Viewing all items in Resource Category: God in the Arts

St Francis’ Canticle of the Sun invites all creatures to praise God the Creator. But we live in a world of climate change and global warming. A thousand species are at risk of extinction in the United Kingdom alone. The richness of creation St Francis knew in his day is no longer. We need to...

During this year we have been exploring the wealth of paintings in the National Gallery in London. Each year the Gallery has exhibitions highlighting the work of one particular artist, and until 26 January there is a major exhibition, ‘Gauguin Portraits.’ It celebrates in paintings and sculptures the life and work of Paul Gauguin (1848-1903)....

The National Gallery in London is a remarkable treasure house of art, founded in 1824 and home to over 2,300 paintings. Much work goes on behind the scenes to maintain this collection, and in August after a seven-year restoration project, a particular painting went on display for the first time in over a hundred years....

Thomas Moore wrote a haunting, melancholy song called ‘The Last Rose of Summer.’ It is about love and friendships passing as the blossom wilts and summer turns to autumn. Perhaps we know that feeling as we see the leaves falling and the nights drawing in. But autumn is also the season of harvest celebrations when...

When we sing the Sanctus in the Eucharist, we are affirming that our worship here on earth is caught up in the worship offered by the angels in heaven. They praise God around His throne of glory, but they are also agents of His care and guidance in our lives. Leading them is the archangel...

The National Gallery at Trafalgar Square in London houses one of the finest collections of European paintings in the world, with some 2,300 works spanning the centuries.  During this year we are journeying through the gallery to explore one of those treasures each month. By the Revd Michael Burgess. “We can never know the secret...

‘Mindfulness’ seems to be the ‘in’ word. In a world where people are moving faster and faster, we are called to slow down, to attend to the present moment and enjoy it for its own sake, whatever the pressures of work and family around. For Christians it is a call to live a simple and...

Over the last years praying ‘Thy kingdom come’ has become an important part of church life for the days between Ascension and Pentecost. It has been promoted by church leaders, who have encouraged Christians to follow the pattern of Mary, the mother of our Lord, and the disciples. St Luke tells us in Acts how...

The 6th Sunday of Easter is traditionally Rogation Sunday, when we give thanks for the fruits of the earth and pray for all who work on the land. Rural churches often celebrate nature’s cycle from seeds sown to crops harvested with Plough Sunday, Rogationtide, Lammas and Harvest. Jesus in His teaching pointed out the miracle...

This month’s painting in the National Gallery is known as the Mond Crucifixion. It has an interesting history, because Ludwig Mond, the German born scientist and industrialist, offered to lend the painting to the Gallery in 1892. The trustees for some reason declined the offer. Ludwig Mond was undeterred and at his death in 1909...

George Herbert wrote a poem entitled ‘Lent’ which contains these lines: Who goeth in the way which Christ hath gone, Is much more sure to meet with Him than one That travelleth by-ways. And so each Lent we seek to journey with our Lord through the 40 days of this season. Lent is an Old...

This month of February opens with the celebration of Candlemas. On the 2nd we recall that special moment of enlightenment when Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the temple. They meet Simeon, who represents the waiting people of Israel – a nation looking for a better world now that the holy city was in the...