Father Mathew - Connecting Art and Faith

Father Matthew

Connecting Art and Faith

Father Matthew is the current Chaplain serving at Worksop College. His warmth, openmindedness and dedication to his faith make him a wonderful addition to the long line of Chaplains who served before him. However, Father Matthew’s passion for art is what sets him apart from Chaplains up and down the country. We spoke to him on why he thinks art has such a profound link to the Chapel.

What number Chaplain are you at Worksop College?

The first chaplain to serve at Worksop College was the Rev’d Hawkins, who started the role in 1896. Since then we have seen the completion of the magnificent St Cuthbert’s Chapel (1911) and over the past 125 years there have been many chaplains (all being Church of England priests). I moved here in 2019 from Southwell Minster and am the 27th chaplain to serve at Worksop College.

What was your route to faith?

I was baptised into the Methodist church as a baby, but I quickly rejected religion, and for the first 15-20 years of my life I would’ve described myself as an atheist. I came to faith after attending ‘quiet days’ at a monastery in Yorkshire as a young man (I went out of curiosity and personal searching) and was confirmed Christian at the monastery at the age of 23. It felt like it was the start of my life, and it was the best decision I ever made. I didn’t really understand much about the faith at that time at all, but I knew in my heart it was right, and over time this has been proven true to me. A little later I trained for the priesthood and was then ordained in Wakefield Cathedral in 2009. After a four year ‘curacy’ (assistant role in a parish) my first responsible role as priest was in 2013 as school chaplain at Southwell Minster. I’m not here because of what I can do, but because of what God can do, and I want to share that as much as I can.

“I’m not here because of what I can do, but because of what God can do, and I want to share that as much as I can”

What does religion mean in today’s society and does art strengthen this?

Religion means different things to different people in today’s society here in the UK, and worldwide. For many it remains vitally important in terms of social and cultural identity, and in being the glue that holds societies together, helping us tell our stories. The Church is sometimes described as being like a sewerage system for society because it confronts and enables us to deal with many of the most difficult and deep issues of our times - the experience of being human today. It is a resource of infinite value, and it needs encouraging in its ministry by us all. The work of the Church is so often unseen, but it is vital to the health of the nation. I think art plays an important part in this; being in church buildings is one of the ways people come to notice God’s love in their lives, and art is so often integral to the stories those buildings tell.

Why is it so important for young people to have a link to faith?

There are many good reasons for young people to understand faith, and especially to participate in worship. In order to understand the increasingly globalised world we are living in today, it’s probably more important than ever that our young people are faith-literate, understand diverse faith world-views and can be respectful to those who hold dramatically different beliefs to themselves as individuals. This is helped enormously if they are actively kindling a growing faith themselves.

How do you think art links to the chapel?

Art and art making have been for many years for me a kind of prayer activity. Making a painting or a drawing is part of the weekly worship I offer to God. I trained at university in fine art (1990’s) and have been a professional artist ever since that time, exhibiting regularly and curating larger group art exhibitions, usually in cathedrals. At Southwell Minster I organised and curated ‘The Art of Mary’ (2016) and ‘Crossings’ (2018) in addition to a solo exhibition of my own paintings (‘Sounding Silence’). During the whole of 2019 I was artist-in-residence at Lincoln Cathedral, and that year-long experience resulted in a large exhibition of new works in the Chapter House of the cathedral during January 2020. I am currently planning a group exhibition of new paintings for Winchester Cathedral in the Spring of 2024. Sometimes I am asked to lead a retreat or quiet day for a church or school group and I always take as the theme the meeting-place of art and faith.

Self-portrait as St Alban the Martyr

Pieta

Lamentation of Christ at the foot of the Cross