other of my writings for ArtWay can be found here. My pieces for Church Times can be found here. Those for Artlyst are here and those for Art+Christianity are here. See also Modern religious art: airbrushed from art history?
My visual meditations include work by María Inés Aguirre, Giampaolo Babetto, Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Alexander de Cadenet, Christopher Clack, Marlene Dumas, Terry Ffyffe, Jake Flood, Antoni Gaudi, Nicola Green, Maciej Hoffman, Lakwena Maciver, S. Billie Mandle, Giacomo Manzù, Sidney Nolan, Michael Pendry, Maurice Novarina, Regan O'Callaghan, Ana Maria Pacheco, John Piper, Nicola Ravenscroft, Albert Servaes, Henry Shelton, Anna Sikorska, Jan Toorop, Edmund de Waal and Sane Wadu.
My Church of the Month reports include: All Saints Parish Church, Tudeley, Aylesford Priory, Canterbury Cathedral, Chapel of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, Hem, Chelmsford Cathedral, Churches in Little Walsingham, Coventry Cathedral, Église de Saint-Paul à Grange-Canal, Eton College Chapel, Lumen, Metz Cathedral, Notre Dame du Léman, Notre-Dame de Toute Grâce, Plateau d’Assy,Romont, Sint Martinuskerk Latem, St Aidan of Lindisfarne, St Alban Romford, St. Andrew Bobola Polish RC Church, St. Margaret’s Church, Ditchling, and Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, St Mary the Virgin, Downe, St Michael and All Angels Berwick and St Paul Goodmayes, as well as earlier reports of visits to sites associated with Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Marc Chagall, Jean Cocteau, Antoni Gaudi and Henri Matisse.
Blogs for ArtWay include: Congruity and controversy: exploring issues for contemporary commissions;
Photographing Religious Practice; Spirituality and/in Modern Art; and The Spirituality of the Artist-Clown.
Interviews for ArtWay include: Sophie Hacker, Peter Koenig and Belinda Scarlett. I also interviewed ArtWay founder Marleen Hengelaar Rookmaaker for Artlyst.
I have reviewed: Art and the Church: A Fractious Embrace, Kempe: The Life, Art and Legacy of Charles Eamer Kempe and Jazz, Blues, and Spirituals.
Other of my writings for ArtWay can be found here. My pieces for Church Times can be found here. Those for Artlyst are here and those for Art+Christianity are here. See also Modern religious art: airbrushed from art history?
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Wednesday, 20 July 2022
The indiscriminate and reckless nature of God’s love for all
Here's the reflection I shared in today's Eucharist at St Andrew's Wickford:
I wonder whether you have noticed the strange thing about the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13. 1 - 17); something that does not make sense from the point of view of an efficient farmer. Jesus says that the parables, the stories he tells, are not easy to understand and there is an aspect of this parable that doesn’t seem to make sense from a farming point of view.
What I am thinking of is the indiscriminate nature of the way the sower sows the seed. The sower scatters the seed on the path, on the rocky ground and among the thorn bushes, as well as in the good soil. Any farmer would know that the seed falling on the path, on the rocky ground and among the thorn bushes is going to be wasted because it is not going to grow well and yet the sower goes ahead regardless. What sort of farmer wastes two-thirds of the seed like that?
Was it because the sower was uninformed about the principles of farming or unconcerned about the harvest? Perhaps, instead, the actions of the sower are telling us something significant about the nature of God. The seed was sown indiscriminately, even recklessly. Those places that were known to be poor places for seed to grow were nevertheless given the opportunity for seeds to take root. Doesn’t this suggest to us the indiscriminate and reckless nature of God’s love for all?
The seed is the Word of the Kingdom and the Word, John’s Gospel tells us is Jesus himself. So Jesus himself, this parable, seems to suggest is being scattered throughout the world (perhaps in and through the Body of Christ, the Church).
