The Blind Jesus (No-one belongs here more than you) exhibition

The Blind Jesus (No-one belongs here more than you) is an image in charcoal of the Last Supper which includes the central character of a visually impaired Jesus, surrounded by twelve people of differing ages, backgrounds and abilities. At the table, an empty chair invites the viewer to find themselves at the table.

The Blind Jesus (No-one belongs here more than you) exhibition will be in St Andrew's Church (11 London Road, Wickford SS12 0AN) from 9 January until Easter. The exhibition includes additional Last Supper images created by: (Still) Calling from the Edge conference (including audio description); WAVE (We are All Valued Equally); St Mary's Catholic Primary School in Muswell Hill; and St Paul's CE Primary School in Barnet.

St Andrew’s Church is usually open: Saturdays from 8.30 am to 12.30 pm; Sundays from 9.30 am to 12.00 noon; Mondays from 1.30 to 3.45 pm; Tuesdays from 1.00 to 4.30 pm; and Wednesdays from 10.00 am to 12.00 noon. To arrange a visit with in-person audio description please contact Revd Jonathan Evens on tel: 07803 562329 or email: jonathan.evens@btinternet.com. See http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html for fuller information.

On Friday 27 January we will be holding an exhibition viewing evening from 7.00 pm. See this exhibition of Last Supper images and works about belonging or feeling welcomed. Hear from artist Alan Stewart, project lead Celia Webster (co-founder of WAVE), and Revd John Beauchamp, Disability Ministry Enabler for the Diocese of London. In-person audio description will be available during this event.

The Blind Jesus (No-one belongs here more than you) has been commissioned by Celia Webster, Co-Founder of Wave (We’re All Valued Equally), as part of a project in which it seeds other images of the Last Supper that are truly for everyone. Schools, churches and community groups are being invited as part of this project to create their own Last Supper images (such as ‘Called to the Feast’ a video exhibition with audio description at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI_kHhSsVxg).

Pupils in year 1 and 2 at St Paul’s CofE School in Friern Barnet created their work with their amazing art teacher, Dimple Sthalekar. The work shows how we begin as roots and then grow. The leaves of the tree are multi-coloured and moveable to show how we can move into different spaces and communities. St Paul's is a hugely welcoming and inclusive school that welcomes children from all backgrounds and faiths and uses the medium of art to convey this.

The Blind Jesus (No-one belongs here more than you) has been shown previously at St Martin-in-the-Fields, St Andrew's Hertford and Muswell Hill Methodist Church - see https://joninbetween.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-meaning-in-miracles-seeing-and.html and https://www.hertfordstandrews.co.uk/Groups/379600/Hertford_St_Andrews/Faith/Blind_Jesus/Bli nd_Jesus.aspx. 

Celia writes: “When our third little girl was born with learning disabilities my experience was of no longer fitting in, and of feeling that we didn’t belong anywhere. For me the piece is very moving. The young man leaning on Jesus’ shoulder reminds me of the trust my daughter seems to have in God (well, most of the time!) which often teaches and challenges me. The wounded Jesus reassures me that He is never a distant God and like any loving parent experiences his children’s hurt and suffering as his own. His vulnerability reflects the God that came as a vulnerable baby and then refugee and then victim of torture. It reminds me that, whilst sadly we Christians are a very poor advert for Christianity and can appear bigoted, racist, exclusive, homophobic and judgemental, Jesus is not like this. Jesus is the friend of the overlooked and those on the edge. He is the God of an upside-down Kingdom. However worthless, not good enough, whatever sense of failure we might feel, we are shown in this picture that our true identity is found in Jesus who just wants us to be close to him and love him and allow him to love and transform us!” 

The artist, Revd Alan Stewart, intends that this Jesus challenges theological and Biblical imagery of blindness as sin or something to be cured. This is a Jesus who comes from a place of vulnerability, unaffected by the visual appearance of others. Responding to the image, a visually impaired friend of Alan’s has written “as a visually impaired person an image of Jesus who is like me makes me feel accepted … I wish my visual impairment would be cured. But I am glad that Jesus embraces it.” 

