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Showing posts with label synagogues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label synagogues. Show all posts

Thursday, 31 December 2015

Richard Paton & Craigie Aitchison - Prayer Chapel window, St Martin in the Bull Ring


This year, in addition to the East window at All Saints Goodmayes, commission4mission member Richard Paton had the privilege of making what was Craigie Aitchison’s final design. The artist Craigie Aitchison passed away in 2009 with his blessing given to make a window for the Prayer Chapel in St Martins in the Bull Ring, Birmingham.

It took longer than expected to finally commission the window but after several samples Richard convinced those concerned that a combination of fused glass and traditional painting was the best way to remain faithful to Craigie’s powerful design. The unusual dark background adds intensity to the figure of Christ in the central window. It was made by Richard Paton and finally installed in August 2015.

Earlier in the year Richard installed a 3 meter high stained glass window set into a light box at a North London Synagogue. The window was inspired by a translation of an 11th Century poem which has been visualised in a design by Michael Hall under the supervision of translator Raphael Loewe. Rainbow Glass Studios were commissioned in 2014 to make the stained glass window using the same techniques available to the medieval glaziers. It’s a very esoteric and interesting piece, which Richard says was a privilege to work on.

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Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Dave Rawlings & Buddy Miller - Pilgrim.

commission4mission's latest commission - East window, All Saints Goodmayes


commission4mission recently completed its 13th commission, an East window at All Saints Goodmayes created by Henry Shelton and Richard Paton. The window will be dedicated in 2016 by our patron The Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford.

The window was made and installed by Richard Paton to a design by Henry Shelton. Richard and Henry have previously worked together on commission4mission commissions at All Saints Hutton where they created two sets of etched glass windows.Henry’s colourful abstract design for the three light East window features, in his inimitable minimal style, imagery representing the Holy Trinity. Henry is a member of the congregation and previously created etched glass windows for the Reindorp Chapel at All Saints.

The window commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the church and has been funded, in part, by donations from the congregation in memory of loved ones.

Richard Paton says: “The last few weeks has seen the making and fitting of a new East Window at All Saints Church, Goodmayes celebrating the church’s Centenary. This very colourful design by Henry Shelton symbolises the Holy Trinity (God the Father, Jesus & the Holy Ghost) depicted in just 3 lines. The space inside has been transformed from anonymous small square glass making a large space more intimate and warm.”


Richard Paton has over 20 years experience working with glass. When he is not creating works of art in glass, he teaches glass-making classes in the various techniques, passing on his tips, tricks and considerable knowledge to others. Also in 2015, using Craigie Aitchison’s final design, he made a window for the Prayer Chapel in St Martins in the Bull Ring and a 3 meter high stained glass window set into a light box hung on the wall of a North London Synagogue depicting an 11th Century poem visualised in a design by Michael Hall.

Richard graduated from Liverpool with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art in 1990 and was awarded an MA in Visual Culture at Middlesex University in 1998. He is a self-taught stained glass artist with 20 years in the trade who started Rainbow Glass Studios, based in Stoke Newington, North London, in 2001. In that time Richard has had hundreds of commissions which have required different techniques and designs to fulfil very diverse briefs. These range from corporate work to individual commissions from the rich and famous through to work in churches. The variety of glass techniques at his disposal uniquely puts him at an advantage to explore interesting and original work. He teaches regularly at his studio on weekday evenings and runs Saturday workshops for beginners. His work has been featured on TV and at the National Gallery. He is also on the committee for the Contemporary Glass Society who promote the work of glass artists.


Henry Shelton is a noted painter of religious art in a contemporary style. He trained as an apprentice draughtsman in a London studio developing his drawing skills in lettering and fine art. After 15 years he set up his own studio receiving many commissions from such clients as the Science Museum, borough councils, private and corporate bodies. He then worked designing in studios across the world, including Hong Kong and the USA.

Throughout this time and up to the present he has painted Christian art and his commissions include an Ascension installed as an altarpiece in the Church of the Saviour, Chell Heath; the Millennium clock tower in Goodmayes, and the memorial etched-glass windows in All Saints Church, Goodmayes, depicting events in the life of Jesus. In 2007 he had a one-man exhibition in York Minister of the Stations of the Cross. Most recently, he has completed commissions for St Luke’s Chapel in Queens Hospital Romford, a contemporary set of Stations of the Crown of Thorns for St Paul’s Goodmayes and etched glass windows for All Saints Hutton.

