Molesey, 2023
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Martyn Joseph - Born Too Late.
Saturday 30 September 2023
Five Marks of Mission course
Five Marks of Mission
Thursday evenings, 7.30pm - 9pm, St Andrew’s Wickford
This autumn in the Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry we have organised an informative short course on the Five Marks of Mission with some excellent contributors to which there is an open invition for folk from other churches.
The course enables us to explore the fundamentals of mission - outreach, nurture, service, justice, and creationcare - with input on Kintsugi Hope and Being With alongside the Beyond The Walls Leader for New Life Church, the Diocesan Racial Justice Officer and the Diocesan Environment Officer.
- October 5th - Proclaiming the Good News of God’s Kingdom - Rob Purnell
- October 12th - Responding in Loving Service - Joel Harris, Kintsugi Hope
- October 19th - Nurturing new believers - Revd Jonathan Evens
- October 26th - Challenging injustice - Revd Sharon Quilter
- November 2nd - Caring for God’s Earth - Revd Sandra Eldridge
Delirious? - Now Is The Time.
Friday 29 September 2023
'From Hong Kong to Wickford' exhibition Mid-Autumn Harvest Moon Celebration Viewing
Tonight we held a Mid-Autumn Harvest Moon Celebration Viewing with Refreshments. 29 September is the Mid-Autumn Festival (Harvest Moon to the English) - one of the most important festivals celebrated by ethnic Chinese, and also celebrated in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other countries in East and Southeast Asia. People, and especially family members, gather together to eat and to look at the moon at its brightest and roundest in a year. Roy Reed's photos of "Mid-Autumn in London Chinatown", commissioned by Inter-Artes, are featured in the Display.
The Display features the following:
Ho Wai-On says: “My memory of life in Hong Kong is about 15 years, which is about the same as I have been living in Wickford. In between, for more than 30 years, I lived mostly in London and went back to Hong Kong from time to time. With UK-based professionals in creative and performing arts, I created and staged performances of works/projects that combine music, dance, drama and visual art across different cultures, sometimes with relevant displays. This multifaceted pictorial display at St. Andrew's Church features stories of my lifetime's interaction with UK-Hong Kong based artists and people and the resulting creative works, and tells you about these people and their work. I hope this might encourage audiences' interest in getting to know more.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Further special opportunities to view the exhibition include:
- ‘Flying Wild – Beautiful Birds and Insects’ talk by Martin Singleton (Wickford Wildlife Society) with exhibition viewing, Monday 2 October, 7.30 pm: Martin Singleton will talk about the creatures found with his photographs which are included in the Display.
- Unveiled exhibition viewing evening, Friday 6 October, 7.00 – 9.00 pm: Find out more about Ho Wai-On and hear about the exhibition, her career and her creative projects.Dr Ho Wai-On: Surname Ho, known to colleagues as Wai-On. She comes from Hong Kong where the surname is followed by the given name that represents the individual. She has lived in Wickford for about 15 years and is known to locals as Ann-Kay (her childhood name). Before moving to Wickford, she lived in London for more than 30 years.
