Between

Monday 22 April 2024

Artlyst: The Last Caravaggio - National Gallery

My latest exhibition review for Artlyst is on 'The Last Caravaggio' at the National Gallery:

'Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, as both a revolutionary artist and a violent individual in a violent age, divides eras and opinions.

His paintings are strikingly original and emotionally charged with their intense naturalism, dramatic lighting and powerful storytelling. These elements of his work have had a lasting impact on European art and continue to reverberate to this day. His focus on the human in depicting stories of the divine reversed the idealisation of the human primarily found in the Western tradition up to that point and introduced a new language to painting, one that would eventually result in Rembrandt’s ability to reveal the divine in his sitters and characters.'

See also my first article for Artlyst - Was Caravaggio a Good Christian?

Interviews -

Monthly diary articles -

Articles/Reviews -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gregory Porter - Revival.

Sunday 21 April 2024

Team Rector of the Billericay & Little Burstead Team Ministry

Check out this exciting opportunity to develop, innovate and co-ordinate a parish wide Team ministry in the vibrant town of Billericay which has easy access to both London and the countryside.

The role of Team Rector for The Billericay and Little Burstead Team Ministry is an exciting opportunity to work with four Churches and one Chapel of Ease. You would be leading and working alongside experienced and committed Clergy, Licensed Lay Ministers, Church Wardens and laity.

In recent years the Team Churches have developed ways of working together allowing friendships and fellowship to grow. We are looking for the right person who will enable this to continue, as well as encouraging an ever-deepening relationship with Christ, and equipping everyone to share the Good News of the Gospel.

We are seeking someone to lead the team who:

has an evangelical conviction and has a passion for growing churches
will enjoy developing, innovating and co-ordinating a parish wide ministry
values working alongside and developing lay people as part of an effective team

Closing date: 28th May 2024

Click here for more information and here for the Parish Profile.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ricky Ross, Hannah White & Keiron Marshall - Pale Rider.

Windows on the world (463)

London, 2024

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

T Bone Burnett - The Pain Of Love.

Friday 19 April 2024

Brand New Day: Runwell Art Club exhibition

Brand New Day: Runwell Art Club exhibition
Friday 19 April – Friday 26 July 2024
St Andrew’s Church, 11 London Road, Wickford, Essex SS12 0AN

The summer exhibition at St Andrew's Wickford is called 'Brand New Day' and is a group show by Runwell Art Club. The theme is explored through landscapes and portraits with animals, babies and sunrises featuring prominently.

Runwell Art Club is a small but thriving art club that was started in 2010 by two dedicated artists, Carole Wellby and Paula Sloane. They meet in Runwell, every Friday at 10am.

St Andrew’s is usually open: Sat 9am-12.30pm; Sun 9.30am-12 noon; Mon 2-3.45pm; Tue 1-4.30pm; Wed 10am-12 noon; Fri 10am-1pm.

Exhibition viewing evening at ‘Unveiled’ - Friday 3 May, 7.00 pm.

See http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html for fuller information.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Water into Wine Band - Hillclimbing For Beginners.

Wednesday 17 April 2024

Testimony in the courtroom of life

Here's the sermon I shared at St Andrew's Wickford this morning:

Saint Stephen was the first Christian martyr, and was stoned to death (Acts 7. 54-60). Saul (the future Saint Paul) guards the clothes of those who stone Saint Stephen outside the city. In the Acts of the Apostles, Stephen is described as one of the seven deacons whose job it is to care for the widows in the early Church in Jerusalem. His eloquent speech before the Sanhedrin, in which he shows the great sweep of Jewish history as leading to the birth of Jesus, the long-expected Messiah, and his impassioned plea that all might hear the good news of Jesus, leads to his inevitable martyrdom by being stoned to death.

As the author of Acts, Luke's description of Stephen bears direct parallels to that of Christ: for example, being filled with the Holy Spirit; seeing the Son of God as the right hand of God, as Jesus promised he would be; commending his spirit to Jesus, as Jesus commended his to the Father; kneeling as Jesus did in Gethsemane and asking forgiveness for his persecutors. Witnessing to Jesus by acting like Jesus in every way is thus seen by Luke as of the essence of the Christian life.

The Greek word "martus" signifies a "witness". It is in this sense that the term first appears in Christian literature; the Apostles were "witnesses" of all that they had observed in the public life of Christ. The Apostles, from the beginning as the story of St Stephen makes clear, faced grave dangers, until eventually almost all suffered death for their convictions. Thus, within the lifetime of the Apostles, the term martus came to be used in the sense of a witness who at any time might be called upon to deny what he testified to, under penalty of death. From this stage the transition was easy to the ordinary meaning of the term, as used ever since in Christian literature: a martyr, or witness of Christ, as a person who suffers death rather than deny his faith.

