Windows on the world (378)

Kettering, 2019

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After the Fire - Laser Love.

Looking down the wrong end of a telescope

Writer and poet Rupert Loydell has just written a great piece for Ship of Fools looking back to the collaborations and collisions between church culture and the wider culture in the 1970s and 80s, with a cast including Jesus Rock Music, the Greenbelt festival, Mary Whitehouse and musicians such as Larry Norman and Steve Fairnie of Writz. Read Rupert's article here.

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); he has also edited anthologies for Shearsman, Salt and Knives, Forks & Spoons Press.

For more on the period about which he writes, read my dialogues with musician and poet Steve Scott here, here, here, here, and here, plus my other posts on CCM. For more of my writing on music, see my co-authored book with Peter Banks of After the Fire, ‘The Secret Chord’, which has been described as an impassioned study of the role of music in cultural life written through the prism of Christian belief.

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Writz - Night Nurse / Luxury / Movies. 

The return of (G)race

Conversations about (G)race is back with Chine McDonald on home and Greenbelt, the power of personal story, redeeming white spaces, uncovering African spirituality & facing up to whiteness. Just an inspiring discussion! With Azariah France-Williams & Winnie Varghese. Produced by Rosie Dawson for HeartEdge, have a listen here.

Earlier episodes in the series are:

3. Sharon Lewis 'Afro-Futurism and recovering faith'

"Your work, the spirit is pulsating through it... it's deeply spiritual..." Writer, director and award-winning film maker, Sharon Lewis in conversation about God and race with Azariah France-Williams and Winnie Varghese. "Black History Month perpetually keeps us in the past... in an iconography we're repressed... We did rebel! We did fight back! We survived and thrived! We were not decimated in terms of spirit... The very basis of Black Future Month is that we exist..." Sharon, Azariah and Winnie on Christianity colonised (and releasing colonial attitudes), coding the future, extending sci-fi, giving up Jesus and recovering Christianity and the church, being angry... and dodgy haircuts...

2. David Neita 'Barriers, boundaries and finding home'

UK based poet and lawyer David Neita in conversation with Azariah France-Williams and Winnie Varghese. “I belong to the Lord – so this is my space…” How to build a space that is welcoming, diverse and hospitable. Plus, poverty, inequality and the importance of poetry to navigate the justice system… And birthing something creative into the world.

1. Broderick Greer 'Black imagination, white reactions'

Broderick Greer Canon Precentor at Saint John's Cathedral in Denver, Colorado US in transatlantic conversation with Azariah France-Williams (UK) and Winnie Varghese (US). Talking God and race - on black resistance, black dignity and joy - and 'being the allies'. Plus the ravages of white supremacy and finding freedom. And how do you pronounce (G)race?

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Valerie June - Pushing Against A Stone.

HeartEdge & St Martin-in-the-Fields at Greenbelt

We were pleased to, once again, make a very positive contribution from St Martin-in-the-Fields to this year’s Greenbelt Festival. St Martin’s Voices gave two Great Sacred Music performances (which attracted their largest audiences there to date), led Night Prayer and a Come and Sing workshop, while HeartEdge organised and led a panel session with Inclusive Church on ‘Wit and wisdom from the Margins’.

The Great Sacred Music performance on 'The Passing of the Year' explored through word and song the passage from spring to summer, autumn to winter. ‘Amazing Grace’ explored great hymns and spirituals from the UK and USA, including Amazing Grace and Abide with me. ‘Come and sing’ was a fun hour-long workshop singing Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus alongside Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.

HeartEdge delivered a session that effectively combined affirmation with challenge which was described by one of those who came as being ‘a brilliant and thought-provoking session.’ The premise of the session was that people and communities so often overlooked — in society and church — have much to teach us about who we are called to be. Ours was a panel of church leaders and thinkers all with lived experience of various marginalisations — disabled, BAME, LGBT+ or single — as we reminded ourselves that the ‘calling from the edge’ is what shapes our prophetic and political thinking best. Our panel members were Revd Sally Hitchiner (Diverse Church), Fiona MacMillan (Inclusive Church), Rev Bev Thomas (Amani Consultancy), and Jackie Elton (Single Friendly Church).