The Display features the following:
- ‘Acis & Galatea’: Dance-opera directed by Ho Wai-On for the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts
- ‘Blessed’ – Stations of the Cross with Beatitude: An offering to St. Andrew's from Ho Wai-On
- Clark Ainsworth (UK-HK): Hong Kong photographs
- Dr Juliet Chenery-Robson (Sunderland): Visual artist
- Ruth Cutler (Ramsgate): Mixed media
- Graham Ekins (Boreham): Hong Kong birds photographs
- Ho Wai-On (Ann-Kay HK-UK): Music videos; combined arts; design and photographs
- Inter-Artes: Performing group formed by Ho Wai-On
- Polly Hope (London): Artist
- Herry Lawford (Stockbridge): Chelsea Flower Show photographs
- Professor Stephen Matthews (UK-HK): Hong Kong birds photographs
- Ben Rector (Wickford): Photographer
- Roy Reed (UK): Photographer
- Martin Singleton (Wickford): UK birds photographs
- Albert Tang (HK-London): Stage/costume/poster/cover design and more
- “THEME HONG KONG“: Project
- Dr David Tong (Sidcup): Poetry
- True Light Old Girls (Ho Wai-On's old school): Choy May-Chu (HK-Taiwan); drawings/paintings; Kitty Kwan (HK-UK-AU-US) photos; Toby Man (HK-US) drawing
- Marcus West (Cardiff): Computer graphics
- Benson Wong (HK-UK-HK): Fashion/textile/jewellery design & digital portraits
Ho Wai-On says: “My memory of life in Hong Kong is about 15 years, which is about the same as I have been living in Wickford. In between, for more than 30 years, I lived mostly in London and went back to Hong Kong from time to time. With UK-based professionals in creative and performing arts, I created and staged performances of works/projects that combine music, dance, drama and visual art across different cultures, sometimes with relevant displays. This multifaceted pictorial display at St. Andrew's Church features stories of my lifetime's interaction with UK-Hong Kong based artists and people and the resulting creative works, and tells you about these people and their work. I hope this might encourage audiences' interest in getting to know more.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ho Wai-On - Three Times No Less.
Wednesday 27 September 2023
Tread lightly on the earth
Here's the reflection that I shared at St Andrew's Wickford this morning:
Cliff Richard once sang that he had no bags of baggage to slow him down, no comb and no toothbrush, nothing at all to haul. He was travelling light because he just couldn’t wait to be with his baby that night. I wonder whether Eugene Peterson had that song in mind when he translated this reading in ‘The Message’, his version of the Bible in contemporary language. His version of Jesus’ charge to his disciples starts like this: “Travel light. Comb and toothbrush and no extra luggage.”
Travel light. Jesus was calling the 12 to an itinerant ministry (Luke 9.1-6). Their focus was on going ahead of Jesus to prepare people for his coming and his message. So, they took nothing unnecessary with them, they weren’t distracted by small talk along the way, they welcomed hospitality when they received it but they simply moved on to the next place and the next person whenever they were not made welcome. No distractions, just a clear focus on their task and their message.
We also need to travel light in our individual lives and our corporate Church life in order that we are focused on our core task of sharing the good news about Jesus in actions and words. But there is a second reason for travelling light which is to do with the footprint that we leave on the world. By sitting light to possessions and by accepting hospitality as it was offered to them, they imposed as little as possible on the people, villages and areas through which they travelled. In our society, since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, we have done anything but. Our footprint has been heavy on our world as we have exploited its resources for our own gain and we are only now beginning to realise the consequences.
John V. Taylor's book, ‘Enough is Enough’, kickstarted the simple lifestyle movement. ‘Live more simply that others might simply live’ was their slogan and it is one that Eugene Peterson sees as coming out of the instructions that Jesus gave to his disciples before he sent them out on their mission: “Don’t load yourselves up with equipment,” he writes, “Keep it simple; you are the equipment. And no luxury inns – get a modest place and be content there until you leave.” Keep it simple. Travel light. These are the key messages of Jesus’ instructions. Why? To keep us focused on our message and mission and to tread lightly on the earth as we do so.
Travelling light
without
a purse
without
a bag
without
shoes
without
equipment
you are
the equipment
you are
all you need
Travelling light
no
special appeals
no
luxury hotels
no
looking
for the best
cooks
keep it
simple
keep it
modest
be
content
Travelling light
don’t stop
to make
small talk
with those
on the road
move on
reach
your destination
the harvest
is great
but the
workers
few
Travelling light
do stop
to bless
the homes
in which
you rest
for all
you receive
give thanks
and peace
don’t create
when made
unwelcome
shrug
your shoulders,
wipe
your feet
move on
Travelling light
don’t
fill your barns
simply
to eat,
drink
and
be merry
don’t
store up
riches
simply
to rust
and decay
don’t
store up
riches
simply
for others
to steal
your heart
will be
where
your riches
are
Travelling light
do
store up
acts
of love,
hope
and faith
do
store up
the things
that remain
do
store up
treasures
in heaven
your heart
will be
where
your riches
are
Cliff Richard once sang that he had no bags of baggage to slow him down, no comb and no toothbrush, nothing at all to haul. He was travelling light because he just couldn’t wait to be with his baby that night. I wonder whether Eugene Peterson had that song in mind when he translated this reading in ‘The Message’, his version of the Bible in contemporary language. His version of Jesus’ charge to his disciples starts like this: “Travel light. Comb and toothbrush and no extra luggage.”
