What do these stones mean?

Here is the sermon that I gave at today's Service of Remembrance held at the Wickford War Memorial in Memorial Park:

What we are doing here today has ancient origins. The Old Testament speaks of the People of Israel, when they crossed the River Jordan on dry land to enter the Promised Land, picking up rocks from the river bed and setting them up in the Promised Land as a memorial to their crossing over into a new world (Joshua 4).

Stone was chosen for this memorial, as is the case with our Memorial here, because it endures from generation to generation. No names were carved onto the rocks that the Israelites set up as a memorial but 12 rocks were chosen and set up to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Their leader, Joshua, explained to the Israelites what the memorial meant saying, ‘When your children ask their parents in time to come, “What do these stones mean?” then you shall let your children know, “Israel crossed over the Jordan here on dry ground.” For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we crossed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, and so that you may fear the Lord your God for ever.’

We gather today to do essentially the same thing, to ensure that our children and, through them, our children’s children, down through the generations, honour those who serve and served to defend our democratic freedoms and way of life and remember the service and sacrifice of the Armed Forces community from Britain and the Commonwealth, in particular those from this area. As the number of those who served in the two World Wars lessens with the passing years, it becomes ever more important that we gather in this way and honour those who gave their lives for the freedom that we enjoy. The two poems which are part of this Act of Remembrance today suggest that that message has been heard and is understood.

The memorial that the Israelites set up after crossing the Jordan was not the only way in which that great event was remembered. We know of it today, because the story and Joshua’s instructions were written down meaning that we can still read them today. We can do the same here in Wickford and Runwell, thanks to the work of Steve Newman and the Wickford War Memorial Association who, through the book ‘Wickford’s Heroes’ and their website enable us to read the stories of those from this area who gave their lives in the two World Wars.

The Rt Hon John Baron MP, in his Foreword to the book, says that he was so taken with this book because, “in highlighting the tremendous sacrifice of lives so young, we are reminded yet again that war must always be a measure of last resort, to be taken up only when all other possibilities have been exhausted.” The RBLI speak of our helping towards building a peaceful future. The Bible envisages a time when people “shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” Our prayer today, as we honour the sacrifice of those who have died in war, is to inhabit that other country where “her ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace.”

The best way to show our gratitude for all those who make these sacrifices is to remember, to give thanks and to try to bring about a better world. We can do this by working together for reconciliation and justice; by being kind and forgiving to all - in our closest relationships, our neighbourhoods, our communities, our nations; by being selfless ourselves. God loves us all alike and wants us all to live in peace and harmony and to thrive, as one family, where everyone is equal and valued for their place in it. If we all recognise that, we come closer to that other country about which we sang in our hymn. 

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I Vow To Thee My Country.  

CARAVAN: I AM at St Martin-in-the-Fields

I AM is a peacebuilding exhibition that premiered in Amman, Jordan under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah involving 31 of the Middle East's premier contemporary women artists that promotes and celebrates the many accomplishments of Middle Eastern women in shaping our world into a peaceful and harmonious one.

I AM will visually celebrate the rich, diverse and crucial contributions that women from the Middle East make to the enduring global quest for harmony and peace. In this way, the exhibition aims to challenge existing stereotypes and misconceptions about Middle Eastern women by showing how they dynamically and very significantly contribute to the fabric of local and global culture. I AM will showcase the insights and experiences of Middle Eastern women as they confront issues of culture, religion and social reality in a rapidly changing world both in the Middle East and West. This exhibition is an acknowledgement of how they continue to creatively evolve new narratives that uphold their rich heritage while embracing a future full of challenges.

I AM premiered at the National Gallery of Fine Arts in Amman, Jordan (3 May - 14 June) and will next be showcased at London's St. Martin in the Fields on Trafalgar Square for the months of July and August (2 July -20 August), followed by touring North America from the fall of 2017 through the end 2018, premiering in Washington, D.C. at the Katzen Arts Center of American University (September 5-October 22).

At each exhibition venue, a variety of events and programs will be planned to stimulate discussion, dialogue and education, promoting further understanding (talks, concerts, literary readings, film screenings, panels, forums, workshops, etc.).

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Alabama Shakes - Don't Wanna Fight.