Some parts of the Body of Christ find themselves in areas like the path where the seed seems to be snatched away almost as soon as it is sown. That may seem a little like our experience in a culture where people seem resistant towards Christian faith and the media revel in sensationalising the debates that go on within the Church.
Other parts of the Body of Christ are in areas like the rocky ground where it is hard for the seed to take root and grow. We might think about situations around the world where Christians experience persecution or where the sharing of Christian faith is illegal.
Other parts of the Body of Christ are amongst the thorn bushes where the worries of this life and the love of riches choke the seed. Again, we might think about our situation and the way in which our relatively wealthy, consumerist society makes people apathetic towards Christian faith.
Finally, there is the good soil where the seed grows well and the yield can be as much as a hundred fold. Again, there are parts of the Body of Christ who find themselves in good soil. “Currently, there are more than 2.3 billion affiliated Christians (church members) worldwide. That number is expected to climb to more than 2.6 billion by 2025 and cross 3.3 billion by 2050. But it’s not just numerical growth, Christianity is growing in comparison to overall population. More than one-third (33.4 percent) of the 7.3 billion people on Earth are Christians. That’s up from 32.4 percent in 2000. By 2050, when the world population is expected to top 9.5 billion people, 36 percent will be Christians. Those positive numbers are due to explosive growth in the global south. Only in Europe and North America is Christianity growing at a less than one percent rate. In Africa and Asia, the rate is currently more than double and will continue to climb.”
We can rejoice in that growth, although it is not an experience we currently share in the UK, and can support its continued growth through our mission giving and partnerships. We should not be discouraged because that kind of growth is not our current experience in the UK. Growth does still occur even when we are on the path or the rocky ground or among the thorn bushes. We need to pray that seeds will take root even in the hard ground that is our current experience overall here in the UK.
This happens because God’s love is indiscriminate wanting all to have the opportunity to receive the seed of his Word. He sows Jesus, the Body of Christ, into the poor soil as well as the good soil knowing that some seed will not grow or be as fruitful but wanting all to have the opportunity to receive the seed of his Word. He knows too that ground which at one time was perhaps rocky ground can become good soil in which spectacular growth can occur. In this country we need to pray that our culture which currently feels like the path or the thorn bushes will in time also become good soil once again and, in the meantime, celebrate that growth that does occur on the path and among the thorn bushes.
I wonder whether you have noticed the strange thing about the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13. 1 - 17); something that does not make sense from the point of view of an efficient farmer. Jesus says that the parables, the stories he tells, are not easy to understand and there is an aspect of this parable that doesn’t seem to make sense from a farming point of view.
What I am thinking of is the indiscriminate nature of the way the sower sows the seed. The sower scatters the seed on the path, on the rocky ground and among the thorn bushes, as well as in the good soil. Any farmer would know that the seed falling on the path, on the rocky ground and among the thorn bushes is going to be wasted because it is not going to grow well and yet the sower goes ahead regardless. What sort of farmer wastes two-thirds of the seed like that?
Was it because the sower was uninformed about the principles of farming or unconcerned about the harvest? Perhaps, instead, the actions of the sower are telling us something significant about the nature of God. The seed was sown indiscriminately, even recklessly. Those places that were known to be poor places for seed to grow were nevertheless given the opportunity for seeds to take root. Doesn’t this suggest to us the indiscriminate and reckless nature of God’s love for all?
The seed is the Word of the Kingdom and the Word, John’s Gospel tells us is Jesus himself. So Jesus himself, this parable, seems to suggest is being scattered throughout the world (perhaps in and through the Body of Christ, the Church).
Some parts of the Body of Christ find themselves in areas like the path where the seed seems to be snatched away almost as soon as it is sown. That may seem a little like our experience in a culture where people seem resistant towards Christian faith and the media revel in sensationalising the debates that go on within the Church.
Other parts of the Body of Christ are in areas like the rocky ground where it is hard for the seed to take root and grow. We might think about situations around the world where Christians experience persecution or where the sharing of Christian faith is illegal.
