ArtServe Festival 2024
Friday 18 – Sunday 20 October
Kents Hill Park, Milton Keynes
Bookings have now closed
This year’s festival has plenty of activities to inspire your creativity in worship. In particular, we look at how music and sound have influenced our creative spirituality.
Creating Harmony
Join us for a weekend of fellowship, worship and creativity, with opportunities to meet up with other Christian creatives, practise our creative skills, learn new ones, and share our creative faith journeys together.
‘Creating Harmony’ may mean different things to different people. Some may think about it musically, others in terms of creating harmony within the environment and protecting our beautiful earth, others about creating harmony in the home, or even within ourselves as we think of self-care and the importance of our mental health.
However you approach this theme, we’re confident there will be something for everyone at this year’s festival. The programme includes a variety of activities based on the theme to inspire your creative spirituality, and there will be spaces for prayer, fellowship, and creative thought, practice and worship.
Our keynote speaker, the Revd Jenny Pathmarajah, is a Methodist presbyter who ministered to churches in Norfolk and on the island of Jersey, before moving to her current post in Cambridge. Jenny is a gifted musician, with an interest in the often uneasy relationship between spiritual and secular music, and how both have their place in our Christian life and worship. These themes will form the basis of her keynote address on Friday evening, and will be carried through into two of our workshop sessions on Saturday morning.
The Revd Caroline Weaver is our chaplain for the weekend. A former librarian, Caroline has ministered in the Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire Methodist District for over 25 years, including as a prison chaplain, caring for the spiritual welfare of people of all faiths and none. She says: ‘I enjoy creative worship, prayer, bible study and retreats. God, people, music, words and colour are what sustain, motivate and inspire me, and I enjoy sewing, complicated knitting, and gardening. I am honoured to serve as chaplain at the ArtServe festival this year.’
Once again our festival bookshop will be provided by Julie Ann from The Book Centre, Stoke-on-Trent. Along with a variety of books, cards, and other creative resources, there will be books on the weekend theme, including titles recommended by our facilitators. Julie Ann is happy to take requests in advance for any other books and resources, and to bring them to the festival for you to collect – simply email her at: .
The programme for the weekend
Friday 18 October
Arriving at Kents Hill Park from 4.00 pm, there will be time to register and settle in your room, and to meet up over a drink with friends old and new, before we gather for dinner.
After dinner, we will meet in our main conference room for welcomes, notices, and our keynote address on the theme, given by the Revd Jenny Pathmarajah. We’ll then close our evening in prayer.
Saturday 19 October
The day will begin with optional morning prayer, followed by breakfast. You can then enjoy two of the creative workshops on offer before lunch. Details of confirmed workshops are in the creative workshops tab.
The ArtServe AGM will take place at 2.00 pm. We hope that anyone not able to be with us for the whole festival weekend will be able to join us either in person at the venue, or to watch a live-stream of the AGM on YouTube (the link will be available via the ArtServe Fellowship Facebook page). Bear in mind also that you can attend the whole of the Saturday as a day visitor.
After a break for refreshments, you can enjoy a third creative workshop before dinner.
After dinner we will be entertained by a cappella close harmony quartet Something for the Weekend (see creative workshops), before concluding the day’s activities with prayer.
Sunday 20 October
The day will begin with optional morning prayer and breakfast. We will gather in the conference room to hear presentations from ArtServe members about their own creative ministries and how they are ‘creating harmony’, and the festival will finish with a service of worship and celebration. We will be ready to depart by 4.00 pm.
Creative workshops
You will be able to choose from the following creative workshops, but you don't have to decide yet. Nearer the time, we will contact everyone who has booked and ask you to choose your workshops.
Aspects of drama in worship
Facilitator: Richard Adams
Through discussion and practical activity, Richard will enable you to consider ways of using drama in a church setting, focusing on how to get the best out of people for Bible drama with limited rehearsal time.
Richard is an author, scriptwriter, director, and performer, and a member of ArtServe.
Circle dancing
Facilitator: Gillian Pengelly
Traditional in many communities and cultures, circle dancing uses simple and repetitive steps, gentle and easy to learn, to create a beautiful harmony of music, movement, and meditation. No experience necessary.
Gillian is an experienced teacher of circle dancing, and a member of ArtServe.
Close harmony singing
Facilitator: Something for the Weekend
As well as entertaining us on Saturday evening, vocal quartet Something for the Weekend will run a workshop where singers can learn and practise singing in close harmony.
Something for the Weekend love to sing with a wink and a smile. Their repertoire ranges from sultry ballads by Norah Jones to pop numbers by Elle King, with much in between. They won an international gold medal in Spain in 2018.
Icon writing
Facilitator: Susan Cooke
Susan will give an introductory talk on this ancient and beautiful form of worship. You will then learn some basic skills, before having a go at producing your own small sample of an icon.
Susan is an artist with a passion for iconography.
The life of Jesus:
a South Korean art perspective
Facilitator: Jacqui Hicks
We know Christ was Middle Eastern and Jewish – and yet Christ is for all people. In this ‘look and think’ session, Jacqui considers the theme in terms of East-West harmony, as she introduces you to Jesus as portrayed through the eyes of Kim Ki-Chang, a South Korean Roman Catholic Artist.
