Pots and thrones: ritual bronze vessels of the Shang and Zhou dynasties

St Martin-in-the-Fields, together with the Chinese Speaking Congregations of St Martin's, is organising an occasional series of art talks focusing on aspects of Chinese Art.

The fourth lecture in this series will be on ‘Pots and thrones: ritual bronze vessels of the Shang and Zhou dynasties’ and will be given by Yi Chen on Thursday 6 June 2019, 6.30pm in St Martin’s Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields. This will be an illustrated talk (in English). Yi Chen is Curator: Early Chinese Collections at the British Museum.

The talk will be held in St Martin's Hall, within the Crypt of St Martin's, and will begin at 6.30pm for one hour. The talk will be followed by a drinks reception in the Bishop Ho Ming Wah Association and Community Centre.

All are very welcome – for further information contact Jonathan Evens – t: 020 7766 1127, e: jonathan.evens@smitf.org. There will be a retiring collection for St Martin-in-the-Fields.

Tickets for the event are free by registering at the Eventbrite page for this talk: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pots-and-thrones-ritual-bronze-vessels-of-the-shang-and-zhou-dynasties-tickets-60604042322.

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Kitaro - Mercury.

The Cross on Victoria Street – Good Friday Walk of Witness

It was a pleasure to represent Churches Together in Westminster today for The Cross on Victoria Street – Good Friday Walk of Witness. The walk went from Methodist Central Hall Westminster to Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, with the Cross carried by people from The Passage and accompanied by the CEO, Mick Clarke

Reflections were given by The Venerable David Stanton, The Rt Rev John Wilson, Rev Preb Rose Hudson-Wilkin. The Rt Rev John Wilson shared two images. The first being the shimmering cross in the devastation of Notre-Dame; an image of God's love seen in the suffering of the Cross. The second being the sun glinting on an unopened tin of sardines given to torment Magda Elefant in Auschwitz which led to her rescue by the Allies; the instrument of torment become the means of salvation. Rev Preb Rose Hudson-Wilkin said, 'Today must not be a 'Holy Huddle. If the cross is going to make any sense then we must witness to what the cross is about.'

This Walk of Witness is held in association with The Passage, Churches Together in Westminster, and the Ecumenical Society of The Blessed Virgin Mary.

See photographs here and here.

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Graham Kendrick - The Servant King.

Windows on the world (442)

London, 2019

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Glen Hansard - Brother's Keeper.

Artlyst - Visionary Cities: Michael Takeo Magruder – British Library

My latest review for Artlyst is of Michael Takeo Magruder's Imaginary Cities at the British Library:

'Magruder translates his source material – which are precious entities in their own right – into either digitally immersive or physically tangible artefacts that re-present their source in alternative forms. These enthrall and convince in and of themselves, while also enhancing our appreciation for the source itself. To do so requires the paying of attention both to the source map and to the properties of the form in which the re-presentation occurs. The creation of these installations is, therefore, a labour of love.'

My other Artlyst articles and interviews are:

• Van Gogh’s Religious Journey Around London
• William Congdon Holy Sites And The Kettle’s Yard Connection
• Mark Dean Premieres Pastiche Mass At Banqueting Hall Chelsea College of Arts
• John Kirby: The Torment Underlying The Civilised Facade
• Curating Spiritual Sensibilities In Changing Times
• Ken Currie: Protest Defeat And Victory
• Bosco Sodi: A Moment Of Genesis
• Bill Viola And The Art Of Contemplation
• Art In Churches 2018: Spiritual Combinations Explored
• Sister Wendy Beckett – A Reminiscence
• Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker On The Legacy Of ArtWay
• Guido Guidi: Per Strada Flowers Gallery London
• Peter Howson Artlyst Interview
• Peter Howson: The play is over – Flowers Gallery
• Camille Henrot: Scientific History And Creation Story Mash Up
• Nicola Green Explores Recent And Contemporary Religious Leaders – St Martin-in-the-Fields
• Art And The Consequences Of War Explored In Two Exhibitions
• Helaine Blumenfeld Translating Her Vision
• Alastair Gordon A Testament To His Faith
• Sacred Noise: Explores Religion, Faith And Divinity
• Bill Viola: Quiet Contemplative Video Installation St Cuthbert’s Church Edinburgh
• The ground-breaking work of Sister Corita Kent
• Katrina Moss Chaiya Art Awards Interview: Where is God in our 21st century world?
• Picasso To Souza: The Crucifixion Imagery Rarely Exhibited
• Apocalypse Now: Michael Takeo Magruder Interviewed
• Jonathan Anderson: Religious Inspirations Behind Modernism
• Michael Takeo Magruder: De / coding the Apocalypse – Panacea Museum
• Giorgio Griffa: The Golden Ratio And Inexplicable Knowledge
• Arabella Dorman Unveils New Installation At St James Church Piccadilly
• Can Art Transform Society?
• Art Awakening Humanity Conference Report
• Central St Martins in the Fields Design Then And Now
• The Sacramental And Liturgical Nature Of Conceptual Art
• Caravan – An Interview With Rev Paul Gordon Chandler On Arts Peacebuilding
• Art Awakening Humanity Alexander de Cadenet Interviewed
• Polish Art In Britain Centenary Marked At London’s Ben Uri Gallery
• Michael Pendry New Installation Lights Up St Martin In The Fields;
• Mark Dean Projects Stations of the Cross Videos On Henry Moore Altar;
• Refugee Artists Learning from The Lives Of Others;
• The Religious Impulses Of Robert Rauschenberg;
• The Christian Science Connection Within The British Modern Art Movement;
• Artists Rebranding The Christmas Tree Tradition;
• Art Impacted - A Radical Response To Radicalisation;
• The Art of St Martin-in-the-Fields; and
• Was Caravaggio A Good Christian?

