Run with the Fire in Harlow

The Run with the Fire digital exhibition on Olympic/Pentecost themes can be viewed on Saturday 25th May, 10.00am – 5.00pm, at St Paul’s Harlow (College Sq, Harlow CM20 1LP). This viewing is part of the Arts Festival for the Barking Episcopal Area and the Heart 4 Harlow Festival. 

The day's events also include lectures on the ‘Christ in the Wilderness’ paintings of Stanley Spencer by Bishop Stephen Cottrell (10.30am) and on John Piper by Mark Lewis (11.45am). Refreshments are available from 10.00am. 

A Photographic Exhibition by Harlow Seniors Photographic Group can also be viewed. This exhibition will be at the church from Wednesday 22nd May - Wednesday 5th June (except Sundays), Weekdays 10am - 12noon, Saturdays, 10am – 5pm. 

Other events which feature in the Festivals include:

commission4mission will be creating a pop-up gallery at 20 Broadwalk in Harlow Town Centre. The exhibition will be open from Thursday 23^rd – Monday 27^th May, 10.00am – 4.00pm and a lunchtime reception will be held on Saturday 25^th May from 1.00 – 3.00pm.

Heart 4 Harlow Festival Launch – Thursday 23rd May, 6pm, Water Gardens Harlow CM20 1WG. Launch by the Chair of Council Maggie Hulcoop & a Beatles tribute band.

 
Schools Art - Weekdays 9am - 4.45pm, Gibberd Gallery, The Water Gardens, College Square, Harlow CM20 1WG. Artwork by local schoolchildren.

Korban – Friday 24th & Saturday 25th May, 7.30pm, Harlow Playhouse, Playhouse Square, Harlow CM20 1LS. From the producer of the critically acclaimed 2011 Private Peaceful comes an original telling of the life of Jesus, with drama, dance and music. A large cast of actors and musicians deliver a newly envisioned portrayal of the revolutionary's remarkable story.

Village Fair of visual arts – Saturday 25th May, Water Gardens Harlow. Organised by the Harlow Arts Council as the beginning of their month long Art Festival. 

Live stage entertainment – Saturday 25th May, Water Gardens Harlow. Featuring local bands, choirs, soloists & dancers. Plus Charity Stalls in Broad Walk, Children’s Fun Fair in the Market Square & Open Week – end at the LeisureZone.

Flower Festival – Saturday 25th May, 10am onwards, St Mary’s Church, Hatfield Broad Oak CM22 7HG . Includes: Celebrity grand opening (10am); Car boot sale (am); Farmers’ market (am); Hog roast; School choir singing (11am); Parachuting teddies (11.30am); Dog show (1pm pedigree classes, 3pm novelty classes); Variety of stalls; Wood turners; Activities with artist in residence Pauline Brakspear; and Children’s activities.

Big Lunch & Community Praise – Sunday 26th May, Various Harlow Town Centre venues. Bouncy castle and Games from 12.15. Lunch from 1 pm. 

Flower Festival – Sunday 26th May, afternoon only, St Mary’s Church, Hatfield Broad Oak. Includes: Festival lunch in the marquee (tickets can be purchased in advance, tel 01279 718281); Afternoon tea and cakes; Organ music (church is open from 2pm); Art exhibition and sale. 

Flower Festival – Monday 27th May, 10am onwards, St Mary’s Church, Hatfield Broad Oak. Includes: 10km road race (11am) (to register, visit www.hbo-10k.org.uk); Children’s 1 mile fun run (12.30pm); Barbecue (with pre-race bacon butties); Crafts market; Wood turners; Variety of stalls; Activities with artist in residence Pauline Brakspear; Harlow Falconry display; Kung fu demonstration; Children’s activities; Grand raffle draw (pm). 

On Monday 27^th May Colin Burns and Jonathan Evens will be contributing music and poetry to a performance evening at Holy Trinity Hatfield Heath which will also include music from the six churches and poetry from Jane Grell, Mal Grosch and Jenny Houghton.

The Barking Episcopal Area Arts Festival is an initiative which began in 2011 and involves quality events from a variety of Arts genre as a way of embracing and celebrating performing and visual arts and engaging with the local communities, their people and arts culture. The Festival is organised annually but in a different part of the Episcopal Area each year and in parallel with an already established community arts festival within the Area. This third Festival runs parallel to the Heart 4 Harlow Festival. 

