Sabbatical Art Pilgrimage: Latest ArtWay report

My latest Church of the Month report for ArtWay focuses on St Paul's Goodmayes. 

'St. Paul’s Goodmayes has been a prolific and generous patron of the arts. It contains a vast array of artwork reflecting the movement in church art from the medievalism of the Arts and Crafts movement through the angular, Cubist influences of Leonard Evetts to the semiabstract work of contemporary artist Henry Shelton, as well as a range of materials, including stained glass, silver, brass, copper, stone, wood, oil, watercolors, wrought iron, gilding, and ceramics. Contributing studios include Fullers, Morris & Co., Whitefriars, and the Faith Craft Company, with designs from artists such as Sir Edward Burne-Jones, J. H. Dearle, Leonard Evetts, Alfred Fisher, Jane Quail, and Henry Shelton..'

This Church of the Month report follows on from others about Aylesford Priory, Canterbury Cathedral, Chapel of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, Hem, Chelmsford Cathedral, Église de Saint-Paul à Grange-Canal, Lumen, Notre Dame du Léman, Notre-Dame de Toute Grâce, Plateau d’Assy,Romont, Sint Martinuskerk Latem, St Aidan of Lindisfarne, St Alban Romford, St. Andrew Bobola Polish RC Church and St Mary the Virgin, Downe, as well as earlier reports of visits to sites associated with Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Marc Chagall, Jean Cocteau, Antoni Gaudi and Henri Matisse.

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Leonard Cohen and The Webb Sisters - If it Be Your Will.

Sabbatical art pilgrimage: St Paul's Goodmayes

From 1898–9 local developer Cameron Corbett laid out an estate of good quality houses that clerks and lower grade civil servants could afford. As a result, this development in Seven Kings extending to Goodmayes has been called “the town built in a year.” Corbett added the Mayfield estate to the south and Downshall to the north meaning that the area quickly had 10,000 inhabitants (http://hidden-london.com/gazetteer/seven-kings/).

Several churches were built as a result including St Paul’s Goodmayes built in response to the development of the Mayfield Estate. When the decision was made, in 1901, to build St Paul’s this estate had 420 houses, built in the preceding eighteen months, 300 of which were occupied, representing perhaps 1,500 people. More were to be built on the south side of the railway line, meaning that a clear need for a church was established.

The Church which was built is in the style of Gothic architecture, that had been popularised by A.W.N. Pugin and which characterised church building by the Arts & Crafts Movement. The materials used are red brick with stone dressing. Messrs. Chancellor & Son of Chelmsford and London were the architects and the contractors for the first portion of the building were Messrs. Brown & Son of Braintree. The building was completed by additions in 1905, 1917 and 1929. The completed church was consecrated by the Lord Bishop of Chelmsford, The Right Reverend John Edwin on Thursday 22nd March 1917, when St Paul's became the independent parish church of Goodmayes.

St Paul’s Goodmayes has been a prolific and generous patron of the arts since the church was originally built and now has a vast array of artwork reflecting the movement in Church Art from the medievalism of the Arts & Crafts Movement through the angular, cubist influences of Leonard Evetts to the semi-abstract work of contemporary artist Henry Shelton. The materials used include stained glass, silver, brass, copper, oil on canvas, watercolour, carvings (in both stone and wood), wrought iron work, gilding work and ceramics. There is work from the studios of Fullers, Morris & Co., Whitefriars and the Faith Craft Company, with designs from artists such as Sir Edward Burne-Jones, J.H. Dearle, Evetts, Alfred Fisher, Jane Quail, and Shelton.

The Church website documents the many commissions revealing the value of memorial bequests for the commissioning of much Church Art. The first stained-glass in St. Paul`s was the East Window of the Lady Chapel which was made by the Fullers Studio (by which the work of Geoffrey Fuller Webb may be indicated). At the end of July 1944, this window was almost completely destroyed by a flying bomb, leaving only the tracery (small upper windows) intact. These show the Arms of Canterbury and Chelmsford, flanked by St. Paul, the Patron of the church and St. Cedd the 7^th century missionary Bishop in Essex.

