The pulpit squares and their stories:
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Catherine Malone Families These are the hands of my daughter Susan Hutton, Ian Burney, and their children Andrew (51/2 years) and Laura (11/2 years). They represent families. I feel God places us in families to discover who we are and what inner spark has been given to us. We learn first how to receive love and then how to give love, to love ourselves, to forgive ourselves and each other. Families are the laboratories used by God to forge us as loving vessels of the Holy Spirit. |
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Pat Davies This block is not perfect: just three crosses. |
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Carol Edgar God is a quilter As I was making this square it occurred to me that God is a quilter, too. I imagine she enjoys trying different combinations to find what works best. Often she works with what people might call leftovers or scraps, and in snatches of time. The work may not be perfectly symmetrical and there will be changes of direction, but the end result is always workable and touched with the elegance that is grace. And I think every quilter shares in the divine attribute of creativity. |
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Nicole Uzans For me, the bull is an image of power and confinement. In the years of my spiritual journey at St. John's, I have pushed against convention, injustice, inhumanity, and false teaching in the world and in the church. I sense in the community at St. John's, as in myself, an incredible inborn power that continually pushes against barriers to the full expression of our humanity. We strain for glimpses of God and we make pathways for God's movement amongst all people. |
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Jean Ash Take another's hand to let them know they are not alone. |
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Diana and Dennis Stimson As parents of two gay sons, we are doubly blessed. As members of St. John's, we are blessed with love and understanding and acceptance. It is so wonderful to be in a church where everyone is considered equal. We are proud to show our "pride colours" in God's house. |
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Carli Disano Feet are interesting too! |
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Paul Harvie In the hand of God the Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life, there is no distinction made regarding race, gender, sexual orientation, slave or master. God has created us all equal. St. John the Evangelist puts this into action. |
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Maura Beecher My children, Daniel and Bronwen, have never done the ordinary growing-up things the way their father and I expected. It was frustrating, until we realized that we had grown up as uniquely as they did. So in our family "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree", or simply "Apple tree" has come as a response to practically any stupid thing anybody has done. We're all part of the whole-each with our own unique gifts. "No [one] is an island; no [one] stands alone. Each is a part of the continent, a piece of the whole." |
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Adèle Finlayson The material is a remnant of my bedroom curtains in my new apartment. The four appliqués are expressions of God's blessings in my life. The buckle symbolizes both attachment and freedom. The heart represents the blessing of love in my life and in particular my beloved Carol. The musical note needs no explanation. The cat represents my darling pet Winks but also the blessings of nature and other animals. |
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