Recent events at Carrs Lane

From time to time Carrs Lane Church Centre hosts cultural events, usually with a Christian focus.
Some more recent ones are recalled here - see also Carrs Lane Players' annual productions.

Sunday Afternoon Recitals

6th November 2011: Music by Schumann, Poulenc, Debussy, Piazzolla and Horowitz

An hour of music spanning German romantic, French impressionist, an Argentinean tango.
and finishing with a light-hearted 20th century jazzy sonatina.
Richard Silk (piano), former Director of Studies at Birmingham Conservatoire, and
Peter Gosling (clarinet), classical music recitalist in a variety of chamber groups.

1st May 2011: Music by Handel, Mozart, Dvorak, Schumann and Poulenc

An afternoon of gentle and entertaining music-making, accompanied by tea and cakes!
Richard Silk (piano), former Director of Studies at Birmingham Conservatoire, and
David Joyce (violin), Head of Strings at Shrewsbury School.

URC National Multicultural Event 2011

Come and catch the vision of the multicultural church and be inspired!

On Saturday 24th September 2011, 350 people of all ages and many ethnicities came to Carrs Lane Church from all over the country to celebrate the URC's diverse spirituality and ethos, to share across cultures and develop friendships.

'Feast: Celebrating our Life Together' - involved drama, music, worship, displays of textiles and other work, food and a number of workshops (feasts) on dance, storytelling, drumming, singing etc.  There was a Multicultural Story Award and a Multicultural Art Competition.

Handel's Oratorio Hercules

On 26th November 2010 ensemble 1685 with period orchestra, directed by Richard Jeffcoat,
gave a performance of Hercules in Carrs Lane Church.

Programme Note: "Following ensemble 1685’s presentation of Joshua, a Biblical tale of blood and thunder written in 1747 in response to the Jacobite Rebellion, we are embarking upon another rarity: Hercules from three years earlier.  Again we offer the work complete and with period instruments, and with consideration of the performing conditions the composer would have expected.  Handel wrote the most famous piece of classical music, but so much of his work is rarely performed.  We hope we proved that Joshua is glorious entertainment, and we think that Hercules will delight, disturb and intrigue."

Handel's Oratorio Joshua

On 3rd September 2010 ensemble 1685 with period orchestra, directed by Richard Jeffcoat,
presented this splendid music in Carrs Lane Church. 

Much of Handel's dramatic music is rarely performed these days,
and this was a rare production of this piece outside London in modern times.

Programme Note: "Handel wrote Joshua as part of a series celebrating the defeat of the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745.  His treatment of the biblical story of the entry of the wandering Israelites into Canaan under their leader Joshua, the demolition of Jericho, and the rout of the scruffy savages who had the misfortune to live there, was resonant and popular in Georgian London, and, although we may feel uneasy about its modern equivalence, we can revel in Handel's most blazingly colourful music, with trumpets and horns and drums."

The performance was repeated the following day in Warwick Road URC, Coventry, which was reviewed as follows: "Mellow sounding oboes, natural trumpets, baroque horns and violone featured prominently in the ambitious and hugely enjoyable performance of Joshua by ensemble 1685" (Leamington Courier, 10.09.10)

URC National Multicultural Event 2009

On 5th December 2009, 350 people of all ages and many ethnicities came to Carrs Lane Church from all over
the country to celebrate diversity within the URC family.
'A Table for All People' was a packed programme of prayer, poetry, song, dance, drama and story telling. Participants shared holy communion and received congregational awards, expressing their love of God in ways that bore witness to their cultural heritages.

For a photo and more details about the 2009 URC Multicultural Day, and about the URC Department for Racial Justice and Multicultural Ministry, see the URC website report.

BEHELD - Exploring the Grain of Theology Today

In November 2009 Carrs Lane hosted a major retrospective exhibition, celebrating the work of woodcarver Revd. David Moore (a retired Methodist minister who is a nationally renowned artist).

Photo The Kingdom Tree – Dance of the Kingdom (enlarged below)

There is a preview gallery of 36 wood carvings on the Beheld Exhibition website - you can also click on About Me at the top for information about both artist and exhibits.  For further background information see the David Moore website.

The exhibition included some works from the Resisting Tyranny Exhibition
- for a little background go to the Bonhoeffer web page.

Events during the week included workshops (craft, writing, drawing & print, and school activities),
discussions, guided tours, and a social evening with live jazz.

The exhibition was sponsored jointly by Carrs Lane and the Methodist Central Mission, Birmingham.