The original main lights of the window showed Our Lady and the Infant Christ, flanked by Wise Men and Shepherds. The replacement, from 1957, is an entirely new design depicting the same scene. The three lights now show Our Lady and the Infant Christ with the kings and shepherds to left and right respectively. The replacement window came from the Whitefriars Studio and contains their mark, a White Friar, in the bottom right-hand corner, while the artist has signed it off with his normal signature, the trilby he wore in his workshop.

Like the Lady Chapel window the East Window was severely damaged in July 1944 by a flying bomb landing on the East side of the church: only one-seventh of the original remained, (to judge by the insurance valuation before and after). The original had been donated by Leonard Randall, a generous benefactor of St. Paul`s, and had been dedicated on 15^th September 1929. A design by Sir Edward Burne-Jones was used for this window which was created and installed twice by Morris & Co., firstly in 1929 and again in 1954.

As Morris & Co. note on their website (https://www.william-morris.co.uk/), William Morris is regarded as the greatest designer and one of the most outstanding figures of the Arts & Crafts Movement: ‘In 1861, with a group of friends, he started the decorating business Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. which provided beautiful, hand-crafted products and furnishings for the home. This was highly controversial at the time as it denounced the ‘progress’ of the machine age by rejecting unnecessary mechanical intervention. Influenced by the ideas and writings of Thomas Carlyle and John Ruskin, who sought to re-dress class inequality and improve society by reinstating the values of the past, Morris was motivated by the desire to provide affordable ‘art for all.’

Driven by his boundless enthusiasm, the output of the company was prolific and encompassed all the decorative arts. He is perhaps best known for his wallpaper and fabric designs but he also designed and made embroideries, tapestries and stained-glass, reviving many of the traditional arts which had been swept away by industrialisation. Before he mastered each craft, he learnt every stage of the hand making process and understood his materials thoroughly so that he could get the best results and teach others.’

Burne-Jones became the chief designer of stained glass (creating over 100 drawings throughout his lifetime) and a separate area at Merton Abbey, where Morris’ workshops were located from 1881 onwards, was allocated to his glass workshops. Morris & Co. dominated British stained glass production during the 1870s and 1880s.

The St. Alban and St. George window was donated by Leonard Randall in 1929 in memory of his nephew killed in World War I, and had been installed at the same time as the East Window. Also made by Morris & Co., this window was not a 19th century Burne-Jones design but instead a contemporary design by J.H. Dearle, who was then designing for the firm. Dearle also designed the figure of St. Peter for another West end window installed in 1933, which was complemented by a figure of St. Paul to a design by Burne-Jones. 

In between these two smaller windows is the main West Window which was made, like the previous ones, by Morris & Co (again from a design by Burne-Jones) and was dedicated on 18th December 1932. Leonard Randall, the donor of several earlier windows, died in 1932 leaving a large sum to St. Paul`s, including £400 for a window in the new Baptistry, which had been built into the West End of the church in 1929. The window depicts a well-known scene from the Gospels, where women were bringing their children to Jesus and He was blessing them. The text below (Luke 18.16) reads: ‘Suffer little children to come unto Me.’

The last of the Morris & Co. windows in St. Paul`s depicts David and Jonathan and was designed (in a rather different style from the others) by D.W.Dearle (not J. H.). This window cost £96.15s. in memory of Mr. A. E. Godfrey, and was dedicated on 4th September 1949. Today it is the ‘odd-man-out’ in the Lady Chapel as the three surrounding windows all feature Our Lady and the events of Christ`s birth. In 1949, however, it was the only stained-glass in the Chapel, (apart from the tracery over the East Window); the rest being added later. 

The surrounding windows are the most recent at St Paul’s being created in 1975 and 1980 by the prolific stained glass artist, Leonard Evetts. On 1st June 1973 Walter Tolbart died leaving a substantial bequest to the Church. He had expressed a wish that part of this money should be used for a proposed window and approaches were made to various artists, as a result, in 1974. Finally, in April 1975, the PCC approved a design by Leonard Evetts, depicting the Annunciation; and the window was dedicated in memory of both Doreen and Walter Tolbart on 30^th November of that year.

