International Times: Worlds of Creation and Destruction

My latest exhibition review for International Times is on 'William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy' at National Gallery of Ireland:

'by showing Blake’s extraordinary works alongside paintings and drawings by his contemporaries - those he admired and those who he inspired – this exhibition reveals ‘how British art was taken in exciting new directions in this moment’. We also see the greatness of Blake’s vision and work afresh.

To fully understand this, however, we need to see that Blake’s visions were not simply romantic fantasy but were of spiritual reality breaking into the material world.'

For more on Blake see here and here.

My earlier pieces for IT are: an interview with the artist Alexander de Cadenet; an interview with artist, poet, priest Spencer Reece, an interview with the poet Chris Emery, an interview with Jago Cooper, Director of the the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, a profile of singer-songwriter Bill Fay, plus reviews of: Joseph Arthur in concert; installations by Chiharu Shiota and Yin Xiuzhen at Hayward Gsllery, U2's 'Days of Ash', Mumford and Sons' 'Prizefighter' and Moby's 'Future Quiet'; 'Collected Poems' by Kevin Crossley-Holland; 'Lux' by Rosalía; 'Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere'; 'Great Art Explained' by James Payne; 'Down River: In Search of David Ackles' by Mark Brend; 'Headwater' by Rev Simpkins; 'The Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art' by Jonathan A. Anderson; 'Breaking Lines' at the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, albums by Deacon Blue, Mumford and Sons, and Andrew Rumsey, also by Joy Oladokun and Michael Kiwanaku; 'Nolan's Africa' by Andrew Turley; Mavis Staples in concert at Union Chapel; T Bone Burnett's 'The Other Side' and Peter Case live in Leytonstone; Helaine Blumenfeld's 'Together' exhibition, 'What Is and Might Be and then Otherwise' by David Miller; 'Giacometti in Paris' by Michael Peppiatt, the first Pissabed Prophet album; and 'Religion and Contemporary Art: A Curious Accord', a book which derives from a 2017 symposium organised by the Association of Scholars of Christianity in the History of Art.

Several of my short stories have been published by IT including three about Nicola Ravenscroft's EarthAngel sculptures (then called mudcubs), which we exhibited at St Andrew's Wickford in 2022. The first story in the series is 'The Mudcubs and the O Zone holes'. The second is 'The Mudcubs and the Clean-Up King', and the third is 'The mudcubs and the Wall'. My other short stories to have been published by International Times are 'The Black Rain', a story about the impact of violence in our media, 'The New Dark Ages', a story about principles and understandings that are gradually fading away from our modern societies, and 'The curious glasses', a story based on the butterfly effect.

IT have also published several of my poems, including 'The ABC of creativity', which covers attention, beginning and creation, and 'The Edge of Chaos', a state of existence poem. Also published have been three poems from my 'Five Trios' series. 'Barking' is about St Margaret’s Barking and Barking Abbey and draws on my time as a curate at St Margaret's. 'Bradwell' is a celebration of the history of the Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall, the Othona Community, and of pilgrimage to those places. Broomfield in Essex became a village of artists following the arrival of Revd John Rutherford in 1930. His daughter, the artist Rosemary Rutherford, also moved with them and made the vicarage a base for her artwork including paintings and stained glass. Then, Gwynneth Holt and Thomas Bayliss Huxley-Jones moved to Broomfield in 1949 where they shared a large studio in their garden and both achieved high personal success. 'Broomfield' reviews their stories, work, legacy and motivations.

To read my poems published by Stride, click here, here, here, here, here, and here. My poems published in Amethyst Review are: 'Runwell', 'Are/Are Not', 'Attend, attend' and 'Maritain, Green, Beckett and Anderson in conversation down through the ages'.

I am among those whose poetry has been included in Thin Places & Sacred Spaces, a recent anthology from Amethyst Press. I also had a poem included in All Shall Be Well: Poems for Julian of Norwich, the first Amethyst Press anthology of new poems.

