Diversity
We celebrate diverse and marginalised voices as we engage with our context and times. We acknowledge privilege and seek to learn from those outside
Safe Space
We aim to create safe places for people to meet, support and encourage one another. This means trying our best to contain difference, whilst working for justice
Creative Hubs
As well as collaborating across disciplines, we are developing ways for artists of the same discipline to support each other.
Recent Blog Posts
- Lent day 7, Lord have mercyWhat does mercy look like? Who deserves it? Is there anyone who does not deserve it? Here is a song from our friends The Many
- Lent day 6, beyond these wallsToday we are delighted to share two poems by Polly Paton-Brown, whose work we intend to share with you via our podcast soon. Her spiritual journey has taken her into deep connection with the wild, Polly put these two poems together at a talk she gave recently, and we think they flow beautifully from yesterday’s post. The Call comes from beyond the stone wallsWalls that have the echoes of prayersWritten into themBeyond the carved imagesWhich moss and lichen reverence and tenderlywatch overThe call comesIn the harsh cry of the crowBeyond the boundaryInto the woodsWhere tumbled down wallsAre greened once againand the three leaved clover shows the Trinity’s face.Scrambling over mossy boulders and tangled tree rootsI sitBreathe in the PresenceYield to the washing of the rainThe benediction of the treesSister wind sighs over meSinging her hallelujahs‘Holly, Holy Holy is this place” I feel at peace here, amongst the treesSurrounded by ferns and birdsong.I feel called beyond the wallsAnd though my heart be touched by the carvings in stoneMy soul is called to something more ancient.My blood and cells recognise a kinship withthe greenwoodMy choir, the song of blackbird and wrenMy call to prayerThe beating of my own heart.
- Lent day 5, the feathered eucharist
This season of lent, in tradition, is about penitence on a journey towards the cross. For me, the meaning of this sentence has shifted considerably – away from the idea of purging of impurity in order to be acceptable to a judgemental god, towards alignment with the deepest, truest, most authentic part of what I am, which is grounded and has substance in the glorious divine. Penitence then becomes about noticing those things that obscure and stop me living towards that reality, both in myself and in recognising this in my human and non-human neighbours. This kind of penitence does nor demand purity or perfection, rather it seems to thrive most beautifully in brokenness – in the mess of shared humanity, not removed from it. One of the practices that helps many of us to engage with this reality is simply to go into wild places. There it feels possible to be alligned – to notice new connections – to that God who loves things by becoming them. This Sunday morning, I did just that. It was communion. Here is a short video and a poem from my trip. The feathered Eucharist Happy are those birds above who never go… - Lent day 4, Jesus is condemnedWe are grateful once again that we have been given permission to share work from our friends The Many, who define themselves like this; Drawing on indie pop and gospel influences, The Many makes music to help give voice to faith and doubt, questions and fears, laments and longings, music that speaks to a non-violent God, a Jesus who is with us and for us, and to a Spirit that can’t be easily defined or controlled. It’s music for a movement of resistance to hatred and division, for reconciliation and restoration, and music that always reminds us “we are on this earth to love.” These are our kind of people. Not content with making music alone, they also weave poetry with video and art, making powerful and beautiful combinations. One such is their stations of the cross resource. You can see the whole thing here, but we will be using some of them individually as this season of lent unfolds. Today our focus is on the first station of the cross, in which Jesus is condemned. The art above is by Daniel Callis (born in Long Beach, CA) is an artist and educator living in Southern California. The many offer this prayer as…
- Lent 3, waiting with Tim Watson
Today we are grateful to our friend Tim Watson for this stunning poem of anger and hope. Lenten Waiting 2025 We wait in the dark While tech bros and oligarchs Tear the world apart Ransoming nations For minerals and gold In a story so old It plays on repeat Century after century . We wait in the dark Marked by ash crosses Counting our losses as Yet another dream dies Another fire extinguishes With no sense we’ll survive . We wait in the dark Lighting candles in shadowed parks Taking night walks Looking for signs Reading – praying – hoping For something that will spark . We wait in the dark Terrified of the foundations we’ve laid Too ashamed to change our ways The trajectory stays the same: World-ending flames Unless Messiah comes to save us and Lift us out of the mire Take us to some place higher Where a deity with beard will draw near . We wait in the dark Too sated to challenge the narrative To break up the systems of greed To turn to something more earthy With Messiah on hands and knees Planting seeds Whispering about the dark Never extinguishing light No matter the… - Lent day 2. Hold on…
Hold on. Hold on. My dear friend, hear comes the dawn. I think I will always remember the first time I saw this little clip of people singing on the streets of a besieged Minneapolis, where – in the face of a wave of heavy handed, violent and aggressive arrests of people of colour – ordinary Minnesotans came together to walk the streets and… sing. In the face of oppression, people have always sung songs. Think of the American deep south during the Jim Crow era, or Apartheid South Africa, or the pop culture of East Berlin. How else can those without power once more express the power of community and connection? Hold on my dear friends. Here comes the dawn.
What we do
- Community podcasts exploring art and spirituality
- Connecting and supporting creatives
- Artistic collaboration
- Creative workshops and meetups
- Digital spaces for collaboration and connection
- Publishing
Tune Into Our Latest Podcast!
Chris Goan
Community Organiser and Podcast Host
Chris is a half-English, half-Irish man who lives in Scotland. He is the author of several books of poetry and, after a first career in social work and mental health services, now makes a living through making ceramic art. He also writes a long running eclectic blog called this fragile tent. Chris has a long history with Proost as a poet and the editor of a couple of poetry collections. Chris is married to Michaela and has two adult children and now a little grandchild. He also grows vegetables.
Rob Hewlett
Community Organiser and Podcast Host
Rob first came across Proost many years ago through the Labyrinth set. Sometime in 2023, he started making tentative enquiries as to whether Proost had any life left in it, and once he started chatting more earnestly with Chris, things started to develop.
He is married, lives in Jersey and has two grown-up sons. He works in a second-hand shop for a social enterprise providing work and training for people with disabilities and long-term health conditions.
Cameron Preece
Community Organiser and Online Community Facilitator
Cameron is the Admissions and Recruitment Coordinator at Nazarene Theological College and a passionate poet based in Manchester. With a BA and MA in Theology, he has a keen interest in the intersection between poetry and prayer and the Hebrew poetry of the Bible. He loves playing piano, photography, anything to do with organising and tidying, and tinkering with computers. Cameron joined the Proost community after feeling seen by the podcast and has a deep curiosity about how poetry can inform and transform spiritual experience.
Looking for ways to explore creative spirituality?
Proost is a creative community that explores and expresses the divine through art—whether in words, visuals, music, or beyond.
We embrace imagination as a way to encounter the sacred and the good, crafting spaces where faith, justice, and creativity meet.