Discussions in the session touched on the idea that the role of the Church (however defined) is to anticipate, in the here and now, the kind of radical welcome and acceptance that will be our experience in the coming kingdom of God – to have a taste of heaven now! It was suggested that, ‘beyond function, diversity in gender, and particularly diversity in sexuality speaks of the abundance of God, the playfulness of God’ and that we ‘understand God, not out of need but, having had our needs met by the eternally abundant God, we relate to God out of sheer delight’. We also discussed reinventing the Church calendar to ensure that single people feel as involved as others.

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Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah.

Heaven in Ordinary

Here's my 'Thought for the Week' for this week at St Martin-in-the-Fields:

Soon after I arrived at St Martin’s I commented that being here had similarities to being at the Greenbelt Festival, but on an ongoing basis.

Several of us have just returned from this year’s Greenbelt Festival. St Martin’s Voices gave two Great Sacred Music performances, led Night Prayer and a Come and Sing workshop, while HeartEdge organised and led a panel session with Inclusive Church on ‘Wit and wisdom from the Margins’. These contributions draw on the cultural, compassionate and congregational strands of our 4Cs, while our music-making generally is a part of our commercial offer. These contributions work well in the context of Greenbelt because the 4Cs have considerable synergy with Greenbelt’s aim of being a festival of arts, faith and activism.

Discussions in our panel session touched on the idea that the role of the Church (however defined) is to anticipate, in the here and now, the kind of radical welcome and acceptance that will be our experience in the coming kingdom of God – to have a taste of heaven now! This was also the main thrust of the Inclusive Church lecture given by Sam Wells earlier in the summer. It remains my experience that there are moments when a sense of heaven breaking in genuinely occurs both here at St Martin’s and also at Greenbelt; and this year’s experience of St Martin’s being at Greenbelt was no exception!

Our prayer for our own ongoing community life can and should be the same – to experience more of heaven in our ordinary ongoing life and experience. Let’s make that our prayer for the Autumn, in particular, as we anticipate all the potential blessings from our Autumn Lecture Series, the HeartEdge conference, our Thinking Differently About God weekend, and much, much more.

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Manchester Orchestra - I Know How To Speak.

HeartEdge at Greenbelt - Wit and wisdom from the margins

HeartEdge is back at Greenbelt again this year:

PAGODA
SATURDAY 15:30
WIT AND WISDOM FROM THE MARGINS

People and communities so often overlooked — in society and church — have much to teach us about who we are called to be. Join a panel of church leaders and thinkers all with lived experience of various marginalisations — disabled, BAME, LGBT+ or single — as we remind ourselves that the ‘calling from the edge’ is what shapes our prophetic and political thinking best.

With Revd Sally Hitchiner (Diverse Church), Fiona MacMillan (Inclusive Church), Rev Bev Thomas (Amani Consultancy), Jackie Elton (Single Friendly Church) and chaired by Revd Jonathan Evens (HeartEdge, St Martin-in-the-Fields)

In association with HeartEdge, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Inclusive Church and Single-Friendly Church

In addition, and also on Saturday 24th, singers from St Martin-in-the-Fields, with their Director of Music Andrew Earis, will explore through word and song some of the great music of our religious heritage in ‘Great Sacred Music’ - https://www.greenbelt.org.uk/artists/st-martin-in-the-fields-great-sacred-music/.

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St Martin's Voices - Gloria.

HeartEdge update

With 90 plus churches and organisations in the movement HeartEdge is demonstrating our potential to be an ecumenical and international network of churches and other organisations. We are growing an international support network for developing commercial work, cultural activity, compassionate response to social need and congregational life (the HeartEdge 4Cs).

Our vision is of a global movement renewing the local church, sustaining lively and dynamic communities in a thriving society. As such we have an ongoing programme to resource our members and are seeking to regularly add to our resources, as we want HeartEdge to be a useful community, a ‘go-to’ resource, and a source of energy and encouragement.

Collaboration and sharing of experience is what makes HeartEdge such a valuable network – our interactive events are therefore particularly appreciated. In May, we held our first HeartEdge Introductory day outside the UK, in Amsterdam, working with two of our member churches in the Netherlands. Closer to home, in June, we led introductory days in Newcastle and Derby. We’ve also held two consultancy days in the past two months, and are planning others in the autumn; let us know if that would be of interest to you and your church.