In the left-hand light, the archangel Gabriel “is drawn to give the impression that on wing he has silently entered the drama, barely touching the earth” to quote the artist`s own account. Our Lady is depicted on the right; she wears the traditional blue robe, which is decorated with a Madonna Lily. Gabriel`s salutation is written across the centre in Latin: ‘Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum’ – Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.’ Gabriel went on to say that Mary would conceive by the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit appears in symbolic form represented by a Dove in the tracery, from where shafts of light can be seen descending onto the figure of our Lady.

Then, when Miss Norah Sherren died on 17th March 1977 at the age of 82, she was described as ‘the senior member of the congregation’, having been present at the laying of the Foundation Stone of St. Paul`s. Miss Sherren left a considerable sum to the Church, including £1,000 for a memorial window. This forms a pair with the Annunciation Window: both being designed by Leonard Evetts, and with the new window telling the next episode in the life of Our Lady.

Immediately after the Annunciation, Mary spent three months at the home of her cousin Elizabeth, soon to be the mother of John the Baptist, and the two women rejoiced together over the sons they were to bear; Mary`s words of celebration included the ‘Magnificat’. This story, generally called the ‘Visitation’, took place in the hill-country of Judea, which is represented by the rocky scenery in the background of the window. Elizabeth is shown on the left, Mary on the right – notice the blue robe and lilies once again. As with the Annunciation Window, Evett’s signature is just visible: ‘L.C. Evetts fecit. 1980.’ The window was installed and dedicated on the Feast of Christ the King, 26th October 1980, and was the last stained glass window to be installed in St Paul's to date.

Prior to the Evetts’ windows two other modern windows had been commissioned. The Jesus the Carpenter Window was made by the Faith Craft Company, and was installed in 1963. The Faith Craft Company was a studio set up through the Society of the Faith, which grew from vestment manufacture to encompass various aspects of church furniture such as joinery, stained glass and statues. The Company was in operation from 1921 to 1972.

The centre section of the window shows Jesus in the carpenter`s shop at Nazareth, surrounded by the tools of His trade. On the left, there is a roundel depicting the Sower (the subject of our Lord`s famous parable); while a similar roundel on the right shows St. Paul working as a tentmaker. This unusual combination of images commemorates the longest-serving Churchwarden of St. Paul`s, Foster Threadgold, who had died at the beginning of 1959, in his 29th year of office. Well over 100 people contributed towards the memorial which was located on the North side of the Church, as near as possible to the churchwarden`s seat which he had occupied for so many years.

Finally, the St. Timothy Window comes from the Whitefriars Studio and the hand of Alfred Fisher. The Whitefriars Company was a successful British glasshouse closely associated with leading architects and designers from the later portion of the 19th century onwards including Philip Webb who designed glass for Morris & Co.

This is a lovely bright window with vivid colours achieved by the use of hand-made ‘Norman slab’ glass, which retains its lustre even in dull conditions. The window shows Timothy as a youthful figure, staff in hand, presumably engaged on some missionary journey. In the two small tracery lights above, there are symbols of the activities for which Frank Hills, in whose memory the window was given, is remembered: he was a member of the Choir for some 40 years, which explains the page of music, and the words ‘O Sing unto the Lord’; he was also at one point Churchwarden here and was also involved in the Scout Movement – hence the Churchwarden`s staff and the Scout emblem. But the words ‘Honour thy God’ have a double significance: as well as being appropriate to Frank Hills’ life, they are also a play on the name ‘Timothy’, which is derived from two Greek words meaning ‘honour’ and ‘God’.

Fr. Benjamin Rutt-Field, who oversaw the addition to St Paul's Goodmayes of a Madonna and Child by the contemporary Roman Catholic sculptor Jane Quail and Shelton’s Stations of the Crown of Thorns has said that all too “often people walk past churches and think it is just a plain building - they aren't aware of the beauty inside.”

It was Fr Rutt-Field’s belief that “for Christian art to have any significance and empathy it must be Spirit-driven, Spirit-imprinted; it should stimulate both our imaginations and our prayers.” With this in mind, he wrote an original set of meditations to accompany the new set of Stations of the Cross commissioned from noted religious artist, Henry Shelton, through commission4mission.