CARAVAN: I AM

I AM - Celebrating the rich, diverse and pivotal contribution that Middle Eastern women make to the enduring global quest for harmony and peace

As the world’s attention is focused anew on respecting women’s rights, and while there is an increasing need for developing understanding and encouraging friendship between the faiths and peoples of the Middle East and West, CARAVAN prepares to launch I AM, the 2017/2018 CARAVAN Exhibition of Art. Designed to address stereotypes and challenge misconceptions of the "other”, the I AM exhibition will be a visual celebration of the crucial role that Middle Eastern women play as guardians of peace, celebrating their strengths and rich and diverse contributions in the enduring global quest for a more harmonious and peaceful future.


CARAVAN’s I AM exhibition is being guest curated by Janet Rady, a specialist in Middle Eastern contemporary art, and a selection of 31 acclaimed women artists of Middle Eastern heritage from 12 countries have been invited to participate in this unique East-West peacebuilding exhibition. The I AM exhibition will premiere in Amman, Jordan at the National Gallery of Fine Arts in on May 3, 2017, running through June 14. Following Jordan, I AM will be showcased in London, England at St. Martin-in-the-Fields on Trafalgar Square (July 3-August 20, 2017), and then will subsequently tour North America through the end of 2018, premiering September 2017 in Washington, D.C. at the Katzen Arts Center of the American University.

“I AM” as the title implies a representation of an individual's culture and heritage ― showing the uniqueness of the individual, as well as one’s identity within the community and the world. The phrase “I AM” is also significant to the Abrahamic faiths. The words of divine self-identification, “I AM”, are familiar to Christians and Muslims to represent God/Allah, therefore serving as an interreligious bridge. The phrase “I AM” remind us, regardless of creed, of all being equal and one.

An exciting schedule of programs and events will accompany the I AM exhibition at each venue to stimulate discussion, dialogue and education, promoting further understanding.

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The Westies - Say It.

The Divine Image - Private view

Hannah Thomas has first-hand knowledge of the refugee crisis through the art project for Syrian children living in refugee camps in Jordan, organised with the support of Relief International. The first canvas painted in Za’atari camp was an expression of the children’s experience of war. After a number of groups of boys and girls had painted on it, the canvas had become an abstract chaos of splashes of red paint, dark colours and layers of the children’s drawings of tanks, soldiers, dead bodies, planes and destroyed homes. It is a small glimpse of all that the children witnessed in war-torn Syria. Hannah’s artwork humanises individuals forced to flee their homes, whose personal stories are otherwise shrouded by statistics. In these images we see the human cost of the war in Syria and of our treatment of those made refugees.

The Divine Image is the third exhibition at St Stephen Walbrook in the past 12 months to focus our thoughts on the issues underlying the Refugee crisis. Michael Takeo Magruder created a digital installation Lamentation for the Forsaken which juxtaposed the sufferings of the Syrian peoples in our own day with the death of Christ. In this way Michael reminded us that Christ's death is symptomatic of all suffering throughout time. Michael evoked the memory of Syrians who have passed away in the present conflict by weaving their names and images into a contemporary Shroud of Turin. His work offered “a lamentation not only for the forsaken Christ, but others who have felt his acute pain of abandonment.” Then to celebrate the Finissage of ‘The Shadow of Angels’ exhibition by Brazilian artist Kim Poor in the autumn, we presented a very special evening with perfomances by the celebrated Aleppo-born concert pianist Riyad Nicolas and up and coming singer/songwriter Katya DJ. The fact that Riyad came from Syria was the prompt to use that evening as an opportunity to express concern at the bloodshed in that country and to raise funds which may in some small way provide a measure of the healing about which this exhibition has led us to reflect.

Five years of conflict has had devastating effects on the people of Syria. The situation is shocking. Half the country is displaced and more than 4.6 million people are now refugees. More than 400,000 people have been killed. Christian Aid is working with Syrians in Lebanon and Iraq, providing support to some of the most vulnerable refugees, including women who have experienced gender-based violence, and those with disabilities.

Six-year-old Hammoudi was born in Damascus with complex physical and mental disabilities. He was given two life-saving operations by the Syrian health service, but his third operation was cancelled when violence overtook the country. More than one in five refugees suffer from some form of impairment, whether from birth, illness, accident, or a conflict-related injury. Syrian refugees with disabilities often can't get the care they need. Now, with the help of donations to Christian Aid and the work of their partner, Lebanese Physically Handicapped Union (LPHU), Hammoudi has learned to walk for the first time.