Other parts of the Body of Christ are amongst the thorn bushes where the worries of this life and the love of riches choke the seed. Again, we might think about our situation and the way in which our relatively wealthy, consumerist society makes people apathetic towards Christian faith.
Finally, there is the good soil where the seed grows well and the yield can be as much as a hundred fold. Again, there are parts of the Body of Christ who find themselves in good soil. “Currently, there are more than 2.3 billion affiliated Christians (church members) worldwide. That number is expected to climb to more than 2.6 billion by 2025 and cross 3.3 billion by 2050. But it’s not just numerical growth, Christianity is growing in comparison to overall population. More than one-third (33.4 percent) of the 7.3 billion people on Earth are Christians. That’s up from 32.4 percent in 2000. By 2050, when the world population is expected to top 9.5 billion people, 36 percent will be Christians. Those positive numbers are due to explosive growth in the global south. Only in Europe and North America is Christianity growing at a less than one percent rate. In Africa and Asia, the rate is currently more than double and will continue to climb.”
We can rejoice in that growth, although it is not an experience we currently share in the UK, and can support its continued growth through our mission giving and partnerships. We should not be discouraged because that kind of growth is not our current experience in the UK. Growth does still occur even when we are on the path or the rocky ground or among the thorn bushes. We need to pray that seeds will take root even in the hard ground that is our current experience overall here in the UK.
This happens because God’s love is indiscriminate wanting all to have the opportunity to receive the seed of his Word. He sows Jesus, the Body of Christ, into the poor soil as well as the good soil knowing that some seed will not grow or be as fruitful but wanting all to have the opportunity to receive the seed of his Word. He knows too that ground which at one time was perhaps rocky ground can become good soil in which spectacular growth can occur. In this country we need to pray that our culture which currently feels like the path or the thorn bushes will in time also become good soil once again and, in the meantime, celebrate that growth that does occur on the path and among the thorn bushes.
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Tears for Fears - Sowing The Seeds Of Love.
Sunday, 17 July 2022
The Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields in concert
The Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields is an outstanding liturgical voluntary choir rooted in Sunday worship at St Martin’s. In addition, they sing for the worship services at all the major church festivals, including Advent, Christmas, Holy Week and Easter. The Choir is well known for its broadcasts on BBC Radio and Television, concerts and tours. They strive to be amongst the leading voluntary church choirs in the UK, performing a wide range of sacred choral repertoire on a regular basis to a very high standard.
At St Andrew's Wickford they performed a diverse programme of choral music to an appreciative and full church. The programme began with 'Totus Tuus' by Górecki and then progressed chronologically from the Renaissance - 'Sicut Cervus' by Palestrina, 'Sing Joyfully' by Byrd and 'Quam Gloriosum' by Victoria - then Romanticism - 'Abendlied' by Rheinberger and 'Nunc Dimitis' by Holst - into the twentieth century with pieces from Parry, Finzi, Stetsenko (a Ukrainian composer) and Daley, before ending with two pieces from South Africa - 'Hamba Nathi' and 'Baba Yetu', the latter being a Swahili version of the Lord's Prayer.
Among comments made about the concert was the following: "Thank you to all involved in bringing the Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Andrew’s church in Wickford. To have a concert of such a standard in our town is absolutely fantastic. The choir were simply superb and the music was glorious."
Among comments made about the concert was the following: "Thank you to all involved in bringing the Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Andrew’s church in Wickford. To have a concert of such a standard in our town is absolutely fantastic. The choir were simply superb and the music was glorious."
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Valuing the God-bearers
Here's the sermon I preached at St Andrew's Wickford this morning:
Maude Royden, Elsie Chamberlain, Isabella Gilmore, Betty Ridley, Una Kroll, Christian Howard, Monica Furlong, Joyce Bennett, Florence Li Tim-Oi, Constance Coltman, Margaret Webster. Have you heard of any of them? I found out about these women through the website of Women and the Church (or WATCH) who point out that though they were all icons in the campaign to get women ordained, as with many women’s lives, they are in the ‘hidden gallery’ of history.