'Five Trios' is a series of poems on thin places and sacred spaces in the Diocese of Chelmsford. The five poems in the series are:

• 'Barking';
• 'Bradwell';
• 'Broomfield';
• 'Pleshey'; and
• 'Runwell'.

These poems have been published by Amethyst Review and International Times.

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Van Morrison - Let The Slave (incorporating The Price of Experience).

Julian of Norwich: An inspiration in love and prayer

Here's the reflection that I shared at St Andrew's Wickford this morning and, in which, I used material from Dan Graves to reflect on Julian of Norwich as an example to inspire us on her feast day:

"On 8th May in the year 1373, when Julian of Norwich was thirty years old and suffering from what was considered to be a terminal illness, she experienced a series of sixteen visions, which revealed aspects of the love of God. Following her recovery, she spent the next twenty years of her life pondering their meaning and recorded her conclusions in what became the first book written by a woman in English, The Revelations of Divine Love. At an unknown point in her life, she became an anchoress attached to the Church of St Julian in Norwich. She died around the year 1417."

"As an anchoress, she was a woman who had set herself apart for God and lived isolated in a cell. Recognizing her need for a deeper love of Christ, she appealed to God for three things: a stronger understanding of Christ’s passion; a sickness unto death while still young, allowing her to experience all that a body and soul experience in death but without actual death—so that she might learn to live more mindful of God; three “wounds:” absolute contrition, kind compassion, and steadfast longing toward God.

It seemed her unusual prayer was being answered, as Julian became deathly ill. Everyone around her despaired of her life. She also believed she was dying. The last rites were administered to her. Then a wonderful thing happened: Julian experienced what a future generation might describe as a near-death experience. At the crisis of her sickness, between four and nine one afternoon, she received fifteen “showings,” or revelations. She reported that heaven opened to her, she beheld Christ in his glory, and she saw the meaning and power of his sufferings. She also saw Christ’s mother, Mary, exalted and beloved.

In her thirteenth showing, Julian received a comforting answer to a question that had long troubled her: “In my folly, before this time I often wondered why, by the great foreseeing wisdom of God, the onset of sin was not prevented: for then, I thought, all should have been well. This impulse [of thought] was much to be avoided, but nevertheless I mourned and sorrowed because of it, without reason and discretion.

“But Jesus, who in this vision informed me of all that is needed by me, answered with these words and said: ‘It was necessary that there should be sin; but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.'

“These words were said most tenderly, showing no manner of blame to me nor to any who shall be saved.”

In this she recognized the compassion she had prayed for. She was impressed with her need to be joyful in all circumstances, however adverse, and for no particular reason, except this: that all things will ultimately be put right by Christ.

The following night Julian received a final, sixteenth showing while she slept. In it Satan and his hosts assailed her, but God gave her grace, and she fixed her eyes on the crucified Christ and trusted that because of his suffering and victory over sin he could protect her, and he delivered her from the demonic jeers and mutterings."

"This week is the fourth consecutive Week of Prayer in the Diocese of London in preparation for the great Feast of Pentecost. This year we join with Christians around the country, responding to the encouragement of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to spend focused and dedicated time in prayer for all Christians to deepen our relationship with Jesus so that we may have confidence to share our faith that all may respond to the call of Jesus Christ to follow Him."

Julian of Norwich is a wonderful example to us of prayer leading to revelation and understanding. She says to us: “Our Lord is most glad and joyful because of our prayer; and he expects it, and he wants to have it, for with his grace it makes us like to himself in condition as we are in nature, and such is his blessed will. For he says: Pray wholeheartedly, though it seems to you that this has no savour to you; still it is profitable enough, though you may not feel that. Pray wholeheartedly, though you may feel nothing, though you may see nothing, yes, though you think that you could not, for in dryness and in barrenness, in sickness and in weakness, then is your prayer most pleasing to me, though you think it almost tasteless to you. And so is all your living prayer in my sight.” (14th Revelation, p. 249)

