jonnybaker

who is this?

i was delighted to see mark wallinger's ecce homo statue is back on display in london. i loved it when it was on the fourth plinth in trafalgar square. it showed christ as a human size figure, looking like one of us and in the context of all the other pompous statues made a big statement. 

it's now reappeared at the top of the steps of st paul's cathedral - christ with eyes closed, life size, in front of the crowd at a time of trial with a crown of thorns made of barbed wire. you can go and stand next to him and have a selfie if you want (kind of weird thing to do?!). but again this is christ downsized from the pomposity of st pauls cathedral. it's sponsored by amnesty international. christ was beaten, tortured and executed as someone who spoke truth to power - in his case religious power. there are many many people tortured, imprisoned, and killed in the world today so i hope this statue serves to draw attention to those people.

when i took a photo of the statue on my phone i got chatting to a woman taking a photo. her opening question to me was 'who is this?' . i assumed she meant the artist but suddenly realised that she had no idea that the statue was a representation of jesus christ and indeed she had no idea who jesus was and is. she was american. so i tried to tell the story briefly. but i found it a wake up call that she is probably one of many who simply don't know the story of jesus christ. there are four stories of his life told by matthew, mark, luke and john. today, good friday, is the day when his death is remembered. why not read one of those stories of his life? we went on to discuss photography as it turned out she had just bought an expensive camera but had no idea how to use it so i gave an impromptu camera lesson...

if you are passing st paul's cathedral go and take a look - the statue is there until the end of may i think. i don't know how long it will be before they are forced to protect the statue but currently you can go right next to the statue. 

resources for holy week and easter

it amazes me that the artists connected to proost keep on producing wonderful resources. have a read of this latest proost update to tell you about easter resources old and new. 

i have been using ian adams 40 temptations resource during lent and he has now written a similar resource to use in the easter season focusing on the resurrection stories and dreaming of a better world - i plan to use it each day for 40 days - there are 40 reflections. it's called peace be with you. this is what ian says about it...

Peace be with you draws on themes and phrases from the stories told in the gospels about the resurrection of Jesus. From the time of their first telling those stories have been seen as invitations to allow the resurrection to reshape the way that life could be lived by reader and hearer. Peace be with you looks again at those invitations, and imagines them as gifts for us now, opening up the possibility of something new.

If you happen to be reading this in the Easter season, after the toughness of Lent, the space they offer may be welcome. But these invitations also come with a provocative edge. Can we find the courage to live in the spirit of resurrection when everything seems to gravitate towards death and destruction?

 holy week is a great chance to reflect on the story of christ's journey to jerusalem and passion and andy freeman has published a collection of reflections to use during that week - meeting the gardener

put down all your weapons

the last grace was close enough to low sunday (is there a low saturday?). and steve collins led a wonderful grace SENSEOFDOUBT inspired by the story of thomas for whom easter didn't happen. the outline of the service is here in the grace archive and includes some gems...

it was a reminder for me how sometimes simple can be very powerful - there was a slideshow with words and a fabulous soundtrack to accompany it and plenty of space - the tracks are listed and you can download the slides. one beautiful track i hadn't heard before (and got rebuked for shazzaming when i should have been meditating upon it!) was weapons by son lux which has the extraordinary line which i have thought about since and indeed used yesterday with pioneers at cms...

put down all your weapons
let me in through your open wounds

this was a prayer

We thank you Lord for the story of Thomas
showing us that faith was never easy
and that doubt never breaks your love for us

We lift up to you our demands
show me,
prove it,
give me a sign NOW
our doubts
may your peace be with us

We offer you
Our fumbling answers
when others tell us
you are not
proven
may your peace be with us

We offer you
Our pain
And reticence
When we hold back from rejoicing
Because others can’t
may your peace be with us

We ask you
To meet those
In need of peace
In need of blessing
In need of an end to their waiting
may your peace be with them

We do believe,
help us overcome our unbelief

am making the whole thing a worship trick - 58 in series 4...

