There is an ancient church near where I live, parts of which date from Saxon times. It is the oldest building i
n the town, even older than the castle that stands up the hill above it. It started life, of course, as a Roman Catholic church, became Anglican at the Reformation and in 2013 combined with the local Methodist church to form a joint congregation, at which point it underwent extensive renovation that rendered it even more beautiful and significantly more useful for a wide variety of activities.
I didn’t know before last year, that the Methodist Church, under the umbrella of the Methodist Modern Art Collection (MMAC), has one of the finest collections of modern religious art in the world, and it lends out works from their collection to cathedrals, art galleries and churches that would like to mount exhibitions. There was, not surprisingly, great excitement in the town when we were granted permission to display 25 of their world-class works of the art for four weeks in Lent, from 9th March to 5th April 2026.
I was privileged to be commissioned to write a series of poems to accompany all the art works, and so inspired was I by the project that I produced all 25 poems in the space of two months. It really seemed like a project specially made for me, bringing together my passion for poetry and art and my love of the spiritual.
It was planned to put on a number of public events during the exhibition, and I was invited to present an evening reading of some of the poems. I therefore invited the ‘cellist, Annelies Terry, to share this recital with me and we put together a programme of poetry and music to be performed on 20th March 2026.
The organisers of the exhibition liked what I had written and decided to find ways in which the poems could be exhibited with the paintings. They also suggested that I should produce a book containing all the poems alongside high resolution reproductions of all the paintings, and this was published in February 2026.
It was decided to keep the price of the book down to just £10, so that as many people as possible could purchase it.
If you would like to order a copy for £12.50 including p&p, please contact me through <marriages.me.uk/alwyn/contact>.
We also prepared a Powerpoint presentation to run on a loop at a couple of positions at the exhibition.
A further excitement arose when the composer, Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, was commissioned to write a motet for SATB choir and ‘cello, based on the words of my short poem ‘ Mothered’. This is the poem I wrote in response to the beautiful painting of the ‘Dalit Madonna’ by the Indian artist Jyoti Sahi. It was decided that the world premiere of this work should form part of ‘Shadows of the Cross – a Palm Sunday Reflection’ on 29th March 2026.
Mothered
As the kernel within
an ear of corn
As alcohol within
the wine
As a pearl within
the oyster
As the poor within
the kingdom of heaven
As God within
a woman’s womb
So is my life within
the heart of God.
MMAC then asked if I would prepare a digital ‘exhibition’, or curation, of some of the poems and paintings plus my own reflections on them, to be displayed on the ArtUK website. This is now live on their website at <https://artuk.org/discover/curations/from-paint-to-poetry-twelve-works-from-the-methodist-modern-art-collection>.
In my experience, poetry does not normally receive such a high level of publicity, and this range of events has led to further invitations to read and talk about my work. But the best part of it all is that hundreds, or possibly thousands, of people will be visiting the beautiful church of St Mary during Lent, and will be looking at and reflecting on some of the greatest religious art of the last century.
So if you happen to be within striking distance of Guildford between 9th March and 5th April, do come along to St Mary’ church in Quarry Street to enjoy stunning paintings by artists such as Graham Sutherland, Elisabeth Frink, Patrick Heron and Maggi Hambling, along with some lesser-known works by artists from India and Africa. This really is an occasion not to be missed.
.