East Ham Magnificat

 

In December 2024 I led a workshop at Bonny Downs Baptist Church in east London where we made Icons for Advent based on the Magnificat, but set in our neighbourhood, using collage. Most participants were not confident at art or craft but the results were meaningful icons. Some are included here. Lynn, who’s volunteered in the Food Bank from the start, sat the Holy Family on the stage because that’s where new people often choose. I had them travelling by District Line instead of donkey. Sally put the mother and baby outside The Well, thinking they’d be alright if they went into the Family Hub. 

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If you would like to run a workshop like this in your area, you could get in touch and ask me to come and do it, if you are not too far from London. Or you can use the Workshop Plan to prepare and run one yourself.

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In February 2025 I was learning about Eco-Feminist theology and was struck by this quote: “Justice cannot be done to the immanence of God in creation when justice is not done to that which is exploited in creation - whether human or otherwise. And justice cannot be done until the marginal and vulnerable are named in our images of God.” Melissa Raphael.

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It made me think that people responded to our East Ham Magnificat pictures did centralise justice for ‘the marginalised’ but not on purpose; that’s just where we live. I wondered how much broader these Icons of Justice could be if they included a wider range of exploited creatures. I facilitated a workshop at the Greenbelt Festival in August 2024 where we explored this. Some of the participants’ stunning work is reproduced here, with apologies that I don’t know the artists’ names. Again, if you’d like me to run a workshop like this in your context, please get in touch. And I have included my workshop plan here if you’d like to know more or try it yourself.