What can I do for you?

Here is the reflection I shared in the Choral Eucharist at St Martin-in-the-Fields today:

HeartEdge is the international, ecumenical movement for renewal of the Church initiated by St Martin in the Fields. We began HeartEdge with a membership fee but found that that led to church committees joining thinking what do we get out of this and is it value for money instead of a mindset of wanting to support the renewal of the Church by thinking what they can contribute. We have since changed the way in which churches and others join.

In our Gospel reading (Matthew 20. 17 – 26), James, John and their mother were all thinking of what they could get out of the movement that Jesus began. What they wanted was prestige and power by being elevated over all the other disciples to what they thought of as the position of influence at the right hand of Christ. Jesus turned their thinking about what is important and about prestige and power on its head. In the kingdom of God, service; thinking of and care for others is what counts, not personal advancement, position or power. What can I do for you, not what can I do for me!

Significant moments in our lives - such as involvement in the movement for renewal initiated by Jesus - bring our underlying attitudes and understandings into focus and, if we pay attention, can challenge us to change our way of thinking and acting. The current challenge of the coronavirus epidemic is one such moment. The Bishop of St Albans recently offered 4 Golden Rules to add to what he felt was missing from the official advice coming from the Government.

Golden Rule One. Each one of us can think about how we can protect and support our neighbours. So much of the public rhetoric is sowing fear about the danger of other people. So, taking all the official precautions, offer help and reassurance to others – and don’t demonise anyone or any group.

Golden Rule Two: Think about who may be suffering more than me. For those of us who are healthy there is much less to worry about but the elderly, the housebound and those with chronic health conditions may be very anxious.

Golden Rule Three. Don’t give into panic and start hoarding food. There is plenty to go around, so practise the Christian discipline of sharing. Ask your neighbours what they need and do you best to help them get it.

Golden Rule Four. Live today to the full. None of us ever know what the future holds. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6. 25 – 34), Jesus challenged his followers to live each day fully and not be afraid. Every time we are tempted to give in to fear we need to make a conscious choice to respond in trust and openness.

Michael Curry, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, in his statement on the coronavirus outbreak reminds us that: ‘Jesus came among us in the first place, to show us … how to live not simply as collections of individual self-interest, but how to live as the human family of God. That’s why he said love the Lord your God, love your neighbor as yourself. Because in that is hope for all of us to be the human family of God.’ He then quotes several official statements, including the head of the World Health Organization saying, ‘This epidemic can be pushed back, but only with collective, coordinated, and comprehensive approach by us all,’ in order to make the point that ‘In each of those calls, and in the calls of many of our leaders, we have heard again and again, that we are in this together, we can walk through this together, and we will find our way in our life together.’

‘So look out for your neighbors, look out for each other. Look out for yourselves. Listen to those who have knowledge that can help to guide us medically and help to guide us socially. Do everything that we can to do this together, to respond to each other’s needs and to respond to our own needs.’

So, our Gospel passage challenges us as to where we are in relation to these issues? Are we, like James and John, thinking of our reward or prestige and seeking to be privileged over others? Have we, like James and John, brought the values of the world into the kingdom of God and are we trying to follow Jesus for some form of personal gain?

The season of Lent and the coronavirus outbreak are both opportunities for self-reflection on these issues and provide us with the possibility of aligning our thinking, values and deeds with those of Jesus as we become the servants of others; in order that we serve instead of being served and give our lives for the sake of others.

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The Revolutionary Army of The Infant Jesus - Bright Field.

Pilgrimage exhibition: commission4mission at St Saviour's St Albans

My thanks to David Millidge for these photographs of commission4mission's Pilgrimage exhibition at St Saviour's Church, St Albans, which can be viewed until 30th June 2018:

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Enya - Pilgrim.

Pilgrimage exhibition at St Saviour’s, St Albans

commission4mission is exhibiting at St Saviour’s Church (25 Sandpit Lane, St Albans AL1 4DF) for the Alban Pilgrimage. The Alban Pilgrimage took place today, being held in honour of the city’s namesake, St Alban, who died on 22nd June over 1700 years ago.

Entitled ‘Pilgrimage’, our exhibition, from 23rd – 30th June (9.00am – 5.00), features work by: Hayley Bowen; Harvey Bradley; Irina Bradley; Lucy Crabtree; Valerie Dean; MaryJean Donaghey; Jonathan Evens; Michael Garaway; Clorinda Goodman; Deborah Harrison; David Millidge; and Adeliza Mole. The exhibition includes ceramics, paintings, sculptures and an installation.

