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ArtServe Festival 2026
This year we will be returning to Kents Hill Park Conference Centre, just 15 minutes from Milton Keynes railway station, and three miles from junction 14 of the M1, with plenty of on-site parking.
The centre has facilities for people with disabilities, and caters for different dietary requirements (you will be asked about these when booking), and hot and cold drinks are available throughout the day. Facilities include a gym and swimming pool – both free to use for guests of the centre, so don’t forget to pack your cozzy!
You can find out more about the venue and facilities at https://www.kentshillpark.com If you have any specific questions about the venue before you book, please contact the centre directly: 01908 358000.
Special Guests
We’re delighted to have with us several special guests this weekend who, along with others, will be guiding our thinking on and around the theme, and facilitating our worship, fellowship and creativity.
On Friday evening our Keynote address will be given by Wendy Usher. Wendy, who lives in Cranfield in rural Bedfordshire, has used creativity within church services from age 16. She is author of several books written to support children with hidden disabilities. She is also a musician, and is involved in young people and children’s ministry, including working in schools. Wendy says:
“I enjoy working with many forms of art, and I have recently had the privilege of making a new stained-glass window for St Peter and St Paul’s church in Cranfield, using glass from the 1940 bombing of the church – an amazing project, which I’ll say more about at the conference. Since retirement, my husband Martin and I enjoy building camper vans using recycled materials, and we spend as many days as possible exploring this glorious country where we find so many beautiful glimmers of God through his creation.”
For the past couple of years Bryony Wood has been taking ‘The Sound of Musings Live’ to churches up and down the country, presenting audiences with a creative and accessible way to think about life, love and faith. She writes:
“On Saturday evening you are invited to (metaphorically) don your lederhosen and wimple, and enjoy an ArtServe special presentation of songs and stories of The Sound of Musings. We’ll follow the adventures of Maria, the flibbertigibbet nun-turned-governess, as she discovers the life she was born to live. We will think about our favourite things, the challenges of climbing every mountain – and we might even make our own sounds of music. It’ll be relaxed and quite a lot of fun, even if you’ve never seen the film.”
Both Wendy and Bryony will also be leading creative workshops on Saturday, and you can read a review of Bryony’s book The Sound of Musings on page 19.
We also welcome Revd. Robert Jordan, who will be our Festival Chaplain. Born in Argentina to British parents, Robert now lives in Swindon. He writes:
“The theological college I attended was the training college for eight different churches. I was ordained in 1983, and have since ministered in the Presbyterian Church, the Argentine (Dutch) Reformed Church, and the URC. To be honest with you, I can’t draw a straight line even with a ruler, but I do love art and discovering the impact it has on life and how it helps us interpret history and life, and imagine the present and future. During my recent Sabbatical, I visited eight different cities in Europe seeing art, architecture, sculpture – and seeing how all this was an expression of life in each place and over the centuries. I look forward to meeting you all and serving as Chaplain for the Festival.”
Robert will be available for conversation and prayer all weekend, and there will be a prayer space set up for those who want to take a little time out for quiet personal prayer.
Weekend Programme
Friday 23rd October
Registration opens at 4.00 pm. Once you’ve settled into your room, there’s plenty of time to have a rest after your journey, to take a walk around the grounds, or to meet up and chat with others over a drink in the coffee lounge, before gathering for dinner at 6.30 pm.
After dinner we’ll meet in the main conference room for our opening session, including welcomes, introductions – and no doubt a few notices! Wendy Usher will deliver the keynote address on the theme of ‘Glimmers’, and we will end the session with prayer. Finally, for those who aren’t quite ready for bed yet, the bar will be open for drinks, chat, and an informal sing-along.
Saturday 24th October
In a change to previous years, our day will begin after breakfast with worship, followed by the ArtServe AGM; this will give our workshop facilitators more time to set up and prepare for their sessions, and for any day visitors to settle in. Then, after a break for refreshments, you’ll have the opportunity take part in three creative workshop sessions – one before lunch, and two in the afternoon – all focusing on different aspects of our Festival theme.
After dinner, Bryony Woods will entertain us with The Sound of Musings – an evening of fun, reflection, and singing as we explore the glimmers to be found in the iconic story of Maria, the ‘flibbertigibbet nun-turned-governess’. The evening will close with evening prayer, and once again the bar will be open.
Sunday 25th October
The day will begin with breakfast, followed by a preparation session for anyone wanting to be involved in the leading of our closing worship (e.g. reading, playing an instrument, or offering something you’ve created during the weekend). For those not involved, there will be a ‘forest church’ style prayer walk, and some ‘quick make’ activities to have a go at.