open our graves

come now, disturbing spirit of our god,
breathe on these bodily things,
and make us one body in christ.
open our graves,
unbind our eyes,
and name us here;
touch and heal all that has been buried in us,
that we need not cling to our pain,
but may go forth in your power
to release resurrection in the world

this lovely prayer is by janet morley in all desires known, part of an easter communion, and is one i have come back to several times this year. happy easter! christ is risen

fear and dust, and very nearly a whisper: new resources on proost

i always love seeing what people are creating in worship that is soulful and heartfelt and from the bottom up. proost has always tried to give voice to artists and communities in this way. i personally have always favoured liturgy and ideas that come this way round rather than being created for general use (though that has its place too). so i am pleased to say that there are two new resources on proost both of which capture this feel and approach

fear and dust is a book of poems, prayers and hymns to a wild creator god from tim watson who has a couple of other books on proost. as you know if you know proost we love poets! the good news is it's volume 1 so there will be more to follow… it's available as a pdf.

very nearly a whisper is an album of ambient music from dennis hendricksen who i met on a visit to canada. he is new on proost and there is a sample track on the page if you want to have a listen.

you can of course subscribe to proost for a year which means you can access any of the content when you like, including lots of resources for easter for example.

 

in spite of us

lovely prayer from cheryl lawrie (as ever...)

In spite of our doubts,
may we recognise you in our midst:
wounded, bloody, and resurrected

in spite of our doubts,
may we know when we come face to face
with the love that is greater than all deaths

in spite of our doubts,
may we reach out to touch the wounds of the world’s pain
trusting that when grace and love surround them
they will become part of Christ’s resurrected body.

and in spite of our doubts,
may we live as though we are, too.

[worship trick 51, series 4]

happy easter - present to the presence

happy easter! christ is risen.

this is an image from jason miller who i have linked to before - see here for some easter artworks…

i also loved this take on rublev's icon from ric stott

and whilst it's not exactly an easter image this piece from banksy is rather good. i saw it online this morning. the story of the resurrection is one of presence (of the risen christ) and there are several occasions where when he appears to the disciples or mary (see john 20 - that's today's reading in many churches i am sure) and they don't seem to recognise him though he is staanding there in front of them. attention and awareness are foundational to seeing. this image shows up the challenge of being present to the presence in front of us or we might not see...

holy week resources

proost resources for holy week here - good stuff as always!

christine sine buzzed me an email with some links to her ever expanding resources around liturgy and prayer - have a look for maundy thursday | good friday | stations of the cross

new artists on proost - getting ready for easter...

if you are planning ahead for easter have a look at proost's resources for easter. there's some classics there and a few new things. 

on the subject of new it's wonderful to have a new artist or two on proost - steve leach (who is also training on the cms pioneer course) has an ep gardens with three electronic tracks responding to the three gardens of eden, gethsemane and paradise. 

restless: evening prayer for restless hearts also looks and sounds really beautiful - from tim snyder and aaron strumpel - both also new on proost! the sample track on this page is quite amazing...

beware of your ears close your eyes - maundy thursday event at union chapel free!

no idea exactly what this event entails but union chapel are curating a series of events in the run up to easter. this one caught my eye and it's free. i'll be heading along - spread the word. no need to book either - just turn up. see you there... the blurb says

This is a non-conformist exploration of the senses for Maundy Thursday. An invitation to come and experience a hypnotic spectacle dominated by stroboscopy and industrial and noisetechno frequencies combined with sounds of Union Chapelʼs Henry Willis Organ. This has never been done before!

