commission4mission banners

We have produced three roll-up banners for display at future events and exhibitions which briefly describe recent commissions, as an additional means of promoting our work of encouraging the commissioning of contemporary art by churches.

The banners tell the stories of comissions by Caroline Richardson at St Peters Harold Wood, Rosalind Hore at St Edmunds Tyseley, and Henry Shelton/Richard Paton at All Saints Hutton.

We plan to use these banners for the first time in our forthcoming exhibition at the Crypt Gallery in St Martin-in-the-Fields (4th - 17th July). 

Dedication: Windows by Caroline Richardson

The second dedication in a week of a completed commission4mission commission took place this evening at St Peter's Harold Wood when two fused glass windows created by Caroline Richardson were dedicated by the Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt. Revd. Stephen Cottrell.

Caroline has created a flowing complementary design focussing on light and water for the two windows in the north transept of the church which incorporates in one the text of John 8. 12 and in the other of John 10. 10. In both, the design has darker colours at the base grading upwards to lighter and finally plain glass at the apex. As the photos above were taken after the Evening Service, they do not show the colour of the windows to their best effect.

The windows were created using glass panels which were cut to pattern and fired in a kiln in order to fuse the glass before being placed into stainless steel frame designed to fit into the window arches thereby sitting in front of the existing glass. 

The north transept is opposite what is now the main entrance to the church following an extensive building project on the south side of the church. The windows and their texts are intended as vibrant and welcoming visual statements of faith for all who enter the church and this element of the commission was used by Bishop Stephen in his prayer of dedication.

An earlier commission by David Henningham of the Henningham Family Press - a set of four linked screenprints - can also be found at St Peter's Harold Wood in the newly built Hub which is now the entrance to the church, its facilities and services. It is of real encouragement to see a church integrating artistic commissions into what has been an ambitious and stretching redevelopment.

Dedication of 'The Baptism of Jesus'

Yesterday, Revd. Jonathan Evens dedicated 'The Baptism of Jesus' by Rosalind Hore which his family have donated to St Edmunds Tyseley, through commission4mission, in memory of his father, Revd. Phil Evens, Vicar of Tyseley from 1989 - 1999.

Jonathan introduced the painting and its donation to the congregation as follows:

"The painting that is to be dedicated today has come to be here through commission4mission, a Christian Arts organization which aims 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 the churches involved. commission4mission promotes the purchase of works of art by churches through donations given in memory of loved ones. This painting has been donated by our family in memory of the Revd. Phil Evens, in remembrance of his ministry here as your Vicar.

The artist who created this painting, Rosalind Hore, is a sculptor and painter of Christian subjects – Christ figures, nativity sets, Ecce Homo, Stations of the Cross etc. She works in clay, plaster, concrete (figures can also be bronze cast at the foundry). Her paintings are mostly in acrylic of the events in the life of Christ. She has been an art teacher throughout her working life, has taken part in the Cambridge Open Studios (creating a sculpture garden and art gallery at her home) and has led art groups and projects in the parishes where she has lived. She has a sculpture in the Bible Garden at St Mary's Goring-by-Sea and another currently displayed at St Laurence Upminister, where her husband is Rector.

Rosalind’s painting of ‘The Baptism of Jesus’ sees water, fish, cross, crown, dove, fire and light – all the signs and symbols of Jesus’ future ministry – swept up together to coalesce around the baptised Jesus. Vigorous movement and vibrant colour combine to depict the glory of the Son who is here commissioned by the Father and empowered by the Spirit."

Jonathan then reflected on those two aspects of Jesus’ baptism – the Father’s call and the Spirit’s empowering – using thoughts and prayers from material that his father had in his ministry at Tyseley. Click here to read the full sermon given by Jonathan.