Our exhibition gives personal insights into what pilgrimage means to the artists involved. David Millidge has been directly inspired by the martyrdom of St Alban and Irina Bradley has painted an icon of St Alban. Others, however, have treated the theme in terms of pilgrimage more generally or have been inspired by the journeys of other figures from Church history.

Concerts are being held at St Saviour’s during the period of the exhibition on Saturday 23rd and 30th June. Today’s concert begins at 7.30 pm and is ‘An Evening of Sibelius’ by St Albans Symphony Orchestra. More information can be found at http://saso.org.uk/events/an-evening-of-sibelius/. On Saturday 30th June at 7.30 pm St Albans Chamber Choir will perform ‘Light and Love, Music for Midsummer’. More information can be found at http://stalbanschamberchoir.org.uk/.

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Kamasi Washington - Truth.

Pilgrimage art exhibition for The Alban Pilgrimage

commission4mission’s next exhibition will be at St Saviour’s Church (25 Sandpit Lane, St Albans AL1 4DF) for the Alban Pilgrimage. The Alban Pilgrimage takes place annually and is held in honour of the city’s namesake, St Alban, who died on 22nd June over 1700 years ago.

Entitled ‘Pilgrimage’, our exhibition, from 23rd – 30th June (9.00am – 5.00), will feature work by: Hayley Bowen; Harvey Bradley; Irina Bradley; Lucy Crabtree; Valerie Dean; MaryJean Donaghey; Jonathan Evens; Michael Garaway; Clorinda Goodman; Deborah Harrison; Anthony Hodgson; David Millidge; Adeliza Mole; Dorothy Morris; and Victoria Norton. The exhibition includes ceramics, paintings, sculptures and an installation.
commission4mission’s secretary, Revd Jonathan Evens, says: ‘Our exhibition gives personal insights into what pilgrimage means to the artists involved. David Millidge has been directly inspired by the martyrdom of St Alban, while others have treated the theme in terms of pilgrimage more generally or have been inspired by the journeys of other figures from Church history.’

Hayley Bowen writes that her painting ‘6 years and 26 miles’ depicts the pilgrimage of 15 year old Mary Jones, a girl from a poor Welsh family, who in the year 1800 walked 26 miles barefoot to the town of Bala (and back again) across rough countryside to buy a copy of the Welsh language Bible from The Rev.Thomas Charles after saving up for one for six years. The story inspired the founding of the British and Foreign Bible Society.

Michael Garaway says of ‘Steperegrin’, the new work he has prepared for this exhibition: ‘Eighty eight hours over six weeks, a step pattern combined with a diagrammatic motif, suggestive of mazes, wandering pathways, maps, circuits, and with hints of landscape, this is “Steperegrin”. It combines three grids at varying angles to form the motif. The title refers to the use of a celtic step pattern, and also to an older term “peregrinate” or “peregrination”, which came to mean journeying abroad, hence the link to ideas of pilgrimage.’

Sculptor Clorinda Goodman was inspired to produce her sculpture of St Cedd following a visit to Chelmsford Cathedral. She saw their window of Cedd in the chapel depicting the saint nearer the end of his life and wanted to create a piece to reflect his younger life. Many of the images carved into his hair are like a pictogram, telling the story of his life, apart from the end of his life at Lastingham. The images on the left depict Lindisfarne, the boat in which he sailed to Essex, the Chapel at Bradwell and the Synod of Whitby. On the right he has the keys of St Peter to symbolise the outcome of the Synod – i.e. following the Roman rather than Celtic/Irish church. His hair turns into waves on the left, and on the right it turns into fire for the Holy Spirit.

Concerts will be held at St Saviour’s during the period of the exhibition on Saturday 23rd and 30th June:

• Saturday 23rd June, 7.30 pm: St Albans Symphony Orchestra, An Evening of Sibelius. More information at http://saso.org.uk/events/an-evening-of-sibelius/.
• Saturday 30th June, 7.30 pm: St Albans Chamber Choir, Light and Love, Music for Midsummer. More information at http://stalbanschamberchoir.org.uk/.

commission4mission was formed in 2009 to help revive and encourage the practice of commissioning and placing works of contemporary art in churches and other public places. To enable this, we have a growing pool of professional artist members working in a variety of media and styles. Through art, we support churches in their ongoing mission, and also charities, as each year part of the proceeds from commissions is donated. Since 2014 we have built an ongoing, mutual relationship with the Oasis Trust. Oasis aims to create safe places where everyone is included, where everyone has a chance to contribute and reach their God-given potential. See https://www.commission4mission.org/.

