Receiving light and walking in light

Here's the sermon that I shared at St Andrew's Wickford yesterday:

At baptisms, we give each newly baptised person a lighted candle and say that God has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and has given us a place with the saints in light. Then we say, “You have received the light of Christ; walk in this light all the days of your life. Shine as a light in the world to the glory of God the Father.” We do this because Jesus said: ‘I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness’ (John 12.44-end).

What does it mean that Jesus comes as light so we do not remain in darkness? The light of Christ is revelatory as it reveals the good and bad in our lives and communities. Light reveals those things that have been hidden so we can see their true nature; whether live-giving or life-denying.

Jesus is God fully revealed in human form, so shows us what God is actually like as well as revealing all that we, as humans, can become. We come into the light of Christ by comparing our lives to his. As we do so, inevitably we find that we fall short; that our capacity to do what pleases him (by living out all goodness, righteousness and truth) is less than his capacity for these things.

Jesus says to Nicodemus (John 3. 19 - 21): “This is how the judgement works: the light has come into the world, but people love the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds are evil. Those who do evil things hate the light and will not come to the light, because they do not want their evil deeds to be shown up. But those who do what is true come to the light in order that the light may show that what they did was in obedience to God.”

In other words, the light of Christ is all about comparisons and transparency. Jesus, through his life and death, shows us the depth of love of which human beings are really capable and, on the basis of that comparison, we come up well short and are in real need of change. In the light of Jesus’ self-sacrifice, we see our inherent selfishness and recognise our need for change.

Our reality, as St Paul so accurately states in Romans 7 is that we are divided people: “… what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” So, coming into the light of Christ initially reveals our fallibilities and failures to be Christ-like. God sees all and Jesus, in his ministry, was able to shine a light on the deepest recesses of the human heart. The Samaritan woman said of him: “Come see the man who told me everything I have ever done” (John 4. 29). With Jesus, nothing is hidden, everything is transparent; therefore, we need to change if we are to truly live in the light of his presence. As a result, if we are to be transparent in the light of Christ, we make our humble confession to Almighty God truly and earnestly repenting of our sins.

But the light of Christ does not just expose and make visible our fallibilities. Jesus came into our world as the Word of God to live a life of self-sacrificial love as a human being. He shows us what true love looks like and he shows us that human beings are capable of true love even when most of the evidence around us seems to point towards the opposite conclusion. In 1 John 5. 20 we read that “the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we know the true God.”

When we learn what pleases our Lord (which is all goodness, righteousness and truth; or, as our confession says, intending to lead a new life by following the commandments of God, walking in his holy ways and living in love and charity with our neighbours) we are then illuminated by him and become a light to others. This is what Jesus means when he tells us to let our light shine before others, that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven.

Just as with those newly baptised people receiving a lighted candle and being reminded that God has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and has given us a place with the saints in light, today we too hear Jesus say ‘I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness.’ Like them, we have received the light of Christ and are called to walk in this light all the days of our lives. So, may we shine as lights in the world to the glory of God the Father. Amen.

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The Call - The Morning.

Windows on the world (568)

London, 2026

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Joseph Arthur - Thank You Is My Mantra.

St Catherine's Wickford - £162,000 to raise through 150th Anniversary

This year St Catherine’s church in Wickford is 150 years old (https://www.wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/st-catherines.html & https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/church/wickford-st-catherine).

150th Anniversary events for St Catherine’s Church, Wickford:

• Saturday 9 May, 2.00 - 4.00 pm, St Catherine's Church - Art workshop.
• Saturday 30 May, 7.30 pm, St Andrew’s Church – Ladybirds Singing Group – Fundraising concert for St Catherine’s.
• Sunday 31 May, 10.30 am, St Catherine’s – Joint Eucharist for 150th Anniversary. Preacher: The Ven. David Lowman.
• Saturday 6 June, St Catherine’s – Flower Festival with Coffee Morning and Cream Tea Afternoon.
• Sunday 7 June, 11.00 am, St Catherine’s. Anniversary Eucharist led by Archdeacon of Southend.
• Saturday 13 June, 2.00 pm, The Rectory – Parish Garden Party.
• Saturday 20 June, 3.00 pm, St Catherine’s – Rumatica - Fundraising concert.

Art Workshop

Help us to celebrate 150 years of St Catherine's Church in Wickford as part of Bas-Arts-Index upcoming Art& series of events through May.

9th May 2-4pm at St Catherine's which is on Southend Road in Wickford.

The event will start with a workshop about the history of the church, encompassing your thoughts, feelings and memories. We'll then move on to an activity where you can create a stained glass window collage.

Bring yourself, your thoughts, your memories and your feelings. You can also bring anything you think might be interesting for us to see regarding the church herself, or her history. Weddings. Baptisms. Funerals. Celebrations of any and all types. All are welcome. We look forward to seeing you there.

No booking required, just turn up.

Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult



Ladybirds Song Group in concert

Saturday 30 May 2026, 7.30 pm

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

We are celebrating the 150th Anniversary of St Catherine’s Wickford with a fundraising concert as subsidence has caused cracks in the walls requiring underpinning - a retiring collection will be taken.

The Ladybirds Song Group are a voluntary community group spreading joy through music, performing in care homes, clubs, and other local venues.



Flower Festival. 6th & 7th June.

Featuring local clubs. schools & the community.

St Catherine's Church 150 Years.

Donate a pew end in memory of a loved one £10.00.

Saturday all day. Refreshments and stalls in the

church hall.

Contact: Caroline: 07821195388.



Rumatica in concert

St Catherine’s Church Wickford

Saturday 20th June 3pm

A Ukulele Band with a Difference! Playing a wide range of Rock, Pop, Country, Swing, Indie, Blues and Folk Music

https://www.rumatica.co.uk/

We are celebrating the 150th Anniversary of St Catherine’s Wickford with a fundraising concert as subsidence has caused cracks in the walls requiring underpinning - a retiring collection will be taken.