The seed for this commission was sown by an elderly parishioner who gifted a generous sum for a new set of Stations and whose memory lives on in the dedication of the tryptich, incorporating Stations XI, XII and XIII, which, as altarpiece, forms the central focus of the scheme. This tryptich has inventively incorporated an existing metal crucifix into its design to form Station XII; 'Jesus dies on the cross'. There are 15 paintings in all, as the scheme includes a resurrection 'Station' depicting Christ present in the Eucharistic elements.

These, though, are not the only unusual elements of these Stations, in that, as part of its semi-abstract imagery, Christ is depicted throughout only by the Crown of Thorns. Fr. Rutt-Field notes that, “these Stations are known as the ‘Crown of Thorns’, rather than ‘The Cross’, because Jesus is depicted in each one as a simple, humble crown of thorns.”

Shelton says of his semi-abstract style and minimal flowing lines, that, “as I’ve got older I’ve learnt that ‘less is more’ and through the development of my work I’ve learnt to express emotion in a semi-abstract form.” This is why he paints; “it all goes back to feeling; the pathos of suffering.”

The power of art to evoke emotion is what originally inspired Shelton and which has sustained his work throughout his career: “When I first saw the great Rembrandt’s in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the power of his images seemed to transcend time. The same thing attracted me to Christian Art as a choirboy at All Saints West Ham; the art spoke to me. I used to look at the altar and see images that were just so powerful. The images seemed to bring the past into the present and to form a profound link with the lineage of the past. I see myself as an artist trying in my small way to continue that lineage and my passion as a Christian artist is to keep that lineage alive in my generation as a witness.”

However, as an artist who often paints with the tones and harmonies of the Dutch Masters, this commission represents a considerable lightening of Shelton’s palette in order that the colour scheme of these 'Stations' harmonizes with the existing stained glass. At St Paul’s Goodmayes, Shelton's 'Stations' complement the existing works to create a feast of visual art for worshipper and visitor alike.

The commission was only the second to be completed by commission4mission, of which Shelton is both a founder member and the current Chairman. Shelton says, of commission4mission, “I want us to be offering quality work and craftsmanship, rather than mass-produced work, to continue the legacy of the Church as a great commissioner of art. The Church has, in fact, commissioned some of the greatest works of art ever produced.”

To have his work in churches, Shelton says, “really is the fulfilment of my life’s work.” He doesn’t have much ambition to show in galleries and says that, “the whole point for me is to create reaction and engage people; for people to enjoy and be moved by my work, just as I’ve been engaged by the work of other artists.”

His most recent pictures have all come to him in prayer as he has been meditating on particular Bible passages. Most of his work now comes through a meditational process and it is, perhaps, this quality of Shelton’s work to which Fr. Rutt-Field is responding when he says: “I firmly believe that these new Stations of the Crown of Thorns, painted by a deeply committed Christian artist, are indeed both Spirit-driven and Spirit imprinted. They will greatly enhance and beautify the simple form and architectural lines of our parish church, as well as our worship.”

As St Paul’s Goodmayes is a neighbouring parish to my own, I have had the opportunity to undertake ministry in partnership with Fr Rutt-Field and his congregation which has often made significant use of art and the artworks at St Paul’s Goodmayes. Art competitions and workshops have led to exhibitions timed to feature as part of community festivals, while the local cluster of Anglican churches created an Art Trail with a route for visiting each church in turn and highlighting artworks of interest in the four churches. The creation of the Art Trail was a recommendation in the report produced following a Community Street Audit of Aldborough Road South by the Seven Kings & Newbury Park Resident's Association and the Fitter for Walking project of Living Streets. Printing of the Art Trail leaflets was funded by Living Streets as part of the Fitter for Walking project and copies of the leaflets can now be found in the four churches. Fitter for Walking helped residents create streets they can be proud of and was funded by the Big Lottery Fund, along with contributions from local authorities, to work in five areas of England.

Churches have for many years been significant patrons of the visual arts and contain important and interesting works of art. The local Anglican churches in Aldborough Hatch, Goodmayes and Seven Kings are no exception with works of art by excellent local and national artists from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The significant works of art in these churches, taken collectively, represent a major contribution to the legacy of the church as an important commissioner of art. The rich and diverse range of work found at St Paul’s Goodmayes provides a demonstration of ways in which the visual arts enhance worship and mission. The story of their commissions reveals the significance of memorial donations and the journey that Church commissions made in the twentieth century from the medievalism of the Arts & Crafts movement to the semi-abstract styles of contemporary artists.  

