Partnership possibilities

The following letter has been sent to a range of arts and faith organisations by our Patron, the Bishop of Barking:

Recent years have seen a significant increase in the number and range of organizations engaging in fostering links between the Arts and Christianity (or faith communities, more generally).

This increase includes commission4mission which I, as Patron, launched in March 2009 to encourage the commissioning and placing of contemporary Christian Art in churches, as a means of fundraising for charities and as a mission opportunity for churches.

On one level this increase is exciting as it indicates a growing interest in the connections between faith and the Arts but on another level, if such growth continues, it could be seen as an additional complication for artists and those interested in the Arts to negotiate.

commission4mission intends to work in partnership with other organizations and therefore we are writing to ask whether you would be interested in either a one-to-one discussion about partnership possibilities or a broader discussion with others engaged in fostering and exploring links between faith and the Arts. We would be very interested in meeting with you to explore ideas and possibilities further.

We are aware of the establishment of the Forum for Art and Religion (FAR), which aims to represent and address the needs of those who work at the interface between Art and Religion, and are contacting FAR as part of this initiative to explore possibilities for partnership working in future.

If this invitation to meet with us is of interest to you, please respond to our secretary, Revd. Jonathan Evens (jonathan.evens@btinternet.com). We look forward to hearing from you and to the possibility of exploring some form of partnership working in future.