Travel light. Jesus was calling the 12 to an itinerant ministry (Luke 9.1-6). Their focus was on going ahead of Jesus to prepare people for his coming and his message. So, they took nothing unnecessary with them, they weren’t distracted by small talk along the way, they welcomed hospitality when they received it but they simply moved on to the next place and the next person whenever they were not made welcome. No distractions, just a clear focus on their task and their message.
We also need to travel light in our individual lives and our corporate Church life in order that we are focused on our core task of sharing the good news about Jesus in actions and words. But there is a second reason for travelling light which is to do with the footprint that we leave on the world. By sitting light to possessions and by accepting hospitality as it was offered to them, they imposed as little as possible on the people, villages and areas through which they travelled. In our society, since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, we have done anything but. Our footprint has been heavy on our world as we have exploited its resources for our own gain and we are only now beginning to realise the consequences.
John V. Taylor's book, ‘Enough is Enough’, kickstarted the simple lifestyle movement. ‘Live more simply that others might simply live’ was their slogan and it is one that Eugene Peterson sees as coming out of the instructions that Jesus gave to his disciples before he sent them out on their mission: “Don’t load yourselves up with equipment,” he writes, “Keep it simple; you are the equipment. And no luxury inns – get a modest place and be content there until you leave.” Keep it simple. Travel light. These are the key messages of Jesus’ instructions. Why? To keep us focused on our message and mission and to tread lightly on the earth as we do so.
Travelling light
without
a purse
without
a bag
without
shoes
without
equipment
you are
the equipment
you are
all you need
Travelling light
no
special appeals
no
luxury hotels
no
looking
for the best
cooks
keep it
simple
keep it
modest
be
content
Travelling light
don’t stop
to make
small talk
with those
on the road
move on
reach
your destination
the harvest
is great
but the
workers
few
Travelling light
do stop
to bless
the homes
in which
you rest
for all
you receive
give thanks
and peace
don’t create
when made
unwelcome
shrug
your shoulders,
wipe
your feet
move on
Travelling light
don’t
fill your barns
simply
to eat,
drink
and
be merry
don’t
store up
riches
simply
to rust
and decay
don’t
store up
riches
simply
for others
to steal
your heart
will be
where
your riches
are
Travelling light
do
store up
acts
of love,
hope
and faith
do
store up
the things
that remain
do
store up
treasures
in heaven
your heart
will be
where
your riches
are
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joni Mitchell - Big Yellow Taxi.
Tuesday 26 September 2023
The surprising, unexpected people that we find in God’s Kingdom
Here's the reflection that I shared at St Catherine's Wickford on Sunday evening:
This morning’s Gospel reading was the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, in which those who are brought into the Kingdom of God at the last moment are given the same as those who were brought in at the beginning. Jesus ends the parable with the reversal in our thinking that he often uses when he is talking about the Kingdom of God: the last shall be first and the first last. Those who think they are privileged in the Kingdom of God will be surprised by those they find in God’s Kingdom, whether that is the sinners, prostitutes and tax collectors of Jesus’ day or those that come at the last moment, as in the Parable.
St Paul, or Saul as he was originally known, is one of the surprising, unexpected people that we find in God’s Kingdom. Surprising and unexpected, because he was a violent and determined persecutors of the Early Church, to the extent that, when God asked Ananias to go to support Paul immediately after his conversion, Ananias was understandably nervous saying, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.’ Similarly, when he later attempted to join the disciples in Jerusalem, they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. It took Barnabas to convince them that God had genuinely worked in Paul’s life and brought about a real change in him.