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Larry Norman - Country Church, Country People.

Sabbatical art pilgrimage: Report - Part 5

The story of the renaissance in Church commissions is not one which has been well told, either by the Church or the mainstream art world. There are many reasons for this on both sides but my concern in making this story the focus of my sabbatical has been to encourage the Church to tell and to value this story.

As both a parish priest and through commission4mission, the group of artists of which I am part, I have seen the value of promoting and publicising the artworks which churches have commissioned. Through the creation of Art Trails locally and regionally, we have provided churches with a means of publicity which has led to events such as art competitions, exhibitions, festivals and talks, community art workshops, guided and sponsored walks, and Study Days. Each has brought new contacts to the churches involved and has built relationships between these churches and local artists/arts organisations.

The commissions I have seen speak powerfully and movingly of the Christian faith and therefore inform the spirituality of those who see them. It is my contention that to tell more fully the story of the engagement which the Church has had with modern and contemporary art could have similar impact on a wider scale and would also have the effect of providing emerging artists from within the Church and the faith with a greater range of role models and approaches for their own developing inspiration and practice.

During my sabbatical I have visited churches which seem to have little or no regard for the artworks they possess and others which actively utilize them in their mission and ministry. Commissions can often occur at the instigation of a particular individual (e.g. Hingley, Hussey, Judd), so that, on occasion, when that individual is no longer there the impetus for seeing commissions as central to mission and ministry can also be lost. 

In much thinking and teaching on church art the work and the artist(s) are subservient to the liturgy and therefore are not given prominence, as in a gallery or museum with their different functions. In this way of thinking it is what the works signify or communicate of the faith that is important, not what they are or who it was that made them. This view of art wants to screen out the fullness of the interaction that the artwork has with its context on the basis of art for Christ's sake.

In my view this is to diminish the fullness of what the work of art is and can be in its context and, therefore, to restrict or restrain the artwork. Works of art are what they are, a unique entity in their own right, but they are brought to birth by an artist(s) who influence significantly the nature of the artwork itself. The artwork is brought to birth in and often for a particular context with which the artwork is in a dialogue. Additionally, the artwork continues to exist, while displayed, in a continuing context within which it is seen and with which it interacts. We respect and remember the integrity of the work by always remaining in dialogue with it and never privileging one facet or perspective over another in order to say 'this' is what it is.

Église St Michel,Les Breseux, is a church that has really engaged with the artworks it has commissioned and the visitors who therefore come to see those commissions. This church is aware that it now receives visitors who would not otherwise come and therefore takes their needs into account with simple but essential facilities provided and a small exhibition about the commissions, Manessier, and arte sacré more generally. Many larger churches do not do as much and Les Breseux is both an exemplar and an example as to why and how to cater for and minister to those who visit to view wonderful works of art.

Metz and Chichester Cathedrals both have simple but effective leaflets which identify a prayerful route around the spaces taking in the most significant commissions and offering a brief prayer in response to each. Such leaflets encourage all visitors not simply to be tourists but worshippers as well. I know from personal experience, having created a similar leaflet for St Margaret's Barking, how much such simple initiatives are appreciated by parishioners and visitors alike.

An argument can be made that such approaches, like the information provided on wall cards in museum exhibitions, can direct viewers to see the artwork from one perspective alone. However, this does not have to be the case as viewers often take that perspective as a starting point for then seeing others themselves. Additionally, providing no way in to perspectives on artwork, as curators have found, can leave viewers unable to begin to engage with the artwork at all.

Taking the meditative nature of his Julian of Norwich series further, Alan Oldfield created a film of the paintings with Sheila Upjohn reading selected extracts from Julian's shewings. Upjohn would later make a similar use of extracts from Julian in the booklet based on the 'Stations of the Cross' by Irene Ogden which can be found at St Julian's Church in Norwich. Jane Quail's 'Stations of the Cross' based on the Beatitudes were installed in the grounds of the Anglican Shrine at Walsingham in 2001 and are much loved by pilgrims. As with the Stations of the Cross by Ogden, a booklet with meditations based on the images and texts has been published. These are imaginative artworks which make creative textual and visual connections between the events of the 14 Stations and scriptures not normally associated with those events. They integrate scriptures creating a harmonious whole and opening up the scriptures to other interpretations and connections.