Layan is a Syrian refugee living in Lebanon. Sadly, like many Syrian women, she's a victim of domestic violence. During times of conflict, women and girls are at greater risk of sexual and domestic violence. Layan now regularly visits Kafa, a Lebanese organisation that supports women who have experienced, or are at risk of violence. She said: 'Kafa helped me to get out of the awful situation I was in. I feel that there are people who care and worry about me.' Kafa successfully helped to lobby the Lebanese government to pass a law criminalising domestic violence. The law also applies to Syrian refugees.

These are the kind of people and situations that your donations to Christian Aid’s Syria Crisis Appeal can help to address. Please donate using the red Emergency Appeal envelopes.

I also encourage you look at the website for Capital Mass, which aims to engage and support every parish in the Diocese of London in tackling poverty and inequality. The Diocese of London commissioned Capital Mass through the awarding of a grant, to co-ordinate and draw together local and diocesan wide responses into the immediate and long term needs caused by and brought to our attention through, the Syrian Refugee Crisis. The Capital Mass website therefore has lots of ideas for making a difference here, as well as abroad.

Let us pray …

Wilderness God, your Son was a displaced person in Bethlehem, a refugee in Egypt, and had nowhere to lay his head in Galilee. Bless all who have nowhere to lay their head today, who find themselves strangers on earth, pilgrims to they know not where, facing rejection, closed doors, suspicion and fear. Give them companions in their distress, hope in their wandering, and safe lodging at their journey’s end. And make us a people of grace, wisdom and hospitality, who know that our true identity is to be lost, until we find our eternal home in you. Through Christ our rejected yet risen Lord. Amen

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Riyad Nicolas - Danse De Laila.

The Divine Image

The Divine Image by Hannah Thomas is at St Stephen Walbrook from 9 - 20 January (Mon - Fri, 10.--am - 4.00pm, except Weds, 11.00am - 3.00pm). The opening night reception will be on Monday 9 January from 6.30pm, all are welcome.

Hannah Rose Thomas

Hannah Rose Thomas is a twenty-four year-old British artist and recent Durham graduate in Arabic and History. Hannah has sold her paintings and received commissions since she was eighteen years-old to fund her humanitarian work in Mozambique, Sudan, Madagascar, and, more recently, in Jordan and Calais. Hannah is currently studying an MA at the Prince’s School of Traditional Art in London. Her next art project will be in Kurdistan, to assist with the rehabilitation of abducted young women from the Yazidi community.

This special exhibition collects portrait works undertaken during Hannah’s time in refugee camps in Jordan, where she partnered with UNHCR and Relief International to organise art projects for children in the camps. Her most recent portraits are of refugees she has met while volunteering in the Calais ‘Jungle.’ Hannah’s intimate portraits seek to humanise the individuals forced to flee their homes, whose personal stories are otherwise shrouded by statistics. She draws inspiration from Islamic art and Arabic poetry, to celebrate the rich heritage of the Middle East, so often forgotten and overshadowed by war.

The title of the exhibition is inspired by a verse from William Blake’s poem The Divine Image:

For Mercy has a human heart
Pity, a human face:
And Love, the human form divine,
And Peace, the human dress.

Painting in Refugee Camps in Jordan

In April 2015, Hannah returned to Jordan to organise an art project for Syrian children living in the refugee camps, with the support of Relief International. The first canvas painted in Za’atari camp was an expression of the children’s experience of war. After a number of groups of boys and girls had painted on it, the canvas had become an abstract chaos of splashes of red paint, dark colours and layers of the children’s drawings of tanks, soldiers, dead bodies, planes and destroyed homes. It is a small glimpse of all that the children witnessed in war-torn Syria. However, many of the children confessed to Hannah that they did not want to think about or paint the war any more. Therefore the second canvas painted with the children was a vibrant expression of their memories of Syria. It was inspired by Islamic art and arabesque design, to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the Middle East, so often forgotten and overshadowed by war. After a couple of days at Za’atari, the art project moved to Azraq refugee camp, in the midst of a desolate desert wasteland on the Saudi and Iraqi border. The two canvases painted in Azraq are a reflection of the children’s daily life in the refugee camp. Hannah also painted a mural on one of the new school caravans.

