Mark Baldwin-Smith icon Mark Baldwin-Smith

About

Called to hold faith and craft together

I am a pilgrim of words, symbols, and sacrament—walking a path where poetry, prayer, and design entwine. My life is rooted in Christ, yet open to the echoes of wisdom scattered through creation. I write and build to trace the outlines of a sacred history: exile and return, death and renewal, ordinary work suffused with the radiance of grace.

Writer Minister Designer
Cambridge, UK Formation & discipleship Data storytelling

A vocation of integration

My work is an offering of imagination and craft. I build tools that help communities see themselves more clearly, weaving numbers into stories, data into living maps, and projects into places of belonging. The dashboards, digital spaces, and ecosystems I shape are measured not only by efficiency but also by beauty. I believe clarity and wonder belong together—that even the most practical labour can be an icon of a higher order.

Between spirit and craft I search for integration: a life where creativity serves community, where faith sparks vision, and where friendship is celebrated in poems, images, and songs. Every thread—whether a fractal image, a line of verse, a prayer, or an application—is bound by a single desire: to reflect the Logos, the living Word, in patterns of wisdom, joy, and renewal.

Practices that sustain me

I begin with rhythms of prayer and listening, crafting space to welcome the Spirit before touching code or canvas. Lectio divina, morning office, and regular retreats keep my imagination rooted in Scripture and tradition. Alongside them, I draw maps, sketch flows, and write speculative drafts to test how an idea might bless the people it is meant to serve.

  • Spiritual direction and accompaniment for emerging leaders.
  • Collaborative design sprints that unite creatives, clergy, and analysts.
  • Workshops where poetry and prototyping teach teams to listen deeply.

Guiding convictions

  • Contemplative presence

    I begin with prayer and silence so that every project is anchored in attentive listening.

  • Craft with consequence

    I pursue design and data work that dignifies people, clarifies complex stories, and serves the flourishing of the Church.

  • Hospitality of language

    Words should invite, console, and challenge. Poetry and prose become rooms where others can rest and be renewed.

Current work

Season of renewal

I serve communities in Cambridge and beyond through ministry, discipleship, and digital strategy. I collaborate with churches and organisations to cultivate rhythms of prayer, design formative experiences, and craft tools that illuminate what God is doing among us.

"The threads of my work—poems, prayers, technology, friendships—are all ways of saying yes to the call of Christ."