Metz Cathedral, like many other Cathedrals and churches, also has an ongoing arts programme centred on music and the visual arts. Exhibitions are hung within the body of the Cathedral with the exhibition at the time I visited, by Eban, being abstract works based on these words from Georges Rouault: “Shape, color, harmony / Oasis or mirage / For the eyes, the heart or the mind.” Similarly and as part of understanding that its commissions (stained glass windows by Chagall) had created for it a new and wider ministry, Tudeley Parish Church organizes an annual music festival. The Tudeley Festival, which specializes in period performance, was established in 1985 and the church also hosts concerts by visiting musicians and choirs at other points throughout the year.

Tudeley also has an excellent website with significant information about its commissions and other initiatives. The range and quality of information on their website remains relatively rare, even among those churches and cathedrals which do feature their artworks, but another which provides a marvelous example of what can be done online is Berwick Parish Church in Sussex under the heading of ‘Bloomsbury at Berwick’.

As a result of its memorial commissions St Andrew Bobola in Shepherds Bush is a significant space for memory and memorial for those remembering Poles who died during World War II, but also, more generally, for the Polish community in the UK as a whole. The Sandham Memorial Chapel at Burghclere with its murals by Stanley Spencer was specifically created as a memorial space. St Andrew Bobola and Berwick Parish Church, by contrast, incorporate a memorial function into their wider ministry by means of their commissions.

Adam Kossowski’s murals at St Benet's Chapel have proved to be an excellent talking point in the Rev. Jenny Petersen's ministry to students of other faiths, with Muslims in particular understanding the themes of judgement found therein, leading to a willingness to use the space for prayer. She has encouraged contemplation of the mural's themes by producing a series of cards exploring the imagery of each panel together with the relevant sections from the Revelation of St John.

At St AlbanRomford their commissions have given the parish a 'beyond-the-parish ministry' in that other parishes considering commissions are regularly recommended to visit St Alban's in order to see what has been achieved, be inspired, gain ideas and be put in touch with artists. Visits also come as a result of the parish participating in borough-based Open House and Art Trail events as well as school visits. As Chairman of Governors and Link-Governor for Art and Design at The Frances Bardsley School for Girls, Fr. Hingley has played a significant role in the development of the School as a centre of excellence for the Arts including the Brentwood Road Gallery and commissions at the School by Reytiens and Cazalet. This engagement, which has led to the School joining the Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Education Affiliated Schools Scheme, enables the School, Parish and Diocese to "support each other in the spirit of Christian fellowship and service" finding "innovative ways of working together and learning from one another." One outcome was the inclusion of artworks by students which featured in the church as part of its Fan the Flame mission week.

In 2009 St Alban's hosted the launch of commission4mission which seeks to encourage churches to commission contemporary art as a mission opportunity. St Alban's exemplifies all that commission4mission suggests that local church engagement with the Arts can provide:

• works of art which speak eloquently of the Christian faith;
• a reason to visit a church – something that was tapped with their Art Trail for the Barking Episcopal Area;
• links between churches and local arts organisations/ initiatives; and
• a focus for people to come together for a shared activity.

To view the Arts in this way provides a further point of connection with the desire of the French Dominicans for a Christianity that was engaged with the secular world. As a result, they argued that priests should not live in ‘Christian ghettos’ but should join with the citizenry ‘to establish a new, spiritually inspired system of social justice’ - the worker-priest movement – and, with artists, to preach a ‘new gospel of sacred art’ that could help these artists come to ‘Christian awareness.’ These initiatives were representative of ‘a new evangelical spirit’ which was concerned with contextualized mission and which can continue to be replicated today in the current engagement which the Church has with the Arts.

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Leoš Janáček - Glagolitic Mass.

Sabbatical art pilgrimage: Evening Services

I am using photographs, meditations and other resources from my sabbatical art pilgrimage for Evening Services at St John's Seven Kings during September.