Revd John Beauchamp, Diocesan Disability Ministry Enabler for the Diocese of London, writes that: “In this Last Supper the marginalised and excluded and devalued are invited to the table. Invited to be with Jesus. To sit and eat with Him. To find themselves with Him and recognise themselves in Him. To find that their embodiment is not a barrier but in fact their passport into the kingdom where all of our human diversity is redeemed and celebrated in a riot of joy and celebration.” 

The image is offered as the beginning of a conversation. The questions it asks include: 

• What associations do we have with blindness?
• How does this Jesus ‘see’ me?
• Is his outstretched hand a welcome or an asking for help?
• Why has each figure been chosen?
• What are their stories?
• Who else should be at this meal?
• Is the empty chair for you?

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Merry Clayton - Beautiful Scars.

Called to the feast

Called to the feast is an online exhibition created for (Still) Calling from the Edge, the 10th annual conference on disability and church in partnership between St Martin-in-the-Fields and Inclusive Church, through an pre-conference art workshop. This preparatory workshop drew on the image of feasting in Jesus’ parables and teaching combined with the way he included those experiencing exclusion among his disciples and restored others to worship at the Temple. 

The pre-conference workshop resulted in an video exhibition including images and words for an inclusive Last Supper. These are in a variety of media (drawing, painting, photography, poetry, prose etc) and focus on a range of aspects of the Last Supper e.g. the feast, the table, the guests, Jesus etc. Participants were encouraged to interpret this brief in their own way and as made sense to them. The video exhibition was then shown in a workshop during the conference.

Called to the feast was inspired by The Blind Jesus (No-one belongs here more than you) project. The Blind Jesus (No-one belongs here more than you) is an image in charcoal of the Last Supper which includes the central character of a visually impaired Jesus, surrounded by twelve people of differing ages, backgrounds and abilities. The project aims to seed other images of the Last Supper that are truly for everyone and are displayed by churches alongside the original image. Schools, churches and community groups are being invited as part of this project to create their own Last Supper images. Called to the feast was the first collection of images to be seeded as a result of this project.

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Arvo Pärt - Tabula rasa.

(Still) Calling From the Edge & Telling Encounters

Since 2012, an annual conference has held space for disabled people- to gather, to resource each other and the church. It’s a partnership between St Martin-in-the-Fields & Inclusive Church, working #withnotfor disabled people. If you want to sign up to receive information about Disability Conferences each year, fill in this sign up form. You can also follow the Disability Conference on Twitter: @livingedgeconf

(Still) Calling From the Edge 2021

This year’s conference is entitled ‘(Still) Calling From the Edge’ and takes place online on the 16th October 2021. Booking and more information is on the Eventbrite page. In addition to the main conference in October, there are two pre-conference online events. The first is ‘Out of the Depths’ and is a music-based workshop. The second is ‘Called to the Feast’ and is an art-based workshop.

Telling Encounters 2020

Telling Encounters: Stories of Disability, Faith, Church and God was our 9th annual conference on disability & church in partnership between St Martin in the Fields & Inclusive Church. Recordings of sessions from the conference can be viewed here.

Devised during the pandemic, we were entirely online for the first time and hosted by HeartEdge. It was a steep learning curve to work out how to transition the conference to an online format with talks, workshops, small groups, liturgy, marketplace, chaplaincy and coffee hangout. Thanks to the disabled-led planning team and conference staff for making this work. 

Sadly due to technical issues BSL & captions were not captured on all the recordings. Huge thanks to Rachel Noel, our tech lead, for the enormous undertaking of streaming, recording and rendering the films to be the best they can be. 

Krysia Waldock's blog conference report https://www.inclusive-church.org/2021/03/12/telling-encounters-stories-of-disability-faith-church-and-god/ .

Fiona MacMillan wrote about the conference planning in Finding Abundance (ed Samuel Wells, Canterbury 2021).

An archive of materials from earlier conferences can be found at https://www.inclusive-church.org/disability-conferences/.

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Victoria Williams - Holy Spirit.

HeartEdge out & about in the Autumn

Members of the HeartEdge team will be out and about in the autumn contributing to events organised by local churches and business networks.

The first event is 'Today's Church: A Call to Social Action' at St Martin's Church, Burton Agnes on Saturday 22 September.