St Saviour’s is a welcoming and inclusive Christian community built on the understanding that God accepts us equally, irrespective of gender, sexuality, race, social standing or belief - and believing that God calls us equally to share that unconditional love with all people, without exception. It is the Church of England parish church for the Bernards Heath area of St Albans, and pastorally serves the Marshalswick South Ward. Established originally as a daughter church of St Leonard’s in Sandridge during the city’s expansion in the Victorian era, St Saviour’s has always been in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of Anglican spirituality and worship. See http://www.ssaviours.org/.

The Alban Pilgrimage starts at 11.00am at St Peter’s Church, St Albans. Stunning 12-ft tall carnival puppets and a procession of around 300 children, teenagers and adults from the local community dramatize the tale of Alban’s martyrdom, with the final scene taking place at the West End of St Albans Cathedral, the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain. After the procession, a range of beautiful services will take place throughout the day. Everyone is welcome; whether to hear the stunning voices of the Cathedral Choirs, experience the peaceful chant of an Orthodox Service for the first time, or simply step into the building to find out more about one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in Britain. This year’s guest preachers, the Very Revd Andrew Nunn, Dean of Southwark Cathedral and Stuart Burns OSB of Mucknell Abbey, recipient of the Dunstan Award for Prayer and Religious Life, join the celebrations on this special day.

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Joy Williams - The Front Porch.

Pilgrimage exhibition, St Saviour’s St Albans

 

commission4mission’s next exhibition will be at St Saviour’s Church (25 Sandpit Lane, St Albans AL1 4DF) for the Alban Pilgrimage.

Entitled ‘Pilgrimage’, the exhibition, from 23rd – 30th June (9.00am – 5.00), will feature work by: Hayley Bowen; Harvey Bradley; Irina Bradley; Lucy Crabtree; Valerie Dean; MaryJean Donaghey; Jonathan Evens; Terry Ffyffe; Michael Garaway; Clorinda Goodman; Deborah Harrison; Anthony Hodgson; David Millidge; Adeliza Mole; Dorothy Morris; and Victoria Norton.

Michael Garaway has posted about ‘Steperegrin’, the new work he has prepared for this exhibition: ‘Eighty eight hours over six weeks, a step pattern combined with a diagrammatic motif, suggestive of mazes, wandering pathways, maps, circuits, and with hints of landscape, this is “Steperegrin”. It combines three grids at varying angles to form the motif. The title refers to the use of a celtic step pattern, and also to an older term “peregrinate” or “peregrination”, which came to mean journeying abroad, hence the link to ideas of pilgrimage.’

The Alban Pilgrimage takes place annually and is held in honour of the city’s namesake, St Alban, who died on 22nd June over 1700 years ago. Stunning 12-ft tall carnival puppets and a procession of around 300 children, teenagers and adults from the local community dramatize the tale of Alban’s martyrdom, with the final scene taking place at the West End of St Albans Cathedral, the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain.

The Alban Pilgrimage starts at 11.00am at St Peter’s Church, St Albans. After the procession, a range of beautiful services will take place throughout the day. Everyone is welcome; whether to hear the stunning voices of the Cathedral Choirs, experience the peaceful chant of an Orthodox Service for the first time, or simply step into the building to find out more about one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in Britain. This year’s guest preachers, the Very Revd Andrew Nunn, Dean of Southwark Cathedral and Stuart Burns OSB of Mucknell Abbey, recipient of the Dunstan Award for Prayer and Religious Life, join the celebrations on this special day.

There are also concerts at St Saviour’s on Saturday 23rd and 30th June:

• Saturday 23rd June, 7.30 pm: St Albans Symphony Orchestra, An Evening of Sibelius. More information here.
• Saturday 30th June, 7.30 pm: St Albans Chamber Choir, Light and Love, Music for Midsummer. More information here.

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A. Arutunian - Trumpet Concerto.

commission4mission: Pilgrimage exhibition

commission4mission’s next exhibition will be at St Saviour’s Church (25 Sandpit Lane, St Albans AL1 4DF) for the Alban Pilgrimage.

