Join me at the Hadau Arts Festival, and a personal update
Why I've been quiet the last couple of months, and exploring faith and arts at a new conference in Cardiff on 2nd March 2024
Hello faithful readers! After November’s burst of Doctor Who related activity, I’m sorry for the lack of updates – but for very good reasons, having been moving house with all the upheaval that comes with it! More on that later, but first I’m excited to share about a new event taking place next Saturday that I’ll be speaking at in Cardiff…
Hadau Christian arts conference at Urban Crofters, Cardiff – Saturday 2nd March
Hadau, meaning ‘seeds’ is the inaugural Welsh Arts Festival hosted by Urban Crofters church in collaboration with Morphe Cymru in Roath, Cardiff. The conference is to explore creativity and create conversations through the lens of faith.
Friday 1st March - evening exhibition, 7.30pm
Saturday 2nd March - day conference, doors open 9.30am for 10am start
Tickets are £50, including lunch, refreshments throughout the day, dinner and live entertainment.
What’s on the programme?
The conference will begin with keynote speaker Ted Turnau, author of Oasis of Imagination (which I edited!) and Popologetics, who will be speaking on “Serious Play: The Power, Beauty, and Costly Call of the Christian Creative in a Post-Christian World”. I’m looking forward to seeing Ted again and hearing him speak – you can check out my podcast interview with him here:
I’ll also be speaking, running two sessions:
Seminar option (2pm): “Opening up conversations that matter through science fiction and fantasy”. I’ll be sharing my experiences of fandom and how stories are 'bigger on the inside than the out' through the philosophical and spiritual themes they explore.
Panel discussion (4pm): “Faithfulness on the Creative Frontlines” I’ll be chairing a discussion of how can artists, creatives and those working in the creative industries who have a Christian faith engage well in the wider cultural conversation?
A panel of Christians with different creative callings and careers share their experiences and the challenges and opportunities of being faithful and fruitful in ‘secular’ creative contexts. The panel is set to include:Nick Andrews (BBC Cymru Wales)
Rachel Carney (contemporary poet)
Jessie Dipper (singer-songwriter)
If you’re able to make it to Cardiff next Saturday, it would be great to see you there! Here’s a little video I did about it:
Our Moving House Saga
It’s been a crazy few months! Back in December, as a family, we moved house from Cardiff and out into the Valleys to Pontypridd.
The tale of the ups and downs of the move are a saga in themselves, including:
The Mystery of the Missing Key, which saw us locked out of our new home with the removers having to break in to start unloading
The Disaster on the Severn Bridge, as we were in an accident on the M4 eastbound, while travelling with all the kids and my father-in-law in his seventies
The Insurance Claim Merry-Go-Round - ever tried making an insurance claim when you’ve just moved house and none of your documents (driving license, V5 form etc) have been updated to your new address? I don’t recommend it.
The Ballad of the Broken Boiler, just as days of torrential rain gave way to a cold snap. Actually this one got fixed really quickly, unlike some of the other challenges, such as…
The Washing Machine Challenge - how many weeks does it take to get a tradesman to come and install a washing machine, when you need reconfiguration done to fit it in along with a dishwasher? It took us almost nine weeks, but we got there at last!
All this against the constant backdrop of managing the practical and emotional needs of a 6-year-old, 4-year-old and just turned 1-year old. And their parents, I guess, though Bev and I have felt that’s come a long way down the list!
As challenging as it has been, it has also required us to rely on the kindness of strangers, friends and family. I’m immensely grateful to Debbie & Malcolm, Sharon, Dan B, Highfields Church in Cardiff, the Lounge Church in Ponty and others who have helped us in big ways and small. It has reminded us of God’s care and provision, especially through his people.
So unsurprisingly against that backdrop, writing and podcasting have been somewhat down my list of priorities. I’ve taken the belated step of pausing paid subscriptions while I’m getting back on my feet with what I’m doing on here - thanks for the support (you know who you are, and I’m so grateful for you!).
I’ve got some exciting things planned as a little bit of time for side-projects begins to open up again – an article I’m finishing off for the Rabbit Room (assuming they’ll still have it!), and taking part in the Hadau conference.
So why move? There were several pragmatic drivers: to be close to Bev’s parents, who are now 5 minutes’ walk down the road from us; to reduce our mortgage in the face of the cost of living crisis and changed professional circumstances following long covid and leaving IVP.
But like the Pevensies being driven relentlessly back into the magic wardrobe in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, we feel like we’ve been pushed along with an urgency that doesn’t come from us. Even the car crash and subsequent insurance saga has meant that we have been pushed into spending our time locally, rather than nipping back to the comfort of Cardiff at every opportunity.
In many ways, Pontypridd is a more challenging environment. The Valleys face many social and economic challenges in this post-industrial era. Living on the north facing slope of the hillside, with the roar of the A470 below, I suspect few would choose it over the leafy environs of Roath Park and the relatively well-heeled streets around it.
And yet I’m excited to be here in Pontypridd. There’s a strong sense of community here. I’m excited by initiatives taking place in terms of creative community, such as Parc Arts, a Christian community arts outreach that is literally round the corner from where we are living, and the Creative Cuppas that Creative Cardiff have brought on the road to Rhondda Cynon Taff as well as other places in South Wales. We’re also really intrigued by the Lounge Gospel community, a church plant focused around ‘missional communities’. Being heavily inspired by L’Abri, we’re curious to discover more about how the Lounge puts community living into practice here in Ponty.
And while I might not have the pleasant cultivated spaces of Roath Park on my doorstep, ten minutes up the hill takes me to the edge of the housing, and out up above the town into actual countryside. I’ve barely begun to explore, but until I got up and out above the town to be looking down on it, to be treading on muddy paths through field and woodland, I’d forgotten how much I missed it - the countryside, being in green and wilder places, beyond the intensity of immediate human habitation and open to the sky and spirits.
We have the feeling that God has placed us here - somewhat bewildered, still quite exhausted, but where he wants us to be.
We’re not quite sure why yet, or what the Lord would have us do here. But we’re looking forward to finding out.
I’ve also got some exciting news about what’s next for me work-wise, which I’m not quite at liberty to share publicly yet – watch this space!