Coat of Hopes

I have to admit that I hadn't heard of this project before I attended an event at St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral. I'll quote from the project's website to explain it:

“The Coat of Hopes is a patchwork pilgrim coat, made, worn and walked by hundreds of people over hundreds of miles from Newhaven on the south coast of England to the gates of COP 26, the UN climate summit, in Glasgow autumn 2021. The coat is made up of pieces of blanket into which have been sewn or otherwise marked, the griefs, remembrances, prayers and hopes of people along its route and beyond.”
 
L and I got to try on the coat which is very heavy, and you need two people to carry the train if you’re going to move about. The coat is at St Mary's until 27th August and you too can try it on it you want to.
 
The event was a discussion entitled “Public Liturgy: Crisis or Opportunity with Jonathan Baker, artist in residence at St Mary’s, Barbara Keal, the initiator and co-maker of the Coat of Hopes (she is wearing the coat in this photo) and Rev Dr Marion Chatterley, vice-provost at the cathedral. It explored the relationship between art, craft and public liturgy. I was there because of L who had spotted it online and it sounded intriguing, which it was! We were the only two at the discussion who didn’t have any connection with the cathedral. We later saw a short film about the coat which gave more background. Altogether it was fascinating and is probably the most way-out thing I will see at the festival this summer.