This evening we focused on Julian of Norwich using the DVD of Alan Oldfield's paintings and extracts from Julian's Revelations of Divine Love. I also read my Julian meditations together with a slideshow of Passion images taken during my sabbatical visits.

Next week I will be using Jane Quail's Stations of the Cross, which can be found at the Anglican Shrine in Walsingham.

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Arcade Fire - Supersymmetry.

Launch of new Art Trail for the Barking Episcopal Area

“For centuries the Arts have been an important medium through which public communication of the faith has taken place and the Church has had a lengthy and happy marriage with the Arts” (Bishop of Barking).

Work has just been finalised on a new Art Trail which has been initiated by commission4mission and hopes to raise awareness of some of the rich and diverse range of modern and contemporary arts and crafts from the last 100 years within 36 churches in the Barking Episcopal area. These significant works of art collectively represent a major contribution to the legacy of the church as an important commissioner of art; through this new art trail, it is hoped to increase interest and stimulate engagement with the visual arts in the service of contemporary Christian faith.

The deep relationship between the church and the arts continued to be fruitful throughout the Twentieth century in the Barking Episcopal Area with the contributions of significant artists such as Eric Gill, Hans Feibusch, John Hutton and John Piper. In recent years, churches have continued to commission work by many important artists such as Mark Cazalet, Jane Quail and Henry Shelton together with other emerging artists who are now coming to prominence.

The visual arts can contribute to the mission of the church by speaking eloquently of the Christian faith; providing a reason for people to visit a church; making a link between churches and local organisations and providing a focus around which local people can come together for a shared activity. For these, and other, reasons there are more than 30 churches in the Barking Episcopal Area which have significant artworks on show and which are included on the Art Trail.

A leaflet documenting the Art Trail , which has been researched and developed by commission4mission member, artist and Fine Arts lecturer, Mark Lewis, will publicise the Trail and provide information about the featured artists and churches.

The Art Trail for the Barking Episcopal Area is to be launched at St Pauls Goodmayes on Thursday 17th February at 12.00 noon by the Bishops of Chelmsford and Barking. You are invited to join them for the launch reception. Please RSVP to jonathan.evens@btinternet.com or 020 8599 2170.

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John Tavener - Song of the Angel.

Our Community Art Exhibition

'Places' collage

Detail from the 'People' collage

St Paul's Goodmayes is to host an Art Exhibition for the Our Community Festival from Monday 20th to Sunday 26th September. The exhibition will feature collages on the themes of people and places which were begun at a community art workshop earlier in the year and which feature drawings and reflections my many local people. Additionally there will be a display of local photographs from my 'Windows on the world' series and visitors will be able to see the permanent artworks commissioned for St Paul's Goodmayes including stained glass by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and Leonard Evetts, new Stations of the Crown of Thorns by Henry Shelton and a sculpture by Jane Quail, among other works.

The Our Community Art Exhibition will be open Monday 20th to Sunday 26th September from 10 am to 2 pm. Light refreshments will be available. On the final day, Sunday 26th, opening times will be extended to 4 pm to coincide with the Our Community Festival itself.

The Our Community Festival features: local exhibitors; climbing wall; local talent; basketball; conservation; food stalls; children's play area; martial arts; face painting; live music; mobile library and much more ...

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Switchfoot - This Is Your Life.

New Church Art Trail

Tryptich by Henry Shelton at St Paul's Goodmayes, forming Stations XI, XII and XIII of the 'Stations of the Crown of Thorns'

Memorial etched glass windows by Henry Shelton at St Paul's Goodmayes depicting scenes from the Life of Christ

Et alias oves hab eo (And other sheep I have) by Anthony Foster

'Light of the World' West Window by Derek Hunt at St John's Seven Kings

Churches have for many years been significant patrons of the visual arts and contain important and interesting works of art. The local Anglican churches in Aldborough Hatch, Goodmayes and Seven Kings are no exception with works of art by some of the best local and national artists of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. As a result, the local cluster of Anglican churches has created an Art Trail with a route for visiting each church in turn and highlighting artworks of interest in the four churches.

