Reflecting on art, the media, ecology and sacred music during Lent

‘Bethany’ by Andrew White

In a new venture, the Conference of Religious held a series of online talks during Lent.

Faith and Art: Depicting the Image of Christ:

The Artist in Residence at Farm Street Church in London, Andrew White, reflected on his large depiction of The Last Supper, noting it took him fourteen months to paint, in which time “I learned a lot, including about myself.” He also described the process of creating other pieces, including sculptures.

Artist Andrew White talking about his depiction of the Last Supper, on display in Farm Street Church

….and his depiction of a young Mary

Farm Street Church

The Bethany painting, featured at the top, above, was commissioned by the chapel of a school in Belgium. The project began in February 2020 and is near completion. Andrew White says: “The theme of the woman annointing Jesus with oil encompasses the three accounts in the Bible, Mary the sister of Martha, and also the un-named woman who Jesus refers to when He said, 'Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will be told in memory of her.”

Faith and the Media: Seeking the Truth - How religion is reported and the impact of social media :

The online Editor of The Tablet, Ruth Gledhill gave a wide ranging talk on the experience of ‘covering’ faith issues during decades as a Religious Affairs Journalist.

Ruth Gledhill

A response was given by Jen Copestake,a Technology Journalist with the BBC programme Click. Jen also contributes to meetings on the future of technology and humanity at the Pontifical Academy for Life at the Vatican, as well as being the Co-ordinator of the central London Catholic Churches' homeless service.

Faith and Creation : Laudato Si’ and Vowed Religious – developing a prophetic voice:

Back by popular demand after participating in our recent ‘Cry of the Earth’ webinar, Assistant Professor of Catholic Theology at the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University: Dr Carmody Grey gave a profound talk on the theology of creation.

A response was given by theologian Fr Martin Poulsom SDB in which he outlined how Religious can lend their prophetic voice to environmental efforts.

Faith and Sacred Music : Music and some wider implications - a Catholic composer’s perspective:
Sir James MacMillan CBE – preceded by an extract from his Stabat Mater, recorded in the Sistine Chapel in Holy Week, 2018. One attendee wrote: “How inspired I am by James MacMillan. Wonderfully stimulating. Warm thanks for inviting me to your Lenten lectures, which have been superb.”

Religious wishing to see the recordings of these talks can email : admin@corew.org

Sir James Macmillan