Holy Week Preview

Innovation is at the heart of Malmesbury Abbey; James Dyson doesn't have all the fun. And it’s not just skate parks, cafés, holidays at home or stained glass in our toilets that dries your hands as you pray. Our Holy Week Festival, now in its seventh year, fires our imaginations spiritually as it allows the creative and performing arts, prayer and teaching, to inspire us and to prepare us for our reflections together on the death and resurrection of Jesus.

This year our café, labyrinth and Stations of the Cross art exhibition will return in a slightly different configuration – we hope you don’t fall over anything. The festival opens early as the Riding Lights Theatre Company bring us their new play ‘A Different Drum’ on Wednesday 20^th March. Our daily rhythm of prayer begins on Friday 22^nd March and that evening Revd Si Jones, vicar of St Michael’s Stoke Gifford and a New Wine speaker, is with us to speak on Passion for Jesus, followed by a late night concert from Tristan Cork. On Saturday 23^rd March we meet the young artists from Malmesbury School in the morning and that night the blues/folk/rock sound of Josh Flowers and the Wild is supported by the contemporary soul of Sally Archer at 8pm.

Palm Sunday, weather permitting, takes us outside for Holy Communion and then on the Monday evening the international organist Anthony Hammond improvises a ‘Stations of the Cross’ around the poetry of the French poet Paul Claudel. During the day on Tuesday & Wednesday of Holy Week Springs Dance Company are with us to lead four dance workshops for young people based on Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Selfish Giant.’ On the evening of Tuesday 26^th March the Peter James Jazz trio return with music from their new CD Soul Story, reflecting on themes of death and resurrection, and then on Wednesday 27^th March  Andrew Halestrap, Professor of Biochemistry at Bristol University, is with us to ask Does Science disprove God?  (Given my career choice I'm hoping for a 'no' answer to be honest.) Sandwiched between the Vaughan Williams Mass in G Minor on Good Friday and our Easter Day worship, on Easter Eve BBC Wiltshire are with us in the evening for a special recording of Easter at Malmesbury Abbey.

10 days to take our imaginations out of the cupboard, to meet with God and to meet with one another. The full brochure and detailed programme will be available in early March.