Light controlled electronics: xname

Organ: Claire M Singer

this is a table...

last night we had friends round for a meal and conversation. maundy thursday is a day particularly to remember jesus' meals with friends and to share bread and wine at the table. we chatted about the various meals and tables jesus had and was round. i invited people to complete a sentence that began 'this is a table...' and that then became a prayer of thanks as we read them out and shared bread and wine to remember

This is a table of new expectations

This is a table where everyone can come to receive

This is a table for those who haven't met Jesus before

This is a table with the Lord of the harvest and catch

This is a table where the host is often in the dependent position

This is a table where we are reconciled

This is a table where there is safety and acceptance

This is a table which welcomes, invites, provides, unites

This is a table where uncomfortable things happen

This is a table that was the natural place to be

This is a table that was the place to meet people

This is a table where strength is restored

This is a table, this is our community

easter resources

proost has lots of resources for easter. you can search in the seasons section of the site under good friday or easter. or there are a bundle of links in the latest news update. if you wanted something to follow through holy week crucify this jesus has liturgies for each day beginning today...

i have linked to and blogged about lots of things on the blog over the last ten years. feel free to scroll through anything i have tagged easter.

i thought this letter from brian walsh was a rather delightful invitation to come home in holy week...

art in holy week day 8: the resurrection

[this is part of a series of blog posts on art in holy week - see also

• art in holy week day one: the lent cross delarosa
• art in holy week day two: raised in leeds
• art in holy week day three: the create project
• art in holy week day four: the easter story engedi arts
• art in holy week day five: soul of sheffield 
• art in holy week day six: stations of the king's cross
• art in holy week day seven: noesis ]

christ is risen!

happy easter. i have been blogging about art through holy week focusing on exhibitions people are putting on which i have found really inspiring. i really hope this is a trend that will grow. but i thought i'd change tack slightly today as the only exhibition i know of focused on the resurrection i already blogged about on day 2! so i thought i would put up an icon of the resurrection. i'm not by any means an expert on icons but this image is clearly a classic one that there are several versions of in various traditions (just google resurrection icon).

in the centre is jesus christ risen from the dead. he is standing on the gates of death or hades or hell and is literally pulling out adam, and eve is waiting to be pulled out - they represent all of humanity. around jesus are angels and characters from the scriptures such as john the baptist. below in hell there are broken chains and keys. christ's descent into hell has mant that he has broken the final enemy death and plundered hell and walked out with the key. death is defeated. this is an extraordinary image.

at the heart of the christian faith is the resurrection of jesus christ from the dead. it's an inspiring story that gives hope to those struggling and in darkness or literally experiencing hellish situations. but i think to just see it as an inspiring story of death and new life or simply as a metaphor misses the point. if christ has not been raised from death there is no christian faith. but if he has then everything has changed. [archbishop rowan williams in his sermon today makes pretty much the same point]. i wrote a song on the grace album quite a few years back that seems to go with this image...

where o death is your sting where is your victory
christ has plumbed the depths of hell and walked out with the key
this hope inspires me

in the midst of struggling recall the memory
christ has triumphed over death the final enemy
this hope inspires me

the dawning of a new age a new humanity
redemption of creation christ is the guarantee
this hope inspires me

if you'd like a listen i have uploaded it here -

And Death Shall Have No Dominion

 

art in holy week day 7: noesis

[this is part of a series of blog posts on art in holy week - see also

• art in holy week day one: the lent cross delarosa
• art in holy week day two: raised in leeds
• art in holy week day three: the create project
• art in holy week day four: the easter story engedi arts
• art in holy week day five: soul of sheffield 
• art in holy week day six: stations of the king's cross
• art in holy week day eight: the resurrection ]

noesis is an art installation at the public in west brom. i keep trying to summarise it but it gets a full explanation here of how it explores the themes of sacrifice and community - so go there to read about it! the red threads that hang round the cross shape have been woven by various groups in the community with pieces of leather sewn in with their thoughts or words.

andy morgan who is on the cms pioneer course and is involved in west brom network church has commissioned it. john todd is the artist. again like the other art works it is in public space - in this case an arts/community centre.

if you are in west brom go and have a look. the laughing sole which is a comedy club in birmingham pioneered by helen tomblin (who has also done a few modules with us on the cms pioneer course) just expanded to a second monthly venue at the public in west brom - the next one is on may 2. that sounds an exciting development too.

