Additionally we had symbols, which were placed on the Communion Table. We also had a large red banner running down the pillar near the Table, depicting shearwater birds taking off (or landing). We have a large royal conch shell on our font which is filled with water for our baptisms. I wore my Baptismal Stole which depicts calm and stormy waters on each side.
One lesson I learnt from this unique experience was the importance of having a service once a year that celebrates the place where our congregation lives. This service ended up for me to be quite different from Harvest or Spring Thanksgivings, which usually emphasise the beauty of God in Creation, the coming of spring, and thanksgiving for the harvest of sown fields. (or "Skills Sundays" and Mission Serivice that emphasise congregational growth or local mission.)
In focusing on the geography and locality of our local community I was able to draw upon images of the place where our people lived, eg. "on an island", not just Phillip Island, but that "island in the Pacific" called Australia, and that "island in the Universe" called planet earth. My choice of scriptures (Psalm 8, Genesis 1, Jeremiah 38, and Psalm 104) led me on a journey that caused me to consider John Dunn's essay ("No Man is an Island") and the irony that Eden was an "island oasis surrounded by sand!"
(I was also led to consider the theology behind Colossians 1 in the New Testament, which I incorporated in my preaching, but we had already two many OT lessons chosen for reading in Church!)
I could imagine that if I had a "celebration of life in the Blue Mountains" or "a celebration of life living under St. Helens", or a celebration of life in whatever city or village we live in (eg. Columbus Ohio, London, Canberra, Johannesburg, etc.), I would have come up with a completely different set of imagery drawn from the face of the community and locality, and drawn from the face of the scriptures.
It was a truly remarkable day. BTW, in the afternoon, our Inter-Church Council had a "Blessing of the Boats Service" at the local Yacht Club for the opening of their season. The opening prayers we used in the morning fitted in with the "Yachtie Service" we had in the afternoon
Christ's Blessings on Reformation Sunday and All Saints Today.
John Maynard, St. John's Uniting Church Cowes, Victoria, Australia
<from an island somewhere downunder>
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