To give you a very brief flavour of some of their stories: Elsie Chamberlain was the first female full chaplain in the RAF; Una Kroll famously shouted, ‘We asked for bread and you gave us a stone’ (a reference to Matthew 7:7-11) when in 1978 the General Synod refused to allow women to be ordained, creating the momentum for the Movement for the Ordination of Women to be formed; and Florence Li Tim-Oi was the first female Anglican priest, ordained during the war to serve behind Japanese lines in China.
WATCH argue that, although women have been a majority in the church, their ministries have mostly been hidden in the background, carrying out children’s work, making tea, cleaning, in the office, caring for neighbours, letting the vicar know when someone needs a visit. In other words, fulfilling the sort of role that Martha was playing in our Gospel reading today (Luke 10. 38 – end).
Martha opened her home to Jesus and his disciples. Providing hospitality and welcome to strangers was of vital importance within Judaism and in Middle Eastern culture generally. The rabbis taught that Abraham left off a discussion with God and went to greet guests when they arrived at his camp. He ran to greet them during the hottest day on record and served them the best food he could put together. Based on this example, the rabbis say that taking care of guests is greater than receiving the divine presence.
When Jesus sent out his disciples to prepare the way for him to come to towns and villages on the way to Jerusalem, he told them to look out for and stay with those, like Martha, who would welcome them. So, Jesus’ words to Martha are not a denigration of the role she is fulfilling, which has a vital place in Middle Eastern culture, but point instead to an alternative role which has led to the point that we have currently reached in the Church of England of seeking to ordain women, not just as priests, but as bishops.
Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening to what he said. This was the usual posture of a disciple of any teacher in the ancient world. But disciples were usually male, so Mary would have been quietly breaking the rule that reserved study for males, not females. Martha was possibly not merely asking for help but demanding that Mary keep to the traditional way of behaving. Jesus, though, affirms Mary in the place and role of a disciple: “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Jesus refused to be sidetracked by issues of gender when faced with women in any kind of need and consistently put people before dogma. Luke’s Gospel not only reports that Jesus had female disciples, but specifically names them in Luke 8. 1-3. Throughout his Gospel Luke pays particular and positive attention to the role of women; presenting women, not only as witnesses to the events surrounding the birth and resurrection of Jesus, but also as active participants in God's Messianic purposes.
This sense of the equality of men and women in God's plan of salvation and their equal importance in the new community that was the Church, has inspired women throughout Church history to active service of our Lord and to leadership roles within his Church. Ultimately, this has led to the point that we have reached relatively recently in the Church of England of ordaining women as priests and bishops. This includes the many women whose ministries we can celebrate and remember in relation to the history and current ministry of our churches.
In our Gospel reading today, Mary shows all of us the importance of making Jesus the central focus of our life and learning while Martha shows us all the value of welcome, hospitality and service. Our Lady is “the prime God-Bearer, bearing for us in time the One who was begotten in eternity, and every Christian after her seeks to become in some small way a God-bearer, one whose ‘yes’ to God means that Christ is made alive and fruitful in the world through our flesh and our daily lives, is born and given to another” (Malcolm Guite). Saint Catherine of Alexandria was persecuted for her Christian faith after protesting against the treatment of her fellow Christians at the hands of Maxentius, Roman Emperor from 306 to 312 AD. She was among the most venerated female saints of medieval England and is the patron saint of young girls, students, philosophers, and craftsmen working with wheels.
We can rightly add to those inspirational women, others associated with our churches such as Christine McCafferty, Tara Frankland, Jane Freeman, and, currently, our own Sue Wise and Emma Doe. Additionally, there are a large number of lay women who have and continue to support and lead within our churches. These, and other women (including those named by WATCH), are examples to all of us of what real commitment to Christ entails and involves. This is particularly so because the campaigns to see women take their place alongside men as bishops and at every level in the Church of England have not been about women gaining an ascendency which men have had in the past but, instead, about the full equality of women and men in the Church as part of God's will for his people, and as a reflection of the inclusive heart of the Christian scripture and tradition.