The story of Paul’s conversion, which he told frequently as part of his missionary journeys as in today’s reading (Acts 26.1,9-25) where he tells his story as part of his defence when on trial before King Agrippa, is a reminder to us that no one is beyond the reach of God’s love and grace and that it is never too late in someone’s life for them to open their life to God.
I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s when Bob Dylan was viewed as the voice of his generation, one that was viewed at the time as being disinterested in God and living in ways that were viewed as opposed to God. I was aware at the time, within the Church, of people praying for Dylan’s conversion, thinking that that would have a major impact on people of his generation. Dylan did have an unexpected conversion in the late 1970’s which impacted his music at the time and continues to be explored within his music, without having quite the effects that those people who prayed for him expected.
All these people, experiences and stories remind us of the need to pray for those who have yet to open their lives to God even when it might seem that there is no obvious sign that that might happen. The love of God is such that Jesus went to the cross, giving up his own life, that people like Saul, that everyone thought was beyond the pale and unable to respond to God, should nevertheless become part of God’s kingdom and draw many others into that Kingdom too. Whoever it is for whom you are praying, may you continue to persevere in prayer and trust in God that in the future there will come a moment when that person will open their life to God and enter his Kingdom.
This morning’s Gospel reading was the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, in which those who are brought into the Kingdom of God at the last moment are given the same as those who were brought in at the beginning. Jesus ends the parable with the reversal in our thinking that he often uses when he is talking about the Kingdom of God: the last shall be first and the first last. Those who think they are privileged in the Kingdom of God will be surprised by those they find in God’s Kingdom, whether that is the sinners, prostitutes and tax collectors of Jesus’ day or those that come at the last moment, as in the Parable.
St Paul, or Saul as he was originally known, is one of the surprising, unexpected people that we find in God’s Kingdom. Surprising and unexpected, because he was a violent and determined persecutors of the Early Church, to the extent that, when God asked Ananias to go to support Paul immediately after his conversion, Ananias was understandably nervous saying, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.’ Similarly, when he later attempted to join the disciples in Jerusalem, they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. It took Barnabas to convince them that God had genuinely worked in Paul’s life and brought about a real change in him.
The story of Paul’s conversion, which he told frequently as part of his missionary journeys as in today’s reading (Acts 26.1,9-25) where he tells his story as part of his defence when on trial before King Agrippa, is a reminder to us that no one is beyond the reach of God’s love and grace and that it is never too late in someone’s life for them to open their life to God.
I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s when Bob Dylan was viewed as the voice of his generation, one that was viewed at the time as being disinterested in God and living in ways that were viewed as opposed to God. I was aware at the time, within the Church, of people praying for Dylan’s conversion, thinking that that would have a major impact on people of his generation. Dylan did have an unexpected conversion in the late 1970’s which impacted his music at the time and continues to be explored within his music, without having quite the effects that those people who prayed for him expected.
All these people, experiences and stories remind us of the need to pray for those who have yet to open their lives to God even when it might seem that there is no obvious sign that that might happen. The love of God is such that Jesus went to the cross, giving up his own life, that people like Saul, that everyone thought was beyond the pale and unable to respond to God, should nevertheless become part of God’s kingdom and draw many others into that Kingdom too. Whoever it is for whom you are praying, may you continue to persevere in prayer and trust in God that in the future there will come a moment when that person will open their life to God and enter his Kingdom.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aaron Neville - Saving Grace.
How a generous God handles the utterly undeserving
Here's the sermon that I shared at St Catherine's Wickford on Sunday morning:
Chichele Road in Cricklewood has been known as Job Street, where economic migrants line up to be hired from the back of a van, no questions asked. Dozens of men in jeans and anoraks would be found hanging around from 6.30am to discover whether they will be working that day. A car would stop, a negotiation would take place, a deal might be struck. Typically, the men would be whisked off to a building site or a house in the process of renovation. They would be paid £20 to £40 for a long, arduous day's work: no tax, no national insurance, no questions asked.