Fundraising Campaign - St Catherine’s Church, Wickford

Due to the long dry summer of 2022, the foundations of the NW corner of St Catherine’s Church subsided. This caused large cracks to appear in the walls. In 2023, we completed Phase 1 of our campaign involving safety and weather protection work costing £20,000, with funds raised by donations, events and grants. In 2024 we began Phase 2 involving groundwork investigations and design of an underpinning solution. This cost £13,560 and is essential to design a long-term solution. Phase 3, for which we are now raising funds, will cost £162,500.00 + VAT and will enable the NW corner of the church to be underpinned.

If you wish to contribute, please go to https://givealittle.co/c/CXlEMNUoerIeTUtbQmvYS to donate online.

Send cheques to Wickford and Runwell PCC to The Rectory, 120 Southend Road, Wickford SS11 8EB or phone 07803 562329 / email jonathan.evens@btinternet.com for bank details for a transfer.

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U2 - Resurrection Song.

Launch of the 3 R's history trail

 

The 3 R’s history trail covers the churches of Rawreth, Rettendon & Runwell.

Each church is unique with its own history and we welcome you to come and find out more. Visit our churches and see for yourself.

Launch of the 3 R’s history trail with Open Days at St Nicholas Rawreth, All Saints Rettendon, and St Mary’s Runwell on Saturday 16 May from 10am - 4pm.

Visit all three churches, discover their history, see heritage displays, and enjoy refreshments.

Rawreth Church (St Nicholas)

The parish of Rawreth has a list of Rectors going back to before 1361. It retains a 13th century tower, but the present church was rebuilt in 1882. The tower, arch and west wall of the north aisle remain from 1450, the rest has been rebuilt in 1882 to designs of Ernest Geldart, rector of Little Braxted.

The family of Lancelot Andrewes lived in Rawreth and St Nicholas Church was their family church. Andrewes served successively as Bishop of Chichester, Ely and Winchester and oversaw the translation of the Authorized Version (or King James Version) of the Bible.

• Church organ - one of the smallest church organs in the country, built c.1860-1870 by Bryceson and Ellis
• Bells - over 700 years old and made by John Hadham C. 1320, making them amongst the oldest bells in Essex
• Chancel screen, reredos and pulpit - designed by the architect, the Reverend Geldart in 1862
• Memorial - to Edmund Tyrell and his wife of Beeches manor dated 1576

Runwell Church (St Mary's)

St. Mary’s Church is a beautiful Grade I* listed building, a magnificent mediaeval building which boasts an interesting and mixed history. The church is often described by both visitors and regular worshippers as a powerful sacred space to which they have been drawn.

This powerful impact comes in part from the art and architecture in the space. From the modern rood screen to the beautiful stained glass windows, St Mary’s is a must on any history trail. Its two churchyards (one linked to Runwell Hospital) also provide green space in which to walk and reflect. The church and churchyards are often used for contemplative Quiet Days. The Running Well, which may have given Runwell its name, is one mile from the Church.

• Prioress' tomb - tomb of the last Prioress at the Nunnery by the Running Well
• Runwell cross - original and contemporary versions of this unique cross design
• Devil's Claw - marks on a door, said to have been made by the Devil whilst chasing a curate
• Murals - medieval-style mural designs and interior decoration
• Painting - 'The Baptism of Christ' by Walsingham artist Enid Chadwick
• Squints - enabling those outside to see in.

Rettendon Church (All Saints)

The village of Rettendon is blessed with an old and beautiful Grade 1 listed church, with many unique aspects of its history.

The church stands on high ground, its 15th century ragstone tower acting as a landmark for the area. All Saints stands on high ground and from its lofty tower, over 100 feet high, there is an extensive view. To the east one can see the Crouch estuary, to the south the hills of Rayleigh stand out boldly, to the west, the round hilltops of the Langdon Hills are a notable landmark.

• Memorial - marble and alabaster memorial to Edmund Humfrye dating from the early 18th century, one of the best of its type in the country
• Anchorite Cell - the upstairs room over the vestry may have been used by an anchorite linked to the Nunnery at the Running Well, as evidenced by the window there which overlooks the altar
• Memorial brasses - to the Canon family, whose charity fund is available to villagers in need to this day
• Choir stalls - with 15th century medieval wood carvings on the nine bench ends
• Piscina and Sedilia - the Piscina, a stone basin, is dated 1220 while the double Sedilia also dates from the 13th century and consists of two bays with trefoiled heads and moulded labels

St Nicholas Church, Church Rd, Rawreth, Wickford SS11 8SH
Open every day between 09:00—16:00

St Mary's Church, Runwell Road, Runwell, Essex SS11 7HS
St Mary's is open by prior arrangement only. Please contact the churchwarden to arrange a time to visit:
Tel: 01268 765360
Email: alanvictorjones20@gmail.com

All Saints Church, Church Chase, Rettendon, Chelmsford CM3 8DP
Open Friday 10:00—12:00 or by prior arrangement only.

For further details on our history trail please contact:

Rev'd Jonathan Evens - jonathan.evens@btinternet.com | 07803 562329
Rev’d Steve Lissenden - revsteveliss@gmail.com | 07944 959300

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Michael Kiwanuka - Small Changes.

The in's and out's of Church

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

For Easter 2017 the church I was at in the City of London, St Stephen Walbrook, we were involved in a two-part art work based on the Stations of the Cross and the Stations of the Resurrection. The first part of this project involved the artist Mark Dean in projecting filmed Stations of the Cross onto the central, circular Henry Moore altar at St Stephen Walbrook throughout the night on Easter Eve.

Mark Dean’s videos were not literal depictions of the Stations of the Cross, instead he appropriated a few frames of iconic film footage together with extracts of popular music and then slowed down, reversed, looped or otherwise altered these so that the images he selected were amplified through their repetition. In this way he brought images from outside church into church and made them central to the Easter Vigil by projecting them onto an altar which had been designed for people to gather as a community around the place where God can be found; the Eucharist, the central act of Christian worship, the re-enactment of Christ’s sacrifice.