More 'Run with the Fire' press coverage

There has been further press coverage of 'Run with the Fire' through interviews with Steve Scott.
An interview Steve gave to Church and Art Network, in which Run with the Fire is featured, is included in their latest e-bulletin as a case study.
Steve has also been interviewed about his wide ranging career in art, music and poetry, including his involvement with Run with the Fire, in the current edition of Down The Line magazine. Steve is a British writer, poet, and musician whose songs have been recorded by artists including the 77s and Larry Norman. His musical and spoken word projects include Love in the Western World, Lost Horizon, Magnificent Obsession, More Than a Dream, The Butterfly Effect, Empty Orchestra, We Dreamed That We Were Strangers, and Crossing the Boundaries, in conjunction with painter Gaylen Stewart. In 2012, his songs became available on MP3 format, coincident with the release of a limited edition CD, Emotional Tourist: A Steve Scott Retrospective. He writes and speaks often on the arts in the UK and US, and is the author of Like a House on Fire: Renewal of the Arts in a Post-modern Culture, The Boundaries, and Crying for a Vision and Other Essays: The Collected Steve Scott Vol. One. He holds an MA in global leadership.
Steve has some fascinating things to say in this interview which can be downloaded by clicking here.

Both are in addition to the Transpositions interview with Steve which we featured in an earlier post.  Click here to read this interview.

Colours of Life

On Saturday 26 May around 1,500 people gathered for Colours of Life, an assembly for the Diocese of Leicester which included the Run with the Fire digital exhibition.

With festival feel for all ages, there was plenty for people to see, listen to, explore and experience. At the heart of the day was an interactive journey through five gazebos, each of which featured actors revealing more of the good news at the heart of the Christian faith, together with activities to experience more of God’s love in Jesus Christ.

All this plus a range of excellent speakers, an 100ft inflatable noah’s ark, Velcro Olympics, Christian magician Steve Price, fire-eaters, stilt walkers and jugglers, Messy Church, sports coaching, the finals of sports races run in schools, drumming workshops, Gospel Choir, biblical storytelling with Open the Book, the Emmanuel Gospel Choir, a creative art area for all ages, Christian Aid’s Unfair Funfair looking at issues of justice in the world, chainsaw wood sculpting, New Zealand singer songwriter Rory Mallone playing live, reflective ‘Taize style’ Eucharist, ‘Run with the Fire’ art exhibition, children’s DVD room, interactive experience Breathe, a 24/7 prayer room, Evolve dance academy, and much more.

The day concluded with a ‘festival service’ which drew the various strands together, including the singing of a song specially written for Colours of Life by Revd Eleanor Jeans and which school children have been learning over recent months. Bishop Tim Stevens sent those present out with the challenge to live out God’s call to be a full part of the community that is the Kingdom of God.

Run with the Fire: Exhibition, Launch Night, Demonstrations and Art Talks

Run With The Fire is an exhibition at the Pentecost Festival in which the Run with the Fire digital exhibition will be shown alongside original artworks from commission4mission artists and invited guest artists. The Run with the Fire exhibition will take place at the Strand Gallery (32 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6BP) from 22nd - 27th May, 11.00am - 6.00pm.

Including an eclectic mix of styles and media, this will be a stimulating and exciting show exploring the broad theme of running life's race with passion and spirit. Featured artists include Harvey Bradley, Colin Burns, Christopher Clack, Elizabeth Duncan Meyer, Robert Enoch, Jonathan Evens, Christine Garwood, Jim Insole, Ken James, Miriam Kendrick, Mark Lewis, Glenn Lowcock, Henry Shelton, Sergiy Shkanov, Joy Rousell Stone, Esther Tidy, Mike Thomas, Rachel Watson and Peter Webb.

A Launch Night on Monday 21st May, 6.00 - 8.00pm, will provide the first opportunity to see the exhibition and will also include music and poetry exploring the exhibition theme. Those performing include singer-songwriter and poet Malcolm Guite, artist-musician Colin Burns, artist-poet Jonathan Evens, musician-poet Steve Scott and performance poet Tamsin Kendrick. Refreshments will be available. Cost - £2.00, pay on the door.

