Holy Week, Easter, Unveiled, Concerts, Arts Festival, Being With and Quiet Days

Here is a list of upcoming services and events in the Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry:

Holy Week (3-8 April): Stations of the Cross and Night Prayer – 8.00 pm St Catherine’s (Monday), St Andrew’s (Tuesday), St Mary’s (Wednesday); Eucharist with footwashing – Maundy Thursday (6 April), 8.00 pm, St Catherine’s (followed by The Watch); Good Friday: Walk of Witness – begins from Our Lady of Good Counsel at 10.00 am; At the Foot of the Cross – 2.00 pm, St Andrew’s.

Easter Day (9 April): Service of Light – 5.30 am St Mary’s, followed by breakfast; Eucharist – 9.30 am St Mary’s; Eucharist – 10.00 am St Andrew’s; Eucharist – 11.00 am St Catherine’s.

FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2023 AT 2 PM – 4 PM: One Voice Choir Community Performance, St Andrew's Church - One Voice Choir community performance presented by The Grange Care Home. Please come along for an afternoon of songs performed by residents of The Grange care home. Free entry. All welcome. Cream Tea at the end of the performance.

Unveiled Summer Programme 2023 - Fridays, 7.00 pm, St Andrew's Church: 

• 28 April – One Beautiful World exhibition launch evening: Meet Jackie E. Burns and hear about her work as a Space Artist. Jackie is a Fellow of the International Association of Astronomical Artists whose members are dedicated to creating images of space - galaxies, stars, planets, moons – combining science and art to expand the human mind and soul.
• 12 May - Talk: New Town, New Collection: Join British artist and curator George Morl for a talk about their collection as displayed in the exhibition 'New Town, New Collection'. Reflecting on experiences as an artist and through their role as Programme Assistant at Firstsite in Colchester, Morl shares their joy of acquiring art, and motivations for building a collection to share for others.
• 26 May - Simon Law in concert. Simon has fronted the rock bands Fresh Claim, Sea Stone and Intransit, as well as being a founder of Plankton Records and becoming an Anglican Vicar.
• 9 June - Talk: Changing Face of Basildon. Ken Porter, author, historian and Chair of Basildon Heritage, will talk about the Plotlands in Essex.
• 23 June – Talk: A Walk in the Park. Kim Oakes, Chair of Friends of the Wickford Memorial Park gives a visual tour of the Wickford Memorial Park, a little history of the park and the past work and future projects of the Friends of the Wickford Memorial Park Volunteer Group formed in 2019, including the development of the Beauchamps Meadow and nature reserve. The presentation will take the route of the walking tours of the park, covering the whole park.

These events do not require tickets (just turn up on the night). There will be a retiring collection to cover artist and church costs.

One Beautiful World is an Arts Festival exploring aspects of our one beautiful world from the creativity of human beings to the beauty of the natural world, while remembering the challenges that human activity poses to the planet. The Festival is a mix of art, dance, music, photography, poetry and spoken word. Churches are providing venues for the Festival events and the Festival has received funding from Essex County Council’s Locality Fund. For more information about the Festival see https://onebeautifulworldfestival.blogspot.com/:

• Friday 12 – Friday 26 May, St Catherine’s Church: One Beautiful World exhibition by Tim Harrold and Way to the Coronation display by Wickford & Runwell Mothers Union - Tim Harrold is an artist who works with bric à brac, flotsam and jetsam, the discarded or misplaced along the journey of life. He finds lost objects and gives them new meaning through his three-dimensional assemblage style which brings together found and sourced elements into visual parables. The Mothers Union for Wickford and Runwell will show a display on the Way to the Coronation.
• Friday 12 – Sunday 14 May, St Andrew’s Church: New Town, New Collection: Tales from George Morl’s private art collection - This exhibition brings together works acquired by artist and curator George Morl. Through founding a collection which reflects on the communal legacies of New Towns, Plotlands, and the possibility of human connections across the virtual world, it visions a future art collection centring support. 'New Town, New Collection' features works by contemporary artists such as Grayson Perry, Michael Landy, Elsa James, Madge Gill, Rosie Hastings & Hannah Quinlan, Uma Breakdown, as well as work by Morl.
• Friday 12 May, 2.00 – 4.00 pm, St Andrew’s Church - Six Hands Together - An afternoon tea with entertainment from Six Hands Together at St Andrew’s Church and Centre. A retiring collection will be taken.
• Friday 12 May 7.00 pm, St Andrew’s Church - Talk: New Town, New Collection - Join British artist and curator George Morl for a talk about their collection as displayed in the exhibition New Town, New Collection. Reflecting on experiences as an artist and through their role as Programme Assistant at Firstsite in Colchester, Morl shares their joy of acquiring art, and motivations for building a collection to share for others. 
• Saturday 13 May, 4.00 pm, Miracle House: One Beautiful World performance by Steven Turner (Next Step Creative) - Steven Turner has trained in a variety of dance styles, including contemporary, street, mime and moving with props. He has founded Next Step Creative to promote collaboration between dance and other creative arts. Choreographing and teaching for Dance 21 (a dance company for children and young adults with Down’s syndrome), he has taught in Rotterdam and performed across the UK and Europe including at Project Dance Paris.
• Sunday 14 May, 3.00–5.00 pm, St Mary’s Runwell: In the Shadow of Your Wings - A unique event combining performances of new sacred music with 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.
• Tuesday 16 - Friday 26 May, St Andrew’s Church - One Beautiful World Exhibition - An exhibition of Space Art by Jackie E. Burns, Fellow of the International Association of Astronomical Artists, fostering the inquisitive joy of art and astronomy and inspiring people to the awe and beauty of space and astronomy.
• Friday 19 and Saturday 20 May, Salvation Army: One Beautiful World photographic exhibition by Compass Photography - Photographs by Mike Fogg (Compass Photography Group) whose approach is summed up as: “Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing beauty is what separates a snapshot from a photograph.”
• Friday 19 May, 7.30 pm, Christ Church: One Beautiful World concert with Yardarm Folk Orchestra - The Yardarm Folk Orchestra plays British and international folk music throughout the region and celebrates Folk from around the world through its lively and spirited appearances appealing to audiences both young and old. They have played at over 650 community, charity and fundraising events including the Leigh Folk Festival and Tenterden Folk Festival. They have also performed at well-known venues including the London Palladium and Cliffs Pavilion.
• Saturday 20 May: 9.30 am – 4.00 pm, Wickford and Runwell Art Trail - See artworks by Val Anthony, William Butterfield, Enid Chadwick, Antony Corbin, Christine Daniels, David Folley, David Garrard and Julia Glover at St Andrew’s, St Catherine’s and St Mary’s churches, plus the photographic exhibition at the Salvation Army, Jackie Burns’ Space Art at St Andrew’s, Tim Harrold’s assemblages at St Catherine’s and paintings by Pam Jones at St Mary’s. Art talks/tours at St Andrew’s (10.00 am), St Catherine’s (11.30 am), and St Mary’s (2.00 pm).
• Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 May, St Mary’s Runwell: One Beautiful World exhibition by Pam Jones - An exhibition of paintings by Pam Jones at St Mary’s Runwell – 9.30 am – 4.00 pm Saturday 20 May and 9.00 – 10.30 am Sunday 21 May.
• Saturday 20 May: 4.00 pm, St Catherine’s Church: One Beautiful World poetry reading with Tim Harrold and Jonathan Evens - Tim Harrold is a poet who creates images of profound challenge and change, of pause and process, of chrysalis and catalyst. His most recent publication is ‘Verses versus Viruses’. Jonathan Evens is a creative writer whose poems and stories have been published by Amethyst Review, InternationalTimes and Stride Magazine.
• Sunday 21 May, 3.00 – 5.00 pm, RCCG Spring of Hope Church at the Nevendon Centre, Nevendon Rd, Wickford SS12 0QG: One Beautiful World music event - A music event featuring local musicians and RCCG Spring of Hope Church choir.
• Thursday 25 and Friday 26 May, 11.00 am – 3.00 pm, Wickford Christian Centre: One Beautiful World art exhibition - Open call for artworks to display in an exhibition at Wickford Christian Centre.
• Friday 26 May, 7.00 pm, St Andrew’s Church: Simon Law in concert - Singer-songwriter Simon Law has fronted the rock bands Fresh Claim, Sea Stone and Intransit. He is a founder of Plankton Records and an Anglican Vicar.

Being With: Discover Christian faith in a positive and inclusive group. No special knowledge or religious language needed. Just what you have learned in life so far. Dates: Thursdays, 25/05 - 27/07. Time: 7.30pm. Location: St Andrew's Church, 11 London Road, SS12 0AN. To join, contact Revd Jonathan on 07803 562329 or jonathan.evens@btinternet.com

Quiet Day: Creation - Wednesday 31 May, 10.30 am – 3.30 pm, St Mary’s Runwell. A day spent reflecting on creation and our environment in the beautiful environs of St Mary’s Church and its churchyards. Led by Revd Sue Wise, Team Vicar, Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry. Cost: £8.00 per person, including sandwich lunch (pay on the day). To book: Phone 07803 562329 or email jonathan.evens@btinternet.com.

Quiet Day: Poetry & prayer - Saturday 1 July, 10.30 am – 3.30 pm, St Mary’s Runwell. Explore prayer through poetry, with poems about prayers and poems that are prayers. Enjoy poems by John Berryman, John Donne, Carol Ann Duffy, George Herbert, and Ann Lewin, among others. Led by Revd Jonathan Evens, Team Rector, Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry. 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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Yardarm Folk Orchestra - South Wind.