In St Paul’s Cathedral for the second part of the project, the staging was inverted as the dancers performed in the central space under the dome, whilst Dean’s video was played on television monitors placed around the edge of this circular space. Five dancers emerged from the shadows around the edge of the stage and started to navigate the space, sometimes individually and sometimes in groups, to form tableaux which were visually reminiscent of the acts of protecting, comforting and carrying each other. The dancers regularly perforated the boundary, moving out beyond the stage and the audience, before returning to the centre and reconnecting in different configurations. As a result, the on-lookers found themselves within the action of these movements.

Among the themes that these projections and performances explored therefore were notions of being in and out with the crucifixion as an internal interior focus and the resurrection leading to an outward focus. Similar notions of in and out also inform Jesus’ teaching about the shepherd and the sheep (John 10. 1 - 10), which have traditionally been interpreted as being about the in’s and out’s of salvation meaning that the sheepfold has been seen as representing heaven. Being locked in to a sheepfold overnight seems a strange way of picturing heaven and so I want to explore the imagery of the sheepfold instead in terms of understandings of church.

One part of the role of the shepherd mentioned in Jesus’ teaching is to bring the sheep in to the sheepfold at the end of the day. Thieves and bandits are able to use the cover of night to attack the sheep if outside or not adequately protected in the fold. Jesus says that he is the gate which provides access to this safe space. Those who enter through Jesus are those who are legitimately in the sheepfold, whether sheep or shepherd.

This imagery pictures church as safe space in which rest, recuperation and healing can occur because we are sheltered for a time from the challenges and opportunities – the activity – of the daylight hours. Mark Dean’s decision to project his Passion films onto the central altar at Walbrook, the place of Communion, is in line with this teaching about church, as Christ’s Passion and the Eucharist which re-enacts that Passion is our source of renewal and restoration. Having said that, we also need to acknowledge that there are those for whom church has not been a safe space and hear those valid voices while seeking to build safe spaces in the churches of which we are part.

Gates, however, are two-way. They are entries and exits, because we do not experience fullness of life by being shut up in places of safety; if that is our only experience then we are in prison. The life that Jesus envisions here is one of protection during the darkness when thieves are at large combined with freedom to graze outside of the sheepfold in the light of day. Interestingly in Jesus’ teaching here, finding pasture, finding food, growing and developing, are all things that happen outside of the sheepfold. Jesus’ flock find safety in the fold but they find food outside the fold. This focus differs from the traditional way in which the in and out dimensions of church have been thought about in Ecclesiology, thinking about the nature and structure of church. The IN dimension of church has often been thought of as being about fellowship and community while the OUT dimension is generally seen as involving mission.

On this basis, the IN dimension of church is described as being about fellowship and building community. Jesus prayed that believers would be one. This was a prayer for more than unity; it was a prayer for deep fellowship like that between the Father and the Son – may they be one just as you are in me and I am in you (John 17.21). Believers are to invite each other into their lives. The first Christians modelled this as we heard in our New Testament reading: All who believed were together and had all things in common (Acts 2.44). Church at its best keeps this tradition alive. In the Eucharist, for example, we are reminded that we belong to one another by sharing a common meal.

The OUT dimension of church is then seen as being about mission in its broadest sense. This mission, summed up in the phrase 'kingdom of God', is about bringing wholeness to the entire creation. Its sweep is therefore breathtaking! The mission of the church is seen in this wide context. The church is not the kingdom of God and we must not reduce the horizons of God's mission to the horizons of God's church. But the church is called to share in God's mission.

Although this thinking about the IN and OUT dimensions of Church has validity, as we have already noted, it does not completely accord with Jesus’ teaching here. This is, in part, because the Church has sometimes made an unfortunate separation between time together in the fold and time out in the world. When this has happened, churches have tried to get Christians to spend as much time together in the fold as possible and have therefore focused primarily on church as the place when God is seen and heard.

Such thinking overlooks the fact that Jesus’ parables are stories of everyday life, often of working life. They are stories of the kingdom of God being seen and experienced and that happens most clearly in our everyday lives rather than in church. When we gather together in the fold, in church, we expect to hear from and experience God, so it is when we then scatter to our homes, workplaces and communities that the real test comes. Do we also encounter and feed on God in those places too; in our homes, workplaces and communities? If we do, then we are experiencing and revealing God in the reality of our lives and that is what actually forms a real and eloquent witness to the reality of God in our lives and world. That is why mission is part of the OUT dimension of church.

Then, like Mark Dean bringing images from outside the church into the church to inform our reflection on crucifixion and resurrection, we, too, can bring back stories of encountering the reality of God in the reality of our lives into our gathering together in church to encourage one another that God is to be found both in church and also in the world he has made.

That thought can also help us with another concern that is rightly raised when there is talk of being in and out in relation to church or salvation; that is an understandable and right concern for those who are or who think themselves to be on the outside. Despite the language of in and out, Jesus’ teaching here is inclusive. The sheepfolds he used as his illustrations were communal. Everyone in the village who had sheep brought their sheep to the communal fold overnight. That is why Jesus talks of other flocks and of the sheep recognising the voice of their shepherd. Metaphorically he is referring to the Jews as one folk and the Gentiles as another to say that in God all will ultimately form one flock. Additionally, as we have seen, the boundary separating those on the inside from those on the outside is only for the creation of a temporary safe space and is then breached as the flock go back into the wider world during daylight hours.

The job of the shepherd – the role that Jesus says he plays - is not to keep the flock cooped up together in the sheepfold but to lead them out to find pasture because the sheep are to experience life in all its fullness and find God in this fullness. We see an example of this happening in practice when we look at the reading from Acts 2. 42 - 47 that we heard earlier. There, the early disciples spent time together in their homes, sharing what they had with each other – possessions, money, food – and learning together from their shepherds, the apostles. But they also left the safety of their own gatherings and went out into the city to the Temple and met and taught there too. So, in their practice there was the same pattern of coming in and going out that we have found in Jesus’ teaching. There was also the fullness of life that Jesus spoke about – we can sense the energy, excitement and enthusiasm of these people as they responded to all that Jesus had done for them by talking about him and sharing what they had with others. They had really come alive, their lives had meaning and purpose, their joy was to share all that they had.