St Peter’s Aldborough Hatch: A stone carved sculpture by Anthony Foster depicting Christ as the good shepherd can be found here. Foster, who was a pupil of the sculptor Eric Gill sharing Gill’s Roman Catholic faith and commitment to the Distributionist movement, worked in wood and stone and has many Church commissions in the UK. A sculpture of Rebecca at the Well can also be found at the West end of the churchyard while a decorated organ from the 1862 London exhibition and a Crucifixion by Woodford artist, A. Wyatt, are located in the church.

St John the Evangelist Seven Kings: The West window was designed by Derek Hunt and installed in 2005. The theme is “Light of the World” and its design brings together references from St John’s Gospel with elements particular to St John’s. Hunt’s commissioned designs can be found in churches, theatres, schools, public libraries, shopping centres and private buildings in Britain and abroad. The Nativity window was produced by C.E. Kempe & Co. Ltd., a famous Victorian glassworks begun by Charles Eamer Kempe. The window features the company’s trademark tower and wheatsheaf symbol.

St Paul’s Goodmayes: St Paul’s features a wealth of Church Art from stained glass designed by William Morris and Sir Edward Burne-Jones to its most recent commission, a set of Stations of the Crown of Thorns painted by Henry Shelton. Other works of note at St Paul’s include stained glass by Leonard Evetts, the most prolific British stained artist of the 20th century, and a Madonna and Child by the contemporary Roman Catholic artist, Jane Quail.

All Saints Goodmayes: The Millennium clock tower in Goodmayes and the memorial etched glass windows in All Saints, depicting events in the life of Jesus, are both the work of the noted painter of religious art in a contemporary style, Henry Shelton. Shelton is the founder member of commission4mission which aims to encourage the commissioning and placing of contemporary Christian Art in churches, as a means of fundraising for charities and as a mission opportunity for the churches involved.

Creation of the Art Trail was a recommendation in the report produced following a Community Street Audit of Aldborough Road South by the Seven Kings & Newbury Park Resident's Association and the Fitter for Walking project of Living Streets. Printing of the Art Trail leaflets has been funded by Living Streets as part of the Fitter for Walking project and copies of the leaflets can now be found in local churches. Fitter for Walking helps residents create streets they can be proud of. It’s funded by the Big Lottery Fund, along with contributions from local authorities to work in five areas of England. Redbridge has a regional Fitter For Walking Coordinator – if you would like to be involved in the project please get in touch! To do so, please contact Tom Platt - Email: Tom.platt@livingstreets.org.uk or Tel: 020 7377 4917.

The churches on this Art Trail are all within walking distance of each other and are close to parks and other local amenities. Why not think of planning a day to see the art works and to exercise by walking or cycling the Art Trail?

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John Coltrane - Psalm.

Resurrection: Christian Arts exhibition

Ceramics by Jane Quail

Works by Anna Payne

'Death thou shalt die' by Brian Ayling

Photographs of the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona by Brian Ayling

View of the exhibition

'Resurrection' by Linda Scott

View of the exhibition

Works by Michael Day and Phyllis Hall

Works by Phyllis Hall and Maggie Ayling

Works by Carol Ann Pennington, Helen Armstrong and Brian Ayling

Christian Arts are holding an exhibition at St. Mary's Church, Bury St. Edmunds until 22nd April. The exhibition theme of Resurrection, was chosen by members at St. Mary's to follow on from the Easter weekend and further supporting events are planned at the Church during the exhibition. 24 Christian Arts members have work in the exhibition.

St.Mary's claims to be the third largest parish church in England. It is part of the Benedictine Abbey site in the Historic Centre of Bury St. Edmunds. There are many visitors to the Church, which houses the tomb of Mary Tudor, Queen of France, Duchess of Suffolk and favourite sister of Henry VIII along with over a hundred more tombs and monuments, carved angels in the roof and a wealth of 15C woodcarving and outstanding examples of stained glass.

Christian Arts is an ecumenical society of Christian artists in Britain formed over forty years ago, and affiliated to the Société Internationale des Artistes Chrétiens (SIAC) which supports Christian arts events in many countries. They are a sister society to the Society of Catholic Artists (SCA). Christian Arts' diverse membership is drawn from painters, sculptors, ceramicists, book and textile artists and craftspeople from all over the country and is for all involved in the arts who are committed Christians and wish to explore and deepen the relationship between their faith and the arts.

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River City People - Say Something Good.