'For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Matthew 25:35-36

If you feel called to respond in any way to these words of Jesus then come and join us! We shall have with us the Revd Jonathan Evens, Associate Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields London & Project Coordinator for HeartEdge and the Rt. Revd Alison White, Bishop of Hull. Please bring any food you may need. To book your place email hoppertiffy@hotmail.com or call 01262 490019 by 15th September 2018. Only £5.00 and refreshments included.'

In my talk I’ll be exploring how we might find our way to becoming abundant communities that open space for generosity and cooperation in models that serve local need and address social justice. I’ll also be talking about the five ‘goods’ of flourishing, fulfillment, inspiration, blessing, and hope and will be suggesting that care comes not out of self-important altruism but out of recognition of our own need, and desire to be transformed by the strangers God sends us.

I will then be speaking on 'Visual Art: re-imaging the Christian story' at St Luke's Maidenhead at 7.45pm on Thursday 27th September -see http://www.stlukeschurchmaidenhead.org.uk/Pages/CalendarF.html.

Bell Vue Baptist Southend will be hosting 'An Evening with Sam Wells' on Wednesday 3rd October, 6.30-9.30pm (Bell Vue Baptist Church, Southend on Sea, SS1 2QA). Doors open 6pm. Talk 1: 6.30pm Break: 7.45pm Talk 2: 8.20pm.

'Sam Wells is one of the best thinkers and practitioners we have today in the area of ministry and mission.

Last year with St Martin-in-the-Fields, his church, he launched HeartEdge a new network that wants to help churches find a future bigger than their past. At the centre of this vision is the importance of congregation, culture, commerce and compassion.

This will be an opportunity to hear him inspire and challenge us on what it mean for us to be the kind of church that survives and thrives in the context of world and kingdom.

www.bvbc.org.uk | @bvbc_southend | facebook.com/bellevuebaptist

Finally, we will be contributing to the Salt Conference 2018: #StandTogether, Friday, 05 October 2018 – 9.30am to 4.30pm at Central Hall Westminster, Storey's Gate, London SW1H 9NH.

This is a conference organised by Christian Aid's SALT Business Network to explore faith, business and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The conference provides a unique opportunity to learn how you can be supported and equipped to be a changemaker in whichever business God has called you to.

Listen to business leaders from a range of sectors and hear how they’re transforming business, communities and lives.

Find out how you can join with other Christian business leaders to be a real force for good in the world.

Guest speakers include:

• Paul Gerrad – Director, Group Policy and Campaigns, at The Co-operative Group
• Lord Dr (Michael) Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE – Global Head of Citizenships for KPMG International
• David Connor – founder of the 2030hub and Coethica
• Sophi Tranchell MBE – Managing Director of Divine Chocolate, the innovative international Fairtrade cocoa cooperative in Ghana
• Martin Rich – cofounder and Executive Director of Future Fit Foundation

As well as high profile speakers from across the faith and business spheres, there will be opportunities to take part in workshops on a wide range of topics such as:

• Culture making at work
• B Corps: using business as a force for good
• Modern slavery in supply chains
• Future Fit Business Benchmark
• Finding your rhythm of grace
• Stop:Start – 10 minute reflections for people on their way to work (led by HeartEdge)
• The Bible and Business
• Putting purpose into practice – some challenges and opportunities 

The conference is a day to inspire, support and equip Kingdom business leaders. Tickets cost £55 each.
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Innocence Mission - Look Out From Your Window.

Prophetic voices calling from the edge

Vox pop interviews given by participants at Prophets & Seers: Calling from the Edge, the 2016 conference on Disability and Church, organised in partnership between St Martin-in-the-Fields and Inclusive Church. Participants shared their message to the Church.

Here is my Thought for the Week for the Parish Newsletter at St Martin-in-the-Fields:

“My weakness and my weariness can be something like a gift.”

“It is really important to have a chance to tell our stories, hear them underpinned by theology and find out how they can – or should – influence wider public policy.”

“We need to move on from welcoming disabled people as an act of grace and see them as whole people with as much right to be there as anyone else.”

“Disabled people are not so much a pastoral problem as a prophetic potential. We need to ask not how the church can care for disabled people but to ask what is the prophetic message of the church in our culture and how disabled people can make a unique contribution to that renewal.”

“Our disabilities don’t necessarily detract from how whole we are, please don’t presume we need to be healed or that we have nothing to contribute – everyone has gifts to give.”