and if you are in the area wbnc are exploring starting a cafe church/community that will meet in the public - see here for more info

art in holy week day 6: stations of the kings cross

[this is part of a series of blog posts on art in holy week - see also

• art in holy week day one: the lent cross delarosa
• art in holy week day two: raised in leeds
• art in holy week day three: the create project
• art in holy week day four: the easter story engedi arts
• art in holy week day five: soul of sheffield
• art in holy week day seven: noesis
• art in holy week day eight: the resurrection ]

every year at easter the ancient teling of the story of christ's passion gets reinterpreted in inspirational ways through the stations of the cross. if you're not familiar with it, depending on the version, there are around 15 stations that folow christ's journey to his death. i have blogged over the years about several of these such as -

QR codes stations of the cross

stations on skin (which is totally amazing and new this year)

stations of the corss in hamilton gardens, new zealand which is back on a huge scale this year

twelve stations manga style

ben edson reminded me yesterday of a new one in london - stations of the kings cross. i had come across this before and meant to blog about it but don't think i ever did. this is a simple prayer aid for people travelling on the circle line in london towards kings cross station in either direction. for those of you not in london the circle line is an underground tube line that does what it says - circles. a series of prayers and readings for each stations are on the web site and you can e-mail for a free booklet. with each station is a beautiful print made from a paper cut illustration. here's one example below. i love the simlicity of this and the fact that it is so woven into the life of the city of london. i actually don't know who is behind this though i'm sure i did when i first stumbled across it. anyway thank you to whoever you are who has put this together and offered it as a gift. i am making it worship trick 22 in series 4

art in holy week day 4: the easter story engedi arts

[this is part of a series of blog posts on art in holy week - see also

• art in holy week day one: the lent cross delarosa
• art in holy week day two: raised in leeds
• art in holy week day three: the create project
• art in holy week day five: soul of sheffield 
• art in holy week day six: stations of the king's cross
• art in holy week day seven: noesis
• art in holy week day eight: the resurrection ]

the easter story is an exhibtion that opened last weekend in north wales in colwyn bay. this photo was taken at the opening which sounded like a big success. jen and i are heading up tomorrow to join in the fun... gav mart is a student on the cms pioneer course and is the person behind engedi arts who are putting on the exhibition. to get this in motion has involved quite an adventure and a serious amount of risk taking. this has involved taking out a lease short term on the imperial hotel on the hgh street, doing the place up, connecting wth local artists on quite a big scale, and meantime putting together funding bids and dreaming up a vision to enable the hotel to become a base for community and arts into the future - all of which is still unknown.

but the easter story itself is quite a simple idea. take sections of scripture that tell the easter story and invite artists to interact with the story. it doesn't matter if they are christian or not. in many ways the project is about saying that the story is the peoples and not the sole preserve of the church. i just love the scale of what is going on. there are quite a few pieces online about this so i don't want to repeat everthing here. cms write about it here, i really liked this photo story that tells the journey, and gav is interviewed here. here's what he says about it.

Engedi Arts is interested in what Jesus’ story looks like to non Christians, without the perceived barrier of the traditional church building standing in the way. We have handpicked all of our artists ranging from some of the top Welsh contemporary names to some established and up and coming new talent. Of our confirmed artists 80 per cent are based in Wales, and we have received an overwhelmingly positive response from the artistic community.

The 40 passages chosen range from the resurrection of Lazarus to the resurrected Jesus, and the fish breakfast of John 21, and are intended to highlight issues concerning: Life, death, women’s role in the gospel/Christendom, betrayal, economy, the Eucharist, loyalty, justice, gambling, denial, self denial, violence, doubt, theology and friendship, the community’s relationship with the church.