The Dairy of a Girl Away From Home

This is a tapestry created from paintings by Syrian girls living in Za’atari Camp this April. The most common image they painted was home, highlighting their longing for the war to end so that they can return to Syria. The Arabic poem is by a Syrian girl named Fatimah about her beloved home:

Take care of my house,
I left in it feelings of safety and security.
Don’t mess with my closet,
It has my clothes drenched with the smell of memories that no one else knows
And pieces of paper that have no value except to myself.
Don’t lift my pillow,
I hid under it my tears in times of sadness
And creatively created many dreams.
Don’t change the order of the books on my bookshelf,
On their pages notes I have written that no one will understand like I do.
As for my desk, don’t touch it,
But leave it with the mess I make while I study.
Please keep my traces in my beloved home,
I will be reunited with it soon.

Christian Aid: Syria Crisis Appeal

Five years of conflict has had devastating effects on the people of Syria. The situation is shocking. Half the country is displaced and more than 4.6 million people are now refugees. More than 400,000 people have been killed. Christian Aid is working with Syrians in Lebanon and Iraq, providing support to some of the most vulnerable refugees, including women who have experienced gender-based violence, and those with disabilities.

Six-year-old Hammoudi was born in Damascus with complex physical and mental disabilities. He was given two life-saving operations by the Syrian health service, but his third operation was cancelled when violence overtook the country. More than one in five refugees suffer from some form of impairment, whether from birth, illness, accident, or a conflict-related injury. Syrian refugees with disabilities often can't get the care they need. Now, with the help of donations to Christian Aid and the work of their partner, Lebanese Physically Handicapped Union (LPHU), Hammoudi has learned to walk for the first time.

Layan is a Syrian refugee living in Lebanon. Sadly, like many Syrian women, she's a victim of domestic violence. During times of conflict, women and girls are at greater risk of sexual and domestic violence. Layan now regularly visits Kafa, a Lebanese organisation that supports women who have experienced, or are at risk of violence. She said: 'Kafa helped me to get out of the awful situation I was in. I feel that there are people who care and worry about me.' Kafa successfully helped to lobby the Lebanese government to pass a law criminalising domestic violence. The law also applies to Syrian refugees.

These are the kind of people and situations that your donations to Christian Aid’s Syria Crisis Appeal can help to address. Please donate using the red Emergency Appeal envelopes or go to http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/syria-crisis-appeal.


http://www.christianaid.org.uk/

Capital Mass: Diocese of London Refugee Response

Capital Mass aims to engage and support every parish in the Diocese of London in tackling poverty and inequality. The Diocese of London commissioned Capital Mass through the awarding of a grant, to co-ordinate and draw together local and diocesan wide responses into the immediate and long term needs caused by and brought to our attention through, the Syrian Refugee Crisis.

See http://www.capitalmass.org.uk/refugee-response/information-and-signposting for details of how you can respond.

http://www.capitalmass.org.uk/
http://www.capitalmass.org.uk/refugee-response

Prayers in the midst of the refugee crisis

Wilderness God, your Son was a displaced person in Bethlehem, a refugee in Egypt, and had nowhere to lay his head in Galilee. Bless all who have nowhere to lay their head today, who find themselves strangers on earth, pilgrims to they know not where, facing rejection, closed doors, suspicion and fear. Give them companions in their distress, hope in their wandering, and safe lodging at their journey’s end. And make us a people of grace, wisdom and hospitality, who know that our true identity is to be lost, until we find our eternal home in you. Through Christ our rejected yet risen Lord. Amen

Heavenly Father, you are the source of all goodness, generosity and love. We thank you for opening the hearts of many to those who are fleeing for their lives. Help us now to open our arms in welcome, and reach out our hands in support. That the desperate may find new hope, and lives torn apart be restored. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son, Our Lord, who fled persecution at His birth and at His last triumphed over death. Amen

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Martin Smith - You Have Shown Us.