Looking ahead our main activities continue to involve sharing, connecting, consultancy and developing:

• Interviews: Our latest online resources are firstly, a conversation with Bishop Michael Curry and Xolani Dlwati, Dean of HeartEdge member St Mary the Virgin Cathedral Johannesburg, responding to four questions inspired by HeartEdge - https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/heartedge-interview-bishop-michael-curry-and-dean-xolani-dlwati/. Secondly, an interview with Sam Wells recorded during the HeartEdge event in Amsterdam in May 2019, when Sam was asked about ‘being with’, the social outreach of St Martin-in the-Fields and the ethos of the HeartEdge movement -https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/sam-wells-being-with/.
• Greenbelt: We will be at Greenbelt with a panel session on ‘Wit and wisdom from the margins’ with Revd Sally Hitchiner (Diverse Church), Fiona MacMillan (Inclusive Church), Revd Bev Thomas (Amani Consultancy), Jackie Elton (Single Friendly Church). People and communities so often overlooked, looked past or downright ignored – in society and in the church – have so much to teach us about who we are called to be. Join a panel of church leaders and thinkers all with lived experience of various marginalisation – whether disabled, BAME, LGBT+ or single – as together we remind ourselves that the 'calling from the edge’ is what shapes our prophetic and political thinking best, enabling us to be most truly who we might be – as individuals, as society, and as the church. Venue – Pagoda, 3.30pm, Saturday 24 August.
• Website: Over the summer the HeartEdge website goes live – for connecting with others and finding resource. It will include new information about our network visible to all, a simpler joining process, and a new members’ only section, where you will be able to find resources and other churches like you more easily. The new front pages will have a lighter and more appealing feel, and give more information about our growing network; there are more details about our 4Cs, what we do, and our membership benefits. We will update when its ready. We hope you’ll find it helpful.
• TryTank Experimental Lab: New HeartEdge member, TryTank Experimental Lab is helping to expand the HeartEdge network in the US by sponsoring the first year of membership for 20 US congregations to join the network -https://www.trytank.org/heartedge-usa.html.
• HeartEdge Conference: In October we welcome US theologian Winnie Varghese, asset-based community worker Cormac Russell, and many other exciting contributors for a two-day conference – a gathering of the HeartEdge community in Edinburgh (2 & 3 October – see attached flyer). The programme includes Sam Wells delivering the annual Chalmers Lecture series. This includes Sam’s lecture on ‘Entertaining Angels Unawares: It is More Blessed to Receive’ which is on 1 October, so you may want to consider coming early to hear that too! This two-day intensive will pack in lots and prioritise practical input and resources. We’ve kept costs down and there’s a subsidised rate for HeartEdge members – we hope you’ll be able to attend (register here - https://tickets.myiknowchurch.co.uk/gb/ODYyLTEz/t using the special rate for members). Initial media coverage can be viewed at:https://www.lifeandwork.org/news/news/post/1213-us-theologian-to-speak-at-edinburgh-conference; http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/news_and_events/events/heartedge_conference; andhttp://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/news_and_events/news/2019/rev_dr_sam_wells_to_examine_renewal_in_the_church_during_chalmers_lectures.
• Within Conference: To be held at Church of the Servant King, Milton Keynes on 8 October. This will be a day run alongside the Watling Valley Partnership and the Diocese of Oxford, to explore a breadth of different approaches to spirituality. Includes input from Sam Wells and St Martin's Voices. Tickets can be booked here:https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/within-tickets-64982817356.
• ‘At the heart. On the edge': A day hosted by Rev Edward Carter, Vicar of St Peter Mancroft, and Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the- Fields, which includes theology, ideas, solutions and support for re-imagining Church. A programme has been developed jointly by the Diocese of Norwich, St Peter Mancroft and St Martin’s. The day will be held at St Peter Mancroft on Wednesday 12 February 2020, 10 am to 3.30 pm. Register athttps://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/at-the-heart-on-the-edge-tickets-67692954449.

As of November last year, London Diocese designated St Martin-in-the-Fields a resource church, with HeartEdge as the resource offered. As a result, in October we are thrilled to be welcoming Revd Catherine Duce as Assistant Vicar for Partnership Development; the role will support the revitalisation of mission and ministry across the Diocese of London by offering HeartEdge events, networks and resources to the capital's churches.

