'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 Sneak Peek

The Pentecost Festival 2012 Sneak Peek is now available for download or order and includes our 'Run with the Fire' exhibition. The overview of this years events opens out into a stylish A3 poster ideal for your church window, community notice board or bedroom wall! The full listing of events will be in the full programme launched in late March.

Pentecost Festival exhibition: Saturday programme

Here is the event programme for Saturday 26^th May at our Run with the Fire exhibition for the Pentecost Festival (Strand Gallery, 22nd - 27th May, 11.00am – 6.00pm):

·         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 20^th 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.

Harvey Bradley is a potter and painter who is a membership both of Anglian Potters and commission4mission. Mark Lewis is an artist, silversmith, Fine Arts lecturer, and member of commission4mission. Steve Scott is a writer, poet, musician, and the facilitator of the Christian Artist’s Networking Association (CANA). Glenn Lowcock is an artist and illustrator who is also a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. Jonathan Evens is an artist and writer who is also a priest in East London and the secretary of commission4mission.

Diocese puts 'Run with the Fire' centre stage

Run with the Fire is currently centre stage on the website for the Diocese of Chelmsford. The website page on Run with the Fire provides information about the project, the DVD (with digital exhibition and arts event guide), and the exhibition to be held at the Strand Gallery from 21st - 27th May as part of the Pentecost Festival.

Five of the six Olympic Boroughs lie within the boundaries of the Chelmsford Diocese. In particular, the Diocese covers the main Olympic Park at Stratford, Hadleigh Farm, the Mountain Biking circuit, and abuts the Lee Valley White Water Centre.

The approach to the Olympics taken by the Diocese is a holistic one with a concern for the environment, regeneration and legacy, social justice, and personal and societal well-being, as well as spiritual transformation of individual lives and communities.

The Diocese have their own dedicated website for the Olympics but Run the Race is about more than just the 2012 Olympic Games. It is about inspiring and challenging the church to think about its mission in new ways.

Olympics Focus Group presentation

Today we gave a presentation on Run with the Fire to the Olympics Focus Group for the Diocese of Chelmsford. There was an enthusiastic response to the digital exhibition with Focus Group members seeing multiple uses in Olympics-themed events and Pentecost services. As a result, Run with the Fire will shortly feature on the Diocese's websites and Olympics newsletter. Run with the Fire currently features on both the ArtServe and ArtWay websites.

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.

Run with the Fire: initial uses

St John's Seven Kings used Run with the Fire as part of a Watchnight Service and also an All-Age Service based on Olympic themes.

The Run with the Fire digital exhibition ran as a backdrop to the entire act of worship at their Watchnight Service which focused on their Text for 2012 - "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." (Hebrews 12. 1-2)

They then used both the More Than Gold and Run With The Fire DVDs in their All-Age Service to begin preparing the congregation for the 2012 Olympics and to explore what can be learnt from the concept of the Christian life as a race to be run. In this service clips from the Run with the Fire DVD were shown as words and images for meditative prayer.

St George's Barkingside have shown the Run with the Fire as part of OPEN, a fresh expression of church which includes a multi-media meditation in each of its sessions. On more than one occasion the Run with the Fire DVD has been their multi-media meditation of choice.