The Divine Image

The Divine Image by Hannah Thomas is at St Stephen Walbrook from 9 - 20 January (Mon - Fri, 10.--am - 4.00pm, except Weds, 11.00am - 3.00pm). The opening night reception will be on Monday 9 January from 6.30pm, all are welcome.

Hannah Rose Thomas is a twenty-four year-old British artist and recent Durham graduate in Arabic and History. Hannah has sold her paintings and received commissions since she was eighteen years-old to fund her humanitarian work in Mozambique, Sudan, Madagascar, and, more recently, in Jordan and Calais.

This special exhibition collects portrait works undertaken during Hannah’s time in refugee camps in Jordan, where she partnered with UNHCR and Relief International to organise art projects for children in the camps. Her most recent portraits are of refugees she has met while volunteering in the Calais ‘Jungle.’

Hannah’s intimate portraits seek to humanise the individuals forced to flee their homes, whose personal stories are otherwise shrouded by statistics. She draws inspiration from Islamic art and Arabic poetry, to celebrate the rich heritage of the Middle East, so often forgotten and overshadowed by war.

The title of the exhibition is inspired by a verse from William Blake’s poem The Divine Image:

For Mercy has a human heart
Pity, a human face:
And Love, the human form divine,
And Peace, the human dress.

Hannah is currently studying an MA at the Prince’s School of Traditional Art in London. Her next art project will be in Kurdistan, to assist with the rehabilitation of abducted young women from the Yazidi community.

Painting in Refugee Camps in Jordan

In April 2015, Hannah returned to Jordan to organise an art project for Syrian children living in the refugee camps, with the support of Relief International.

The first canvas painted in Za’atari camp was an expression of the children’s experience of war. After a number of groups of boys and girls had painted on it, the canvas had become an abstract chaos of splashes of red paint, dark colours and layers of the children’s drawings of tanks, soldiers, dead bodies, planes and destroyed homes. It is a small glimpse of all that the children witnessed in war-torn Syria.

However, many of the children confessed to Hannah that they did not want to think about or paint the war any more. Therefore the second canvas painted with the children was a vibrant expression of their memories of Syria. It was inspired by Islamic art and arabesque design, to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the Middle East, so often forgotten and overshadowed by war.

After a couple of days at Za’atari, the art project moved to Azraq refugee camp, in the midst of a desolate desert wasteland on the Saudi and Iraqi border. The two canvases painted in Azraq are a reflection of the children’s daily life in the refugee camp. Hannah also painted a mural on one of the new school caravans.

The Diary of a Girl Away From Home

This is a tapestry created from paintings by Syrian girls living in Za’atari Camp this April. The most common image they painted was home, highlighting their longing for the war to end so that they can return to Syria. The Arabic poem is by a Syrian girl named Fatimah about her beloved home:

Take care of my house,
I left in it feelings of safety and security.
Don’t mess with my closet,
It has my clothes drenched with the smell of memories that no one else knows
And pieces of paper that have no value except to myself.
Don’t lift my pillow,
I hid under it my tears in times of sadness
And creatively created many dreams.
Don’t change the order of the books on my bookshelf,
On their pages notes I have written that no one will understand like I do.
As for my desk, don’t touch it,
But leave it with the mess I make while I study.
Please keep my traces in my beloved home,
I will be reunited with it soon.

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Victor Vertunni Family & Friends - Holy Thursday.

In the Wilderness: Preparing for Public Service (2)

Malcolm Guite is publishing on his blog the sequence of seven sonnets which have been commissioned to go with a sequence of paintings by the artist Adam Boulter on the theme of Wilderness. They will form part of the exhibition ‘In the Wilderness: Preparing for Public Service which will be installed for the whole of Lent in St. Margaret’s Westminster. 

The paintings and poems are a series of meditations on key turning points in Biblical and Church wilderness experience. Malcolm has described the way in which he and Adam worked on them as follows: 

'First he sent me the scriptural or patristic point of inspiration together with a sketch he had made, in situ, of the wilderness episode, for he is a chaplain in Amman in Jordan and has been able to journey through the desert himself and visit these sites. Then I composed the poem, drawing on both the scripture or church history and the sketch, and sent him the poem. Then he completed the painting having in mind both the initial sketch and the poem. It has been a remarkable and I think fruitful long distance collaboration, and I can hardly wait to see the paintings themselves when he and I meet for the opening night on the 17th of this month.'