On Saturday 26th May there will be an additional programme of art talks and painting demonstrations:

• Painting demonstration – Harvey Bradley, ongoing throughout the day. See Harvey work on a painting and discuss his approach with him.
• The Spiritual Image in Modern Art - Mark Lewis, 11.30am. A broad overview of the spiritual impulse in the art forms of the modern world and their potential to turn our minds to higher things.
• Run with the Fire – Steve Scott, 12.30pm. A talk about the ‘Run with the Fire’ project and DVD.
• Stanley Spencer – A Visionary of our Time – Mark Lewis, 2.00pm. A talk which examines the life and work of one of Britain’s most renowned and eccentric 20th Century painters. The main themes include Spencer’s time as a war artist, and his extraordinary paintings which envision the Christian Gospels played out by the people in his beloved home town of Cookham.

• Praying with our eyes open – Glenn Lowcock, 3.00pm. A talk on using images as an aid to prayer.
• Emotional Tourist – Steve Scott, 4.00pm. What I am learning about art, life, spirituality, Trinity, and relational aesthetics from my travels in Bali and elsewhere.
• Christian influences on modern & contemporary art – Jonathan Evens, 5.00pm. A broad overview of modern and contemporary art and artists which engage with Christianity.

The event listing for the exhibition and launch night can be found at: http://www.pentecostfestival.co.uk/ai1ec_event/run-with-the-fire-exhibition/?instance_id=873. Directions to the gallery are at: https://www.proudonline.co.uk/contact.aspx. The programme for art talks and demonstrations on Saturday 26th May is at: http://commissionformission.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/pentecost-festival-exhibition-saturday.html.

Hard copies of programmes for the Pentecost Festival can be ordered from: http://www.pentecostfestival.co.uk/contact/order-programmes/. The promo for the Festival can be viewed at: http://www.pentecostfestival.co.uk/promo/.

Run with the Fire is an arts project for the 2012 Olympic year organised by CANA, commission4mission and Veritasse based on the image of fire which links the Church's Pentecost celebration with that of the Olympic runner. Run with the Fire provides a digital art exhibition for use in Olympic-themed events and the digital exhibition and event guide DVD can be purchased from http://www.veritasse.co.uk/cards-prints/most-popular/run-with-the-fire-dvd-pack/. A promo can be viewed at http://youtu.be/nFBGZDgFaw4 while news of the project can be found at http://runwiththefire.blogspot.co.uk/.

'GOD in the PARK'

'GOD in the PARK' is the latest Olympic-themed event at which the Run with the Fire digital exhibition will be shown. Run with the Fire will run on their big screen at different points during the day.
‘GOD in the PARK’ is an exciting venture that is happening on Saturday 14th July 2012. It is a day, where Christians from all denominations will come together as Christ’s body to Goodmayes Park for a time of worship, fun and fellowship.

'GOD in the PARK' presents a fantastic opportunity for Churches across the London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge and Havering to come together, encourage one another and grow in friendship. The day is going to be filled with worship, lots of fun, (music, dance and street entertainment etc) bouncy castles, marquees serving tea/coffee plus cakes! Speakers include Jeff Lucas and Jonathan Oloyede. Performers include Dave Bilborough and Helen Yousaf.

All events that will be happening in the day will be free, but families and various groups coming on the day are encouraged to bring their own picnics. Keep up-to-date with news of 'GOD in the Park' at their facebook page by clicking here.

Pentecost Festival and Run with the Fire

commission4mission is organising an art exhibition for the Pentecost Festival at which the Run with the Fire digital exhibition will be shown alongside original artworks from commission4mission artists and invited guest artists.


The Run with the Fire exhibition will take place at the Strand Gallery (32 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6BP) from 22nd - 27th May, 11.00am - 6.00pm.


Including an eclectic mix of styles and media, this will be a stimulating and exciting show exploring the broad theme of running life's race with passion and spirit. Featured artists include Harvey Bradley, Colin Burns, Christopher Clack, Elizabeth Duncan Meyer, Robert Enoch, Jonathan Evens, Christine Garwood, Jim Insole, Ken James, Miriam Kendrick, Mark Lewis, Glenn Lowcock, Tracy Mcculloch, Henry Shelton, Sergiy Shkanov, Esther Tidy, Mike Thomas, Andrew Vessey, Rachel Watson and Peter Webb.


On Saturday 26^th May there will be an additional programme of art talks and painting demonstrations.

A Launch Night on Monday 21st May, 6.00 - 8.00pm, will provide the first opportunity to see the exhibition and will also include music and poetry exploring the exhibition theme. Those performing include singer-songwriter and poet Malcolm Guite, artist-musician Colin Burns, artist-poets Andrew Vessey and Jonathan Evens, and performance poet Tamsin Kendrick. Refreshments will be available. Cost - £2.00, pay on the door.