That’s essentially the scenario for today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 20. 1 - 16). The social situation in Jesus’ day was that many small farmers were being forced off their land because of debt they incurred to pay Roman taxes. Consequently, large pools of unemployed men gathered each morning, hoping to be hired for the day. They were the displaced, unemployed, and underemployed workers of their day. Those still waiting at five o'clock would have had little chance of earning enough to buy food for their families that day. Yet the vineyard owner pays even them a full day’s wage. The owner in the parable ensures that all the workers are paid enough to support their families, as a denarius was a full day’s pay for a skilled worker.
So, unlike those exploited illegal workers or gig economy workers earning less than the minimum wage, the employer in this story is concerned that those he employs are paid a living wage. The standard thing for an employer in Jesus’ day to do would be to send one of his employees to the marketplace to pick up a few extra workers for the day. But this employer goes to the marketplace himself. In fact, he goes repeatedly to seek workers and clearly cares about their predicament seeking to lift them out of their despair by providing work that meets their needs and the needs of those who depend on them. If God is like the owner of the vineyard then he cares about our hopeless situation as human beings. He comes looking for us. He goes on an all-out search to find workers for his vineyard. He longs to provide us with a life of significance in his kingdom work.
As N. T. Wright has said, God’s grace, in short, is not the sort of thing you can bargain with or try to store up. It isn’t the sort of thing that one person can have a lot of and someone else only a little. The point of the story is that what people get from having served God and his kingdom is not, actually, a ‘wage’ at all. It’s not, strictly, a reward for work done. God doesn’t make contracts with us, as if we could bargain or negotiate for a better deal. He makes covenants, in which he promises us everything and asks of us everything in return. When he keeps his promises, he is not rewarding us for effort, but doing what comes naturally to his overflowingly generous nature.
Michael Green says of this story: Length of service and long hours of toil in the heat of the day constitute no claim on God and provide no reason why he should not be generous to those who have done less. All human merit shrivels before his burning, self-giving love. Grace, amazing grace, is the burden of this story. All are equally undeserving of so large a sum as a denarius a day. All are given it by the generosity of the employer. All are on the same level. The poor disciples, fishermen and tax collectors as they are, are welcomed by God along with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. There are no rankings in the kingdom of God. Nobody can claim deserved membership of the kingdom. There is no place for personal pride, for contempt or jealousy, for there is no ground for any to question how this generous God handles the utterly undeserving. He is good. He sees that the one-hour workers would have no money for supper if they got paid for only one hour. In generosity he gives them what they need. Who is to complain at that?
Yet there is always a danger that we do get cross with God over this. People who work or move in church circles can easily assume that they are the special ones, God’s inner circle. In reality, as we have seen, God is out in the marketplace, looking for the people everybody else tried to ignore, welcoming them on the same terms, surprising them (and everybody else) with his generous grace. In Ephesians 2:8-10 Paul says, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Is there anywhere in today’s church, I wonder, that doesn’t need to be reminded of that message?
The parable is also a message of hope to everyone struggling to find adequate employment. In God’s kingdom, it suggests, we will all find work that meets our needs. The parable is, therefore, also a challenge to all those who have a hand in shaping the structures of work in today’s society. What can we do, as Christians, to advance this aspect of God’s kingdom right now?
Chichele Road in Cricklewood has been known as Job Street, where economic migrants line up to be hired from the back of a van, no questions asked. Dozens of men in jeans and anoraks would be found hanging around from 6.30am to discover whether they will be working that day. A car would stop, a negotiation would take place, a deal might be struck. Typically, the men would be whisked off to a building site or a house in the process of renovation. They would be paid £20 to £40 for a long, arduous day's work: no tax, no national insurance, no questions asked.
That’s essentially the scenario for today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 20. 1 - 16). The social situation in Jesus’ day was that many small farmers were being forced off their land because of debt they incurred to pay Roman taxes. Consequently, large pools of unemployed men gathered each morning, hoping to be hired for the day. They were the displaced, unemployed, and underemployed workers of their day. Those still waiting at five o'clock would have had little chance of earning enough to buy food for their families that day. Yet the vineyard owner pays even them a full day’s wage. The owner in the parable ensures that all the workers are paid enough to support their families, as a denarius was a full day’s pay for a skilled worker.