We need this same pattern within our lives too; times of joining together with other Christians and with those who teach and lead us and times of being out in the world, in our families, communities and workplaces. Both are essential to us as Christians. If we are just out in the world without the support of times together in the fold, we are likely to become lost like the sheep for which the shepherd had to search. If we just remain in the fold then we do not experience life in all its fullness and do not reveal the reality of God in the reality of our lives. When we leave the fold - the gathering of God’s people – we do not go out on our own, the good Shepherd, Jesus, leads us out and goes with us that we may experience life in all its fullness, finding God in the reality of our lives.

May we, like the dancers at St Paul’s, learn to navigate the spaces of church and world, coming together for protection and comfort then perforating the boundary and moving out, before returning to the centre and reconnecting in different configurations and, as a result, enabling others to find themselves caught up within the action of these movements.

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Strawbs - Is It Today, Lord?

Ho Wai-On R.I.P. and Memorial Service

 

A Memorial Service for Ho Wai-On will be held on Tuesday at 12.30 pm at St Andrew's Wickford. Wai-On was a composer, and creator/director of works/projects combining music, dance, drama and visual arts across different cultures.

In the face of adversity Wai-On found happiness through creativity. She lived in London for most of her life, but spent her earlier years in Hong Kong. Being bi-lingual and bicultural, it was easy for her to extend her boundaries, to increase her knowledge and pleasure in things artistic and cultural and this was an asset to her creative work. Find out more here and here.

This video was completed before Wai-On passed away and is published at her request.

From Hong Kong to Wickford, was a multifaceted pictorial display featuring works from Wai-On's lifetime of interaction with UK and Hong Kong based artists and other people. It was staged from 25 Sep to 16 Dec 2023 at St. Andrew’s Church, Wickford.

It featured works by:

• Clark Ainsworth
• Dr. Juliet Chenery-Robson
• Choy May-Chu
• Ruth Cutler
• Graham Ekins
• Ho Wai-On (Ann-Kay)
• Polly Hope
• Kitty Kwan
• Herry Lawford
• Toby Man
• Professor Stephen Matthews
• Ben Rector
• Roy Reed
• Martin Singleton
• Albert Tang
• Dr David Tong
• Marcus West
• Benson Wong

This video includes an overview of the displays accompanied by Song & Dance by Ho Wai-On played by Julian Jacobson on Piano.

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Ho Wai-On - Blessed.

Bas-Arts-Index: Art & Series

Bas-Arts-Index have a set of 5 events titled Art & Series taking place over May. Each event focuses on a different town in the borough and responds to the area's locale through various themes:

• Wickford: Art & Religion on Saturday 9th May
• Langdon Hills: Art & Nature on Monday 11th May
• Billericay: Art & Creative Business on Saturday 16th May
• Pitsea: Art & Smell on Saturday 23rd May
• Basildon: Art & Public Space on Saturday 30th May

These series of events are in collaboration with Towngate Theatre and have been supported by Arts Council England.

You can find full descriptions of the events below, with timings and locations, and for the events with booking, please do book to secure a space.

ART & SERIES


Wickford: Art & Religion
Saturday 9th May
2pm to 4pm
Location: St Catherine's Church, 120 Southend Rd, Wickford
Lead by Maxine Newell and Katie Carter-Leay
No booked required

Participants create a collaged artwork about a specific, meaningful memory, a significant personal moment in response to the church or a response to the story of St Catherine's.
St Catherine’s is a place to come and sit in peace and quiet, to have a look around at the beautiful building and create artwork that responds to the church’s uniqueness.


Langdon Hills: Art & Nature
Monday 11th May
11am to 2pm
Location: Essex Wildlife Trust Langdon Nature Discovery Centre
Lead by Maxine Newell and Sylak Ravenspine
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/art-nature-tickets-1987306807157?aff=ebdsoporgprofile&_gl=1*1ylszpd*_up*MQ..*_ga*NDY1MTY2OTQ4LjE3NzYxODU1Nzk.*_ga_TQVES5V6SH*czE3NzYxODU1NzkkbzEkZzAkdDE3NzYxODU1NzkkajYwJGwwJGgw

Join local artists Maxine Newell and Sylak Ravenspine to assist you in connection with the textural nature of our environment. Our event draws us all to engage through touch as much as through sight, and making physical contact with the fabric of the land creates deeper bonds with the landscape. Enjoy bookbinding with recycled items, making impression clay for printmaking and a print-gathering walk around the Plotlands area of the park.


Billericay: Art & Creative Business
Saturday 16th May
11am to 1pm
Location: Billericay Train Station
Lead by Shaun Badham and Cien Butler

Book a ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/art-creative-business-tickets-1987384533639?aff=ebdsoporgprofile&_gl=1*1ylszpd*_up*MQ..*_ga*NDY1MTY2OTQ4LjE3NzYxODU1Nzk.*_ga_TQVES5V6SH*czE3NzYxODU1NzkkbzEkZzAkdDE3NzYxODU1NzkkajYwJGwwJGgw

Are you curious about how a cultural business is run, or what it takes to run a premises? Join in this walking workshop to find out more!

Fancy a chat with those who run/organise these kinds of spaces and what the pros and cons are? Or simply fancy a walk with like minded creatives to explore numerous cultural venue/spaces that you might want to experience or get involved with in the future?

If so, then this guided walking tour through Billericay High Street will be for you.


Pitsea: Art & Smell
Saturday 23rd May
2pm to 4:30pm
Location: The Range, Pitsea market
Lead by Laura Whiting and Katie Carter-Leay

Book a ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/art-smell-registration-1987307773046?aff=erellivmlt

Join Katie and Laura for a facilitated Smell Walk to understand the world through a different sense. The session will start with an introduction to Smell Walks, inspired by the work of Dr Kate McLean as our foundation, and learning some drawing tips from Katie on mark making. Then we will venture around the market and to document our perceptions. The session will conclude with sharing how our investigations went and combining our findings onto a smell map of the market.


