St Margaret's Church, Downham

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit St Margaret's Downham for the first time. Set on a hill, with great views from its extensive churchyard, the church is dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch - slayer of dragons and patron saint of child bearing. Devotion to this saint became popular between 1200 and 1300 and there are some 80 churches sharing this dedication from that period.

The oldest part of the present building is the redbrick tower that dates from around 1470. The main part of the church, the nave, was rebuilt in the nineteenth century using much of the material from the thirteenth century building. In March 1977 the building was gutted by fire following an arson attack but has been restored with a bright, modern interior and comfortable chairs. New stained glass was commissioned following the fire from Jan Gray (East window and Prebble window) and Valerie Green (Calton window).

One artefact to survive the fire is a carving of St Margaret of Antioch that originally occupied a niche above the porch. This is now in the nave and is probably the work of Gwynneth Holt. Various biographies of Holy mention a work by her at St Margaret's - https://artuk.org/discover/artists/holt-gwynneth-19091995 - and this piece is certainly in her style. 

Holt and her husband, the sculptor Thomas Bayliss Huxley-Jones, lived at Broomfield around the same time as another artist, Rosemary Rutherford, who was the daughter of the Rector at Broomfield Parish Church. All three have work in churches within the Diocese. Holt's limewood rood figures of Christ, the Virgin and St John are at All Saints Stock. My post about Holt's life and work can be read at https://joninbetween.blogspot.com/2024/12/all-saints-stock-harvard-gwynneth-holt.html. Broomfield Parish Church has an exhibition on the work of Rutherford and is preparing a booklet about the work of Holt and Huxley-Jones. My poem 'Broomfield', part of my 'Five Trios' series, reviews their stories, work, legacy and motivations. For more on the artists of Broomfield, all of whom are commemorated there with blue plaques, see here, here, here, here and here.

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Andrew Rumsey - O Lazarus.

Amethyst Review: Connections and contemplation in poetry and prayer

'Connections and contemplation in poetry and prayer', a brief survey of the connections between poetry and prayer has been published by Amethyst Review today. It looks at the connections between the two and highlights both poems about prayer and poems that are prayers. This piece was originally written as the introduction to a Quiet Day I ran recently on Poetry and Prayer. On the same day, I also wrote a new poem entitled 'Prayer' which was published recently by Amethyst Review.

The references for the article are:

• [1] D. Yezzi, ‘“Power of some sort or other”: on poems and prayers’ in The New Criterion, April 2012 - https://newcriterion.com/article/power-of-some-sort-or-other-on-poems-and-prayers/ [accessed 27 April 2026]
• [2] D. Rotty, ‘Poetry as Prayer’ in Catholic Exchange, 10 October 2022 - https://catholicexchange.com/poetry-as-prayer/ [accessed 27 April 2026]
• [3] J. Kranz, ‘Poetry and Wisdom Books of the Bible: The Beginner’s Guide’ in overviewbible.com, 4 March 2020 - https://overviewbible.com/poetry/ [accessed 27 April 2026]
• [4] G. Heugh, ‘How poetry can help us pray’, tear fund, 19 March 2021 - https://www.tearfund.org/stories/2021/03/how-poetry-can-help-us-pray [accessed 27 April 2026]
• [5] D. Yezzi, ‘“Power of some sort or other”: on poems and prayers’ in The New Criterion, April 2012 - https://newcriterion.com/article/power-of-some-sort-or-other-on-poems-and-prayers/ [accessed 27 April 2026]
• [6] J. Ramazani, ‘Poetry and Prayer’ in Poetry and Its Others: News, Prayer, Song, and the Dialogue of Genres, University of Chicago Press, 5 November 2013 - https://academic.oup.com/chicago-scholarship-online/book/15853/chapter-abstract/170723284?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false [Abstract accessed 27 April 2026]
• [7] ‘Poetry and Prayer: Continuities and Discontinuities’, An international conference organized jointly by the Institute of English Studies and Heythrop College, University of London, 29–30 June 2012 - https://academic.oup.com/litthe/article-abstract/26/2/242/1028143?redirectedFrom=PDF [Abstract accessed on 27 April 2026]
• [8] E. McGrath Smith, ‘Poetry as Prayer’ in talking writing, January 27, 2014 - https://talkingwriting.com/poetry-prayer [accessed 27 April 2026]
• [9] S. Weil, Gravity and Grace, Routledge, 12 September 2002.
• [10] A. Carroll, ‘Vocabulary of the Heart – What Poetry Taught Me About Prayer’ in Chronic Joy - https://chronic-joy.org/vocabulary-heart-poetry-taught-prayer/ [accessed 27 April 2026]
• [11] A. Baker, ‘A Conversation with Gregory Orr’, Image, Issue 66 - https://imagejournal.org/article/conversation-gregory-orr/ [accessed 27 April 2026]
• [12] M. Guite, Faith, Hope and Poetry: Theology and the Poetic Imagination, Routledge, 28 March 2012
• [13] G. Heugh, ‘How poetry can help us pray’, tear fund, 19 March 2021 - https://www.tearfund.org/stories/2021/03/how-poetry-can-help-us-pray [accessed 27 April 2026]
• [14] G. Heugh, ‘How poetry can help us pray’, tear fund, 19 March 2021 - https://www.tearfund.org/stories/2021/03/how-poetry-can-help-us-pray [accessed 27 April 2026
• [15] ‘Oasis: Poetry’ in explorefaith.org - http://www.explorefaith.org/oasis/poetry/otherwise.html [accessed 27 April 2026]

