jonnybaker

heaven exists - grace is 30

this extraordinary cake was commissioned by lynda who is a dear friend and member of grace. she wanted to celebrate grace's 30th birthday and poured her creativity and gratitude into the cake as an amazing gift. the cake is called heaven exists and looked and tasted amazing. thank you lynda! the cake was made by nastassja

we had a wonderful evening doing a new take on communion by numbers round tables. 

a slideshow of moments from grace over the years was scrolling put together by steve collins from his incredible archive of photos over the years - hopefully he will add it online somewhere and i'll add a link - so good to be reminded of so many amazing moments. a playlist with a tune from each of the 30 years was put together by mike rose, the sole founder member who remains part of grace. 

overall there was just a lot of love in the room, with a small community of amazing creative human beings (in the room and online) who have journeyed together as a community of friends making artful soulful worship (fresh vital worship as the early flyers used to say) seeking to follow christ in today's world and support one anther in whatever life has thrown our way. during that time this small group have sparked the imagination of people al round the world, published books, albums, hosted web sites, been part of movements of alternative worship and emerging church, led grace in cathedrals and festivals. and all the while we have remained small, never employed anyone, and been hosted in the mothership of st mary's who have simply let us get on with it. 

a revamped ethos was introduced on the night - tweaked really to add more on being a welcoming community to all which has gione up our agenda over the years as an intention. i will no doubt post that and link to other pieces of the service when they go up on the grace web site.

i am very grateful. it's such a gift of grace.

the poets revival

proud dad moment - harry baker is performing at the royal albert hall on may 1 next year. pretty amazing eh?! 

it's an evening called the poets revival also featuring kae tempest, george the poet and others. get your tickets and hope to see you there!

halo

i called in to see halo, an installation at st stephens walbrook as part of the london design festival. a pendulum loops round henry moore's altar with a light that moves up and down completing loops. a long exposure photo creates the halo effect. above are ambient projections looking like the northern lights. it was well done. for what it's worth my own take was that it would be interesting to expand this project conceptually by exploring notions of the sacred elsewhere - locating the halo outside the church walls.

i took a video of halo in case you want to see the pendulum in real time as it were or get a sense of the ambient projections overhead.

the good samaritan

i was leading the first day of london pioneer school today, one the cms pioneer hubs. it was an introduction to pioneering mission. one of the things we did was to look at the story in john 4 of the woman at the well as an example. on the way over on the train i wrote a liturgy as i wanted to end the day by revisiting that story. it's not that polished and whether it makes sense if you weren't in the discussion i don't know but here it is. i'll add it as a worship trick.

Disturbing Spirit of God
Lead us out of our comfort zones
From Jerusalem and Judea
To Samaria and the ends of the earth

Show us Samaria in our locale.
When we are tempted to walk round it
Give us courage to walk through
When we feel safety in a big group
Help us get away from the disciples
And like you
Choose vulnerability

Remind us that you are ahead of us
Help us to join in with what you are doing
Show us the wells in our community
Lead us to the woman at the well

Where others see sinners
May we see saints
Where others see heretics
May we see god seekers
Rather than play host
May we be guest
Rather than give
Help us receive

For those who are thirsty
Pour out living water
May we worship the Father
In Spirit and truth

When we are invited to stay in Samaria
Let’s say yes
Surprise us when
You do it from the inside

The harvest is plentiful
But the labourers are few
Send us to Samaria
To find apostles like the woman at the well
The good Samaritan

and here is the mottley crew of 19 setting out on the course. three were online in africa in case you were wondering why someone is holding a laptop.

the weekend before i was in birmingham on the first weekend of the newbigin hub, the cms pioneer hub there - fun times!

presence in the city

ian adams is leading a retreat day in london - presence in the city which i am sure will be good. it's on saturday 4 november.

grenfell

grenfell by steve mcqueen is a moving powerful film on at the serpentine gallery. it is a remembering of the horror of the burnt tower. the opening sequence takes around 7.5 minutes, at least by my guess, slowly moving in from afar. it's bill viola like in its slow motion. and then in silence the charred building circled multiple times before coming to rest on a still that fills the screen. that's it. a lament, a memory, a needless tragedy. there's a good review of it here by adrian searle. everyone leaves in silence pausing to read the names of those whose lives were lost. 