Jacqui is a member and Trustee of ArtServe.
Needle-felting
Facilitator: Michelle Pickering
Needle-felting is a relaxing, mindful activity, and the rhythmic ‘stabby-stabby’ sound of the needle into the felting mat provides a gentle backdrop to the creative process. Michelle will teach the fundamentals, and you will leave having created your own little bee, Christmas bauble, or other small item. No previous experience is necessary.
Michelle is an avid crafter, and a member and Trustee of ArtServe.
Painting on silk
Facilitator: Beth Burton
Learn the basic skills of painting on silk – how to mix and blend colours, and using salt to achieve some interesting effects – before creating your own beautiful silk picture, which you can then frame or make into a greetings card.
Beth is an enthusiastic crafter who enjoys sharing her skills with others.
Scripture, Song and Story
(creative writing)
Facilitator: Richenda Milton-Daws
Focusing on the theme of the festival, Richenda will use great songs of the Bible as inspiration for creative writing - think Deborah, Miriam, and Isaiah - although the Benedictus and the Magnificat may make an appearance too.
Richenda is editor of Transforming Ministry, a writer, facilitator, and a licensed lay minister in the Church of England. She is a former chair of ArtServe, and former editor of ArtServe magazine.
Why should the Devil get all the good tunes?
Facilitator: Jenny Pathmarajah
Continuing on from Friday evening’s keynote address, Jenny explores modern secular music and the lessons that chart music can teach the church.
Jenny is a Methodist presbyter based in Cambridge, and our keynote speaker for the weekend.
CPR to dead and dying hymns
Facilitator: Jenny Pathmarajah
In her second workshop, Jenny will consider how we can breathe life into dull hymns no one can sing and no one likes!
Jenny is a Methodist presbyter based in Cambridge, and our keynote speaker for the weekend.
The venue
We’re very much looking forward to our first festival in a new venue:
Kents Hill Park Conference Centre
Swallow House
Timbold Drive
Milton Keynes
MK7 6BZ
Kents Hill Park Conference Centre is centrally situated and easily accessible. It is less than 15 minutes from Milton Keynes railway station, and only three miles from junction 14 of the M1. There is plenty of on-site parking.
The centre’s facilities include a variety of comfortable accommodation, flexible meeting rooms, and communal spaces for fellowship and refreshments, including some pleasant outdoor spaces. There is also within the complex a gym and swimming pool, both of which are free to use for guests of the centre – so don’t forget to pack your cozzy!
The centre has facilities for people with disabilities, and caters for different dietary requirements (you will be asked about these when booking). Hot and cold drinks are available throughout the day.
You can find out more about the venue and its facilities from the Kents Hill Park's website.
Costs
The cost for the weekend is £240 for a single en suite room, or £210 per person for a shared room, including all meals, refreshments, and conference expenses. Day visitor rates are also available.
A reduced rate of £100 is available for young people up to and including 19 years of age. There is no charge for children under five.
Discounts can be negotiated for families, and there is a special deal for groups – book six places together for the price of five. Please email for further details.
We require a deposit of £50 per person at time of booking (£20 for young people aged 5–19, and £20 per day for non-residential places). The balance is payable by 30 September 2024.
For methods of payment please see booking and payment.
Booking and payment
Book online
The easiest way to book is to use the online booking form. Once you have submitted the form there is an opportunity to pay your deposit by card (via PayPal), or you can return here to do so. See below for methods of payment.
Book by post
To book by post please download the postal booking form. Send the completed form to: ArtServe membership, 51 Blakehall Road, Carshalton, SM5 3EZ. Cheques must be made payable to Christian Creativity Ltd (not ArtServe). You can still choose to use the online booking form even if you're paying by cheque.
Paying your deposit
We require a deposit of £50 per person at the time of booking. You can pay your deposit by bank transfer, by debit/credit card (via PayPal), or by cheque.
You can choose to pay the full amount at the time of booking, but there is no card payment option for this.
Pay by bank transfer
Please pay NatWest, account name Christian Creativity Ltd (not ArtServe), sort code 51-81-08 account number 84118334 quoting Festival as the payment reference.
For further information please go to Paying by direct bank transfer (opens in a new tab).
Pay by card
We accept card payments (via PayPal) for deposits, but we don't currently offer card payments for the full amount because of the fees.
There is an opportunity to pay your deposit via PayPal once you have submitted the online booking form, or you can return here to do so.
Select the type of booking then click Pay Now. To pay more than one deposit, click Pay Now and then change the quantity on the PayPal screen.
PayPal opens in a new browser tab.
Pay by cheque
Send your cheque to: ArtServe membership, 51 Blakehall Road, Carshalton, SM5 3EZ. Cheques must be made payable to Christian Creativity Ltd (not ArtServe)
Questions?
If you have any queries about the booking process, please contact Michael on 020 8669 9744 or email .
Day visitors
Although primarily a residential weekend, you can attend either Saturday or Sunday (or both) on a non-residential basis. Costs are as follows:
- Saturday (including lunch and dinner) – £75
- Sunday (including lunch) – £70
We require a deposit of £20 per day for non-residential bookings.