The ministries of each one of us can be enhanced by reflecting on the examples that both provide and, through that, the recognition that the saints are not special, super-human people but: sisters, like Martha and Mary, who become frustrated with each other’s choices; engaged women, like Mary, challenged to obey God in ways that put their relationships under strain; and students, like Catherine, who bravely debate with scholars, philosophers, and orators. What we see through their lives and examples is that each one of us are saints; whatever our gender and ministry, its prominence or hiddenness. The only saints to feature in the New Testament are each and every member of a local church. The saints are simply those who are church members whether in Ephesus, in Jerusalem, in Rome, or wherever including, today, those of us here in Wickford and Runwell.
In Christ’s Church and kingdom there should be no gender divide in how we serve and follow him. So, like Martha, each of us (male and female) can practise and value the ministries of welcome, hospitality and service of all and, like Mary, each of us (female and male) can practise and value making Jesus the central focus of our lives and learning as his disciples. May we be inspired by their examples and those of other women we have mentioned and the same time that we support all those women who lead us so well within our Team Ministry currently recognising that these are they who are God-bearers, “those whose ‘yes’ to God means that Christ is made alive and fruitful in the world through our flesh and our daily lives, is born and given to another” (Malcolm Guite).
Maude Royden, Elsie Chamberlain, Isabella Gilmore, Betty Ridley, Una Kroll, Christian Howard, Monica Furlong, Joyce Bennett, Florence Li Tim-Oi, Constance Coltman, Margaret Webster. Have you heard of any of them? I found out about these women through the website of Women and the Church (or WATCH) who point out that though they were all icons in the campaign to get women ordained, as with many women’s lives, they are in the ‘hidden gallery’ of history.
To give you a very brief flavour of some of their stories: Elsie Chamberlain was the first female full chaplain in the RAF; Una Kroll famously shouted, ‘We asked for bread and you gave us a stone’ (a reference to Matthew 7:7-11) when in 1978 the General Synod refused to allow women to be ordained, creating the momentum for the Movement for the Ordination of Women to be formed; and Florence Li Tim-Oi was the first female Anglican priest, ordained during the war to serve behind Japanese lines in China.
WATCH argue that, although women have been a majority in the church, their ministries have mostly been hidden in the background, carrying out children’s work, making tea, cleaning, in the office, caring for neighbours, letting the vicar know when someone needs a visit. In other words, fulfilling the sort of role that Martha was playing in our Gospel reading today (Luke 10. 38 – end).
Martha opened her home to Jesus and his disciples. Providing hospitality and welcome to strangers was of vital importance within Judaism and in Middle Eastern culture generally. The rabbis taught that Abraham left off a discussion with God and went to greet guests when they arrived at his camp. He ran to greet them during the hottest day on record and served them the best food he could put together. Based on this example, the rabbis say that taking care of guests is greater than receiving the divine presence.
When Jesus sent out his disciples to prepare the way for him to come to towns and villages on the way to Jerusalem, he told them to look out for and stay with those, like Martha, who would welcome them. So, Jesus’ words to Martha are not a denigration of the role she is fulfilling, which has a vital place in Middle Eastern culture, but point instead to an alternative role which has led to the point that we have currently reached in the Church of England of seeking to ordain women, not just as priests, but as bishops.
Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening to what he said. This was the usual posture of a disciple of any teacher in the ancient world. But disciples were usually male, so Mary would have been quietly breaking the rule that reserved study for males, not females. Martha was possibly not merely asking for help but demanding that Mary keep to the traditional way of behaving. Jesus, though, affirms Mary in the place and role of a disciple: “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Jesus refused to be sidetracked by issues of gender when faced with women in any kind of need and consistently put people before dogma. Luke’s Gospel not only reports that Jesus had female disciples, but specifically names them in Luke 8. 1-3. Throughout his Gospel Luke pays particular and positive attention to the role of women; presenting women, not only as witnesses to the events surrounding the birth and resurrection of Jesus, but also as active participants in God's Messianic purposes.
