Helen Kirkup, from St Mark’s Church, Netherton in the Liverpool Plus Mission Area, reflects here on the story of how art brought their community together, and how they connect with God through it.
“I arrived at St Mark’s in Netherton one Wednesday three years ago, to find Joe and Wendy Thomas sweeping up glass in the Chapel. A few broken windows had spread shards of glass into every corner. As my heart fell, and, I am sorry to say, filled with anger, I was confronted by their stoic attitude, and their expressions of concern for the perpetrators of this thoughtless crime. Gingerly, we fished the missiles out of the glass. Carrie Middleton, a member of our fledgling art group, painted words of ‘love’ and ‘welcome’ on the stones, and Joe Thomas transformed the broken glass into a stained-glass cross. And so, our Missional Art was born.
Three years on, we have held two art exhibitions. The first told ‘God’s Big Story’, with our art group producing canvases in different media depicting stories from Genesis to the present day. Last year, the theme of our exhibition was ‘Flower Power’ to coincide with the planting of our wildflower meadow – another story to be told. Both exhibitions were visited by Phil McClure from the Tate Gallery in Liverpool, who has generously supported and encouraged us on our art journey.
Together, at St Mark’s, we have learnt new skills – including needle felting to produce a community banner for our wildflower meadow. We have used art in our Missional Community worship, which meets fortnightly on a Sunday morning. Brusho paints made a great tool for Pentecost!
Our art has allowed us to connect with our community. We now run an art group for children as well as an adult art group on a Wednesday afternoon, and we hold an art group in a local assisted living community. We have held art activities with Rimrose Valley, and the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, and we provide art activities at many of our community events. Last October, around 80 people joined in our Pumpkin Art activities on the Netherton Community Trail, and we are preparing Easter activities for 80 plus for their Easter Trail.
Membership numbers hover around 12 at St Mark’s in Netherton. From the perspective of the Church, we may seem vulnerable. But our Community Roll is growing all the time. Rev Karen Jobson described St Mark’s community as ‘A small congregation with a big heart’. Our heart is for our community, and through art we connect with God, with each other, and with the community we love. This community, through L30 millions, has just provided a grant to replace all our windows – giving St Mark’s building a new lease of life and reflecting our strong connection with the community we seek to serve.
So…..what’s next?
We are working to put Christ back into Christmas with a ‘Festival of the Nativity’ this December. Watch this space, and do come and visit us. You can follow us on Facebook here.”