Amethyst Review is a publication for readers and writers who are interested in creative exploration of spirituality and the sacred. Readers and writers of all religions and none are most welcome. All work published engages in some way with spirituality or the sacred in a spirit of thoughtful and respectful inquiry, rather than proselytizing.

The Editor-in-chief is Sarah Law – poet (mainly), tutor, occasional critic, sometime fiction writer. She has published five poetry collections, the latest of which is 'Thérèse: Poems'. Her novel, Sketches from a Sunlit Heaven is a 2023 Illumination Book Award silver medal winner. She set up Amethyst Review feeling the lack of a UK-based platform for the sharing and readership of new literary writing that engages in some way with spirituality and the sacred.

My poems to have been published in Amethyst Review are: 'Prayer', '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.

To read my poems published by Stride, click here, here, here, here, here, and here. International Times have also published other of my poems, including 'Spencer Reece at Bemerton' which is based on the visit that I made to Bemerton in 2026 with Spencer Reece, '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.

Several of my short stories have also 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.

For more of my poems, see here, and for my poetic meditations, see here.

My first review of poetry for Tears in the Fence was of 'Modern Fog' by Chris Emery. My second review was of 'The Salvation Engine' by Rupert Loydell and my third was of 'For All That’s Lost' by David Miller. My poetry reviews for Stride include a review of two poetry collections, one by Mario Petrucci and the other by David Miller, a review of Temporary Archive: Poems by Women of Latin America, a review of Fukushima Dreams by Andrea Moorhead, a review of Endangered Sky by Kelly Grovier and Sean Scully, a review of John F. Deane's Selected & New Poems, a review of God's Little Angel by Sue Hubbard and a review of Spencer Reece's 'Acts'.

My poetry-related pieces for IT are: an interview with artist, poet, priest Spencer Reece, an interview with the poet Chris Emery, plus reviews of: 'Collected Poems' by Kevin Crossley-Holland; 'Breaking Lines' at the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, albums by Deacon Blue, Mumford and Sons, and Andrew Rumsey, and 'What Is and Might Be and then Otherwise' by David Miller. I have also published pieces on poetry at Seen and Unseen - a profile of the poet Theresa Lola - and the Journal of Theological Studies - a review of Faith, Hope and Poetry: Theology and the Poetic Imagination by Malcolm Guite. For more on poetry, read my ArtWay interview with David Miller here and my interview with Rupert Loydell here. See also Rupert Loydell's interview with poet and musician Steve Scott. My own dialogues with Steve can be read here, here, here, here, and here. For thoughts on the links between poetry and prayer see here and here.