So, unlike those exploited illegal workers or gig economy workers earning less than the minimum wage, the employer in this story is concerned that those he employs are paid a living wage. The standard thing for an employer in Jesus’ day to do would be to send one of his employees to the marketplace to pick up a few extra workers for the day. But this employer goes to the marketplace himself. In fact, he goes repeatedly to seek workers and clearly cares about their predicament seeking to lift them out of their despair by providing work that meets their needs and the needs of those who depend on them. If God is like the owner of the vineyard then he cares about our hopeless situation as human beings. He comes looking for us. He goes on an all-out search to find workers for his vineyard. He longs to provide us with a life of significance in his kingdom work.
As N. T. Wright has said, God’s grace, in short, is not the sort of thing you can bargain with or try to store up. It isn’t the sort of thing that one person can have a lot of and someone else only a little. The point of the story is that what people get from having served God and his kingdom is not, actually, a ‘wage’ at all. It’s not, strictly, a reward for work done. God doesn’t make contracts with us, as if we could bargain or negotiate for a better deal. He makes covenants, in which he promises us everything and asks of us everything in return. When he keeps his promises, he is not rewarding us for effort, but doing what comes naturally to his overflowingly generous nature.
Michael Green says of this story: Length of service and long hours of toil in the heat of the day constitute no claim on God and provide no reason why he should not be generous to those who have done less. All human merit shrivels before his burning, self-giving love. Grace, amazing grace, is the burden of this story. All are equally undeserving of so large a sum as a denarius a day. All are given it by the generosity of the employer. All are on the same level. The poor disciples, fishermen and tax collectors as they are, are welcomed by God along with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. There are no rankings in the kingdom of God. Nobody can claim deserved membership of the kingdom. There is no place for personal pride, for contempt or jealousy, for there is no ground for any to question how this generous God handles the utterly undeserving. He is good. He sees that the one-hour workers would have no money for supper if they got paid for only one hour. In generosity he gives them what they need. Who is to complain at that?
Yet there is always a danger that we do get cross with God over this. People who work or move in church circles can easily assume that they are the special ones, God’s inner circle. In reality, as we have seen, God is out in the marketplace, looking for the people everybody else tried to ignore, welcoming them on the same terms, surprising them (and everybody else) with his generous grace. In Ephesians 2:8-10 Paul says, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Is there anywhere in today’s church, I wonder, that doesn’t need to be reminded of that message?
The parable is also a message of hope to everyone struggling to find adequate employment. In God’s kingdom, it suggests, we will all find work that meets our needs. The parable is, therefore, also a challenge to all those who have a hand in shaping the structures of work in today’s society. What can we do, as Christians, to advance this aspect of God’s kingdom right now?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Heard - Strong Hand Of Love.
From Hong Kong to Wickford
Special opportunities to view the exhibition include:
- Mid-Autumn Harvest Moon Celebration Viewing with Refreshments, Friday 29 September, 7.00 – 9.00 pm: Friday 29 September is the Mid-Autumn Festival (Harvest Moon to the English) - one of the most important festivals celebrated by ethnic Chinese, and also celebrated in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other countries in East and Southeast Asia. People, and especially family members, gather together to eat and to look at the moon at its brightest and roundest in a year. Roy Reed's photos of "Mid-Autumn in London Chinatown", commissioned by Inter-Artes, are featured in the Display.
- ‘Flying Wild – Beautiful Birds and Insects’ talk by Martin Singleton (Wickford Wildlife Society) with exhibition viewing, Monday 2 October, 7.30 pm: Martin Singleton will talk about the creatures found with his photographs which are included in the Display.
- Unveiled exhibition viewing evening, Friday 6 October, 7.00 – 9.00 pm: Find out more about Ho Wai-On and hear about the exhibition, her career and her creative projects.
Best known as a composer and creator/director of combined-art works and projects, this multifaceted pictorial display features her lifetime of interaction with UK and Hong Kong based artists/people that have resulted in many creative works. It also tells the stories of these people and their work.