The prayer of dedication used was as follows: Lord Jesus, we thank you for the vision of you which we see in this painting. We pray that, as we see it week in, week out here in St Edmunds, it may inspire us to respond to the call of God on our lives and to pray to be filled with the Spirit in order that we live out that call in our daily lives. We thank you for Rosalind Hore and for her response to you which created this painting. We thank you too for Phil Evens, in whose memory it is given to this church, and for his example of following your call in his life. Lord Jesus, we dedicate this painting of your baptism to you and your glory in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The next dedication of a commission4mission commission will be a thanksgiving for the creation and witness of Caroline Richardson's fused glass windows at St Peter's Harold Wood as part of the Evening Service at the church on Sunday 9th January 2011 at 6.30pm. The preacher at the service will be Rt. Revd. Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford.

Dedications of recently completed commissions

We now have details for dedications or thanksgivings for each of our three most recently completed commissions:

• The dedication of 'The Baptism of Jesus' by Rosalind Hore will be at St Edmund's Tyseley, 10.00am, Sunday 2nd January 2011. The dedication will be by Revd. Jonathan Evens whose family have donated the painting to the church in memory of his father, Revd. Phil Evens, a former Vicar of the Parish.
• A thanksgiving for the creation and witness of Caroline Richardson's fused glass windows at St Peter's Harold Wood will be part of the Evening Service at the church on Sunday 9th January 2011 at 6.30pm. The preacher at the service will be Rt. Revd. Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford.
• The dedication of etched memorial windows by Henry Shelton and Richard Paton at All Saints Hutton will take place on Sunday 27th March 2011 at 11.15am. This service will be led by the Ven. David Loman, Archdeacon of Southend.

Commission: Fused glass windows at St Peters Harold Wood

Caroline Richardson has just installed our fifth completed commission at St Peters Harold Wood. This commission was for 14 fused glass panels set in steel frames forming two windows; the left window on the theme 'I am the light of the world' and the right on the theme 'I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.' The commission commerorates the completion earlier this year of a major building project at St Peters Harold Wood.

Our earlier completed commissions are:

• Crucifixion and Do this in remembrance of me, paintings by Henry Shelton for the St Lukes Chapel at Queens Hospital Romford (September 2009). Tree of Life, fused glass windows by Caroline Richardson, are also in the St Lukes Chapel;
• Stations of the Crown of Thorns, a set of fifteen paintings by Henry Shelton, for St Pauls Goodmayes (July 2010);
• The Baptism of Jesus, painting by Rosalind Hore, for St Edmunds Tyseley (October 2010) and will be dedicated on Sunday 2nd January 2011 at 10.00am; and
• Etched windows by Henry Shelton for All Saints Hutton with icongraphy depicting Saints Cecilia, Martin of Tours, Peter, Mary, Paul, James the Great, and Margaret of Antioch. A service at which the Archdeacon of Southend will dedicate the windows is planned for Sunday 27th March 2011 at 11.15am.

Future commissions include a holy water stoup for St Margaret Great Ilford and a mosaic for St Johns Seven Kings.

Abundant life

Caroline Richardson has been commissioned by St Peter's Harold Wood to work towards the enhancement of the windows in their north transept.

This commission celebrates a major £2.5 million redevelopment to bring the St Peter’s Centre (and the Ingrebourne Centre across the road, leased from the Council) fully into the 21st Century and fit for purpose. The main emphases are welcome, hospitality, accessibility and service to the community. First impressions and relationships are important – hence contemporary and attractive facilities to welcome and serve people; a central hub for reception and information, café-style facilities for hospitality and meeting people, designated provision for the very young and the elderly, commercial kitchens up to the best professional standards, areas and equipment for leasing and training needs, complete accessibility to all areas, purpose-built offices for all staff and today’s ministry.

The coloured sections of Caroline's design are textured to imply the movement of water and the spray as it tumbles down. The image of plentiful water is evocative of abundant life and represents the flow of living water mentioned in John’s gospel, poured out from heaven to earth. The two windows show complimentary images containing John 10.10 (I have come that they may have life and have it to the full) and in the other, John 8.12 (I am the light of the world).