This sense of the equality of men and women in God's plan of salvation and their equal importance in the new community that was the Church, has inspired women throughout Church history to active service of our Lord and to leadership roles within his Church. Ultimately, this has led to the point that we have reached relatively recently in the Church of England of ordaining women as priests and bishops. This includes the many women whose ministries we can celebrate and remember in relation to the history and current ministry of our churches.
In our Gospel reading today, Mary shows all of us the importance of making Jesus the central focus of our life and learning while Martha shows us all the value of welcome, hospitality and service. Our Lady is “the prime God-Bearer, bearing for us in time the One who was begotten in eternity, and every Christian after her seeks to become in some small way a God-bearer, one whose ‘yes’ to God means that Christ is made alive and fruitful in the world through our flesh and our daily lives, is born and given to another” (Malcolm Guite). Saint Catherine of Alexandria was persecuted for her Christian faith after protesting against the treatment of her fellow Christians at the hands of Maxentius, Roman Emperor from 306 to 312 AD. She was among the most venerated female saints of medieval England and is the patron saint of young girls, students, philosophers, and craftsmen working with wheels.
We can rightly add to those inspirational women, others associated with our churches such as Christine McCafferty, Tara Frankland, Jane Freeman, and, currently, our own Sue Wise and Emma Doe. Additionally, there are a large number of lay women who have and continue to support and lead within our churches. These, and other women (including those named by WATCH), are examples to all of us of what real commitment to Christ entails and involves. This is particularly so because the campaigns to see women take their place alongside men as bishops and at every level in the Church of England have not been about women gaining an ascendency which men have had in the past but, instead, about the full equality of women and men in the Church as part of God's will for his people, and as a reflection of the inclusive heart of the Christian scripture and tradition.
The ministries of each one of us can be enhanced by reflecting on the examples that both provide and, through that, the recognition that the saints are not special, super-human people but: sisters, like Martha and Mary, who become frustrated with each other’s choices; engaged women, like Mary, challenged to obey God in ways that put their relationships under strain; and students, like Catherine, who bravely debate with scholars, philosophers, and orators. What we see through their lives and examples is that each one of us are saints; whatever our gender and ministry, its prominence or hiddenness. The only saints to feature in the New Testament are each and every member of a local church. The saints are simply those who are church members whether in Ephesus, in Jerusalem, in Rome, or wherever including, today, those of us here in Wickford and Runwell.
In Christ’s Church and kingdom there should be no gender divide in how we serve and follow him. So, like Martha, each of us (male and female) can practise and value the ministries of welcome, hospitality and service of all and, like Mary, each of us (female and male) can practise and value making Jesus the central focus of our lives and learning as his disciples. May we be inspired by their examples and those of other women we have mentioned and the same time that we support all those women who lead us so well within our Team Ministry currently recognising that these are they who are God-bearers, “those whose ‘yes’ to God means that Christ is made alive and fruitful in the world through our flesh and our daily lives, is born and given to another” (Malcolm Guite).
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Carolyn Arends - All Flame.
Saturday, 16 July 2022
Windows on the world (386)
London, 2022
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Guards of Metropolis - Whatever It Is.
Friday, 15 July 2022
The Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields in concert
The Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields strives to be amongst the leading voluntary church choirs in the UK, performing a wide range of sacred choral repertoire on a regular basis to a high standard. Come for 45 minutes of beautiful music by Palestrina, Victoria, Holst and Todd. No tickets required. A retiring collection will be taken.
The Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields:
The Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields is an outstanding liturgical voluntary choir rooted in Sunday worship at St Martin’s. In addition, they sing for the worship services at all the major church festivals, including Advent, Christmas, Holy Week and Easter. The Choir is well known for its broadcasts on BBC Radio and Television, concerts and tours.
