The joy of organising Spiritfest
Celebrating arts in context of faith
Maggy Clarke is convener of the Spiritfest working group and, like all the other members, is a volunteer.
Unlike most of the others, however, she is retired, and can devote more time to Spiritfest, which started in the late 1990s to celebrate the arts in the context of the Christian faith.
Since then, it has grown enormously, and has become ecumenical, with the following churches involved: Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Dutch Reformed, Every Nation, as well as the interdenominational Christians@Rhodes.
What do you do?
I call and chair meetings of our working group, which meets approximately once a month throughout the year. Between meetings I liaise with members and participants from around town, the country and even overseas. I also head up the marketing for Spiritfest, which involves designing print and online advertising material, administering a web page, and co-administering a Facebook page, and mentoring a student journalist who writes articles for us.
Five words that sum up your job:
Varied, complicated, creative, rewarding, inspiring.
What makes convening Spiritfest difficult or different: Different because I work with a wonderful group of dedicated volunteers, a diverse group in terms of age, colour, denomination and artistic talents. Difficult mainly when the pressure is on – and especially if some participant drops out at short notice!
Most popular event at Spiritfest:
I can tell you after the festival! Each year is different.
Your favourite part of Spiritfest:
The music, especially in the context of worship (I sing in the Cathedral choir). And it is a great feeling when all the preparation is over and the Festival begins. Then, as long as everything goes smoothly, I can relax and enjoy Spiritfest events, prepared and hosted by different members of the Spiritfest team.
This year, Spiritfest includes nine musical events, three lectures, two book launches, and five exhibitions, besides an Open Mic session, sessions of meditation and guided prayer, and special services in five different churches, mostly on Sundays but also on weekdays. “So keeping track of all that sometimes feels like a juggling act!”
And juggle she does, as one of the Spiritfest artists whispered to Spotlight: “Her unassuming humility and attention to detail and IT skills and graphic artist abilities and superb command of language and impartial attitude to widely different people are also a small part of what she brings to Spiritfest.”
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