Basildon: Art & Public Space
Saturday 30th May
11am onwards
Location: Basildon Town Centre
Lead by Tony Marriage and Paul Rix Clancy
No booking required

This workshop explores emotional geography, the idea that people experience places through memory, identity and personal stories. Participants will contribute to a collaborative artwork that maps how Basildon’s public spaces are experienced by those who live, work and spend time in the town. By collecting reflections, stories and photographs connected to Basildon town centre and Gloucester Park, the project creates an evolving portrait of the town through the voices of its community.

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Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence.

Modern Irish Artists and Theology

My visit to the National Gallery of Ireland on Wednesday to review William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy (click here for my International Times review) also served to remind me of Theology and Modern Irish Art by Gesa E. Thiessen which explores central issues in the dialogue between theology and art, paying special attention to the spiritual aspects of a number of modern Irish painters. 

These include several on show in the NGI's collection including Mainie Jellett, Colin Middleton, Louis le Brocquy, Patrick Collins and Patrick Scott. Click here for my Airbrushed from Art History post on Theology and Modern Irish Art.

I first visited the NGI last year to see their excellent exhibition Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone. The Art of Friendship (click here to read my review). I included this exhibition as one of my three standout exhibitions for 2025 in an Artlyst article which can be read here. 

The NGI's collection includes work by Hone as well as Jellett. Additionally, their stained glass room also has work by the wonderful Harry Clarke. For more on my earlier visit to Dublin including photographs of work by Hone and Patrick Pye, see here, 

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U2 - Lights Of Home.

Windows on the world (567)

Dublin, 2026

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Joni Mitchell - Shine.

 

International Times: Worlds of Creation and Destruction

My latest exhibition review for International Times is on 'William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy' at National Gallery of Ireland:

'by showing Blake’s extraordinary works alongside paintings and drawings by his contemporaries - those he admired and those who he inspired – this exhibition reveals ‘how British art was taken in exciting new directions in this moment’. We also see the greatness of Blake’s vision and work afresh.

To fully understand this, however, we need to see that Blake’s visions were not simply romantic fantasy but were of spiritual reality breaking into the material world.'

For more on Blake see here and here.

My earlier pieces for IT are: an interview with the artist Alexander de Cadenet; an interview with artist, poet, priest Spencer Reece, an interview with the poet Chris Emery, an interview with Jago Cooper, Director of the the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, a profile of singer-songwriter Bill Fay, plus reviews of: Joseph Arthur in concert; installations by Chiharu Shiota and Yin Xiuzhen at Hayward Gsllery, U2's 'Days of Ash', Mumford and Sons' 'Prizefighter' and Moby's 'Future Quiet'; 'Collected Poems' by Kevin Crossley-Holland; 'Lux' by Rosalía; 'Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere'; 'Great Art Explained' by James Payne; 'Down River: In Search of David Ackles' by Mark Brend; 'Headwater' by Rev Simpkins; 'The Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art' by Jonathan A. Anderson; 'Breaking Lines' at the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, albums by Deacon Blue, Mumford and Sons, and Andrew Rumsey, also by Joy Oladokun and Michael Kiwanaku; 'Nolan's Africa' by Andrew Turley; Mavis Staples in concert at Union Chapel; T Bone Burnett's 'The Other Side' and Peter Case live in Leytonstone; Helaine Blumenfeld's 'Together' exhibition, 'What Is and Might Be and then Otherwise' by David Miller; 'Giacometti in Paris' by Michael Peppiatt, the first Pissabed Prophet album; and 'Religion and Contemporary Art: A Curious Accord', a book which derives from a 2017 symposium organised by the Association of Scholars of Christianity in the History of Art.

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

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

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

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

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

• 'Barking';
• 'Bradwell';
• 'Broomfield';
• 'Pleshey'; and
• 'Runwell'.

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

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Van Morrison - Let The Slave (incorporating The Price of Experience).

Recent exhibitions visited

'Wright of Derby: From the Shadows' at the National Gallery is the first major exhibition dedicated to the British artist’s ‘candlelight’ paintings. The exhibition celebrates and looks again at his most admired works.

Illuminated faces gather around a variety of objects – from classical sculptures and scientific instruments to bones, bladders and animals. Through his unflinching scenes of people watching, Wright of Derby proposes moral questions about acts of looking. The strong light and deep shadows create drama, reminding us of great painters from earlier centuries like Caravaggio.

Challenging the traditionally held view of Wright of Derby as a figurehead of the Enlightenment, this exhibition contributes to the ongoing re-evaluation of the artist, portraying him not merely as a ‘painter of light’. More than virtuoso scenes of dramatic light and shade, Wright of Derby used the night-time to explore deeper and more sombre themes, including death, melancholy, morality, scepticism and the sublime.

Bendor Grosvenor, who wrote about Wright of Derby in The Invention of British Art (see my review here), has, in an interesting review, challenged some of the curator's assertions. In The Invention of British Art he writes that the essential point to grasp about Wright of Derby's work is that 'pictures like the Orrery, the Air Pump, and The Blacksmith's Shop were not precursors to our modern, scientific and secular world but a reflection of Wright's scientific but still deeply religious world.'

Also at the National Gallery is 'Stubbs: Portrait of a Horse'. In the 1750s, Stubbs spent 18 months in a remote barn in Horkstow, Lincolnshire. Hidden away, he devoted his time to studying and drawing the anatomy of horses. What resulted was the most thorough study on the subject for over a hundred years. 
Incredibly, Stubbs’s pictures of horses are still some of the most accurate ever painted, all while capturing their unique characters.

In this exhibition, you’ll meet one of these horses, Scrub. Painted by Stubbs around 1762, we see Scrub rearing in a landscape backdrop — notably without a rider. In a nearby room is another monumental horse painting by Stubbs, this time of Scrub’s now famous contemporary, ‘Whistlejacket’. Painted around the same time, these are two of the first life-size portraits to depict horses without a human presence in British history. The paintings changed the spirit of equine art forever.

Grosvenor is again well worth reading on Stubbs suggesting he 'has been so identified with sporting art that his role in the development of British landscape painting has been overlooked.'

