The story focuses on our
Unveiled evenings and cultural programming more generally. The fact that the Diocese have chosen to feature one of our new initiatives demonstrates their sense that we are on an encouraging track as we seek to develop mission and ministry in new ways. Please pray for our cultural programming as we connect with creatives and others in our community and attract new people to our churches through these initiatives. Pray that, through these initiatives, we might be at the heart of our community and alongside those on the edge.
Unveiled, the regular arts and performance evening at
St Andrew's Church (11 London Road, Wickford SS12 0AN), continues this Friday (10 February) at 7.00 pm with an evening of music and conversation with composer
Silvio Bartoli. Listen to Silvio Bartoli play a selection of pieces from his CD ‘A Rainy Day’ and hear him talk about his work as a composer of contemporary classical music and electronica. For a preview of what you will hear, click
here.
Unveiled includes exhibitions, open mic nights, performances, talks and more!
- Unveiled – a wide range of artist and performers from Essex and wider, including Open Mic nights (come and have a go!).
- Unveiled – view our hidden painting by acclaimed artist David Folley, plus a range of other exhibitions.
Our Spring Programme for 2023 continues as follows:
- 10 February – An evening with composer Silvio Bartoli. Numerous performances of his pieces have been done during the last years in London, by The Hermes Project, The Explore Ensemble, different solo pieces, and the RCM Philarmonia. In addition to his career as a composer, he teaches composition, harmony, piano, theory and solfege.
- 17 February – 'God Gave Rock and Roll to You': a talk by Jonathan Evens about the religious influences in Rock, Pop, and Soul music.
- 3 March – Open Mic Night with John Rogers. Everybody is welcome to come along and play, sing or just spectate. Hope to see you there for a great evening of live music!
- 17 March – St Martin’s Voices, one of the UK’s most versatile professional vocal ensembles, performing concerts on the international stage as well as giving regular BBC broadcasts and special services at London’s iconic St Martin-in-the-Fields. The ensemble performs regularly alongside the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and London Mozart Players and is featured in the Church of England’s online worship resources that have attracted over 4 million downloads.
These events do not require tickets (just turn up on the night). There will be a retiring collection to cover artist and church costs.
Exhibitions at St Andrew's to date have included: mudcub sculptures by Nicola Ravenscroft; heritage displays from Basildon Heritage; paintings from Runwell Art Club; and, our current exhibition, ‘The Blind Jesus (No-one belongs here more than you)’, a series of Last Supper images exploring themes of welcome and belonging rooted in the experiences of disabled people.
The Blind Jesus (No-one belongs here more than you) exhibition is at
St Andrew's Church (11 London Road, Wickford SS12 0AN) from 9 January until Easter. Do come and experience it for yourself. St Andrew’s Church is usually open: Saturdays from 8.30 am to 12.30 pm; Sundays from 9.30 am to 12.00 noon; Mondays from 1.30 to 3.45 pm; Tuesdays from 1.00 to 4.30 pm; and Wednesdays from 10.00 am to 12.00 noon. To arrange a visit with in-person audio description please contact Revd Jonathan Evens on tel: 07803 562329 or email:
jonathan.evens@btinternet.com. See
http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html for fuller information.
The Blind Jesus (No-one belongs here more than you) is an image in charcoal of the Last Supper by
Revd Alan Stewart, which includes the central character of a visually impaired Jesus, surrounded by twelve people of differing ages, backgrounds and abilities. At the table, an empty chair invites the viewer to find themselves at the table.
The Blind Jesus (No-one belongs here more than you) has been commissioned by
Celia Webster, Co-Founder of
Wave (We’re All Valued Equally), as part of a project in which it seeds other images of the Last Supper that are truly for everyone. Schools, churches and community groups are being invited as part of this project to create their own Last Supper images.
The exhibition includes additional Last Supper images created by:
(Still) Calling from the Edge conference; WAVE (We are All Valued Equally); St Mary's Catholic Primary School in Muswell Hill; and St Paul's CE Primary School in Barnet.
The photographs of the WAVE Church Last Supper were taken by Maria de Fatima Campos. Pupils in year 1 and 2 at St Paul’s CofE School in Friern Barnet created their work with their amazing art teacher, Dimple Sthalekar. The work shows how we begin as roots and then grow. The leaves of the tree are multi-coloured and moveable to show how we can move into different spaces and communities. St Paul's is a hugely welcoming and inclusive school that welcomes children from all backgrounds and faiths and uses the medium of art to convey this.
St Mary's Catholic Primary School focused their piece on the empty chair included in Alan Stewart’s drawing. Pupils in Years 4 and 5 created ‘Take a Seat,’ a piece which uses the technique of mono-printing to create lots of empty chairs as an invitation for everyone to sit down and join the table. They began the project by talking about the empty chair and what it could mean. They also compared and contrasted it with the commissioned drawing to talk about difference and what forms that can take. Through the process, the children decided that the peace dove would make a good representation of god. The words around the dove invite us to take a seat, to unite us in love and community.
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