A new altar frontal and banners have been introduced at St John's Seven Kings. These have been made by the Church's banner-making group to a design that I prepared.
The frontal and banners are intended to remind us, as the congregation at St John's, that, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we are the body, hands and feet of Christ in our world today. To signify this idea, the altar frontal and two lectern banners feature the outline of a dove, a symbol of the Holy Spirit, each of which contains a photo of the St John's congregation.
On the altar frontal, the influence of the Holy Spirit through the Church congregation is signified in wavy lines which are like sound waves rippling outwards from the image of the dove. Two banners hang on either side of the altar. The first uses a phrase from 1 Corinthians 12. 27 to remind us that 'We are the Body of Christ,' while the second features a contemporary paraphrase in stating that 'We are the hands and feet of God.'
We are very grateful to the banner-making group for their time and skill in preparing this new set of banners and frontal. Their work is not simply decorative but is also a vibrant symbol of the kind of Church that God wants us to be. The photograph included in the outline of the dove shows our diverse congregation here at St John's and it is through our diversity of gifts, personalities, cultures and networks that the Holy Spirit works to empower us together to do the things that Jesus did; serving, praying, teaching, healing and, ultimately sacrificing himself for others. These banners are, therefore, an encouragement because they say that God is at work in and through us but are also a challenge as they call us to become more like Jesus in the things we do together in and for our local community.
The frontal and banners are intended to remind us, as the congregation at St John's, that, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we are the body, hands and feet of Christ in our world today. To signify this idea, the altar frontal and two lectern banners feature the outline of a dove, a symbol of the Holy Spirit, each of which contains a photo of the St John's congregation.
On the altar frontal, the influence of the Holy Spirit through the Church congregation is signified in wavy lines which are like sound waves rippling outwards from the image of the dove. Two banners hang on either side of the altar. The first uses a phrase from 1 Corinthians 12. 27 to remind us that 'We are the Body of Christ,' while the second features a contemporary paraphrase in stating that 'We are the hands and feet of God.'
We are very grateful to the banner-making group for their time and skill in preparing this new set of banners and frontal. Their work is not simply decorative but is also a vibrant symbol of the kind of Church that God wants us to be. The photograph included in the outline of the dove shows our diverse congregation here at St John's and it is through our diversity of gifts, personalities, cultures and networks that the Holy Spirit works to empower us together to do the things that Jesus did; serving, praying, teaching, healing and, ultimately sacrificing himself for others. These banners are, therefore, an encouragement because they say that God is at work in and through us but are also a challenge as they call us to become more like Jesus in the things we do together in and for our local community.
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Bruce Springsteen - We Shall Overcome.
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