We run an annual festival weekend in the autumn which brings people together from all over the country to share experiences, explore creativity, develop ideas about how the arts can be used in worship, and to worship together.

ArtServe magazine is a key part of what we do. It enables members to share ideas and experiences with others, and provides them with encouragement and advice.

Anyone can sign up to receive our regular email newsletter.

ArtServe awards recognise contributions made to the life of the church through the arts. They can be for long service, for a special occasion, or for someone who has used the arts to encourage others to develop their faith.

We can provide financial support via the Freeman Trust in the form of grants to young people (though adults are not excluded) for tuition which helps them to contribute to music in worship.

Our Facebook Page features topics of interest to members and non-members alike – be sure to like it!

Our Members Facebook Group enables members to meet and greet online, share ideas and experiences, and support each other.

Online members’ chat – members can meet one another informally at 4.30 pm on the 14th of each month (or if the 14th is a Sunday, at 7.30pm on Monday 15th). The Zoom link is published on the Members Facebook Group, or members can request an invitation by emailing .

This website aims to provide you with encouragement, tips and advice. Members can log in and access everything on the site, though guests should still find plenty to interest and stimulate them.

We are a membership organisation and almost all our income comes from our members' subscriptions. For details of how to join, go to becoming a member. 

Our magazine, entitled simply ArtServe, is published three or four times a year. Here you can see the contents of each issue – click the thumbnails to see larger images. Members can download previous issues. The editor can be contacted at .

The annual festival weekend is our main event of the year, and is usually held in October.

In previous years the venue alternated between The Hayes Conference Centre in Derbyshire and High Leigh Conference Centre in Hertfordshire. However, we have found it increasingly difficult to keep costs down at these venues, and so we have decided to hold the 2024 festival at Kents Hill Park Training & Conference Centre in Milton Keynes.

Future weekends

Friday 18 – Sunday 20 October 2024 at Kents Hill Park.


The Freeman (Methodist) Music Trust makes grants, particularly for tuition for organists, other instrumentalists and singers, who contribute to music in worship. While ArtServe is an ecumenical organisation, this trust is at present limited to Methodist churches. People of any age are encouraged to apply, although the trustees especially welcome younger applicants.

In her editorial for issue six of ArtServe magazine, Richenda Milton-Daws explained what drew her to ArtServe and how she now sees its role.

‘Are you passionate about the creative arts? Do you want to explore how they can be used in worship?‘ Reading that in an advertisement for potential trustees was what prompted me to put myself forward. Involvement with ArtServe, I thought, would be a way to bring ‘the arts’ into corporate acts of worship. Wouldn't it?

One day events across the country are part of what ArtServe does – a way of encouraging people from different regions to come together, share ideas and experiences, and experience creativity as a natural part of worship. We have organised or co-organised successful events as far afield as Bristol and Thetford, Chislehurst and Evesham, Swansea and Diss.

ArtServe Belief Statement as at Autumn 2012

We believe creativity transforms people and communities:

Our mission statement reflects our aims and objectives.