Art & Spirituality September 2024

Once per quarter, an excited, mystical lull descends upon St John's. People are found stumbling through the heavy church doors carrying lunch boxes, others with arms full of sketchbooks and pens. 

Some are here to simply bask in the peace and tranquility of St John's, calmly colouring in some of Juliet’s amazing Christian designs, others are crafting and sticking, creating cards and art from the array of materials provided. There is often someone drawing, and perhaps someone cross stitching in this ecumenical gathering of creatives. It doesn't matter if you really are't an artist, or you're a professional, faith unites across the denominations and generations. Most of the art lovers return retreat after retreat, showing their love for this special day which typically runs from 10am-3pm.

We are blessed at St John's to have an amazing Lay Minister (Juliet) who is also a professional artist, able to guide even the least confident artists if desired and who will lead in prayer too. Juliet is the owner of Colouring Calm which sells a selection of intricate, Christian contemplative colouring pages, allowing people to meditate on biblical phrases and imagery. Juliet is currently on an ordination pathway with the Church of England and is a familiar face around Ripon, with her water-colour artist husband and choral-scholar son.  

Art and Spirituality days are generally very peaceful, although there is usually a more chatty time later on, with free movement throughout. Artists can find inspiration from two-hundred year old St. John's or our award winning bio-diverse churchyard. And there is of course constant drinking of tea. 

​Book with Juliet on [email protected] or via the DLP : ​https://learning.leeds.anglican.org/event/art-and-spirituality-day-retreat-2/