resistance

i called in today with harvey kwiyani to the exhibition that is on at fulham palace on resistance. it's full title is the bishops of london, colonialism, transatlantic slavery and resistance. scroll down on the exhibition page to find info. fulham palace was the residence of the bishop of londion until 1973 which is the connection. i had not been there before. the fulham palace trust have been researching the link between the bishops of london and slavery. one of the outcomes is this inspired project which is curated/led by a poet adisa the verbaliser who worked with schools and community groups around it. the angle it takes, as well as being very informative (see for example this timeline), is to explore acts of spiritual and physical resistance that ultimately brought an end to the slave trade. do have a look at this page and click on the links on the right hand side which has loads of really interesting information and stories. it's no surprise of course to find that the research demonstrates historic involvement of the bishop of london and the church of england in colonialism and transatlantic slavery. 

the acts of resistance reminded me of the writing of michel de certeau in his book the practice of everyday life who shows how people resist strategies through what he calls tactics. 

we went on to the serpentine to see the grenfell movie by steve mcqueen but failed to do so because i hadn't thought to get tickets - doh! turns out it is full. so if you go to that book ahead. i hope to go back.

all this of course is very poignant and relevant as at cms we seek to work out what post colonial mission might be or mean or look like. harvey leads our african christianity programmes so is a good friend and colleague - it was great to hang out and talk about this stuff today.

the big one

it was great to take part in the big one, extinction rebellion's protest in london. i joined in the discussion, service and march hosted by christian climate action and then things around parliament square. here are a few photos from the day - extinction rebellion the big one

julian opie vr exhibition

if you are in london anywhere near paddington swing by the lisson gallery and see the julian opie exhibtion. the main feature is a vr headset experience of a virtual exhibtion. it's pretty well done. i am a big fan of his work - just the simplicity of it. if you've got kids and are looking for easter holiday things to do for free then i think they'll love this. btw this photo is not the vr part of the exhibition!

the light shines

wonderful to visit christmas at kew this year. there's a set of photos here - christmas at kew 2022

scooter caffe is no more

i was genuinely shocked today when i discovered the scooter caffe was shut. over the last twenty years i have had countless meetings with people there. i had a book launch of curating worship there. we held a resource weekend gathering in the basement in 2010. but mainly it was meeting people to dream and plot the revolution. it felt like it was the london base of the underground resistance aka emerging church. i have been trying not to read too much into it being shut by the powers that be for not meeting regulations!

more jellyfish...

entertaining a three year old was an excuse for a boat ride into westminster from kew and a trip to the london aquarium, both of which i have not done for over twenty years! it was also an excuse to photograph a few more jellyfish which are amazing creatures. it is not as satisfying as seeing them from a paddleboard in the wild but wonderful nonetheless. more photos here

face off

i enjoyed a night walk through the city of london with fellow photographers the other week. this photo is the deloitte and goldman sachs buildings.

london pioneer gathering march 3

there is a london pioneer gathering on march 3. i am loving getting out and about a bit now and reconnecting with people so looking forward to it. it's also a chance to hear tina hodgett reflect on the pioneer spectrum which she is one of the creators of. she will be in conversation with ric thorpe and i am assuming there will be some reflection on how planting and pioneering fit into the wider ecosystem. you do not have to be anglican or in london diocese to come by the way! hope to see you there if you are in or around london. it's free - please register so we know how many to expect

harry playing 4 nights at soho theatre

harry has 4 dates at soho theatre in march. jen and i are going on march 24. if you fancy going, book that night and see you there...