Where Grosvenor's book has a shortcoming is in its omission of any mention of William Blake and his circle, from which distinctively British forms of Visionary, Symbolic, and Fantasy art derive. Yesterday, 'William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy' opened at the National Gallery of Ireland. Blake, as artist and poet, was a defining force in Romanticism. His imaginative and unconventional works continue to inspire today. This exhibition, curated by Tate in partnership with the National Gallery of Ireland, presents a selection of Blake’s most iconic works of art, alongside paintings and drawings by his contemporaries.

Blake’s world was one of fantasy, imagination, and the ancient past, filled with fantastical creatures and visions of the underworld, expressed through a wide variety of media. By placing him in context - among the artists he admired and those he inspired - the exhibition offers insight into an era of extraordinary originality and innovation in late-eighteenth and early nineteenth-century art. Featuring over 100 works, including by James Barry (1741–1806), Henry Fuseli (1741–1825), John Hamilton Mortimer (1740–1779), Thomas Rowlandson (1757–1827), and J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851), the show explores how artists responded to a time of revolution and transformation, pushing the boundaries of their art into new imaginative territories.

The final exhibition I visited in the past week was 'Samurai' at the British Museum. The samurai is an iconic figure, evoking images of formidable fighters possessing ideals of courage, honour and self-sacrifice. Yet much of what we think we know about samurai is invented tradition.

Our concept of samurai today has its origins in medieval reality. A distinct warrior class – known in Japan as bushi – emerged and gained political dominance from the 1100s. But during a prolonged period of peace, beginning in 1615, the samurai moved away from the battlefield to become an elite social class that also included women. Samurai men formed the government, serving as ministers and bureaucrats. Many became leaders in scholarship and the arts, as patrons, poets and painters, in a world where intellectual pursuits were just as important as swordsmanship.

By the late 19th century, the hereditary status of samurai had been abolished and their supposed chivalric values developed into the myth of bushido, or 'the way of the warrior'. This new code, promoting values of patriotism and self-sacrifice, was harnessed during Japan's period of colonial expansion and military aggression. The modern mythology of the 'samurai' emerged gradually across the 20th century through interactions between Japan and the wider world, with idealised images of the historical warriors increasingly consumed by foreign visitors.

The story of the evolution of the samurai is told through battle gear such as the suit of armour sent by Tokugawa Hidetada to James VI and I, as well as luxury objects such as an intriguing incense connoisseurship game. From a Louis Vuitton outfit inspired by Japanese armour, to the popular, loosely historical videogame 'Assassin's Creed: Shadows', the exhibition explores the samurai's enduring legacy in games, fashion and film.

This exhibition was instructive as all I knew previously of the Samurai came from Shusaku Endo's novel 'The Samurai'. Winner of the 1980 Noma Literary Prize, this novel is a darkly absorbing portrayal of the first Japanese voyage across the Pacific. 

In 17th-century Japan, a diplomatic mission sets sail for the West. Among those facing the combined perils of the sea and foreign courts are ambitious Spanish missionary Pedro Velasco, and Hasekura Rokuemon, a disregarded samurai determined to recover his family’s standing. They travel to Mexico City, Rome and back – but Japan’s new rulers are persecuting Christians, and if the men survive the journey, they may not survive their homecoming. This true story of courage and endurance is told with Endo’s signature power and simplicity.

Endo was one of the greatest novelists of postwar Japan. Baptised as a Roman Catholic as a child, his work explores the relationship between East and West from his unique perspective as a Japanese Christian. Endo won the Akutagawa Prize and the Yomiuri Literary Prize, was nominated for the Nobel Prize several times, and received an Order of the Culture from the Japanese government. Among his other novels are 'Deep River', 'The Sea and Poison', and his masterpiece 'Silence'.

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Kathryn Kluge, Kim Allen Kluge - Only God Can Answer.

Review - 'Jesus: The Man Who Lives'

 

Jesus, The Man Who Lives by Malcolm Muggeridge (Creed & Culture Books, 2026)

Melanie McDonagh’s Converts is a fascinating account of Catholic converts in the twentieth century from amongst artists, writers and intellectuals. Although, Malcolm Muggeridge was a later convert and doesn’t feature in McDonagh’s book, he was nevertheless part of that significant movement of the Spirit and was probably the first of those eminent Catholic converts that I read in any depth.

In the 1970s and ‘80s, as a young Evangelical Christian, I read a lot of Muggeridge’s books alongside the likes of Francis Schaeffer and Hans Rookmaaker. My interest was primarily with those who related Christian faith to wider issues albeit, at the time, within a relatively conservative framework. My bookcases still house copies of Jesus Rediscovered, Something Beautiful for God, A Third Testament, Christ and the Media, Chronicles of Wasted Time, and In a Valley of this Restless Mind, but not, surprisingly, Jesus, the Man Who Lives. It may be that, as books were harder to come by at that time and available funds were lower, I thought that by reading Jesus Rediscovered I had already encountered Muggeridge’s key ideas when it came to Jesus.

While that would not have been entirely inaccurate, what I would have missed out on at the time was, in the words of Sally Muggeridge (Malcolm’s niece), a skilfully constructed ‘portrait of Jesus’ ‘from the perspective of an artist’. Muggeridge was, first and foremost, a great writer in his ‘uniquely free journalistic style’ which meant that he ‘engaged in conversation with his reader’. He possessed the gift of composing memorable phrases – ‘God Incarnate was Jesus, and Jesus Resurrected was God’ - while also being adept at the interweaving of engaged commentary with journalistic description and the apposite piling up of similes in ways that overwhelm emotionally and aesthetically. All these skills came into play in this intriguing profile of Christ, his incarnation, death and resurrection.

Peter Hitchens, who provides the Introduction to this Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, situates our reading of the book in relation to the ‘strong, reasoned and spirited counterattack’ that followed the “new atheist” assault on faith and has subsequently ‘revived interest in religion among the young’. As a child of his time, some of Muggeridge’s commentary relates primarily to the issues and affairs of his day, and some (particularly discussion of mental health) uses now obsolete or unhelpful language. However, that is not where the burden of this book lies, and so Hitchens’ point is a fair one flagging the potential of this revised edition to contribute to contemporary debate.