My key literature posts (including poetry) are:

• There were giants in those days (1)
• There were giants in those days (2)
• There were Giants in those days (3)
• There were giants in those days (4)
• The Modern & Contemporary Catholic Novel (1)
• The Modern & Contemporary Catholic Novel (2)
• The Modern & Contemporary Catholic Novel (3)
• The Modern & Contemporary Catholic Novel (4)
• The Modern & Contemporary Catholic Novel (5)
• The poetry of connection
• Debate: Has Fiction Lost It's Faith?
• Jesus is having a moment in literary fiction
• Endo & Scorsese: Approaching Silence
• Contemporary Fiction and Christianity
• Debate: Has Fiction Lost It's Faith? (2)
• Jack Clemo: The Invading Gospel
• Dealing with faith and with secularism is difficult but necessary now
• The poet’s eloquently passionate struggle at the junction of doubt and devotion
• Christian Arts renaissance: Major or minor?
• T.S. Eliot: Christianity, fragmentation and reconciliation
• Jesus Novels & Films: The Greatest Story Ever Told
• Acts of the Assassins and Jesus Novels
• Czeslaw Milosz, Oscar Milosz and Simone Weil
• Blogs: cryingforavision & Stride magazine
• Tasos Leviaditis: The Blind Man with the Lamp
• Religious concerns in Greek poetry
• Thomas Merton and Latin American poets
• American Catholic poets & writers
• Connections of Sister Corita Kent and Norman Nicholson
• Ernesto Cardenal RIP
• Czeslaw Milosz, Jerzy Andrzejewski, Oskar Milosz, and Aleksander Wat
• Faith, Mystery & Poetry
• Elizabeth Jennings & David Gascoyne: Mystical Experience and the Making of Poems
• Roots of the Catholic Literary Revival

See also 'Art and Faith: Decades of Engagement: Introduction, 1880s, 1890s, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

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Gideon Heugh - Love - An Easter Poem.

Stride Magazine: Five entries in Prog 50

Stride Magazine has a new series is called 'Five' which simply involves writing about five linked items. The first articles in the series can be found here and here. My latest article for Stride Magazine is part of this series and is entitled 'Five entries in Prog 50'.

The article is a piece about five entries found in Prog 50 an encyclopaedia of Prog Rock edited by artist and musician Maurizio Galia which has helped me go back in time and discover what I missed when I followed Punk and New Wave in the 1970's rather than Prog Rock:

'Galia is a Prog rocker, as keyboardist and singer with Aquael. Also, a skilled artist and illustrator, his images enhance Prog 50 considerably. Together with his collaborators, he has documented fifty years of Prog Rock with over 1,000 musicians from the America’s, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and South Africa mentioned. As Peter Gabriel states in his Foreword, Galia ‘has carefully assembled … a veritable army of progsters; all mounted and ready – ready to challenge any non-believers, in whatever shape or form they are found’.'

I recently wrote another article for Stride, this time about my 'Five Trios' series of poems. 'Five Trios' is a series of five long poems on thin places and sacred spaces in Essex and East London, each of which are also located within 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.

The article explores the inspiration for the series and includes information about each of the locations included.

Several years ago, Stride published a series of texts by authors about themselves and their poetry called 'Deflated Ego'. My article on 'Five Trios was part of a new 'Deflated Ego' series. Authors were invited to choose their own approach to the piece, be that self-interview, review, manifesto, contextual/social material, statement of poetics, personal comment, or whatever. The first pieces in this new 'Deflated Ego' series can be read here and here.

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.

IT have also published several of my poems, beginning with 'The ABC of creativity', which covers attention, beginning and creation, and lastly 'The Edge of Chaos', a state of existence poem.

Stride magazine was founded in 1982. Since then it has had various incarnations, most recently in an online edition since the late 20th century. You can visit its earlier incarnation at http://stridemagazine.co.uk.

I have read the poetry featured in Stride and, in particular, the work of its editor Rupert Loydell over many years and was very pleased that Rupert gave a poetry reading when I was at St Stephen Walbrook.

