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White Stole I
Music
The vertical lines of the design represent a music stave as music has been a very important part of his life. The notes in the lower quadrant are found in the second bar of the chorus of the Dream of Gerontius – tenor line on the left hand side and soprano on the right hand side.
Water
Water has had a significant impact on the priest’s life. Not long after his wife sailed round the coast in difficult weather, he had the chance to put himself to the test, with other clergy, on a sailing retreat through the Faramir Sailing Trust. This has been an experience that has brought him very close to nature and its’ power, and also very close to God.
In spiritual terms, water represents the Holy Spirit.
The top quadrant shows a spring of water incorporated into the stave, showing how the Holy Spirit connects with all parts of life. The stave is stitched in gold and blues; gold to represent the glorious singing of praises to God and blue to represent water. The second quadrant depicts a sailing ship to represent experiences that the priest and his wife have participated in, both separately and together.
New Opportunities
There were unexpected and sudden opening of boundaries that accompanied moving to a new parish – the influence of evangelical worship on high church patterns; the pioneering development of shared ministry within the diocese; the privilege of seeing the orthodox church in Romania blossom as the lid of repression was released after the fall of communism.
The Spirit of the risen Christ is common to all. The opening of these and other new boundaries, are represented in the third quadrant by the phoenix rising from the ashes on the left hand side and a dove to represent the descending Holy Spirit on the right hand side.
Materials and threads
The stole is of linen union in ‘natural’ white. Linen union has a linen warp and a cotton weft. The embroidery is worked in silk and gold. This combination of natural materials complete the stole, just as Christ is essential to complete the human condition. This stole will be used at celebratory times when people are praising God and thanking Him for making man, (and woman) complete in Him.
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