|
St. Paul's, Bow Common has been described as the 'most significant church built after the 2nd World War in Britain'
Built in 1960 by Architect Robert Maguire and Designer Keith Murray (RIP 2005),
this church is listed Grade II*
(only 2% of all listed buildings in Britain were built after 1945 - Grade II* denotes a building of national importance of 'more than special interest')
These are some views of the exterior of our building ..
And these are some views of our interior
2010 marked a significant year for St. Paul's,Bow Common as it reached its first landmark in our celebration of the 50th Anniversary of its Dedication on 30th April 1960
We observed this Anniversary with two major services!
On the day on which we completed the first 50 years of our life,
Thursday 29th April 2010
there was a Thanksgiving Eucharist led by the Bishop of London
The Rt. Revd. & Rt. Hon Dr. Richard Chartres KCVO.
On the next day - the day of the 50th Anniversary of the Dedication and also the first day of the next 50 years of our life,
Friday 30th April 2010
we had a Eucharist of Dedication in which we looked towards the future.
The Vicar, Prebendary Duncan Ross, led this celebrationduring which new consecration candles were lit, each dedicated to faithful church members who serve or have served us in a number of different ways, and the congregation re-dedicated itself to the future, with the church building also being re-dedicated as it had been 50 years previously on that night.
We are blessed with having not only a small number of faithful church members who were present at the Consecration of the church 50 years earlier, but also a larger number of young church members who stand every chance of being present at the Centenary celebrations on Saturday 30th April 2060 !
We therefore heard from our young people what the church and its members mean to them now as well as what their vision and hope is for the church of the future which they will 'inherit' from us in due course.
To see images of these events please look under both sets of images on the PHOTOS tab on this site.
From June to October 2011 we have celebrated a unique event - the gathering together of examples of a lifetime's work of Charles Lutyens, creator of our great mosaic cyle of 'The Heavenly Host' in his retrospective exhibition,
'Being In The World.'
One of the most striking items in the exhibition was Lutyens' impressive 15ft wooden sculpture of the 'Outraged Christ' which has been 35 years in the making!
This sculpture had never left Lutyens' Oxford studio and this was its first showing to the general public. It is, without exagerration, one of the most striking religious or other images to be seen in this country at the moment and has made a huge impression on all who have seen it. There is interest in including this depiction of the Crucifixion in a forthcoming television documentary on images of the Crucifixion across the breadth of art history.
Although the exhibition has ended, the 'Outraged Christ' is remaining
in the church until October 2013 by invitation of the Parochial Church Council.
It is possible to view this remarkable work by arrangement with the Vicar
Prebendary Duncan Ross by e-mail or see 'Contact of Find Us.'
Oxford Professor of the History of the Church and author and Presenter of the great BBC series, 'A History of Christianity,' Prof. Diarmaid Muccoloch, has commented on this figure in the context of other representations of the Crucified Christ in art history:
'This is really something quite different because here is a man who is not just feeling sufferings and patiently bearing them and being sad about them, but this figure seems to be really agonised, full of energy, and I think that's quite new - you don't get much of that in the Christian tradition.'
You can hear his full comments on this BBC clip: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-13892995
** See all 3 sets of images on the PHOTOS tab on this site for a record of this unique event **
www.charleslutyens.co.uk
All images & text on this website © Duncan Ross 2011, 2012, 2013
|
Printable Version