Muggeridge structures the book as a free-flowing meditation on the life of Christ covering his incarnation, three years of ministry, and death and resurrection in three chapters. The respective length of each indicates something of where Muggeridge’s interests primarily lie. Although the crucifixion and resurrection are the ‘climax of the story of Jesus, the point to which everything has been leading’, his account of both and their significance is actually relatively brief.

This means he realises the significance of the incarnation itself which, to use the frame developed by Samuel Wells, is about God simply being with us as opposed to doing with us or doing for us. In The End of Christendom Muggeridge neatly summarises the argument made more expansively in Jesus, the Man Who Lives:

‘Thanks to the great mercy and marvel of the Incarnation, the cosmic scene is resolved into a human drama. God reaches down to relate himself to man, and man reaches up to relate himself to God. Time looks into eternity and eternity into time, making now always and always now. Everything is transformed by this subtle drama of the Incarnation, God’s special parable for fallen man in a fallen world.’

His great hymn to the significance and impact of the Incarnation was written in response to what he called ‘the fathomless inanity of D. H. Lawrence’s The Man Who Died’ and the draining of the New Testament of ‘its transcendental elements’ as found in Ernest Renan’s Vie de Jésus. Ever the journalist and satirist, Muggeridge needed a target to inspire the taking flight of his engaged prose.

Although Muggeridge became closely associated, through initiatives such as the Festival of Light, with a reactionary and conservative Christian agenda, this was not principally how he came to faith or where his faith interests primarily lie. The examples provided by saints and mystics who genuinely followed in Christ’s footsteps, whether contemporary, as with Mother Teresa, or literary, as with Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, were what inflamed his incipient faith. He writes that it is on behalf of the ‘Holy Words’ of the Gospels:

‘that majestic buildings like Chartres Cathedral have been constructed, and that great saints like St. Francis of Assisi have so joyously and wholeheartedly dedicated their lives to the service of God and their fellow men. To the greater glory of these words Bach composed, El Greco painted. St. Augustine laboured at his City of God and Pascal at his Pensées; in them a Bunyan found his inspiration in describing a Pilgrim’s journey through the wilderness of this world, and a Sir Thomas More comfort on his way to the scaffold. In our own time, they enabled a Dietrich Bonhoeffer to go serenely to his death, and a Simone Weil to derive solace and enlightenment from the affliction that was her lot.’

Here, in summary, is the argument later made more expansively by Tom Holland in Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind, that ‘everything truly great in our art, our literature, our music’ comes from ‘the moral, spiritual, and intellectual creativity’ which derives from the way ‘that was charted for us in the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ’.

Although his ‘despair at the decline of morality in a new age of relative affluence’ endeared him to those of a more conservative, even literalist or fundamentalist mindset, such supporters cannot have been reading Muggeridge’s actual writings on the Gospels, which were often – as with his musings on the role of Judas or the literalism of the resurrection – light years away from the established views of fundamentalism. Muggeridge’s realisation earlier in his career of ‘just how often the truth is suppressed’, which Hitchens notes as a key moment in his life and thought, led him to challenge such suppression wherever he saw it. As a result, he rarely and wholeheartedly identified with any group or movement. This quality is a part of what continues to make his prose worth reading, both in its enthusiasms and challenges.

Sally Muggeridge, in her Afterword, accurately summarises her uncle’s achievements both as a ‘controversialist’ and as a writer with ‘a unique literary style’ able to ‘write, lecture, and broadcast about faith and ethical issues’ in ways ‘to which many people found they could personally relate and respond’. Jesus, the Man Who Lives is rightly reckoned his masterpiece. One that, as well as ‘providing a fresh insight into the life of Jesus Christ and its transcendent meaning’, also enables us to ‘learn a lot about its author as an ardent convert’.

Muggeridge argued that ‘Every writer, however lowly, must seek above all else to produce words that are alive, in the hope that they, too, may go on existing gracefully and truthfully’. He then stated, ‘How much more so when they relate to the Word which became flesh in the person of Jesus!’ This is Muggeridge’s intent and achievement with Jesus, the Man who Lives, to have crafted a poetic portrait of Jesus that imparts ‘heartfelt truth’ in ways that continue to touch the lives of many, whether public figures or ordinary men and women around the world.

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James MacMillan: Tu es Petrus.

Seen and Unseen: U2’s music shows surrender can still sound like joy

My latest article for Seen and Unseen is 'U2’s music shows surrender can still sound like joy' which explores the spirituality of U2:

'Each element of U2’s spirituality also derives from Christianity: movement, from the Fall and pilgrimage; improvisation, from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; allusiveness, from the fragments of story that have been meshed together to form the canon of scripture; and reconciliation, from the theme of surrender that is central to the Crucifixion.'

I reviewed Days of Ash for International Times (see here), while my original essay on the spirituality of U2 'Tryin' to throw your arms around the world' can be read here - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. See also my Seen and Unseen article on 'Rock ‘n’ roll’s long dance with religion' which has a link to my Closer to the Light playlist on Spotify. Click here for a post summarising my music-related posts. Each year I post a Top Ten listing of albums I have enjoyed that year. My previous Top Ten's can be found here - 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012. 

My co-authored book ‘The Secret Chord’ is an impassioned study of the role of music in cultural life written through the prism of Christian belief. Order a copy from here. Posts related to the themes of The Secret Chord can be found here.

My first article for Seen and Unseen was 'Life is more important than art' which reviews the themes of recent art exhibitions that tackle life’s big questions and the roles creators take.

My second article 'Corinne Bailey Rae’s energised and anguished creative journey' explores inspirations in Detroit, Leeds and Ethiopia for Corinne Bailey Rae’s latest album, Black Rainbows, which is an atlas of capacious faith.

My third article was an interview with musician and priest Rev Simpkins in which we discussed how music is an expression of humanity and his faith.

My fourth article was a guide to the Christmas season’s art, past and present. Traditionally at this time of year “great art comes tumbling through your letterbox” so, in this article, I explore the historic and contemporary art of Christmas.

My fifth article was 'Finding the human amid the wreckage of migration'. In this article I interviewed Shezad Dawood about his multimedia Leviathan exhibition at Salisbury Cathedral where personal objects recovered from ocean depths tell a story of modern and ancient migrations.