In the meantime Adam has given permission for Malcolm to share the initial sketch book images he worked with, as well as the sonnets, so these are being posted in a series on his blog. If you want to see the finished paintings then do go to the exhibition which is open 9.00am - 4.00pm every day in Lent, at St. Margaret’s just next to Westminster Abbey and across from the Houses of Parliament.

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Malcolm Guite & Steve Bell - The Singing Bowl/Birth Of A Song.

Exhibitions and events update

An exhibition themed on the “Sermons and Holy Sonnets of John Donne” is being held at St Giles, Cripplegate and St James, Piccadilly in Central London until 20th July 2014. Christian Arts has worked with Art and Christianity Enquiry on the exhibition organisation and the ACE International Conference will be held during the exhibition period.

The Sacred City - Public lectures from the ACE/ASK conference: The Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Turning All into Alleluia: Arts and the Renewal of St Martin-in-the-Fields on Tuesday 8 July, 6.30pm at St Giles Cripplegate, Fore Street, London EC2Y 8DA. Professor Alison Milbank, Associate Professor of Literature and Theology at the University of Nottingham, Visualising London through the Eyes of Dante on Wednesday 9 July, 6.30pm at St James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London W1J 9LL. Tickets on the door: £5, concessions and ACE members £4 (free to ACE conference delegates). The lectures are kindly suported by the Community of St Andrew and the Gibbs Family Charitable Trust. Also, as part of the conference, two artworks by Anna Sikorska and Benedict Romain will be exhibited at St Giles-in-the-Fields, 7–11 July.

CANA Christian Arts Seminar at New Jerusalem Church, Phnom Penh, August 12 - 13, 8.00 am - 5.00 pm. Two days of teaching, sharing and worship, exploring ways to use creative gifts to serve God. CANA stands for Christian Artists Networking Association. Their vision is to see artists and creative people redeemed and rooted in the love of God, so that their creativity reflects Truth in beautiful ways. CANA has helped organize Christian arts conferences in Bali, Thailand, and different parts of Europe. They are making plans for a similar conference to be held in Cambodia in the summer of 2015.

As a precursor to that, they are inviting people to attend a two-day seminar on August 12-13, 2014, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., at New Jerusalem Church, Phnom Penh, to learn more about their vision and to explore how they might be involved in the 2015 conference. At the 2014 seminar, they are partnering with CCAM, Cambodian Christian Arts Ministry, to present some teaching and examples about how to integrate faith with creativity. This teaching will focus on who we are in Christ, and how we may effectively bear fruit for Him through the arts. It will draw upon Biblical foundations and perspectives, exploring insights revealed by Jesus Himself in His creation and in His Word, especially gleaned from the Gospel of John.

If you are an artist searching for your God-ordained niche in the Kingdom of God, or a creative person wondering how your gifts can make a difference for Christ in the world, or a missionary or church leader desiring new ideas for creative ministry, then this seminar is for you! For additional information, or to pre-register, contact Steve Scott at info.cana.arts@gmail.com . There is no registration fee, but donations to help cover expenses are welcome. Participants are requested to bring their own picnic lunch.

Adam Boulter, who is priest at the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Aqaba, Jordan, will be holding an exhibition of paintings and pastels from Jordan entitled: out of the wilderness at Piers Feetham Gallery (475 Fulham Road, London SW6 1HL) from 15th-20th September 2014. Private Views: 6.30 - 8.30 pm, Tuesday 16th  & Thursday 18th September. Gallery opening times: Monday 3 pm - 6 pm, Tuesday - Friday 10 am - 6 pm, Saturday 10 am - Midday.

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Steve Scott - The Resurrection Of The Body.

The Nativity

BBC1's The Nativity was, in my immediate view, one of the very best biblical dramatisations that I have seen because it didn't simply reproduce, in the manner of most Nativity plays, the familiar elements of the story in the forms with which we have become familiar (although it did reproduce these). Instead, because screenwriter Tony Jordan understood both what the story meant in human terms for those caught up in it and what it has come to mean for many of us in terms of salvation history, Jordan was able to movingly dramatise the human cost and challenge of the incarnation.