Rupert Loydell is the editor of Stride magazine, contributing editor to International Times and a writer and abstract artist. He has many books of poetry and several collaborative publications in print, and has edited anthologies for Shearsman, KFS and Salt. His critical writing has appeared in Punk & Post-Punk (which he is on the editorial board of), Journal of Writing and Creative Practice, New Writing, English, Text, Axon, Short Fiction in Theory and Practice, Musicology Research, Revenant, The Quint: an interdisciplinary journal from the north and Journal of Visual Art Practice. He has also contributed chapters to Brian Eno. Oblique Music (Bloomsbury, 2016), Critical Essays on Twin Peaks: The Return (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019), Music in Twin Peaks: Listen to the Sounds (Routledge, 2021) and Bodies, Noise and Power in Industrial Music (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022).

Rupert has recently contributed several guest posts to 'Between'. These have been interviews musicians including Nick Battle and Steve Scott who contributed to the early days of christian rock in the UK. I have also published an interview with Rupert himself in which he shares his thoughts on that same period of christian rock, as well as speaking about other aspects of his career and interests. These posts can be read here, here, and here.

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Aquael - Ziggurat.

Stride Magazine: Five

Stride Magazine has a new series is called 'Five' which simply involves writing about five linked items. The first articles in the series can be found here and here. My piece for the series which is on entries in Prog 50 will be published on 24 November.

I recently wrote another article for Stride, this time about my 'Five Trios' series of poems. 'Five Trios' is a series of five long poems on thin places and sacred spaces in Essex and East London, each of which are also located within 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.

The article explores the inspiration for the series and includes information about each of the locations included.

Several years ago, Stride published a series of texts by authors about themselves and their poetry called 'Deflated Ego'. My article on 'Five Trios was part of a new 'Deflated Ego' series. Authors were invited to choose their own approach to the piece, be that self-interview, review, manifesto, contextual/social material, statement of poetics, personal comment, or whatever. The first pieces in this new 'Deflated Ego' series can be read here and here.

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.

IT have also published several of my poems, beginning with 'The ABC of creativity', which covers attention, beginning and creation, and lastly 'The Edge of Chaos', a state of existence poem.

Stride magazine was founded in 1982. Since then it has had various incarnations, most recently in an online edition since the late 20th century. You can visit its earlier incarnation at http://stridemagazine.co.uk.

I have read the poetry featured in Stride and, in particular, the work of its editor Rupert Loydell over many years and was very pleased that Rupert gave a poetry reading when I was at St Stephen Walbrook.

Rupert Loydell is a poet, painter, editor and publisher, and senior lecturer in English with creative writing at Falmouth University. He is interested in the relationship of visual art and language, collaborative writing, sequences and series, as well as post-confessional narrative, experimental music and creative non-fiction.

He has edited Stride magazine for over 30 years, and was managing editor of Stride Books for 28 years. His poetry books include Wildlife and Ballads of the Alone (both published by Shearsman), and The Fantasy Kid (for children).

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McFly - Five Colours In Her Hair.

International Times: ‘A dialogue across time’

My latest book review for International Times which is on 'Great Art Explained' by James Payne:

'Payne notes that we live in an era defined by images and where we are inundated with visual content. As a result, he suggests (and this is the guiding principle for his book): ‘We need to stop and consider the impact of one image, one work of art. Art is not just something to look at, it’s something to engage with. It challenges us to pause, to question and to connect with ideas that transcend time and place.’ As he concludes, in writing of Johannes Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’, art ‘makes us realise that the quiet moments are often the most profound’.'

See also Great Books Explained on the King James Bible, a script I co-wrote with James Payne.

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: '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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ROSALÍA - Divinize.

Stride Magazine - Deflated Ego 18: Jonathan Evens on Jonathan Evens

Here's an article I've written for Stride Magazine about my 'Five Trios' series of poems. 'Five Trios' is a series of five long poems on thin places and sacred spaces in Essex and East London, each of which are also located within 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.

The article explores the inspiration for the series and includes information about each of the locations included.

Several years ago, Stride Magazine published a series of texts by authors about themselves and their poetry called 'Deflated Ego'. This month a new series has begun.

Authors have been invited to choose their own approach to the piece, be that self-interview, review, manifesto, contextual/social material, statement of poetics, personal comment, or whatever. The first pieces in this new series can be read here and here.

I am also contributing to another Stride series. This second series is called 'Five' and simply involves writing about five linked items. My piece on entries in Prog 50 will be published on 24 November.

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.

