Believe in Shipley
Opening Service - St Peter’s Church
25 September 2016
A much loved space
I started the piece by looking around the building and was struck by the reality that people were gathering in a much loved space. The building has held and seen much in its life, so the arches had to appear to let whatever happened in the service to be also held by this timeless building. The arched shapes appear all over the piece, imprinting the reality of the place onto the stores, hopes and dreams.
The poet
The poet speaks of his work and reads poems filled with vigour and hope. He speaks of the Trinity and the way his work is inspired by his faith. So, the poetry book is imprinted with the Celtic trinity symbol and the red swirls move up and down from heaven to earth. To me, red is always the colour of the Holy Spirit.
The prophet Nehemiah
Here, we hear of the prophet Nehemiah, sent to Jerusalem to rebuild it. The prophet is red, clearly led by the Spirit. There are large brown buildings indicating new walls, and small angled brown buildings showing the present destruction. The red space is the gate of the walls, red as the Spirit want us to see them. We were encouraged to consider his call and his commitment to rebuild much in life. The blue buildings show buildings of our age, leading us to make this message alive in 2016.
Nicodemus
Here, through the lovely puppet Nicodemus tells us that we are all covered by the armour of God - not physical armour falling out of the sky - but Spiritual armour, filling our hearts, and giving us courage and strength to live our lives. The small people were the children physically listening - and the children in all of us who need to hear how we are filled and protected.
The Spirit
We heard that the clergy of Shipley “are still talking to each other”, having been Spirit filled to keep working together. Another child collects Spirit life and offers it. The red, again, shows how the Spirit moves through people.
Making a difference
These people are those in Shipley, Saltaire, and the wider communities of west Bradford. We were told that the Spirit was already making a difference, with people telling of those who had been moved to link with churches since just before the mission began. The shocking streams of yellow are this Spirit movement - to me, yellow is always the presence of God.
Spirit connected
This is the final picture of the service, hold the hope that some amongst those whom God has touched would become Spirit connected themselves. So some of these people have become red. A few have crosses on their chest. Light continues to flow, showing God moving with much energy.
Bishop Sentamu - Victoria Hall
26 September 2016
Heaven’s party
The Archbishop told his story of his fragile birth, when no one expected him to live. Rather than die, he grew to give his life to God - “so heaven could have a great celebration” - and was called to priesthood. The balloons are heaven’s party. The strong orange is the presence of God in the Holy Spirit.
Burdened
We were told how often, rather than allowing ourselves to be simply loved, we allow ourselves to be burdened. Others speak ill of us, others pull us down, and we make our own burdens. We were encouraged to let go. We were encouraged to consider letting the Spirit fill us.
Prayers & Ministry
At this point in the service, the Archbishop asked people to come forward for prayers and for local leaders to offer ministry. Many received such ministry and this shows the personal gatherings of those prayers. The yellow green streams are to me, the colour of God’s light (yellow) and new life (green).
We are loved
Asked how to be a hopeful person in the face of difficulties, the Archbishop reminded us all to stop and simply know that we are loved. The dark colours are the difficulties, the swirl of red, the Spirit in our hearts we can know when we listen. Asked how God allows violence and injustice, such as seen in Syria, the Archbishop reminded us that every human is a responsible being. God doesn’t bring destruction, it is that we human beings are not acting in the love we have been called to live.
United
We were reminded to be united with each other across all human made differences, culture, class, and religion. The coloured people with crosses on their heads are the leaders of the various churches who organised the mission. The hand on the person is one, reaching out to another.
Leaders
Finally, asked what the church is doing about encouraging more black leaders, the Archbishop replied that church leadership must mirror real communities. These colours are a reflection of those leaders from the image to the left.
BELIEVE IN SHIPLEY
Elizabeth Gray-King 2014