The changes which Jordan made to the chronology of the stories told in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke and the additions to those stories in terms of fleshing out the back stories and personalities of the central characters worked, not because they were literally true to the way the stories are told in those Gospels, but because they were emotionally and symbolically true to the meaning of the stories. The final stable scene with Mary, Joseph, Jesus, Shepherds and Magi is not accurate biblically and is the stereotypical end to most Nativity plays and yet was deeply moving, in a way that most Nativity plays are not, because we had travelled emotionally with these characters and so shared the impulses which led them to worship this child.

The quality of the writing, characterisation, and acting was exceptionally high in the production, with Tatiana Maslany's portrayal of Mary being the standout performance, but it was Jordan's understanding of the emotional and symbolic heart of the story which made the familiar story with its familiar elements profound and moving all over again.

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John Coltrane - Psalm.

The religions of consumerism and Christ

Janice Turner reflects on the false god of consumerism in today's edition of The Times reflecting young protestors on tuition fees and tax breaks are raging against consumerism's broken promises:

"Consumerism, the religion they grew up with, has let them down. The infrastructure of their lives - shiny shopping malls and coffee shops - led them to believe that living standards would keep being upgraded like mobile phones. And since less than half of under-24s are registered to vote, they believed in the power of shopping more heartily than in democracy.

How apt that they will show their political frustration, not just in angry protests, but by withdrawing their consumer support. Student unions are cancelling Vodaphone contracts and encouraging their members to do the same. The young built these companies; they can hurt them too.

As Naomi Klein pointed out in No Logo, brands win us by insinuating themselves into our hearts: a can of Lyle's Golden Syrup makes me feel warm and nostalgic; wearing my one pair of Prada shoes, I feel chic, though, in truth, they're nothing special ...

But those emotional associations matter ..."

A different attack on consumerism comes from comedian Richard Herring, currently touring Christ on a Bike: The Second Coming, who says that how show "is by no means as disrespectful to the Christian myth as all the barefaced commercialism that is going on in suposed celebration." He says that, though he is an atheist, he loves Jesus and thinks he is amazing - "It's just all the people who follow Him who tend to be such idiots. He's like the Fonz in that respect" - and notes that "if our society ran on genuine Christian principles of not judging or stone-throwing and looking after the weakest rather than rewarding the richest, then maybe we'd be better off."

There appear to be more than one artist publicly reconsidering the possibility of faith this Christmas. Tony Jordan, the writer of The Nativity (BBC1 from Monday), interviewed in Christianity says:

"I think I represent a huge swathe of people that say: 'Yeah I believe in God and all that,' but don't tend to do much about it ... It's true to say that I had a faith. I had a faith that wrestled daily with my intellect. I really struggled with God as something I could see and touch and that had some sort of physical presence that I would know if I saw it. But then the more I thought about it, I did find a route through."

For him that involved a discussion with a scientist about dark matter, while researching The Nativity, leading to the thought that this thing without which the laws of physics do not work could be God:

"... I think that whoever God is and whatever God is, it's beyond my comprehension. I can't even get my head around what it must be, or what he must be, I can't do it. And once you understand that, I think it suddenly makes sense. So the story of the Nativity for me, I kind of found I reinforced my faith along the way."

As a result, he says he genuinely hopes that people are converted through the series: "I'd love to think that people are moved enough to believe it, to find faith, but to find the beauty of faith and not to say, 'my denomination is right.'" What he hates about religion is the contrast between the beauty of "faith and religion and the teachings of Christ" - the simplicity of 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone' - and the many people who have been killed in wars over denomination and interpretation.

Andrew Motion is another who is reconsidering. He writes about being in the ambivalent middle, with millions of others, "where faith flickers off-on like a badly wired lamp ... where honest doubt comes and goes, and in so doing keeps alive the argument with and about God."

For him, the catalyst has been a priest; clever, funny and moving, whose talks made him think about things he hadn't thought about for a long time and "then in not quite the same way." This has led to:

"the conviction that my faith is not proof of a God-down Universe in which human beings scurry around trying (or not) to do His bidding. But of a Universe in which the primitive hunger to imagine beyond ourselves is manifested in a series of overlapping stories that give us the possibility and permission to do so. They shape our ambition to think bigger and to live better, and they help to define our place in the scheme of things."

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Jakob Dylan - Nothing But The Whole Wide World.