Julian encourages us to persevere in prayer because: "Prayer unites the soul to God, for though the soul may always be like God in nature and in substance restored by grace, it is often unlike him in condition, through sin on our part. Then prayer is a witness that the soul wills as God wills, and it eases the conscience and fits us for grace. And so he teaches us to pray and to have firm trust that we shall have it; for he beholds us in love, and wants to make us partners in his good will and work." (14th Revelation, p. 253)

Here are prayers that I used in Morning Prayer this morning:

Triune God, Father and Mother to us all, who showed your servant Julian revelations of your nurturing and sustaining love: Move our hearts, like hers, to seek you above all things, for in giving us yourself you give us all. God of everything, both great and small, we praise you for the rich variety of your creation and for the love and care you lavish on all that you have made. Help us to appreciate your world, to care for it properly and not to damage it. We thank you for the wisdom of the Bible and for the works of Christian thinkers such as Julian of Norwich. Help us to pay attention, to understand and to follow. We praise and thank you for the knowledge that, despite all the sin and suffering humankind has caused, you are always with us ready to support and encourage us and that all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Awareness of the presence of God fills Julian of Norwich with joy, desire, hope and love. Lord, we pray that, seeking wisdom from her we may make your presence in our daily lives more conscious and vibrant so that we may be responsive to the graces, blessings and opportunities you offer at each moment of the day. Blessed Julian our Mother, speak of us to the Father. Blessed Julian our Sister, speak of us to the Son. Blessed Julian our Friend, speak of us to the Spirit. That we may know what it means to pray: God of Thy goodness, give me Thyself, for Thou art enough to me. And I can ask nothing that is less that can be full honour to Thee. And if I ask anything that is less, ever shall I be in want, for only in Thee have I all. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

In you, Father all-mighty, we have our preservation and our bliss. In you, Christ, we have our restoring and our saving. You are our mother, brother, and Saviour. In you, our Lord the Holy Spirit, is marvellous and plenteous grace. You are our clothing; for love you wrap us and embrace us. You are our maker, our lover, our keeper. Teach us to believe that by your grace all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Last year I had a poem included in All Shall Be Well: Poems for Julian of Norwich, the first Amethyst Press anthology of new poems. 'All Shall Be Well' is an anthology of new poems for Mother Julian, medieval mystic, anchoress, and the first woman to write a book in English. Lyrical, prayerful, vivid and insightful, these poems offer a poetic testament to Julian's enduring legacy of prayer and confidence in a merciful God who assured her that 'All Shall Be Well, and All Shall Be Well, and All Manner of Thing Shall Be Well.' The anthology has been edited by and comes with an introduction by Sarah Law, editor of Amethyst Review.

My poem for the anthology is based on a large painting 'The Revelations of Julian of Norwich' by Australian artist Alan Oldfield which is to be found at the Belsey Bridge Conference Centre in Ditchingham, Norfolk.

Amethyst Review is a publication for readers and writers who are interested in creative exploration of spirituality and the sacred. Readers and writers of all religions and none are most welcome. All work published engages in some way with spirituality or the sacred in a spirit of thoughtful and respectful inquiry, rather than proselytizing.

The Editor-in-chief is Sarah Law – poet (mainly), tutor, occasional critic, sometime fiction writer. She has published five poetry collections, the latest of which is 'Ink’s Wish'. She set up Amethyst Review feeling the lack of a UK-based platform for the sharing and readership of new literary writing that engages in some way with spirituality and the sacred.

Foue of my poems have appeared in Amethyst Review. They are: 'Runwell', 'Are/Are Not', 'Attend, attend' and 'Maritain, Green, Beckett and Anderson in conversation down through the ages'.

Check back at Amethyst Review for more details, including a publication date in July and an online launch and reading in September, of Thin Place & Sacred Spaces, a new anthology from Amethyst Press in which I will also have work included.

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Jonathan Evens - 'Meditation on Alan Oldfield's Revelations of Divine Love of Julian of Norwich'.