This month we say thank you to Georgina Illingworth, our first Sheppard Scholar, and in September welcome Jessica White, who will be the Sheppard Scholar for the HeartEdge team during 2019/20. Jessica will be joined by other Sheppard Scholars at St Peter’s & All Saints Nottingham, St Peter Mancroft Norwich, The Parish Church of St Cuthbert’s Edinburgh and St Martin-in-the-Fields.

There is a huge amount we want HeartEdge to do! We are grateful for all you bring to this story, helping create a movement for change. I hope we get the opportunity to work together in the months and years ahead. So, do contact me to discuss ways your church could tap into HeartEdge resources more fully, including Consultancy Days, visits, Mission Model workshops, and more!

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Mark Heard - Rise From The Ruins.

HeartEdge: Wit & wisdom from the margins

HeartEdge will be at Greenbelt again this year with:

SATURDAY 24 AUGUST, 3.30 PM, PAGODA
WIT AND WISDOM FROM THE MARGINS

People and communities so often overlooked – in society and church – have much to teach us about who we are called to be. Join a panel of church leaders and thinkers all with lived experience of various marginalisations — disabled, BAME, LGBT+ or single — as we remind ourselves that the ‘calling from the edge’ is what shapes our prophetic and political thinking best.

With Revd Sally Hitchiner (Diverse Church), Fiona MacMillan (Inclusive Church), Rev Bev Thomas (Amani Consultancy), Jackie Elton (Single Friendly Church) and chaired by Revd Jonathan Evens (HeartEdge, St Martin-in-the-Fields)

In association with HeartEdge, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Inclusive Church and Single-Friendly Church

In addition, and also on Saturday 24th, singers from St Martin-in-the-Fields, with their Director of Music Andrew Earis, will explore through word and song some of the great music of our religious heritage in ‘Great Sacred Music’ - https://www.greenbelt.org.uk/artists/st-martin-in-the-fields-great-sacred-music/.

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Antonio Vivaldi - Gloria.

Windows on the world (412)

Kettering, 2018

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Dry The River - Vessel.

Windows on the world (411)

Kettering, 2018

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Low - Quorum.

Windows on the world (410)

Kettering, 2018

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Duke Special - Another Wren.

Greenbelt: Acts of the Imagination

Much of my time at this year's Greenbelt was enjoyably spent at the various contributions from St Martin-in-the-Fields and HeartEdge. Read a report on our involvement here and listen to the Radio 4 Daily Service from Greenbelt produced by Andrew Earis here.

Outside of those sessions I also saw something of the following, with standouts being the Celestial Sound Cloud, Communion Service, Anthony Reddie, and The Welcome Wagon:

• Alessi’s Ark - Her voice is delicate and her arrangements are lush and soaring (Mojo praises her "impeccable taste"), with an indie sensibility that recalls vintage-era Cardigans with a pinch of the Breeders. 
• Celestial Sound Cloud presented by Pif-Paf - The Celestial Sound Cloud is an interactive digital sound and light sculpture inspired by cosmic clouds and nebulas – the clouds of dust and gases in which stars are formed. Its beautiful swooping mirror layered material sits elusively and tantalisingly in its environment – stunning by day or night.
• Duke Special - Ever-curious about theatre, poetry, love, life, redemption, death, and gramophone records, Duke consistently finds new seams of inspiration to mine, always trying to get to the bottom of what it means to be human.
• Grace Petrie - Grace’s self-released album Heart First Aid Kit made it into Mojo’s 2017 top ten. Her unique takes on life, love and politics, and the warmth and wit with which they are delivered, have won over an army of loyal fans across the alternative, folk, political and comedy scenes.
• Kate Raworth - Kate is a renegade economist committed to the rewriting of economics so it is fit for 21st century challenges. 
• Lee Bains III and the Glory Fires - The Glory Fires draw deeply from punk, soul, power pop, country, and gospel, with a strong socio-political message - systems of privilege and oppression are dragged into the light. 
• Matthew David Morris is an artist, a cultivator of good questions, a trainee priest and lover of the human heart.
• Song of the Trees by Meg Wroe - Song of the Trees is a series of paintings on wooden panels. Images of trees are carved into plywood, giving texture as well as form. In her current work Meg is interested in the hidden, overlooked aspect of her urban landscape. “I notice moments of wonder in the ordinary – the way transformation happens through acts of the imagination.
• Professor Anthony G Reddie is one of the foremost black theologians in the UK today. As an Extraordinary Professor of Theological Ethics at the University of South Africa and a Fellow of Wesley House in Cambridge, he has written over 70 essays and articles on Christian Education and Black Theology.
• Radical, activist, spiritual, feminist, challenging state and church, standing up to the powers that be, railing against the patriarchal status quo, a beacon of inspiration and sign of bravery for those all over the world who want change but perhaps feel too timid to try to make it – that’s Pussy Riot. Their iconoclastic show about Maria Alyokhina's Riot Days book is pacey, poetic, prophetic, but above all it is punk. This is art. This is protest. 
• Communion: Windrush and Carnival - The service was led by sisters and brothers of faith and colour. Like the first disciples of Jesus, huddled in an upper room, looking out at a hostile and hardening culture, we felt the Wind-rush of God’s multi-coloured Spirit as we imagined and enacted another world. We celebrated carnival with music from Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir and contributions and leading from Rev Winnie Varghese, Chine McDonald, Evie Vernon and George Luke.
• The Welcome Wagon - Partners in music and life, Monique and Thomas describe themselves as uncool, which probably means they’re very cool. Either way they serve up a refreshingly uncomplicated brew of gospel music which nonetheless draws on a deep history of sacred song traditions. No feigned emotions, no stylistic pretensions; quite literally awesome.
• We Are Scientists - "In the past," opines bassist Chris Cain of US powerpoppers We Are Scientists, "we’ve used our music to awaken people to the depth and complexity of moral concerns." As for their latest work, "We really wanted to drop a fun-bomb." Welcome to Greenbelt, where enlightenment and f-bombs happily co-exist.

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The Welcome Wagon - He Never Said A Mumbling Word.

St Martin-in-the-Fields & HeartEdge at Greenbelt

 

The HeartEdge panels at Greenbelt were very well attended, with more coming than could be accommodated within the tent. HeartEdge was in Exchange, Greenbelt’s venue for thinking about business, and how we can make enterprise work better for the common good. Exchange was supported by Midcounties Co-op, Co-op Energy, Phone Co-op, Anthony Collins Solicitors, Co-operatives UK and by New Internationalist magazine. Our thanks to all of them for their organisation and welcome.

Each session provided plenty of ideas, stories and challenges for those attending from the material our stellar selection of panellists prepared and the responses they gave on the day. We had lots of useful conversations with people afterwards interested in HeartEdge and the mission models and theological ideas we are sharing. A good number of HeartEdge members were also present renewing their inspiration and appreciating the experiences and ideas you shared. In the sessions themselves people commented positively on the energy of our panellists, as well as the energy of the dialogue within the panels and with the audience.

In the first panel on re-imagining church and culture, artist Jonathan Kearney argued that art markets and education have been hijacked by capitalism and managerialism squashing imagination. He suggested that gift, generosity and care for culture were all necessary for a cultural renaissance. Giles Goddard of St John's Waterloo spoke about the Waterloo Festival which is part of that church's engagement with their wider community and which speaks of love, hope and transformation. He argued that capitalism has appropriated culture, so it is important for the church to be engaged with delight and light.

Andrew Earis spoke about preparing a BBC service on the Manchester bombing including the importance of using a diversity of local people as well as diverse music. He aims to open hearts and minds to a broad range of music and says that music in concerts and services are all church. Yoghurt, salt and ointment were all used by Anna Sikorska as visual aids to talk about art and culture. Church can be a part of a cultural renaissance, she said, but needs partners as involvement can't be done alone. The church may sometimes be on the edge of the cultural renaissance, but conversations of re-imaging culture may best happen with other partners on the edge. She showed a Stations of the Cross tea towel designed with homeless people at St James Piccadilly as an example of engaging broadly.