IT have also published several of my poems, beginning with 'The ABC of creativity', which covers attention, beginning and creation, and lastly 'The Edge of Chaos', a state of existence poem.

Stride magazine was founded in 1982. Since then it has had various incarnations, most recently in an online edition since the late 20th century. You can visit its earlier incarnation at http://stridemagazine.co.uk.

I have read the poetry featured in Stride and, in particular, the work of its editor Rupert Loydell over many years and was very pleased that Rupert gave a poetry reading when I was at St Stephen Walbrook.

Rupert Loydell is a poet, painter, editor and publisher, and senior lecturer in English with creative writing at Falmouth University. He is interested in the relationship of visual art and language, collaborative writing, sequences and series, as well as post-confessional narrative, experimental music and creative non-fiction.

He has edited Stride magazine for over 30 years, and was managing editor of Stride Books for 28 years. His poetry books include Wildlife and Ballads of the Alone (both published by Shearsman), and The Fantasy Kid (for children).

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Belle and Sebastian - Another Sunny Day.

Stride Magazine: 'Deflated Ego' and 'Five'

Several years ago, Stride Magazine published a series of texts by authors about themselves and their poetry called 'Deflated Ego'. This month a new series has begun. 

Authors have been invited to choose their own approach to the piece, be that self-interview, review, manifesto, contextual/social material, statement of poetics, personal comment, or whatever. The first pieces in this new series can be read here and here.

My piece in the series will appear on 31 October. My piece is about 'Five Trios' my 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.

I am also contributing to another Stride series. This second series is called 'Five' and simply involves writing about five linked items. My piece on entries in Prog 50 will be published on 24 November.

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.

IT have also published several of my poems, beginning with 'The ABC of creativity', which covers attention, beginning and creation, and lastly 'The Edge of Chaos', a state of existence poem.

Stride magazine was founded in 1982. Since then it has had various incarnations, most recently in an online edition since the late 20th century. You can visit its earlier incarnation at http://stridemagazine.co.uk.

I have read the poetry featured in Stride and, in particular, the work of its editor Rupert Loydell over many years and was very pleased that Rupert gave a poetry reading when I was at St Stephen Walbrook.

Rupert Loydell is a poet, painter, editor and publisher, and senior lecturer in English with creative writing at Falmouth University. He is interested in the relationship of visual art and language, collaborative writing, sequences and series, as well as post-confessional narrative, experimental music and creative non-fiction.

He has edited Stride magazine for over 30 years, and was managing editor of Stride Books for 28 years. His poetry books include Wildlife and Ballads of the Alone (both published by Shearsman), and The Fantasy Kid (for children).

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Bruce Springsteen - My Master's Hand.

Three special Essex locations for retreats and contemplation

 

I have been reflecting this week that we are very fortunate to have in Essex three wonderfully unique and very different locations for retreats and contemplation in the Pleshey Retreat House, the Othona Community at Bradwell, and the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist at Tolleshunt Knights. Each is well worth exploring and visiting.

Pleshey was the first Diocesan Retreat House to be established in the country. Amongst the list of Retreat conductors is Evelyn Underhill. Arguably the most distinguished Conductor of that time, it is largely due to Underhill that the Retreat house became so popular. When you come to the Retreat House in Pleshey you sense an atmosphere created by six hundred years of prayer.

My poem called 'Pleshey', which was published by Amethyst Review, celebrates the Diocesan Retreat House at Pleshey and the legacy of Evelyn Underhill as a retreat director. The poem is part of a series of poems on thin places and sacred spaces in the Diocese of Chelmsford which is called 'Five Trios'. The five poems in the series are: 'Barking'; 'Bradwell'; 'Broomfield'; 'Pleshey'; and 'Runwell'. 

The Othona Community began as an experiment in Christian community back in 1946. Its founder, Norman Motley, was a Church of England priest who served as a young chaplain in the RAF during World War II. Othona is now an open and inclusive Community rooted in the Christian faith and drawing on a wealth of other inspirations. They welcome people of all ages, abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs to their two Centres on the quiet coasts of Essex and Dorset. Through sharing in the daily rhythm of work, worship, study, and play, they seek personal renewal and glimpses of the sacred. In community they explore the relationship between faith and life and encourage one another in caring for the world and its people.

