Ripon Cathedral artwork tells Bible stories in stitches

An embroidery art installation created using more than a million stitches can be seen at Ripon Cathedral.

Following this year’s successful Wing and a Prayer display featuring 10,000-plus origami angels, the cathedral is now hosting Jacqui Parkinson’s Tree of Life exhibition.

For this exhibition, three large stitched panels will be displayed at the cathedral until November 1.

Each panel has, at its centre theme, a tree representing pivotal moments in the Bible.

The installation is complemented by the sculpture Open Heaven, which is a life-size figure of Christ hanging from a ladder, which represents Jesus reaching towards heaven.

Photograph of a sculpture of Christ at Ripon Cathedral

A sculpture of Christ crucified on a ladder is part of the exhibition

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Jacqui enlisted the help of a body casting team to create the figure along with a young friend who was able to cope with the stress of enduring a complete body cast.

She explained: “The idea of a figure of Jesus on a ladder came to me, strangely, in a dream.

“It was outside my comfort zone to get this made. Luckily a young and thin friend of ours agreed to go through the ordeal of a whole body cast, and there he is in fibreglass for all to see!”

Jaqui also created the Threads through Revelation exhibition, which toured 13 British cathedrals between 2016 and 2018.

She said:

“After the enormous effort of 14 panels in Threads through Revelation, I decided to do a smaller project.

“It still took me 18 months and over a million stitches! The three panels of Tree of Life tell the stories of the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve’s fall, in the first pages of the Bible, the crucifixion, and the promise of a new heaven and earth in the last pages of the Bible.”

The previous Wing and a Prayer Installation, which saw paper angels carrying prayers suspended over the cathedral’s nave, captured the imagination of parishioners and the public while raising more than £130,000 in donations to be shared with Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

 

 

 

Nidderdale vicar sets new world record

The Rev Michael Sabell, has bettered the unusual world record he set 33 years ago.

Holy Trinity Church in Dacre Banks, was the setting for the successful record attempt, in which he signed The Bible for 14 hours.

The retired vicar, who is severely deaf, completed a ‘signathon’ over 14 days, in which he used sign language to read pages from the Old Testament in hour-long sessions.

Beating the world record he set in 1987 by two hours, The Rev Michael also raised funds to create a sign language version of The Bible.

Photograph of The Rev Michael Sabell with signathon supporters

The Rev Michael Sabell (centre) with supporters of his world record signathon attempt, including (right) the Mayor and Mayoress of Pateley Bridge, Cllr Mike and Dr Janet Holt. (Photographs courtesy of The Rev Alastair Ferneley)

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The Rev Alastair Ferneley, Vicar of Dacre with Hartwith & Darley with Thornthwaite, told the Stray Ferret:

“We were delighted to support him in his record attempt, which has raised hundreds of pounds that will go to the British Sign Language (BSL) Bible Translation Project.”

Rev Alastair, pointed out:

“Michael was originally planning to do 13 hours of signing over 13 days, but continued for an additional hour and extra day, to conclude the challenge on the 40th anniversary of his ordination.”

Parishioners were able to see the daily signing and among those to support the record attempt were the Mayor and Mayoress of Pateley Bridge Councillor Mike and Dr Janet Holt.

Cllr Holt, said:

“We would like to congratulate the Rev Michael for beating his own world record and, in the process, raising deaf awareness as well as money for the BSL Bible Translation Project.”

The project aims to produce the first real translation of The Bible from the Greek and Hebrew texts to BSL, using deaf presenters, Bible scholars and translation experts’

They will provide a video-based Bible in sign language, giving deaf people independent access to scripture.

Vicar’s world record attempt in Nidderdale church

Next month, a church in Nidderdale will, over 13 days, host an unusual world record attempt and fund raiser for deaf people.

The Rev Michael Sabell, a retired vicar who has been helping in the parish of Dacre with Hartwith & Darley with Thornthwaite, is doing a ‘signathon’ to raise deaf awareness and funds for a sign language translation of the Bible.

To claim the record, the vicar, who was born severely deaf, plans to do 13 hours of signing the Bible and is aiming to beat his own world record – set 33 years ago, when he signed non-stop for 12 hours.

Photograph of Rev Michael signing

The Rev Michael Sabell (photograph courtesy of the Church of England Diocese of Leeds)

However, his age will not permit that kind of marathon any more, so from Sunday, September 13, at Holy Trinity Church in Dacre, Rev Michael will do an hour of signing every day for 13 days – reading from the Old Testament.

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His record attempt is designed to raise awareness of the issues deaf people face, and help raise funds for the British Sign Language (BSL) Bible Translation Project.

The project aims to produce the first real translation of the Bible from the Greek and Hebrew texts to BSL using deaf presenters, Bible scholars and translation experts, to provide a video-based Bible in sign language for deaf people to have independent access to scripture.

The Rev Alastair Ferneley, Vicar of Dacre with Hartwith & Darley with Thornthwaite, said:

“I think it’s wonderful, and perhaps a move of the Holy Spirit, that Michael still feels fired up enough about this issue to want to do again what he did many years ago, to raise funds and awareness to support the deaf community.

“With his deafness and hesitant speech he has faced challenges many of us can only dimly understand, and yet he has done his best to serve Christ – sometimes ministering to the deaf community, sometimes in regular parish ministry.

“Unless you’re part of the deaf community you might not realise that there are a whole group of people, in our own country, in that community, who do not have a translation of the Bible in their first language.”

Anybody who would like if to support Rev Michael, is asked to contact Rev Alastair at irreverend@btinternet.com.