Cornerstone No. 194, page 15
Inside these boxes are power cables, and telephone communication cables.
They carry voices all around the world, bringing people together. All kinds of
messages are relayed through these boxes. The church too is also a place
where different voices can be heard and connected to each other. It is also a
place where everyone can find a connection to the One who made them and
loves them. The boxes contain energy cables that light up the whole area. The
church is also a kind of energy box where people can discover a new power to
live.
Now the boxes have been covered with tartan, which is a symbol of Scotland,
but the tartan can also be interpreted as a symbol of peacemaking. It is where
crossed lines come together and create order and beauty.
So we in the church are called to be the peacemakers in our families and
communities. I wondered what voices we could attach to the tartan? We could
perhaps work on this as a congregational exercise?
The point I'm trying to make is this: the Kirk Session saw something that was
detrimental to the good of the community and also detracting from the 140
years of ministry. Something outside their door that they felt dishonoured God
and the people, so they stood up to be counted and look what has happened.
A beautiful result. Now it is over to you as a congregation to begin to put your
own meaning into the tartan you've been given. And who knows the next time
I'm with you, I might be drinking out of a tartan mug, or wrapping a gift in Scots
Kirk Lausanne's tartan paper. It's over to you to start making your tartan stand
for something. So here are some questions to get you started.
1. What does the green background stand for?
2. What about the dark blue stripes?
3. What about the black grids that cover the
two boxes?
4. Then the red lines?
5. The white lines?
6. The gold lines?
7. The coffee coloured lines?
8. The light green lines?
9. The grey lines?
10. The light blue lines?
So how do we turn crossed lines into God's design? All of these lines speak of,
and carry a message of hope, healing, freedom, wisdom and kindness. We just
need to make the links. Surely we are longing to bless and encourage every
conversation that goes through the junction box, to be the one that brings
health and healing to the community and bring glory of God.
Albert Bogle