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Bill Fay - City Of Dreams.

HeartEdge Conference & Introductory Days

11 June 'Newcastle HeartEdge Day' with Sam Wells and guests. A unique programme of theological reflection and local contributors. HeartEdge days focus around our HeartEdge 4 Cs with an emphasis on practical insight and ideas to take away. Full details to be announced - don't miss out, we get great feedback about these events. Book in here. 

27 June HeartEdge Day - Derby: Working across Derby and the surrounding area? Urban, suburban or rural? We would love you to join this practical one-day intensive introduction to HeartEdge with Sam Wells and guests. We're ecumenical and open to all. The day will explore approaches to mission, do theology, develop ideas and help build on the community of practice in Derby. We'll do this by referring to:

• - Congregation: Liturgy, worship & new congregations
• - Commerce: Being entrepreneurial, growing income via enterprise
• - Compassion: Grow participation to address social need
• - Culture: Art, music connecting with communities

We'll start with refreshments from 10am and a programme from 10.30am.

• - Programme will include panel discussion and practical ‘how to’ session.
• - Lots of opportunity to build networks, make connections, with tiime to meet over lunch & refreshments.

Practical, inspiring with lots to celebrate and take away - we hope you can join us. Register for free here


2 - 3 October, Edinburgh. The HeartEdge annual conference: 'On Earth as it is in Heaven' - a practical, two-day intensive of ideas, theology and connecting. Includes workshops on enterprise and commerce, launching cultural projects, developing congregations and sustaining community response. This year contributors include Sam Wells and Winnie Varghese. Winnie is a Huffington Post blogger; author of 'Church Meets World'; editor of 'What We Shall Become' and Priest and Chief Justice and Reconciliation Officer at Trinity Church Wall Street, New York City. For initial contributors and to book in early-bird visit here.

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Bob Chilcott - The Lord's Prayer.

Alys Tomlinson & Markéta Luskacová: Ex Voto & Pilgrims

My latest review for Church Times compares and contrasts Alys Tomlinson's Ex-Voto photographic series on the theme of Pilgrimage with the Bohemia-born British-based photographer Markéta Luskacová’s documentary series Pilgrims, currently on show at Tate Britain.

Mike Trow, chair of judges for the Sony World Photography Awards 2018, says that Ex-Voto is a sensitive illustration of the “idea of pilgrimage as a journey of discovery and sacrifice to a greater power” through “quiet images, beautifully produced, with a calm, spiritual feel that is at odds with so much of our frenetic lives”.

'Luskacová wanted to record the pilgrims’ way of life, because she thought that it would not survive for much longer. Tomlinson’s fascination with contemporary pilgrimage and the warmth of reception for her images reveal the enduring strength of pilgrimage as a human endeavour that has not been lost in the period from 1967 to 2018. Tomlinson’s images reveal the endurance of faith in the 21st century.'

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Norah Jones - Sunrise.

Thought for the Week: Reversed Expectations

Here's my Thought for the Week at St Martin-in-the-Fields:

Reversed Expectations

I began my first Palm Sunday sermon from the back of the church and not, as expected, in the pulpit. That was intended as an illustration of the reality that Jesus, through his life and teaching, turned our understanding of life upside down. He did it when he called on the one without sin to cast the first stone. He did it when he, their Master, served the disciples by washing their feet. And he did it on the occasion of his entry into Jerusalem too.

Some people at the time expected him, if he really was Israel’s Messiah or King, to lead an armed rebellion against their Roman oppressors. As his ministry had gone on, these people had begun pressing him to declare his hand. Jesus chose the moment of his entry into Jerusalem to do so, but not in the way that those people expected. Instead of coming into Jerusalem as a warrior King on a war-horse leading an army, he came unarmed and riding on a donkey.

In doing so, he was pointing to a passage in Zechariah: ‘Look, your king is coming to you! He comes triumphant and victorious, but humble and riding on a donkey – on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ By entering Jerusalem in this way, Jesus made it clear he was the expected Messiah but that he would not be the kind of Messiah that was expected. He did not come to destroy Israel’s enemies but as the Prince of Peace, under whose rule the only things destroyed are weapons themselves.

Jesus came to love his enemies and unite them with his own people, making peace. In a time of national division we, too, can reverse people’s expectations by living and demonstrating Jesus’ embrace of all.

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Ride On, Ride On In Majesty.