Entitled ‘Pilgrimage’, the exhibition, from 23rd – 30th June (9.00am – 5.00), will feature work by: Hayley Bowen; Harvey Bradley; Irina Bradley; Lucy Crabtree; Valerie Dean; MaryJean Donaghey; Jonathan Evens; Terry Ffyffe; Michael Garaway; Clorinda Goodman; Deborah Harrison; Anthony Hodgson; David Millidge; Adeliza Mole; Dorothy Morris; and Victoria Norton.

The Alban Pilgrimage takes place annually and is held in honour of the city’s namesake, St Alban, who died on 22nd June over 1700 years ago. Stunning 12-ft tall carnival puppets and a procession of around 300 children, teenagers and adults from the local community dramatize the tale of Alban’s martyrdom, with the final scene taking place at the West End of St Albans Cathedral, the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain.

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Eric Clapton - Pilgrim.

Pilgrimage exhibition - commission4mission at St Saviour's St Albans

commission4mission’s next exhibition will be at St Saviour’s Church (25 Sandpit Lane, St Albans AL1 4DF) for the Alban Pilgrimage.

Entitled ‘Pilgrimage’, the exhibition, from 23rd – 30th June (9.00am – 5.00), will feature work by: Hayley Bowen; Harvey Bradley; Irina Bradley; Lucy Crabtree; Valerie Dean; MaryJean Donaghey; Jonathan Evens; Terry Ffyffe; Michael Garaway; Clorinda Goodman; Deborah Harrison; Anthony Hodgson; Susan Latchford; David Millidge; Adeliza Mole; Dorothy Morris; and Victoria Norton.

The Alban Pilgrimage takes place annually and is held in honour of the city’s namesake, St Alban, who died on 22nd June over 1700 years ago. Stunning 12-ft tall carnival puppets and a procession of around 300 children, teenagers and adults from the local community dramatize the tale of Alban’s martyrdom, with the final scene taking place at the West End of St Albans Cathedral, the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain.

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Iona - Beyond These Shores.

Angela Godfrey: Open Studio

"Angela Godfrey is an Associate of the Royal British Society of Sculptors. Shortly after graduating from King's College, Newcastle upon Tyne she was asked by the architect George Mathers to make a large altar for his new church in St Albans. This was the first of many commissions from him and from other architects, in particular, the Dublin architect Richard Hurley. A large number of these commissions have been for churches.
However, more recently she has received commissions for sculptures in countryside locations and in these she has been developing ideas relating to her interest in integrating text and natural forms with the sculptural form. This has led her to give more time to working on sculptures that have not been commissioned and so she is now able to offer carvings in wood and stone for sale and exhibition.

The many commissions she has undertaken demonstrate her experience in working closely with architects and other clients, making sculpture that is site-specific and giving careful consideration to location, materials used, scale and context."

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King Crimson - I Talk To the Wind.

Guidance for future ministry

This morning I preached at St Albans Ilford, at the invitation of Fr. Stuart Halstead with whom I trained at NTMTC. It is good, having shared aspects of training together, to then be able to share aspects of ministry together within the same Deanery:

Am I in the right place? Following the right path? In the right work? What is God’s will for my life? What is my vocation? These are just some of the questions prompted by Matthew 4. 12-23, as we read of Jesus, those who heard him, and his first disciples all making key decisions about their future direction of travel. Hopefully, we shall see some of the factors which play a part in their decision making.

Jesus hears that John the Baptist is no longer able to continue his public ministry because he has been imprisoned. As John was his predecessor, the one who was preparing the way for Jesus' own ministry, Jesus judges that the time is now right for his ministry to begin. So circumstances seem to provide the trigger or opportunity for Jesus’ ministry to begin and can play a part in our lives too. Jesus seemed able to read circumstances well, we not always able to do that as well as he did and sometimes only understand what was happening to us at the time when we look back.

As a teenager, I didn’t get the grades needed to get into University and felt like dropping out of education altogether. I was persuaded to go through clearing however and got a place at Middlesex Polytechnic, so came to London instead of Leicester, where I’d been intending to study. As I was applying late, there was no accommodation available in Halls and so I had to find somewhere to live off site. Once I’d settled in, I started going to the Parish Church which was where I met Christine, who became my wife. I thought at the time that doing less well in my A levels was a disaster, but without that happening I would not have had the marriage and family that I now have. I was being led through circumstances to something wonderful but had no idea that that was the case at the time.