The Display features the following:
- ‘Acis & Galatea’: Dance-opera directed by Ho Wai-On for the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts
- ‘Blessed’ – Stations of the Cross with Beatitude: An offering to St. Andrew's from Ho Wai-On
- Clark Ainsworth (UK-HK): Hong Kong photographs
- Dr Juliet Chenery-Robson (Sunderland): Visual artist
- Ruth Cutler (Ramsgate): Mixed media
- Graham Ekins (Boreham): Hong Kong birds photographs
- Ho Wai-On (Ann-Kay HK-UK): Music videos; combined arts; design and photographs
- Inter-Artes: Performing group formed by Ho Wai-On
- Polly Hope (London): Artist
- Herry Lawford (Stockbridge): Chelsea Flower Show photographs
- Professor Stephen Matthews (UK-HK): Hong Kong birds photographs
- Ben Rector (Wickford): Photographer
- Roy Reed (UK): Photographer
- Martin Singleton (Wickford): UK birds photographs
- Albert Tang (HK-London): Stage/costume/poster/cover design and more
- “THEME HONG KONG“: Project
- Dr David Tong (Sidcup): Poetry
- True Light Old Girls (Ho Wai-On's old school): Choy May-Chu (HK-Taiwan); drawings/paintings; Kitty Kwan (HK-UK-AU-US) photos; Toby Man (HK-US) drawing
- Marcus West (Cardiff): Computer graphics
- Benson Wong (HK-UK-HK): Fashion/textile/jewellery design & digital portraits
Ho Wai-On says: “My memory of life in Hong Kong is about 15 years, which is about the same as I have been living in Wickford. In between, for more than 30 years, I lived mostly in London and went back to Hong Kong from time to time. With UK-based professionals in creative and performing arts, I created and staged performances of works/projects that combine music, dance, drama and visual art across different cultures, sometimes with relevant displays. This multifaceted pictorial display at St. Andrew's Church features stories of my lifetime's interaction with UK-Hong Kong based artists and people and the resulting creative works, and tells you about these people and their work. I hope this might encourage audiences' interest in getting to know more.”
Ho Wai-On - Wisdom and Love.
Saturday 23 September 2023
Windows on the world (444)
London, 2023
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Windows.
Louis Carreon and Alexander de Cadenet at The Arx
The Arx are currently showing works by two of the artists I have had the pleasure of interviewing for Artlyst. Their display of paintings by Louis Carreon provides a first opportunity to see his work in the UK. Carreon reimagines classic art through the lens of sampling, echoing the spirit of hip-hop's homage and creation. Key sculptures displayed - 'Creation' and the Life-Burgers - by Alexander de Cadenet are among those that I showed at St Stephen Walbrook in 2017. The Life-Burger sculptures explore the relationship between the spiritual dimension of art and consumerism and investigate what gives life meaning.
The Arx write:"Introducing Louis Carreon at The ARX Gallery – An amalgamation of Street Art and Art History. Explore the captivating journey of Californian-born Louis Carreon, whose roots in tagging, rapping, skateboarding, and surfing have evolved into a unique blend of religious iconography and hip-hop-inspired creativity.
Carreon reimagines classic art through the lens of sampling, echoing the spirit of hip-hop's homage and creation. His story of transformation, from addiction and incarceration to redemption through art and religion, is an inspiring testament to the power of creativity. Delve into his world, inspired by art giants like El Greco and Caravaggio."
"Alexander de Cadenet is a visual artist working in London who has been exhibiting his artworks internationally for the past twenty years. His artworks reveal an exploration into philosophical and spiritual questions such as the meaning of life & death and the nature of human consciousness.
Art historian Edward Lucie-Smith has described Alexander de Cadenet as, “a fascinatingly diverse, restlessly experimental artist. His work ranges across every technique one can think of”.
Alexander de Cadenet's art is drawn from his own life experiences and combines a dark humour with a deeper spiritual message."
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Corinne Bailey Rae - A Spell, A Prayer.
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