The fourth poem in 'Five Trios', which was published by International Times, is called 'Bradwell' and is a celebration of the history of the Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall, the Othona Community, and of pilgrimage to those places.

The Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, (also known as Community of Saint John the Baptist) is a monastic community which was founded in 1959 by Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov (1896-1993). On 27 November 2019, Archimandrite Sophrony was added to the list of Saints by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople. His Feast Day is on the day of his repose, the 11 of July. The Monastery is situated in Tolleshunt Knights near Tiptree, in the United Kingdom. It belongs to the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church, and is under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople.

During the first decades after the community had moved to England, the building and decorating of the churches of the monastery required much of his prayer and attention. After having abandoned painting for many years, he began to paint icons and frescos for the new places of worship. He strove to express the Face of Christ which had been revealed to him in the Light. However, he was never satisfied with his work and often adjusted and repainted the icons of Christ he had created.

Sister Gabriela joined the Community of Saint John the Baptist in 1983 after studying iconography in Paris on Saint Sophrony’s insistence. She was part of the team which was painting the murals of Saint Silouan’s Chapel and worked closely with the saint. After the mural work, Saint Sophrony continued to teach her the art of icon painting, and she assisted him in some larger works. Since Saint Sophrony’s repose, to the extent that she has been able to understand them, Sister Gabriela has tried to further his vision and ideas in various artistic projects. This includes painting the icons and murals for the round chapel which was completed earlier this year.

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Denison Witmer - Lost In My Head.

Rosemary Rutherford: East Window at St Peter's Nevendon

On Sunday I led my first service at St Peter's Nevendon, which has a significant - being her first - stained glass window by Rosemary Rutherford. My sermon from this service on the Good Samaritan can be read here.

The East Window at St Peter’s Nevendon is an important stained glass window by Rosemary Rutherford. It illustrates the Transfiguration with the central figure being Christ flanked by Moses on the left and Elijah on the right. St Peter kneels in the centre with St John to the left and his brother St James to the right.

Rutherford studied art in Chelmsford and at the Slade in London in the 1930s. She also trained in the art of true fresco. She was a VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) Red Cross nurse during the second world war and created a large portfolio of sketches and paintings of all she observed in hospitals, both at home and in Sri Lanka.

She learnt stained glass making and created 40 windows, including four in Broomfield church, where her father was Rector, to replace those shattered by bombing. She was deeply religious and her spirituality guided her artworks. Her fresco at Broomfield church shows ‘Christ Stilling the Storm’ and was surely intended to give people hope during the frightening turmoil of wartime.

Rutherford is perhaps most widely known for her stained glass windows, mostly in churches, throughout East Anglia and further afield from Yorkshire to Sussex and even in New Zealand. The exhibition features a montage of many of her windows showing her versatility of style and subject. Her love of bright, bold colours is evident both in the east window of Broomfield church, in her earlier figurative designs and in the more abstract compositions at Boxford and in windows made posthumously to her designs at Hinderclay in Suffolk.

Project Rutherford at St Mary with St Leonard Broomfield centres on the preservation and conservation of Rutherford’s special mural in the Norman round tower, St Mary’s unique 20th century fresco. Its protection within the tower and its promotion has involved replacement of the spire shingles, repair of the spire’s wooden framework, repointing of the round tower, conservation of the fresco itself and outreach to all church users and to the wider community in bringing the fresco, and Rosemary Rutherford, ‘out into the open’.

To bring the life and works of this remarkable but largely forgotten artist to the attention of the wider community, a permanent exhibition was opened in 2023. This exhibition summarises Rosemary’s life and extraordinary artistic achievements. Models reveal how fresco and stained glass are made. Some of her remarkable range of drawings and paintings are shown, including wartime artwork and flower paintings. Her spiritual, caring nature and brilliant artistry shine through.

This permanent exhibition can be viewed during church opening times, currently Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30 to 12:30 and after Sunday services.

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. My poem 'Broomfield', part of my 'Five Trios' series, reviews their stories, work, legacy and motivations.

For more on the artists of Broomfield, all of whom are commemorated there with blue plaques, see here, here, here, here and here.

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Benjamin Britten - A Boy Was Born.