'Run with the Fire' poem

Run with the Fire

Stripped down - free of weights and encumberance -
muscles taught and trained, eyes on the prize -
on track, no turning back - forgetting what is behind,
straining toward what is ahead, winged feet
bearing tongues of flame - inextinguishable flickers
of hope, the torch passed on through generations,
message of victory - peace, goodwill to all.

How lovely are the feet - run red-raw, blistered
and calloused, dust-encrusted yet lithe as leopards
and fleet as foxes - which pound the mountains,
hills, valleys and plains, echoing through history
from Marathon to London via Jerusalem.

Jonathan Evens

Run with the Fire - Part 2

After the success of The Gathering Army of Artists are taking the Run with the Fire concept and running with it. This new project provides them with a timely opportunity to engage with each other and the Plymouth community once again. Here is their brief for Run with the Fire, a project packed with potential on many levels:

"Individuals, churches, schools and community groups are invited to take part in this creative project and exhibition. The Olympic Games will be commencing this summer - a time of excitement and celebration. Two strong symbols are associated with the Olympic Games, which will be used as inspiration for this exhibition.

The Olympic Games motto is ‘Higher, Faster, Stronger’ and the symbol is made up of 5 rings, each ring representing a continent connecting during the games.

The Olympic Flame stands for peace, unity and friendship, which is spread as the flame is passed from one torch bearer to another. Lit in Greece, it then sets out on a 70 day Olympic Torch Relay, shining light on the whole of the UK.

Run with the Fire is a creative response to these symbols; celebrating the stories, faith and skills that we pass on from one generation to another, building relationships, embracing life and connecting different communities.

Each person or group will start this creative process at the same simple starting point - a hula hoop or circular disc of some sort. You are invited to creatively transform this Olympic ring into a piece of art which we will then display together representing our many connections. You may want to work on this alone and/or make it a community piece. Think about what you are communicating, the skills you are developing, how you are feeling and what flame you are carrying. Words to inspire – Running with perseverance, training, good news, spurring each other on, hope, passion, flame, power, celebration, warmth, life, passing the baton on, focus, light, energy. Ideas - You may want to use photography, weave, stitch, knit, use beads, wire, felt, stretch canvas over the hoop to paint on, collage, or do calligraphy…

Each final piece will be displayed vertically - hung up or stood on the ground against a wall. It can be any size up to a maximum of 1.25 metres in diameter. And it needs to be evident that you have started with a hoop/circular disc of some sort!"

The project will result in an exhibition at St. Aubyn’s Church, Devonport (incorporating a public library and café) from Friday 13th July – September 2012.

Ideas Relay (18)

“As a result of reading Miriam Cabello’s writings, I was moved to co-create with Miriam a vision that could be common to all men, and which would hearken back to our origin as a species. I wished the paint to look as though it had been applied ‘naturally’, without artifice or academic perfection. The title is ‘Torches at Urulu’ - this painting was scripturally inspired by Psalm 18:28 (the numbers of which are also lettered above my signature in the original): ‘For Thou dost light my lamp; the Lord my God illumines my darkness.’ In this painting my concept is a primordial vision of our ancestors, of men that who have gone before under the light of stars and have been guided by the Lord on their way. Petroglyphs on the walls of the rock of Urulu signify the shapes of stars and planets, which themselves look like petroglyphs (the earthly kingdom, in some ways, is a reflection of the heavenly one). Water remains at the base of the rock from a recent rain, during which liquid runoff was deposited beneath, reflecting the light of men. There are three men, reflecting the three elements of the Olympic motto, ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius.’ The theme, ‘Running with Fire’, applies here to the bearing of the torch of faith from one generation to the next ,as much as it reflects the Olympic theme of competing and allying with fellow men in these Games which begin and end with the bearing of a physical torch. The figures are warriors, strong and fit--one carries a spear, just as the believer carries with him the sword of truth. The path to victory through life, and sport, is narrow but achievable, if one is borne up and led by the light of the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit, in the power of the One with whom all things are possible.”

Rick Delanty

Ideas Relay (17)

“I was overwhelmed by a trip to Uluru with my mother last year, also known as Ayers Rock in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It is the spiritual land of Australia’s Indigenous people. We absorbed with all our senses the rich red ochre of the soil, sand and rocks. My mother and I ran our hands across the magnificent large sandstone rock formation called Uluru as we bravely walked the complete circumference on an extremely hot day (the 10km walk took just over 4 hours), we respected the wishes of the Aboriginal people and chose not to climb the rock. Uluru is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, the Aboriginal people of the area. The many springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings we viewed gave us tranquilly and peace that lead to moments of solemness and prayer. The painted dark figures on the red rock face of Uluru reminded me of ancient Greek vases (Athenian black-figure painting).  These images further enhanced the connection of the fire of the Olympic spirit with the red centre of Australia and Pentecost. The stars at night seemed almost reachable as they kissed the horizon, never have I seen the earth’s complete 360 degrees circumference. Uluru is notable for appearing to change colour as the different light strikes it at different times of the day and year, with sunset a particularly remarkable sight when it briefly glows red. Although rainfall is uncommon in this semiarid area, during wet periods the rock acquires a silvery-grey colour, with streaks of black algae forming on the areas that serve as channels for water flow. The glowing red of Uluru is my messenger of my country and all it symbolizes. The red glow of the burning torch that so many people carry with them as they walk around the rock, from every part of the world they witness the red glow and walk speaking different tongues as the wind howls through the rocks crevices and the ancestors respond and speak to us. We witnessed the spiritual gift the land gives to all, that listen to “its dreams of cross cultural harmony”. In keeping with the passing of the flame, the fire of Uluru reflects the spiritual journey of Pentecost and of the running messenger.”

Miriam Cabello

Ideas Relay (15)

“My vision for Run With the Fire comes from the passage in John 14:12-27 where Jesus literally passes the torch to us.  He promises that whoever believes in him will take up his baton and do even greater works than him--than Jesus himself!  What an inspiring declaration--he literally speaks life over us and calls us out of ourselves and into greatness by speaking our destiny as people who are called to follow and obey him at all costs.  Immediately after Jesus promises that we will have all authority to do great things, he promises that the Holy Spirit will come and be with us forever.  We can not step into our Kingdom destiny--doing these even greater things--unless the Spirit of Truth fills us and lives in us.”

Kim Daus Edwards

Ideas relay (4)

“The artist I was responding to gave me the passage “And surely, I am with you always, to the end of the age” out of Matt 28. I kept thinking about how Christ is “running the race” with us to the end. To me that race often feels like a marathon. It’s a journey through a lifetime, we are encouraged to run it well and to the end. But maybe it’s more like a relay race, passing the torch from one generation to the next, each one of us having our own part of the journey until we reach the “end of the age.” This running with the fire of the Holy Spirit, running with the fullness of the generations, through time, through space, between the physical and the spiritual...to the end... is what inspired this image.”

Bobbette Rose