These quotes come from ‘Calling from the Edge’, a beautifully produced booklet celebrating the first five disability conferences that have been held as a partnership between St Martin-in-the-Fields and Inclusive Church. In the booklet you will find stories and reflections that tell the story that underlies this significant series of conferences. We are launching this booklet during a weekend of events that includes the sixth conference in the series, in which we are exploring what being disabled says about God and what the stories of disabled people tell us about God’s story.

All this is predicated on the basis that nothing should be said about us without us and, as a result, that the conference is organised by and for disabled people. The prophetic voices we hear emanating from the conference and booklet are, rightly, challenging for the Church but, as Sam Wells says in his Foreword to the booklet, we need to recognise the sin of how much we have rejected in the past, and celebrate the grace that God gives us back what we once rejected to become the cornerstone of our lives. That’s what prophetic ministry means.

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St Martin's Voices - Gloria.

Reformation 500

The following piece is included in the latest newsletter for Churches Together in Westminster:

2017 is the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther posting his 95 theses on the door of the castle chapel in the German town of Wittenberg – an event that has become known as the starting point of the Reformation. Across the continent, numerous events are planned, from art to worship, to remember that episode in Christian history, and to reflect on its influence on our society as an extensive movement of reform. The anniversary is an opportunity to explore how a better understanding of what took place 500 years ago in Wittenberg can draw people and churches closer together. 

Churches Together in England have been urged to keep this anniversary together in the spirit of five 'R's:

• Rejoicing – because of the joy in the gospel which we share, and because what we have in common is greater than that which divides; and that God is patient with our divisions, that we are coming back together and can learn from each other. 
• Remembering – because all three streams of the Reformation have their witnesses and one church’s celebration could be another’s painful memory; and yet all believed they acted in the cause of the gospel of Jesus Christ for their time. 
• Reforming – because the Church needs always to grow closer to Christ, and therefore closer to all who proclaim him Lord, and it is by the mutual witness of faith that we will approach the unity for which Christ prayed for his followers. 
• Repenting – because the splintering of our unity led us to formulate stereotypes and prejudices about each other’s traditions which have too often diverted our attention from our calling as witnesses together to the mercy of God in proclamation and service to the world. 
• Reconciling – because the call to oneness in Christ begins from the perspective of unity not division, strengthening what is held in common, even though the differences are more easily seen and experienced. In national and local events, whether together or separately, churches are seeking to honour each other and give thanks for our growing friendship and fellowship in the Gospel. 

One such initiative is ‘Still Reforming’, in which twelve parishes across London are welcoming each other, fellow Londoners, and visitors on their doorsteps, inviting them to experience for themselves the diverse heritage of the Reformation. Each month, a different congregation is hosting an event beginning at its open door, in the hope that all those involved will learn something new, exchange ideas and perspectives, and attempt to understand together what the relevance of the Reformation is for us today. Several CTiW churches are involved. 

The Anglican-Lutheran Society in Partnership with Women and the Church (WATCH) London and St Anne’s Lutheran Church is organising three evenings of interactive presentations and social time to be held at St Mary-at-Hill, Lovat Lane, Eastcheap, London, EC3R 8EE, home to the Lutheran Congregation of St Anne’s, on Women of the Reformation: Overlooked Stories. On Thursday 18 May, 6.30-8.30pm, Anne Boileau, author of Katharina Luther: Nun. Rebel. Wife, will present Katharina von Bora, Dr. Martin Luther's Wife. Then, on Thursday 22 June, 6.30-8.30pm, Rev'd Dr Roy Long, a retired Pastor in the Lutheran Church in Great Britain, will speak about Katherine Parr, Henry VIII's Last Wife. Finally, on Thursday 29 June, 6.30-8.30pm, Rev’d Eliza Zikmane (Lutheran Pastor), Rev’d Dr Julia Candie (Anglican Vicar) and Sally Barnes (Anglican Lay Woman) will provide stories of Women Reformers Then and Now. 

Conferences which may be of interest include Reformation 500: Ecumenical Perspectives, the annual conference of the Society for Ecumenical Studies, on 17 June in Oxford and Responding to the Reformation, the Churches Together in England conference, from 16-18 October in Swanwick. 

See www.reformation500.uk for a fuller listing of Reformation 500 events.

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Martin Luther - Come, Christians One and All, Rejoice.