St Mark’s Kennington is a Church that has long sought to engage with many of the issues around Serious Youth Violence, and so we were glad to host an extraordinarily moving event showcasing remarkable works of art inspired by Michelangelo’s ‘Pieta’. The original ‘Pieta’ is a sculpture depicting Mary the mother of Jesus cradling her son’s crucified body after death, but students from different London schools had produced their own art to connect to their own context. The result was some stunning and thought provoking images. The winning artwork depicts Mary mourning her dead son on a bench in front of pillared buildings. For me, I could visualise this being on our very own doorstep, or in our Church garden – God comes and mourns with those who mourn, sharing first hand in grief.
The young artists interviewed by art expert, Rev Ayla Lapine, spoke of how their engagement with the project helped them understand the grief that God shares with those who are suddenly violently bereaved, and also how the presence of God in the mourning can bring hope.
The ‘Compassionate Communities’ organisation behind the Pieta project have produced helpful teaching and prayer resources for Churches faced with seeking to bring comfort to grieving young people. Please see the Compassionate Communities website.