During the show’s run we’re planning a range of community (mini) events at the venue including an opening launch party, a song and creative writing workshop day and evening performance, a spoken word workshop day and evening performance, an acoustic evening, a meditative service, various arts workshops, a student open afternoon, an alternative worship event, a Maundy Thursday event, and a closing Easter Sunday Big Feast.

i intend to take some photos so will try and show something of what it's about when i get back. but if you scroll through the blog you can see stories of some of the artists involved and what they are up to such as this stroke of brilliance...

art in holy week day 3: the create project

[this is part of a series of blog posts on art in holy week - see also

• art in holy week day one: the lent cross delarosa
• art in holy week day two: raised in leeds
• art in holy week day four: the easter story engedi arts
• art in holy week day five: soul of sheffield 
• art in holy week day six: stations of the king's cross
• art in holy week day seven: noesis
• art in holy week day eight: the resurrection ]

the create project easter 2012 is one to particpate in! i stumbled across this on flickr and don't know too much about it. but the idea is simple:

1. create a piece of art in esponse to any aspect of the easter story (any medium - if it's digital leave the url or a memory stick)

2. drop it in a public place as a gift for someone to stumble across

3. take a photo of it and upload it to this flickr group here

people involved such as my dog sighs have a tradition of free art friday so good friday is the day to go for if you are doing one - up for it? go on....

i am making this worship trick 21 series 4.

[update: so i thought i'd join in - see what happened here...]

art in holy week day 2: raised in leeds

[this is part of a series of blog posts on art in holy week - see also

• art in holy week day one: the lent cross delarosa
• art in holy week day three: the create project
• art in holy week day four: the easter story engedi arts
• art in holy week day five: soul of sheffield 
• art in holy week day six: stations of the king's cross
• art in holy week day seven: noesis
• art in holy week day eight: the resurrection ]

last night raised in leeds opened in leeds at left bank. raised in leeds is an exhibition of 19 illustrations by si smith of jesus christ’s appearances after the resurrection. they are drawn as though they took place in and around leeds, a city in the north of england. each illustration is inspired by a scripture text. the illustrations are absolutely brilliant as always with si smith! those of you who don't know si's work, you probably do - sometime in lent i bet you have come across 40 which is by him! ian adams has worked with si to also create a series of reflections on the images and ritual responses at each station. go visit if you are anywhere nearby.

si contacted us to ask if proost would be happy to host the catalogue for the exhibition raised in leeds which of course we are delighted to do - it contains images and scripture texts. a physical copy is avalaible at the exhibition or through leftbank leeds. on proost it's available as a downloadable pdf - which btw looks amazing on an ipad or decent screen.

we have also put together a stations of the resurrection experience on proost which includes high resolution copies of the individual illustrations and a guide book with instructions on setting up the stations with accompanying reflections and prayers by ian adams. it feels slightly strange to be talking about the resurrection this early in holy week but the exhibition is happening now and i wated to let people know about the resource if you're planning ahead for things to do to celebrate the resurrection.

a few other easter resources on proost are linked to here...

i love si's work!

art in holy week day 1: the lent cross delarosa

[this is part of a series of blog posts on art in holy week - see also

• art in holy week day two: raised in leeds
• art in holy week day three: the create project
• art in holy week day four: the easter story engedi arts
• art in holy week day five: soul of sheffield 
• art in holy week day six: stations of the king's cross
• art in holy week day seven: noesis
• art in holy week day eight: the resurrection ]

there is so much creativity around at the moment taking art engaging in sme way with the christian story and performing it or letting it loose in public space. i thought i would try and mention one piece/exhibit each day through holy week and see how it goes...

day 1: the lent cross delarosa

so first up is the lent cross put in the middle of the north lanes in brighton by beyond . this is a transparent perpsex cross with small holes through which people can post thoughts on what they could and couldn't live without. each week there is a gathering to share bread and wine. their blog tells how it has been unscrewed, kicked around and smashed but is being put back together. so it's now a cross that rather than being clean and perfect now bears the scars of its mistreatment, a sign of the suffering god on the via delarosa.

if you know of creative art installations and exhibitions please leave a comment...

so what are you doing for holy week?

holy week is the run up to easter. this year i am going to be using tim watson's book crucify this jesus which has liturgies and poems for everyday of the week starting with palm sunday and finishing with easter sunday. i don't know yet who i will read them with. some alone and some with family round the meal table and some with friends? there are at least two (maundy thursday and easter sunday) that make most sense round the table with bread and wine. you can download it from proost or order a physical copy through lulu.com