Art is everywhere. Not just in galleries and in people’s homes, but out on the street and in buildings. Churches are one example. Their stunning architecture and stained glass windows make them obvious repositories, vehicles for art. Here, the Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Revd Dr John Inge, talks about God, the church and the role of art.
The role of art as a way to the divine
“God speaks to us in all sorts of ways and the God in whom I believe reaches us not just intellectually, but through more effective senses. God speaks through art, music and poetry as much as in any other way. I trained as a scientist and there’s no doubt that scientific advances have worked wonders in our society. However, there’s a tendency towards a reductionist view of reality – if something can’t be measured or analytically explored, then it’s not real. I think this is a rather impoverished view. What we should be suggesting is that the mystery, the awe and the beauty of creation can be made manifest both through the natural world and also through art. The work of the artist is a work of creation through which people can be in touch with the divine.”
Art and the church
Bishop John became the 113th Bishop of Worcester (UK) in March 2008. “If you look at a church, say, Worcester Cathedral, it’s replete with all sorts of images and beauty, and God speaks to us through beauty. Take stained glass windows. In mediaeval times stained glass windows were used as a teaching aid, but actually the process was much more audacious. With all the beauty of the stone, the woodwork and the stained glass, people really believed that they were constructing a slice of heaven.
“Imagine coming to Worcester Cathedral from a wattle and daub mediaeval dwelling, it must have been an absolutely extraordinary experience. Such an experience should lift the heart, enabling people to engage with things they wouldn’t perhaps reflect upon in their day-to-day existence. And although most people don’t live in wattle and daub dwellings now, that’s just as true today. You could call it the Wow Factor.”
Before coming to Worcester Bishop John worked in the Diocese of Ely. “Ely Cathedral is another magnificent cathedral. People wouldn’t say so, but when they came in, what was almost on their lips was Wow! And that’s what I think art ought to do, it should lift the heart. I think that a sense of awe and wonder is a step on the way to worship, an important step on the way to encounter with the divine.”
Worcester Cathedral and the role of art
The relationship between art and the church has benefits for both. As CHURCHart notes on its website, “From the simplest carving of a fish… to the cathedrals of northern Europe, the church has embraced and patronised every art form, in every style. It is difficult to imagine how art would have progressed and developed through the centuries without the encouragement and support of churches.”
Such relationships are still strong today. Worcester Cathedral, for example, has recently undertaken some innovative projects. In August 2009 it held the first event of its kind in the country, showcasing costumes from stage and screen. The exhibition, “Starstruck in the Cathedral” included clothes from sets such as Macbeth and Middlemarch.
Like several other cathedrals, Worcester Cathedral has also hosted the Artists in Residence scheme. Pippa Galpin and Maureen Gamble from the University of Worcester participated in a two-year project creating pieces of art inspired by their stunning surroundings. The project culminated in an exhibition in the South Quire Aisle of the Cathedral.
The role of art and the community
Art can inspire but it can also stimulate thought, help to make connections. As Bishop John says, “Art can speak to us in ways that it’s difficult for rational arguments to speak, about issues to do with other people, issues of our time. An artist in residence has an opportunity, indeed all artists do, to encourage people to engage with the God question, and with the questions facing our society, associated with our humanity. It seems to me that the arts produce something very crucial for a civilised society, not just for the church.
“There’s a sense in which the civilisation of a society can be judged by two things: firstly and most importantly, by the way in which it cares for those who are less well able to care for themselves, but also by the quality of its art. What I’d really love to see is art reaching out to more and more people.”
About Bishop John
Dr John Inge, born in 1955, was educated at Kent College, Canterbury and at Durham University. In 2008, after a number of other key posts, he became the 113th Bishop of Worcester. His book, A Christian Theology of Place (Ashgate, 2003), was shortlisted for the Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing. His subsequent work, Living Love: in conversation with the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (Inspire, 2007) examined the Christian message in Alexander McCall Smith’s novels on Africa.
Further Information
An organisation which encourage artists, congregations, and those involved in the care of churches to foster the arts in the life of the church
Worcester Cathedral (UK)
Worcester Cathedral is located in Worcester, UK, overlooking the river Severn. It is the mother church of the Diocese of Worcester and the seat of the Bishop of Worcester.
Ellie Stevenson - Ellie writes on history, travel, careers & the arts. Her novel, Ship of Haunts (http://tinyurl.com/cyryp2m) is on Amazon as an ebook.
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