While circumstances played a part, Jesus also allowed scripture to shape the form that his ministry would take. The Gospel writer includes a quote from Isaiah 9, a passage which is often read at Christmas, to explain what Jesus was doing. A key theme of the prophecies collected in Isaiah is that of Israel as God’s servant. Jesus takes this servant role assigned to Israel in prophecy as his ministry template or job description and so, guided by scripture, he chose to begin his ministry in Galilee.

We can also base our lives and ministry on a template or job description. Our template is Jesus himself - so, for example, the letter to the Philippians talks about knowing Christ in order to become like him. Christlikeness should be our goal as Christians; not that we ever attain in this life. Our job description is essentially Jesus’ own manifesto taken from the Book of Isaiah and read at Nazareth near the beginning of his ministry: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to … bring good news to the poor … proclaim liberty to the captives … recovery of sight to the blind … set free the oppressed … and announce that the time for salvation has come.

Jesus’ message to those who listened to his preaching was that Israel was on the wrong path and must turn around and move in the opposite direction. Tom Wright writes that, “Jesus believed that his contemporaries were going in the wrong direction. They were bent on revolution of the standard kind: military resistance to occupying forces, leading to a takeover of power … The problem with all these movements was that they were fighting darkness with darkness, and Israel was called - and Jesus was called - to bring God’s light into the world. That’s why Matthew hooks up Jesus’ early preaching with the prophecy of Isaiah that spoke about people in the dark being dazzled by a sudden light … Jesus could see that the standard kind of revolution, fighting and killing in order to put an end to … fighting and killing, was a nonsense. Doing it in God’s name was a blasphemous nonsense.

But the trouble was that many of his contemporaries were eager to get on with the fight. His message of repentance was not, therefore, that they should feel sorry for personal and private sins (though he would of course want that as well), but that as a nation they should stop rushing towards the cliff edge of violent revolution, and instead go the other way, towards God’s kingdom of light and peace and healing and forgiveness, for themselves and for the world.”

What do we as a nation need to turn away from in order to turn towards God? William Butler, chief economist at the investment banking giant Citigroup, has been quoted as saying that we have lived beyond our means year after year and the nation collectively has to consume less while Janice Turner has argued that consumerism has become like a religion to us leading us to believe that living standards would keep being upgraded like mobile phones. Can we as a nation stop rushing towards the cliff edge of consumerism, and instead go the other way, towards God’s kingdom of light and peace and healing and forgiveness?

Maybe, if we catch once again a vision of Jesus as he really is, we can. The integration of Jesus' message with his personality and actions was so attractive for his first disciples that they left their livelihoods to be with him doing the things that he did and becoming part of his mission bringing the rule of love in the kingdom of God. Why did they give up the security which they had to follow a wandering preacher? “The answer can only be in Jesus himself, and in the astonishing magnetism of his presence and personality. This can be known and felt today, as we meditate on the stories about him and pray to know him better, just as the first disciples knew and felt his presence 2,000 years ago.”

So, are we able to demonstrate in some way the kingdom of God where we work or live? Is what we do currently contributing to the coming of Jesus' revolution of love? Do we need to turn around and leave what we are currently engaged with in order that we might be engaged with the kingdom of God or do we need to listen to circumstances and scripture in order to understand how to live under the rule of love in the place where we are right now?

These are just some the questions which arise from the varying ways in which see Jesus, his disciples, and those who heard his preaching, making decisions about their future direction in life. Lead us, Lord, in your ways that we may live under your rule of love revealing your kingdom where we live and work. Amen.

An edited version of this sermon can also be found on the website of Mission in London's Economy as the Gospel Reflection for Sunday 23rd January 2011.

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King's X - Send A Message.

St Albans Festival exhibition & procession

Yesterday I visited the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban before leading a session on transforming the workplace for students of St Mellitus College. The Cathedral was preparing for the Festival Pilgrimage with its giant, spectacular puppet procession to the Cathedral to witness the re-enactment of the events leading up to the death of Britain's first martyr.

Also part of the St Albans Festival was the Magna Carta Showcase in the North Transept with the opportunity to view a replica of the Magna Carta, one of the most iconic and revolutionary documents in English history. Alongside this display was an interesting selection of art pieces created by Foundation art students from Oaklands College from the creative brief to design something in line with the essence of Magna Carta. The students were asked to produce original artwork celebrating the rights and freedom of human beings and those works judged most inspirational and imagiative have been displayed.

