Thanks to Lyn Lloyd-Jones and Geoff Wickham under whose direction a Come and Sing choir filled the church with the beautiful sound of Fauré’s Requiem and Haydn’s Nelson Mass this November. Thanks also to our wonderful soloists, Lottie Newstead, Lis Scott, Mike Culshaw and Charlie Morris and our organist, Claire Alsop.
Great to have the Hyde Park UMC Chancel Choir with us on Pentecost Sunday – many thanks for your contribution to our worship!
The rehearsals for our passion play ‘Born for This’ are in full swing and proving to be very moving. The music and drama are coming together really well and we are set for a beautiful performance of this musical version of the Stations of the Cross. We hope you can join us at 8pm on Good Friday (19 April) or Easter Saturday (20 April)!
Following the death of Michael Etheridge in February 2016, his wife, Helen, kindly made Michael’s extensive collection of books (there are about 680 in total!) available to Vic and the Bristol & South Gloucestershire Circuit. The books have now been sorted and catalogued and you can browse a searchable catalogue of the collection here. The page also includes instructions for how to borrow books from their location at Vic.
We are grateful to Helen for making this collection available to us and hope that it will enrich the lives, faith and learning of many in our congregation and circuit.
It was great to have OneSound visiting Vic this week-end. After a couple of days of fellowship and rehearsal, the group performed on Saturday evening and then lead our worship on Sunday morning.
Their new summer school at the start of August looks to be a great event for young Christians interested in getting involved with singing and performing worship music.
In July, Richard, our minister, led a group of 15 pilgrims on the first ‘Bristol Pilgrimage’.
The idea was born after the Richard’s daughter returned from a year in Savannah, Georgia. He wanted to pick up the story from the failure of John and Charles Wesley’s time there.
With the encouragement of George Whitfield, John Wesley came to Bristol in the spring of 1739. In his own words, he ‘submitted to be more vile’ in adopting the practice of preaching outdoors. He preached to 1500 people at Hanham Mount, on the east side of Bristol which is where the pilgrims started their journey into the city centre.
They stayed overnight at Parkway Methodist Church, then set out from there on the second day to walk from the New Room to Pill. Their first stop was ‘the Nails’ on Corn Street. Here, the pilgrims reflected on the binding commitment Boaz made to marry Ruth.
“I’ve led a number of pilgrimages in the past, and my concern is always to see pilgrimage in the context of mission,” Richard says. “I always try to place a story from scripture alongside the story of the place through which we are walking, and allow the two to throw light on each other.”
The final seven miles of the pilgrimage lay along Bristol’s waterfront, out under the suspension bridge and along the Avon Gorge to the small village of Pill. It was from there that first Francis Ashbury, and later Thomas Coke, set sail to make Methodism into a world Church, and in ships probably not much bigger than John Cabot’s Matthew – a replica of which fired a salute to the memory of those early Methodists (and to today’s pilgrims) as it sailed past.
Hazel, a pilgrims who had come from Wrexham, commented: “What impressed me was the sense of fellowship amongst the group, especially around the meal table in the evening.”
In June 2018 we hosted an exhibition of sculptures by Smith & Moore, Santiago Bell and Arun Weys. Here are photos from the exhibition and some of the comments left by visitors:
“Wonderful to see David Moore’s work once again – and a first opportunity to view Santiago Bell’s archive. They sit so well together.”
“What a range of work. Excellent – I like the bits of controversy. The venue is such a real treasure and links into the prayer of the Iona Community (of which I am a member) ‘seeking new ways to touch the hearts of all’ – including our own hearts – i.e. hearts of those within church who think they have it all taped.”
“Sculptures that move on, irrespective of faith or lack of it.”
“Inspiring and moving – and thanks for the lovely hospitality.”
“Astounding craftsmanship – conceptually brilliant too. Touches ones heart and spirit.”
“A wonderful and moving exhibition, especially the wood carvings. Politically challenging and religiously questioning.”
“Powerful visionary work, brave, bold, sensitive and deeply compassionate.”
“I liked the plain wood sculpture best – also the Tower of Babel.”
“Absolutely amazing. It made us think about things in a different way. It has a lot of interesting sculptures to look at. Thank you.”
“And the last will be first! Amazing – all of it. Thank you to everyone involved in putting this together and making this happen.”
“I loved having such skilled creative work in our church – it grave great pleasure.”
“Magnificent work, touching and tragic. So glad I’ve seen it.”
“Wonderful, deeply spiritual and inspiring images despite the human pain.”
“Good to see such and open minded church.”
“So thought provoking and great skill and thought in the sculptures.”
“Intriguing, beautiful and poignant exhibition. Thought provoking, too. Thank you.”
“Fantastic exhibition. The wood is alive, figures and colours put forward the story. Pain loss, love etc.”
Since the start of June we have begun opening up the church on a Wednesday lunchtime from 12pm-2pm. The idea is to provide people with a quiet place for prayer and contemplation (with our new cross and votive candles as a possible focus) or a space to eat their lunch or study. Twice a month there will be a short communion service from 12.30-1.00pm (see here for dates) and on other days during term time there may be short chamber concerts given by Music students at Bristol University. At the moment it is of course also an opportunity to see the Grains of Truth sculpture exhibition. We’re very exited about opening up the church more to the community and hope many people will find it a place of rest, beauty and nourishment.
For the past 6 weeks, about 15-20 people have joined Lyn and Biddy in a lenten knit-along. Each day there have been around 10 lines to knit with weekly lent-themed meditations to a accompany them. By the end those who have managed to keep up should have a beautiful scarf to wear on Easter Sunday. The ups and downs of knitting – the unknown mystery pattern, the dropped stitches, the imperfections, the saving and redoing have all added to reflecting on the Lenten journey through the wilderness and the companionship of God. Thank you Lyn and Biddy!
“As far as I can see, a labyrinth is a complex maze-like path,” explained Kenneth, who had been doing his research. “Furthermore, if you are suggesting that it’s like the journey of life, then it would need dead ends and bifurcations.” Of course, he is right. Yet the labyrinth which is now on the floor at Victoria Methodist Church provides an opportunity of practicing the presence of the God who is always with us, indeed ‘in whom we live and move and have our being’.
So, call in to the church. For the next 4 weeks (27 Jan – 24 Feb) we’re open Monday through Saturday 12-2pm, 5-7pm Wednesday evenings, and – of course – on Sundays around worship. And if you’re wondering what those amazing paintings are behind, the church is full of artwork, including 4 works from the Methodist Modern Art Collection. The whole exhibition is entitled ‘Identity as Resistance’ and includes work by an Iranian refugee, an Egytian photographer and local schools.
More from Richard’s blog ‘The bright field’ here.