Jennifer Sterling:
Jennifer began her training as a chorister at St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh alongside studies in violin and piano at St Mary’s Music School. She subsequently read music as a first study singer at the University of York before establishing a career as a singer, choral conductor, teacher, and arranger. Alongside her role as Associate Choral Director of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Jennifer is Musical Director of Otley and Ilkley Choral Societies. She performs regularly as a soprano soloist, as a Scottish folk singer, and as a member of the award-winning Edinburgh based vocal ensemble, Octavoce. Jennifer has a wealth of experience working as a musical director and is in demand for engagements across the UK. She has previously worked with organisations including Opera North and the National Youth Choir of Scotland, and conducts choirs from amateur through to professional levels.
Programme:
- Totus Tuus - Górecki
- Sicut Cervus - Palestrina
- Sing Joyfully - Byrd
- Quam Gloriosum - Victoria
- Abendlied - Rheinberger
- Nunc Dimitis - Holst
- My Soul There is a Country - Parry
- My Spirit Sang All Day - Finzi
- Blahoslovy Dushe Moya Hospoda - Stetsenko
- Upon Your Heart - Daley
- Hamba Nathi - Trad. South African
- Baba Yetu - Tin arr. Jones
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Thursday, 14 July 2022
Artlyst: Grayson Perry Tapestries On Show At Salisbury Cathedral
My latest interview for Artlyst is with The Very Revd Nicholas Papadopulos, Dean of Salisbury, and Beth Hughes, Curator, Arts Council Collection, in relation to The Vanity of Small Differences, an exhibition of six huge tapestries by Grayson Perry which has recently opened to the public at Salisbury Cathedral:
‘Beth Hughes: The exhibition will make clear the artworks that have been referenced as intermediaries. The tapestries are not about telling a bible story, however, rather they are more about art history. Is this about the grandiose nature of the way we treat past artworks or about Perry aligning his artworks with paintings from the past? In the second panel, a club singer is aligned with Grunewald’s Isenheim altarpiece. There are clear references in relation to size and shape. This layering of references shows that art doesn’t come from nowhere.
Nicholas Papadopulos: The point I like to make to visitors is that Perry is using the religious references to address issues of class division and that post-Brexit, Covid, the cost-of-living crisis, and the Ukraine conflict, the issue of how united or divided we are is of more relevance than ever. Vibrant, witty, and well-observed, they are an invitation to see ourselves. That surely is one of the purposes of liturgy and worship, to look at ourselves in the light of the Gospel. Doing so is a core spiritual discipline.’
For more on The Vanity of Small Differences see my July diary for Artlyst - 'Re-imaging Essex'.
My other pieces for Artlyst are:
Interviews -
- 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
- Re-imagining Essex July 2022 Diary
- Art Illuminating spirituality June 2022 Diary
- Hew Locke And The Christian Roots Of Carnival – Tate Britain
- Les Lalanne, Schütte And Gursky London Spring Exhibition Highlights
- Sensuous Sickert and Philpot Two Major UK Solo Exhibitions
- Venice To London May 2022 Diary
- Jacob Epstein, Louis Carreon, Titus Kaphar, Betty Spackman – April 2022 Diary
- Raphael The Human And Divine – National Gallery
- Damien Hirst The Visceral Reality Of Death
- Ali Cherri: Artist in Residence National Gallery
- Audrey Flack Carlo Crivelli And Robert Indiana – March Diary
- Surrealism Outside The Usual Story – Tate Modern
- Marcus Lyon Creates Fields of Vision At St Martin-in-the-Fields London
- My Art Diary And Other Thoughts February 2022
- Van Gogh Self Portraits The Infinite And The Ordinary
- Marvellous Icons: The London Jesuit Centre
- And On An Art Note: End Of Year Diary 2021
- 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
- International Autumn Art Exhibition Reviews
- 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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The Merchants of Venus - The Arms of Morpheus.
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