My sixth article was 'The visionary artists finding heaven down here' in which I explored a tradition of visionary artists whose works shed light on the material and spiritual worlds.

My seventh article was 'How the incomer’s eye sees identity' in which I explain how curating an exhibition for Ben Uri Online gave me the chance to highlight synergies between ancient texts and current issues.

My eighth article was 'Infernal rebellion and the questions it asks' in which I interview the author Nicholas Papadopulos about his book The Infernal Word: Notes from a Rebel Angel.

My ninth article was 'A day, night and dawn with Nick Cave’s lyrics' in which I review Adam Steiner’s Darker With The Dawn — Nick Cave’s Songs Of Love And Death and explore whether Steiner's rappel into Cave’s art helps us understand its purpose.

My 10th article was 'Theresa Lola's poetical hope' about the death-haunted yet lyrical, joyful and moving poet for a new generation.

My 11th article was 'How to look at our world: Aaron Rosen interview', exploring themes from Rosen's book 'What Would Jesus See: Ways of Looking at a Disorienting World'.

My 12th article was 'Blake, imagination and the insight of God', exploring a new exhibition - 'William Blake's Universe at the Fitzwilliam Museum - which focuses on seekers of spiritual regeneration and national revival.

My 13th article 'Matthew Krishanu: painting childhood' was an interview with Matthew Krishanu on his exhibition 'The Bough Breaks' at Camden Art Centre.

My 14th article was entitled 'Art makes life worth living' and explored why society, and churches, need the Arts.

My 15th article was entitled 'The collective effervescence of sport's congregation' and explored some of the ways in which sport and religion have been intimately entwined throughout history

My 16th article was entitled 'Paradise cottage: Milton reimagin’d' and reviewed the ways in which artist Richard Kenton Webb is conversing with the blind poet in his former home (Milton's Cottage, Chalfont St Giles).

My 17th article was entitled 'Controversial art: how can the critic love their neighbour?'. It makes suggestions of what to do when confronted with contentious culture.

My 18th article was an interview entitled 'Art, AI and apocalypse: Michael Takeo Magruder addresses our fears and questions'. In the interview the digital artist talks about the possibilities and challenges of artificial intelligence.

My 19th article was entitled 'Dark, sweet and subtle: recovered music orientates us'. In the article I highlight alt-folk music seeking inspiration from forgotten hymns.

My 20th article was entitled 'Revisiting Amazing Grace inspires new songs'. In the article I highlight folk musicians capturing both the barbaric and the beautiful in the hymn Amazing Grace and Christianity's entanglement with the transatlantic slave trade more generally.

My 21st article was entitled 'James MacMillan’s music of tranquility and discord'. In the article I noted that the composer’s music contends both the secular and sacred.

My 22nd article was a book review on Nobody's Empire by Stuart Murdoch. 'Nobody's Empire: A Novel is the fictionalised account of how ... Murdoch, lead singer of indie band Belle and Sebastian, transfigured his experience of Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME) through faith and music.'

My 23rd article was entitled 'Rock ‘n’ roll’s long dance with religion'. The article explores how popular music conjures sacred space.

My 24th article was an interview with Alastair Gordon on the artist’s attention which explores why the overlooked and everyday capture the creative gaze.

My 25th article was about Stanley Spencer’s seen and unseen world and the artist’s child-like sense of wonder as he saw heaven everywhere.

My 26th article was entitled 'The biblical undercurrent that the Bob Dylan biopics missed' and in it I argue that the best of Dylan’s work is a contemporary Pilgrim, Dante or Rimbaud on a compassionate journey.

My 27th article was entitled 'Heading Home: a pilgrimage that breaks out beauty along the way' and focuses on a film called 'Heading Home' which explores how we can learn a new language together as we travel.

My 28th article was entitled 'Annie Caldwell: “My family is my band”' and showcased a force of nature voice that comes from the soul.

My 29th article was entitled 'Why sculpt the face of Christ?' and explored how, in Nic Fiddian Green’s work, we feel pain, strength, fear and wisdom.

My 30th article was entitled 'How Mumford and friends explore life's instability' and explored how Mumford and Sons, together with similar bands, commune on fallibility, fear, grace, and love.

My 31st article was entitled 'The late Pope Francis was right – Antoni Gaudi truly was God’s architect' and explored how sanctity can indeed be found amongst scaffolding, as Gaudi’s Barcelona beauties amply demonstrate.

My 32nd article was entitled 'This gallery refresh adds drama to the story of art' and explored how rehanging the Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery revives the emotion of great art.

My 33rd article was an interview with Jonathan A. Anderson about the themes of his latest book 'The Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art'.

My 34th article was an interview with 'Emily Young: the sculptor listening as the still stones speak'.

My 35th article was a profile of New York's expressionist devotional artist, 'Genesis Tramaine: the painter whose faces catch the spirit'.

My 36th article was a concert review of Natalie Bergman at Union Chapel - a soul-soaked set turned personal tragedy into communal celebration.

My 37th article was based on the exhibition series 'Can We Stop Killing Each Other?' at the Sainsbury Centre. In it I explore how art, theology, and moral imagination confront our oldest instinct.

My 38th article article was 'The dot and the dash: modern art’s quiet search for deeper meaning' in which I argue that Neo-Impressionism meets mysticism in a quietly radical exhibition at the National Gallery.

My 39th article was 'From Klee to Klein, Wenders to Botticelli: angels unveiled' in which I explore how, across war, wonder and nativity, artists show angels bridging earth and heaven.

My 40th article was 'When Henry Moore’s Madonna shocked Northampton' in which I explore how a modernist mother and child stirred outrage, then lasting wonder.

My 41st article was 'Turner and Constable: storms, salvation and the sublime' in which I discussed how Tate Britain reveals how rival visions shaped art and spirit.

My 42nd article was 'When converts cracked open the culture’s polished surface' in which I explored how faith’s outsiders disrupted the scene with unexpected force.

My 43rd article 'The Magdalene we rarely see' is about the painting 'Magdalene at the Base of the Cross' by Chris Gollon.

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U2 - COEXIST (I Will Bless The Lord At All Times).