As requested in your feedback, we will meet for worship before lunch so that those needing to leave early can join in worship. After lunch there will be a final session on the theme before we close our Festival for another year.
COSTS
Full weekend:
£285 per person single occupancy, £270 per person double occupancy, all rooms en suite., includes all meals, refreshments, and conference expenses. Discounts available for children.
Day visitor:
Saturday only, 9.00am to 5.45pm.
£90 per person
includes lunch (evening meal can be purchased on arrival), refreshments, and conference expenses. Discounts available for children.
Bookings due to open in April. For full booking information and to book online or go to: www.artserve.org.uk
N.B. Online booking is preferred, but if this is not possible, please ask a friend to email: ) to request a booking form by post.
Book here
Catching the Glimmers Facilitator: Wendy Usher
Focusing on the theme of stained glass, we’ll consider the glimmers we see day to day in life, and how these can shine for us, and how we in turn can reflect those glimmers back to others. Participants will work on a mini project using simple laminating pouches and coloured cellophane – a process that can be replicated back at home with children or adults. As well as working in stained glass, Wendy enjoys practising many forms of art, particularly textile art, and is also a musician.
Dancing a Glimmer Facilitator: Hannah Gregory
In this session we will focus on finding small moments of deep joy and turning them into movement – and alongside the beauty of dance movements there will be plenty of fun and laughter! You will be led in dance movements to express new ‘glimmers’, exploring biblical insights through movement, connecting thoughts, emotions, and feelings in dance. Hannah is involved in creative worship in church, and dance has formed an active expression of her Christian Faith. As an English teacher, she directs the school musicals filled with song and dance.
Fabric Postcards Facilitator: Anne Smithies
Incorporating a personal item, found treasure, piece of nature, or something else that prompts happy feelings or memories to rise within you, Anne will guide you in making a tactile textile postcard or hanging, which will become a reminder to pause and find God in the small moments. Anne is an artist with a passion for vibrancy, colour and texture. Working mostly with textiles, fibres, printmaking and paper, the art created reflects her interest in the natural world.
Glimmers: Worship in the Wild Facilitator: Gill Barrett
This workshop invites you to reimagine outdoor worship as a tapestry of tiny Godmoments: sunlight through leaves, birdsong prayers, communal creativity, and multi-sensory encounters that speak to every age. If you’re longing for fresh inspiration, playful experimentation, and a chance to rediscover the sacred in the simple, this is the session that will light you up. As Director of Education for Autism Unlimited, Gill is involved in creating a woodland school for students with complex needs, and is exploring how churches can worship creatively outdoors.
Let’s Start at the Very Beginning Facilitator: Bryony Wood
Whether you’re dipping a hesitant toe into the world of writing, longing to unleash your inner wordsmith, or an experienced writer seeking fresh motivation, this workshop could be for you. Whether you write newsletters or novels, poems, prayers or prose, we will share the wisdom in the room, think about who we are writing for, and how God might be prompting us to share our gifts and experiences. Writer Bryony Wood is working on what it is to be a human being rather than a human doing, while continuing to serve as a priest in the Church of England.
Off-Loom Weaving with Natural Objects Facilitator: Michelle Pickering
This peaceful, hands-on workshop will give you the opportunity to weave your own story of nature’s glimmers, using twigs, stones, shells, flowers and numerous other treasures, each element chosen for its ability to evoke memories, sensations or ‘glimmers’ that connect us to nature and our faith in a loving God. As you weave, we’ll reflect together on what brings light and joy into our lives. Michelle is Chair of ArtServe, a Methodist Local Preacher, and leader of quiet days. She enjoys a wide range of crafts, particularly quilting, painting, weaving, bookbinding and art journaling.
Photographing Glimmers Facilitator: Jacqui Hicks
The sun breaking through a cloudy sky might inspire us to find a glimmer or two; or the swirl of froth in your coffee cup. Using camera, mobile phone, ipad, or tablet, we will search both indoors and outdoors for inspiration, maybe looking from a different angle – creating and photographing glimmers found in the world around us. Former Arts Adviser with The Methodist Church, Jacqui has been involved with ArtServe since its conception. She is an experienced workshop leader and loves using creative arts in worship.
We Gather Together – Orchestra Workshop Facilitator: Liz Newton
Music is one of the most powerful tools for supporting well-being by reducing stress and regulating mood. In this workshop, we’ll explore how music creates glimmers, the effect it has on our well-being and how, as musicians, we can make use of this in a worship setting. We will come together as a ‘scratch orchestra’ to rehearse a Dutch hymn tune, then share it with the Festival audience. Methodist Local Preacher Liz believes in the power of music to evoke emotions, and uses creativity to bring the love of God to the church and the community, through music and the arts.