city lights

it was good fun last might having a wander round the city of london with a few photographers. by a stroke of good timing we had picked a night when city lights was on, a series of five light installations. due to bad weather it had been shut the night before and i am sure it will shut tonight with the winds blowing today. this photo is of harmonic portal by chris plant which has three circles of light and ambient music on the wall of st mary aldermary. it was nice to see that there as i have visited host cafe and moot on many occasions over the years but not for some time. there are some photos here - city lights

navigating the powers that be - london pioneer gathering

if you are in or around london do come to the london pioneer gathering on nov 24 in the evening - navigating the powers that be. it will be a chance to meet others, have conversation, catch up, share a drink. i have been invited to give some input to spark some conversation on the theme of navigating the powers that be. that might seem slightly leftfield but in research i did for the book pioneer practice the top answer given to the question of what is most likely to derail pioneering was 'the powers that be'. my experience with pioneers has also made me realise that is a big area and there is not a lot of help out there navigating it. i don't have all the answers but have learned a few bits of practical wisdom - be great to hear from others too. it's free - book a place here so we know numbers.

the last london pioneer gathering was really good so do make the effort if you are in or around london

it's up!

unlocked exhibition at ealing police station - photo by edmond terakopian

the last week has been so brilliant. our local photography group has had this crazy idea for an exhibition outside so that we knew people would be able to see it and feel safe. that thought led us to pondering whether we could use ealing police station as the canvas - that took a few creative leaps in itself. fast forward a year after thinking why not give it a go and unlocked is up! it looks incredible.

install of unlocked exhibition at ealing police station - photo by edmond terakopian

i am so proud of what the group has achieved. we have liased with police, fundraised, hired cherry pickers and installers, worked out what's need to clean a building and print on vinyl, curated a powerful set of images reflecting on the last 18 months and the moment we are in. seeing the building being jet washed in preparation and then the photos arriving and being installed at the beginning of last week felt so exciting.

install of unlocked exhibition at ealing police station - photo by edmond terakopian

this weekend we had the opening with a hundred or so photographers, sponsors, friends and family and some passers by stumbling across it. 

unlocked exhibition at ealing police station - photo by edmond terakopian

sometimes in an exhibition people say what's your favourite photo or whatever. but for me what i love about this is that it's about the whole. it's the impact of seeing all the photos together that has so many resonances of the last eighteen months. we hope it gives people a chance to look back and reflect and to look forward. i didn't want to post a photo before the opening as i liked the idea of a surprise for those coming. but now it's up and there are photos around i want a record of it on the blog. if you are in ealing do go and see it. if you are somewhere else in the world or country then here is gallery of the images which you can look through. click on a photo and you will get some info on it.

edmond terakopian who is a fellow member of the group took some wonderful photos of the install and of the police station with the images on that really gives you a feel for the scale of it which he has given me permission to post - all the photos in this blog post are his (thank you!)

i have loved being part of the planning group. thanks to ealing police for saying yes, to our sponsors gogar services, fujifilm, clarion futures and all the individuals who have given to support the project and especially to our photography group for being bonkers enough to think we might actually pull this off.

unlocked exhibtion opens in september

it's been a crazy adventure but i can now tell you that the photo exhibtion unlocked is going ahead. it will be on the outside of ealing police station with 35 photos over 5 storeys. it will be a huge piece of public art. it is going up to be part of BEAT festival which runs over the two weekends of 11-12 and 18-19 september but will remain up for a few months (we hope) and of course is visible in daylight hours any time. the exhibition explores the experience of the last 18 months both looking back and looking forward. i have photos in it which i am really excited about. this is the biggest scale exhibition i have been part of. it's been a fun ride to raise money through crowdfunding and sponsorship - i am very proud of our little photography group. we have jet washers, cherry pickers, installers and printers lined up. ealing police have been really helpful all the way through. there is an opening event  - if you want an invite to that get in touch. but i hope you get to see it. no doubt i will post photos for those of you who live far away! i really cannot wait to see it myself.

london pioneer gathering

there is a get together for london pioneers on sept 4th 2-6 in the afternoon at wolf fields in southall. it's a terrific space - i really love it. i'll be going. love to see you there if you are in or around london. do register here - it's free btw - as that helps us know numbers. it will be plenty of time to hang out with a few creatuve things to do and a fire around wich to share stories and food and drink - what is there not to like?!