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Moby - Almost Home.

Friday, 31 October 2014

East London Three Faiths Forum trip to the Holy Land (8)

Our final day began in the ancient port of Jaffa where we took in the view of Tel Aviv, saw art galleries, lighthouse, harbour and the house of Simon the Tanner (where I read to the group from Acts 9. 36 - 42).

From Jaffa we travelled to Abu Ghosh to see the second largest Mosque in Israel which was recently completed with funding from Chechnya. We also enjoyed a delicious Middle Eastern lunch at a restaurant in the village.

The afternoon was spent firstly at the Synagogue of the Hadassah Medical Center, where we saw stained glass windows by Marc Chagall depicting the twelve tribes of Israel, and then at Yad Vashem, the deeply moving national Holocaust memorial. In the time we had available I saw the collection of Holocaust art, some displays in the Holocaust History Museum, and the Children's Memorial.

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Henyrk Górecki - Symphony No. 3.

Monday, 27 October 2014

East London Three Faiths Forum trip to the Holy Land (5)

Today I have given short talks at the Church of the Beatitudes and on the Sea of Galilee plus a participation in an open discussion tonight about the Annunciation with the Imam on our trip, Dr Fahim. My contributions have aimed to stress the incarnational distinctive of Christianity.

Our visits today have all been around Galilee beginning at the Church of the Beatitudes with its beautiful grounds over-looking Lake Galilee. Then we went into Capernaum where we saw the home of Simon Peter's Mother-in-law and the synagogue where Jesus preached. This was followed by a boat trip across Lake Galilee to Kibbutz Ein Gev where we had lunch.

After lunch we went to a viewing point and war memorial in the Golan Heights before ending the day in the Old City of Tsefat discovering the Hassidic and mystical traditions which underpin its art galleries and synagogues. While there I discovered the work of Asia Katz which offers an engaging and relational combining of cubism and folk art. See examples of her work at http://www.zissil.com/topics/Asia-Katz-Gallery-Safed.

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Hasidic dance - Tsefat.

Saturday, 25 October 2014

East London Three Faiths Forum trip to the Holy Land (3)

Today we went through the wall to Bethlehem where we queued to go into the Grotto of the Nativity. Like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre yesterday, this was an incredibly busy place combining devotion with tourism. We also saw one Banksy's graffiti designs - a dove of peace with a bullet-proof vest - close to the wall itself.

We then followed the wall for part of the way to Hebron, passing some of the settlements in Area C, before arriving at the Tombs of the Patriarchs in Hebron. This is a shrine complex mainly built by Herod, with additions by the Crusaders, which is now houses a Mosque and a Synagogue. The Jewish members of our group visited the synagogue, while the rest of us went to visit the shrines to Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah. Then we all went into the Old Town for a short time.

Lastly, the Christian members of the group went to St George's Cathedral in Jerusalem for Evening Prayer.

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Jehan Titelouze - Urbs Jerusalem.

Friday, 1 November 2013

Friday Night Rock Service


My latest inter-faith cultural experience involved joining over 80 people at South West Essex and Settlement Reform Synagogue to be part of a unique service; the Friday Night Rock Service features a rocking soundtrack and live band playing all the traditional Friday Night Service songs in a new and modern way. 

The band come together to recreate the album they have recorded (which is available on iTunes) and clearly have had a great time putting the service together. They are sharing that experience as they take this service around the UK to synagogues interested in a Friday Night Rock Service.

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Friday Night Rock Service - Shalom Aleichem.

Monday, 16 September 2013

UN International Day of Peace



The UN International Day of Peace, which falls next weekend is an excellent opportunity to celebrate positive relationships between different religious communities in London. Local Islamic centres, synagogues and churches are inviting visitors in to exchange messages of peace on (respectively) Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
 
Flyers - one for Islamic centres, one for synagogues and one for churches - can be downloaded at http://londonpeacenetwork.wordpress.com/2013/09/12/download-your-flyer-for-peace-day/
 
The idea is very simple – just invite neighbours or visitors in and exchange messages of peace (messages from nine religious traditions are on the back of the flyer). These can be people from different traditions whom are already known, or new contacts. 
 
This initiative coincides with the local Art Trail, of which St John's Seven Kings, is part, so we will have copies of these messages available to exchange with any visitors from other faith communities who visit on 21st or 22nd September.     
 
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World Wide Message Tribe - Peace.