Interview : Jenny Hawke
Jenny is a Christian artist , art teacher , author , Pilates mentor and life coach . She ’ s a contributor to Preach magazine and works closely with churches , running art workshops for congregations to help them see art as a valid form of worship and an expression of faith .
What ’ s your favourite hymn and why ?
The words of How Great is Thy Faithfulness by Thomas Chisholm has been one of my favourites for many decades . To me , it ’ s pure poetry , celebrating creation and nature . We sang it a lot in my childhood , both in church and at school . We also sang it at the graveside after taking Mum and Dad ’ s ashes back to India .
How could churches reach out to the community and bring more people into their fold ?
They could make the experience more relevant to how we live today . It could be more user-friendly by encouraging our participation and opening up a dialogue , rather than simply asking us to listen , often for a long time , to what is being said .
What is the most interesting thing you have learnt recently ?
In recent times I ’ ve learnt how to hold hope . Hope is as fragile as the wind on a bird ’ s wing . It can lift you in times of trouble , but it ’ s not always there . It takes strength to hold out for hope .
What are the roots of your Christianity ?
I became a Christian , aged 5 , when I was at boarding school . I remember a visiting evangelist coming to talk to us about inviting Jesus into our hearts . I don ’ t think it was particularly Bible-based .
For me now , my faith is about an ongoing relationship , rather than a set of rules that you believe in or follow . Gerald Coates ’ book , Not Under Law was highly influential to me and brought about a significant change in my faith . Dave Tomlinson , who wrote Black Sheep and Prodigals , is another Christian author who has helped shape my faith .
Having the freedom to question the Bible and your faith doesn ’ t mean you are not a true Christian . I ’ m
Jenny Hawke
no longer frightened to question beliefs such as salvation , or the stuff you are taught generically . I view my faith as an ongoing process and something to share , discuss and develop with the people around me .
You are well-known for your Christian paintings . What is the most significant art project you ’ ve undertaken connected with the church ?
A few years ago , I worked on the One Friday project . One Friday tells the story of Good Friday through the 14 Stations of the Cross . I developed a series of paintings , one for each station , which were reproduced as posters , booklets and postcards , for churches to display . It ’ s storytelling through art and enabled churches all over the country to reach their communities in new creative ways .
It was a real privilege to be asked to produce the paintings . It was an enormous challenge , which I loved , and sometimes I could see the completed picture in my head before I dipped the brush in the paint . I even got onto Songs of Praise with Kate Botley . It was my five minutes of fame .
How do you give to or help others ?
For several years now I ’ ve been doing regular Facebook posts . I have given my own ‘ thought for the day ’ for the last eleven years . I try to encourage people to be honest about their faith and to question it . You need doubts to have faith .
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