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Pierce Pettis - Loves Gonna Carry Me Home.

commission4mission's launch

Bishop David, the Patron of commission4mission, giving his keynote speech

Fr. Hingley speaking about commissions for the interior of St Albans

Fr. Hingley showing the sandblasted glass entrance doors at St Albans

Peter Webb and Fr. Hingley lead the returning party from the exterior artworks

Fr. Hingley begins his presentation and tour

commission4mission enjoyed a successful launch today at St Alban's Romford.

Fr. Roderick Hingley, St Alban's Parish Priest, gave a tour of the artworks commissioned for the church and described how the series of commissions had helped to transform the church in terms of light, space and welcome. He spoke about the way in which commissioning contemporary artists had meant that the artworks had relevance and resonance for local people, most obviously in the Mark Cazalet cancel ceiling mural with its imagery drawn from rural and urban Havering. What the achievement at St Alban's demonstrates is not only that the commissioning of contemporary Christian Art by Parish Churches is possible but that sensitive, informed and brave commissioning enhances the mission of the church as well as its aesthetic.

I gave a brief presentation of the aim and objectives of commission4mission which also set out our initial programme:

• exhibitions at Pentecost Festival (30th May) & Chelmsford Cathedral (2nd-7th November);
• study day at Chelmsford Cathedral (7th November);
• exploration of four possible commissions with two proposals submitted;
• co-operation with the Faith & Image group;
• application submitted for catalogue funding;
• art workshop at ‘Fun in the Park’ in Barkingside (13 June);
• invitation to be part of London-wide discussions on art in religious spaces;
• invitation to exhibit in the West Ham Festival; and
• support from Bishop of Barking for commission4mission leaflets.

Finally, Bishop David gave the keynote address as Patron of commission4mission. He began by speaking about creativity as both God-given and a key aspect of what it means to be human. He described the birth and growth of a child into adulthood as the most astonishing kinetic sculpture. He outlined how he saw spirituality breaking through in much contemporary and modern art and called for Christians to be sensitive interpreters of such art. Among the examples he cited were the humanity of Anthony Gormley's work based as it is on his own body and the 'something more' of Damien Hirst's diamond encrusted skull, For The Love Of God. He ended by using a quote attributed to Rowan Williams “that artists are special people but every person is a special kind of artist.” commission4mission would need, he suggested, to be a support the special people that artists are in their creativity but also to find ways of revealing and developing the creativity of all.

Among those present at the launch were representatives of the Arts Centre Group, Faith & Image and the World Art Federation.

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Eric Bibb - Connected.

commission4mission launch and articles

Interior of St Albans Romford, where the launch of commission4mission is to be held

Joy Rousell Stone

Peter Shorer

Harvey Bradley

The launch of commission4mission this weekend (Saturday 7th March, 2.00pm, St Albans Romford) features in the current editions of the Ilford Recorder and the Yellow Advertiser. The launch has also been advertised in Art & Christianity and the newsletters of the Arts Centre Group and Veritasse.

Membership of commission4mission has grown in the run up to the launch with images from some of our artists featuring above and with the following disciplines now being represented among our membership: drawing, jewellery making, music, painting, sculpture, and silversmithing.

Of the artists with images displayed above:

• Harvey Bradley: My creative work includes: Stoneware and Porcelain pottery (domestic with ecclesiastical commissions); Oil Paintings (reflective, figurative subjects that are open to prayerful interpretation); and Designs for banners (carried out by Emmanuel banner group).
• Peter Shorer: Museum trained Conservator and Archeologist commissioned to mould original antiquities for reproduction in bronze, gold, silver and pewter.
• Joy Rousell Stone: Studied under John Nash, Edward Bawden, Stanley Spencer, Edward Ardizzone at Royal College of Art. Many one man shows. Favourite subject matters: The Holy Land, Egypt, Greece, Italy (especially Assisi) and USA. All media. Retiired Head of Art & Design at The Plume School, Maldon, Essex.

Forthcoming commission4mission events include:

• exhibiting in the Pentecost Festival Art Exhibition at Westminster Central Hall on Saturday 30th May; and
• an exhibition and Study Day at Chelmsford Cathedral in November 2009.

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Pierce Pettis - Song of Songs.