There continue to be Christians who experience persecution or martyrdom today and we must pray for and support our brothers and sisters in the persecuted Church. It is, probably, unlikely that we will share with St Stephen in this experience, even so, we can still share with St Stephen in the other meaning of martus; that of being a witness who gives testimony. The missiologist Lesslie Newbigin has explained that testimony is what is given by a witness in a trial. A witness makes his or her statement as part of a trial in which the truth is at stake and where the question, ‘What is the truth?’ is what is being argued. Newbigin has argued that this is what is “at the heart of the biblical vision of the human situation that the believer is a witness who gives his testimony in a trial.”

Where is the trial? It is all around us, it is life itself? In all situations we encounter, there is challenge to our faith and there is a need for us to testify in words and actions to our belief in Christ. Whenever people act as though human beings are entirely self-relient, there is a challenge to our faith. Whenever people argue that suffering and disasters mean that there cannot be a good God, we are on the witness stand. Whenever people claim that scientific advances or psychological insights can explain away belief in God, we are in the courtroom. Whenever a response of love is called for, our witness is at stake.

What is the content of our testimony? Witnesses are those who have seen or experienced a particular event or sign or happening and who then tell the story of what they have seen or heard as testimony to others. That is what Jesus called us to do before he ascended to the Father; to tell our stories of encountering him to others. So, we don’t have to understand or be able to explain the key doctrines of the Christian faith. We don’t have to be able to tell people the two ways to live or to have memorized the sinner’s prayer or to have tracts to be able to hand out in order to be witnesses to Jesus. All we need to do is to tell our story; to say this is how Jesus made himself real to me and this is the difference that it has made.

Malcolm Guite sums up these thoughts as follows:

Witness for Jesus, man of fruitful blood,
Your martyrdom begins and stands for all.
They saw the stones, you saw the face of God,
And sowed a seed that blossomed in St. Paul.
When Saul departed breathing threats and slaughter
He had to pass through that Damascus gate
Where he had held the coats and heard the laughter
As Christ, alive in you, forgave his hate,
And showed him the same light you saw from heaven
And taught him, through his blindness, how to see;
Christ did not ask ‘Why were you stoning Stephen?’
But ‘Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
Each martyr after you adds to his story,
As clouds of witness shine through clouds of glory. ()

Prayer: Gracious Father, who gave the first martyr Stephen grace to pray for those who took up stones against him: grant that in all our sufferings for the truth we may learn to love even our enemies and to seek forgiveness for those who desire our hurt, looking up to heaven to him who was crucified for us, Jesus Christ, our Mediator and Advocate, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Malcolm Guite and Rob Groves - Angels Unawares.

Monday 15 April 2024

Jackie E. Burns and Lunar Lullabies

Jackie E. Burns is a Fellow of the International Association of Astronomical Artists and seeks to foster the inquisitive joy of art and astronomy while inspiring people to the awe and beauty of space and astronomy. As an astronomical artist, she specializes in terrestrial and extra-terrestrial landscapes. She also creates celtic and medieval illuminations. She is a workshop designer, gives illustrated lectures and is an art exhibition curator for conferences and conventions.

Jackie exhibited at St Andrew's Wickford last year and now her work is to feature in a major exhibition of space art at Firstsite. Lunar Lullabies will offer a galactic journey through 200 years of space exploration.

Join Colchester’s own Jane Taylor on a celestial adventure, inspired by her timeless poem, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Embark on a cosmic odyssey as Firstsite commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Essex writer’s passing and trace the fascinating legacy of the beloved nursery rhyme and its influence on modern-day comics and video games.

Discover how science, art and imagination have intertwined over the centuries to shape our culture and fuel our dreams of distant galaxies.

Lunar Lullabies will showcase stunning artworks which explore space and science, alongside historical artefacts and contemporary pop culture nods. Explore objects ranging from meteorites and asteroid rocks to Lego Star Wars sets up close, discover all about humanity’s ‘giant leap’ to the moon and get lost in Peter Elson’s fantastical visions of space.

Families will have the opportunities to bring their own cosmic creations to life, transforming the gallery into an immersive playscape of imagination and discovery. From interactive space objects, and immersive extra-terrestrial landscapes to sculptures of robots and rockets, there’s something for every space enthusiast, young and old. Join this stellar voyage, where art, science, and dreams collide. Your journey to the stars awaits!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

David Bowie - Space Oddity.

Sunday 14 April 2024

Windows on the world (462)

Lyvden, 2024

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scott Stapp - Ready To Love.