Church Times - Art review: Love is the Meaning in Norwich churches

My latest review for Church Times is on Love is the Meaning an exhibition in several of Norwich's churches:

'“LOVE is the Meaning”, an exhibition of new art celebrating the words and shewings of Julian of Norwich, is the last event in the year-long programme of events for the 650th anniversary of Julian’s “shewings”.

Including an art exhibition in the anniversary programme is a way of reminding those celebrating that, while Julian’s words formed the earliest surviving book in the English language written by a woman, those words began as a series of images. The images that Julian saw were sent to her from God at her request, because she wanted to understand life and what it means.

Accordingly, the 34 participating artists were asked to look at Julian’s descriptions of her visions and then explore their meaning in our day. Their images have been shared between three Norwich churches, these being the places most associated with Julian when she lived in Norwich 650 years ago. This enables viewers to go on a prayerful pilgrimage around images and sites connected with her life.'

For more on the 650th Anniversary events and an anthology of poems published in celebration of it, to which I contributed, click here. For my sabbatical visits to sites connected with Julian click here.

Other of my pieces for Church Times can be found here. My writing for ArtWay can be found here. My pieces for Artlyst are here and those for Art+Christianity are here.

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Jonathan Evens - Meditation on Alan Oldfield's Revelations of Divine Love of Julian of Norwich.

Love is the Meaning

Love is the Meaning is an international art exhibition in response to Julian of Norwich’s ‘shewings’ 650 years ago which is in Julian’s city from 18th October – 16th November.

Julian of Norwich's writing continues to surprise, baffle and delight. She thought it was worthwhile to ask God how He could possibly claim that ‘All shall be Well’ and the end response was ‘Love is the Meaning’.

To celebrate the 650th anniversary of Julian’s shewings in her home city, the Friends of Julian and the Julian Partnership wanted to focus on the pictures themselves, not only the words of this remarkable woman. So in March 2023 they challenged modern artists to think about Julian’s “shewings” and imagine what she actually saw.

Over forty artists from several different countries have responded, and the results are on show in three venues. The artists have used media from the traditional crafts of stained glass, stone carving, and weaving to conceptual art in sound and light. There is a podcast and interactive installations to spark the imagination and light up Julian’s words.

Often it takes years of living with a picture – a good picture – to see it all. And often we can’t put the reason it is so satisfying into words. Julian studied the pictures sent to her by God for over twenty years – because she wanted to understand them and she believed their meaning was important. It was a most dangerous act of faith in those years when it became illegal to read or write about God in English. For lay people like Julian, teaching theology – in English – was punishable by a most hideous death of burning at the stake in nearby Lollard’s Pit. In spite of the danger, Julian wrote the first book in English by a woman.

St Julian's, St John's Timberhill, and St Stephen's Rampant Horse Street in Norwich are all connected with Julian's life. The exhibition takes the form of an exciting pilgrimage walk and exploration of the art and history of these important churches. Special guided walks with Paul Dickson on some dates introduce visitors to Medieval Norwich to help visitors explore the medieval city that Julian would have known so well.

“Julian counselled people daily throughout her years as an anchoress, and we want to reawaken the conversation.” says Lucy Care, curator of the exhibition. “This exhibition exploring her pictures through the eyes of modern artists allows us to see her work with fresh eyes. Prepare to wonder, be confused, indignant or refilled with happiness as her conviction that Love is the meaning of God’s creation is made visible. That love resides in every being, every drop of water and every organic cell of the universe, just as the artist’s DNA can be found in every fibre of their own work.”

The exhibition is over three venues, St Julian’s in Julian Alley, St John the Baptist, Timberhill and St Stephen’s, Rampant Horse Street. The exhibition is planned to give a sense of pilgrimage as visitors walk the streets of medieval Norwich. All venues are open 10am – 3pm, seven days a week. Church services will also be happening from time to time.

For information on workshops and times of church services please look on the website: https://julianofnorwich.org/pages/love-is-the-meaning-an-exhibition-of-new-art-celebrating-the-words-and-shewings-of-julian-of-norwich#.

