Westminster Abbey and Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The Abbey is no longer open for public worship, general visiting or private prayer. Meanwhile, the community of Abbey clergy, privately and following guidance given, will sustain the worship of a building that has been a witness to God’s grace and glory for over a thousand years.
Find out morePast Institute lectures
Art, Imagination and Public Service
Our beliefs, perceptions and feelings determine the way we see the world and how we respond to it. They sit underneath our decisions and actions, influencing them even as we seek to apply reason and rationality to all we do. They are subtle policy drivers.
Art and imagination speak to our inner selves more powerfully than evidence and analysis, so would a dialogue with the arts help policy makers? Would it usefully soften an overly utilitarian approach to public service, or would it only undermine tried and tested ways of working, replacing them with nothing constructive?
Videos
One People Oration: Faith at the Heart of Nations? Reflections on the future of church and state
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster, and Paul Baumann, Receiver General, Westminster Abbey
Westminster Dialogue: Envisioning Justice the painter and the judge
Hughie O'Donoghue, artist, and Baroness Hale, President of the Supreme Court
Westminster Dialogue: Bureaucracy should be beautiful: the musician and the permanent secretary
James O'Donnell, Organist and Master of the Choristers, Westminster Abbey, and Clare Moriarty, Permanent Secretary for the Department for Exiting the European Union
Westminster Dialogue: Ruling from the Heart: The Poet and the Cabinet Minister
Micheal O’Siadhail, poet, and Lord Blunkett, former Cabinet Minister
Audio
Audio recordings of the Art, Imagination and Public Service events are available on AudioBoom (external website).
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The Shrine of St Edward the Confessor is one of the most powerful features of the Abbey. To stand in the presence of a man who is both a saint and a monarch is awe-inspiring.