Cliff Mills of Anthony Collins Solicitors began the second panel session on re-imagining church and commerce by stating that commerce is not secondary to Church, but is a valid expression of mission. In this session we heard from Ruth Amos who spoke about faith in the business world from an entrepreneur’s point of view. Faith is sustaining in challenging times. Faith within the work-place in a manufacturing sector is expressed in dealing with colleagues, dealers, suppliers, and other third parties. David Alcock of Anthony Collins Solicitors shared the journey of that law firm which is committed to values and has a social purpose. He spoke about faith in the context of: interacting with colleagues and clients; areas of work to focus on or get out of; and strategic direction and planning. Rob Wardle of Cre8 spoke from his own experience, at a micro level, about how ‘work’ within and for church or charity seems like a natural thing for him to do. He spoke about drawing inspiration from the old monastic tradition where the work of our hands is understood to be sacred and described why Cre8’s principles seem to appeal to entrepreneurs.

Mark Kinder shared experience from 11 years of running a church (St Paul's Walsall) which has within it shops, coffee shops, charity offices etc. in a context of significant deprivation (within 3% most deprived parishes). His key points: included addressing misunderstanding/suspicion of commerce as somehow dirty which reflects a Gnosticism within modern Christian thinking; re-imagining commerce as part of Kingdom of God - human flourishing, work as creation gift, etc. to give examples of how jobs and training have been created; re-imagining sustainability for a church in an Urban Priority Area - developing property income to diversify and addressing the shortage of housing in Walsall; re-imagining commerce itself in a way that recreates the relationship between customer and provider which modern commerce has removed.

Sam Wells offered three models of church and commerce and reflected on how to work out which is the best fit for what your congregation is and needs:

1. Instrumental. Undertake a legitimate trading activity that has no direct social impact, make a profit, and then transfer that profit to other activities that do have direct social impact, whether simply the sustainability of the congregation and its building, or such mission projects as it pursues.
2. Exemplary. Undertake a trading activity that has no direct social impact, but seek to do so in an exemplary way, paying good wages, having a minimal environmental footprint, using locally generated resources, promoting fair trade practices, and so on, while still transferring profit to the activities mentioned under (1) above.
3. Social. Undertake a trading activity whose profit return is evidently secondary to the indirect social impact sought.

In the third panel session on re-imagining church and congregation Wale Hudson-Roberts began by suggesting that understanding inclusivity presents those that currently have power and prestige within churches with the challenge of relinquishing that power, in order to give place to those who are less powerful or on the edge. Simon Woodman said that his church, Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church had come to an understanding that to realise that it mattered deeply that ‘everyone’ belongs because everyone absolutely belongs with God, was an old insight newly found. This commitment to inclusion is the beginning and not the end of a journey of belonging.

Philippa Boardman argued that ‘Buildings building community’ and ‘Being a parish for the whole parish’ are keynotes in renewal. Church becomes a place in which bridges are built within the community as people are brought together for the common good. Rosemarie Mallett said that church is not just for those in the pews, but for all those around. Her church, St John’s Angell Town, is a black congregation in a Victorian church building in the middle of four brutalist-style estates. The major asset for churches and communities are their young people. 

In the final panel session on re-imaging church and compassion there was critique of housing policies including the lack of genuinely affordable house, the rhetoric of the 'undeserving poor' and of Brexit. Al Barrett said that he is interested in forming a neighbourhood where generosity is practised. Richard Frazer of Greyfriars Kirk spoke of the need to protect those on the fringe of church from those at the centre.

Pam Orchard of The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields shared her thoughts in a letter to a 'stranger' on how we can work together to provide compassion. It gives me a real sense of achievement to see you helping other clients with art projects, she wrote, noting that no one has a monopoly on experience and saying that together we make a great team. Anthony Reddie spoke about the dangers of contractual compassion and the respectability politics that often seem embedded into Mission Christianity. 

Sam Wells also spoke on the theme of 'Who is my Neighbour?', saying that we become human beings by encountering those who are other and that this is an adventure for us.

The beautiful setting of the Colonnades at Boughton Hall provided a perfect setting for the choral music of St Martin's Voices in Great Sacred Music sessions on prayer and love led by Sam Wells and Andrew Earis. St Martin's Voices also sang at a service in Shelter that I led with Andrew Earis entitled 'Tell out my Soul!' exploring the inspiration of hymnwriters and the theology of some of the most popular hymns as included in the Songs of Praise Top 100 Hymns.

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St Martin's Voices - I Stood On The River Of Jordan.