All Shall Be Well: Poems for Julian of Norwich, the Amethyst Press anthology of new poems for Julian of Norwich has also been prepared for the Anniversary and 20 of its poems are also displayed around Norwich, several being shown close to the exhibition venues.

'All Shall Be Well' is an anthology of new poems for Mother Julian, medieval mystic, anchoress, and the first woman to write a book in English. Lyrical, prayerful, vivid and insightful, these poems offer a poetic testament to Julian's enduring legacy of prayer and confidence in a merciful God who assured her that 'All Shall Be Well, and All Shall Be Well, and All Manner of Thing Shall Be Well.' The anthology has been edited by and comes with an introduction by Sarah Law, editor of Amethyst Review. Copies can be purchased here: Amazon US; Amazon UK; Amazon AU (plus other Amazon platforms).

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Sian Croose - All Shall Be Well.

Past Life - Present Mission (2.1)

Interspersed among the Chapters of 'Past Life - Present Mission' were personal reflections and stories from the research period. These are the reflections/stories from Chapter 1:

Weathered wood

On my personal Celtic Pilgrimage of Discovery I was, at one point, on a beach in South Uist, one of the Western Isles, way out in the Atlantic Ocean. It was low tide. There was a great sense of the Presence of God. A sense of a massive God whose Presence provided the wonderful world that I was perceiving and responding to. At the water's edge I saw a little wooden object, a piece of weathered wood that looked like a dolphin. As I picked it up and considered it – there, at low tide, left by the mighty Atlantic - I felt it was a symbol of a mighty God who has limitless power and resources. A God who works in our lives to get rid of the rubbish and the unnecessary baggage, rather like this piece of weathered wood where all the soft wood had rotted away leaving only the hardwood and a unique shape. So, the God whose presence could be felt in our lives sends us, or allows us, to go through deep waters that we might become like this piece of weathered hardwood. Some time later a member of St Edmund’s Tysley had a major operation, which we knew was serious. Her husband suggested a particular time for me to visit in hospital. I felt at such a loss to know how to respond and, in the end, took this little symbol of God's presence, His love and His way of working in our lives and gave it to this lady, explaining how and where I got it. From that point on it remained with her until the Lord took her to be with him. On at least one occasion whilst she was in hospital she told her doctors what this object symbolised for her. Her funeral occurred part way through the ‘Woven Cord’ programme and was a moment at which members of St Edmund’s realised that, as with Celtic Christians, they were open to the reality and nearness of death and the presence of the spiritual world in a way that was not apparent in the surrounding community.


Spiritual Visions

From the beginning of January 1996, for a period of at least eight to ten weeks I received a series of visionary experiences, some of which reached a climax before a PCC Away Day. For the previous 40 years since I became an adult, I had had a few visionary experiences, six to eight at the most, so they were very occasional. I would describe them as being able to enter into the spiritual dimension that surrounded a current situation. In the past and again now, they involved descriptive awareness about the people in the vision, and their actions. The majority related developmentally to where I was ‘at’, including a limited prophetic discernment about my future.

Three days before the PCC Away Day I awoke late into the night and the matter of the Away Day came strongly to mind. I was aware of God’s Presence and being in the spiritual dimension. I then had visionary pictures of five people who would be attending the Away Day. Each picture was clear and the sense or meaning of the vision was definite. In addition the sense was somehow impressed upon me that the Lord wanted to look at our pattern of relationships as His people at St. Edmund’s.

At the afternoon session of the Away Day, I shared generally about the visionary experience. After discussion, everyone agreed that if ‘they’ were one of the five, they would be willing for the vision to be openly shared. This then took place, and it was a deeply moving experience. It was experiential in terms of the awareness of God’s Presence walking amongst His people. This led immediately into a service of Holy Communion. It was clear that one central action of the Lord in this matter was to put His hand on our relationships, our need to change in specific ways and to be able to receive spiritual gifts from Him. Inevitably, any spiritual challenge about relationships and what we are deep within, can make us feel vulnerable but what the Lord was offering through the pain was precious and was linked to our potential.

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Dave Bainbridge & David Fitzgerald - Life Journey.