ResSource is an independent company developing resources to support Catholic education, in the form of publications, short courses, pilgrimages, and art classes.

Directors: David Clayton, Stratford Caldecott, Léonie Caldecott, Simon Savage

PRESS RELEASE 24 November, 2007

A new Catholic publisher in Oxford

ResSource is currently devoting most of its energy to the development of a book publishing programme, beginning with an innovative series of colouring books for children.  These books, starting with a guide to the Mass, closely followed by an introduction to Angels, with many others to follow including a book on Reconciliation and Adoration, will build up over the coming months into an increasingly important resource for parents, teachers, and parishes.

The best way to kindle a child's enthusiasm for the faith is through imagination, symbolism, beauty, and active engagement - these colouring books are designed to do just that.  The project, called 'Second Spring Catechesis', is developed in association with Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in New Hampshire, the publishers of the Second Spring journal.  The books are available directly from us, or from the College if you are ordering in North America.  Go to our Publishing page for further details.

PRESS RELEASE 23 April, 2007

Encouraging Hope when all around are giving up

All too often Christians take a dim view of the future. Church attendance in England is in decline and vocations at an all-time low. But Pope John Paul II prophesied a NEW SPRINGTIME of the faith in the 21st century.

Inspired by this hope, a group of Catholics have launched ResSource, an Oxford-based project to enable Christians to engage positively with the culture we live in and recover their lost creative edge.

ResSource offers exciting short educational courses on faith, culture and liturgy. It also includes an Art school linked to a brand-new course on Art, Beauty and Inspiration at the Maryvale Institute in Birmingham. ResSource teaches neglected techniques in naturalistic drawing, iconography and geometrical design.

ResSource grew out of the international cultural review Second Spring, named after a famous sermon by Cardinal Newman. Some courses are held in St Benet’s Hall, an Oxford College run by the Ampleforth Benedictines. Founders of ResSource include the writers Stratford and Léonie Caldecott and the artist David Clayton.

ResSource also publishes The Mass Illustrated for Children.

For further details explore this site or write to
6a King St, Oxford OX2 6DF, UK
+44 (0)1865 552 154.

FUTURE

We want gradually to extend our present educational work in several directions. One of these directions is towards philosophy, via the history of ideas. Everyone – and every artist – has a philosophy that helps to shape or even determine his or her work, but this is often unconscious. We want to bring it to awareness, to help our students develop a clearer understanding of what they are trying to do. This will help aspiring artists to gain access to levels of inspiration they would not before have thought possible.

Another obvious direction is towards understanding the religious meaning of art, especially sacred art. Not all art is religious, but most of Europe’s great paintings, sculptures, music, and buildings have been influenced or inspired by the Christian faith. Iconography in particular, as well as church music beginning with plainchant, are intimately bound up with the liturgy. We want to explore this relationship – and indeed the Liturgy in general, and its implications for the way we live in society.

Our educational objectives, therefore, are much broader than the practical training we will provide in particular traditions of art. We want to create an opportunity for a cultural and spiritual education in the heart of Europe, open to the world and rooted in tradition.

In this formative phase of our development, we are especially interested in your response to our initiatives and courses, and any suggestions for improvement. An online discussion forum is already available here.

BENEFACTORS AND SPONSORS

ResSource is a commercial company and needs to make a profit to stay in business, but we are very keen to help people to attend our courses and classes that would normally not be able to afford to do so. In order to assist our poorer students and homeschooling families that wish to send children to Oxford or Europe as part of their education, we are looking for corporate and individual sponsors and charitable foundations that can help to establish grants and fellowships for worthy cases.

If you think you can help support our work in this way, we would love to hear from you.

6a King St, Oxford OX2 6DF, UK