Images and Signs of our Community
It is often better to show rather than tell
The Lampedusa Cross
Members of the Nazareth Community wear the Lampedusa Cross. They are made from the timber of an unmarked vessel that sank off the coast of Lampedusa carrying migrants from Eritrea and Somalia on 3 October 2013, in which 360 lost their lives and 150 were rescued. A carpenter from Lampedusa, Mr Tuccio, made the crosses as a sign of “God’s love revealed in the suffering of the cross.” This cross has become for members of the community a sign of solidarity in struggle and a reminder that we are united in Christ with all who are refugees or displaced from around the world by Christ the refugee. Our community seeks to be a place of safety and sanctuary.
So many times I reach for it
Feel lost when it is lost
Yellows, blues, crimson-blood reds and flaking whites
Paint of a clinker-built boat, planks and gunnel
Scraped, grazed, flaking, torn,
Found
Whittled, jointed, joined
Above to below
Driftwood to life wood
Reaching out to hold all hands…
Rising from beneath waves flooded with light
A cross that cannot sink
The broken boat that takes us home
Richard Carter
Revd Richard Carter at the Exhibition of Yoko Ono at the Tate Modern
The Lime Leaf
The Lime Leaf is shaped like a heart, a symbol of love. It is delicate, and as it weathers and dissolves, its pattern becomes more intricate, beautiful and unique. As the fallen leaf ages, the light shines through its holes and tears. We too as a community look towards the wounded places, the holes in our lives – for it is there the light shines through. This fragility, this breaking down, is not a sign of shame but of our beauty through which we see God beyond.
The Olive Tree
The Olive Tree has become another sign of our life in the Nazareth Community.
The olive is used for:
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Eating
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Washing
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Healing
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Lighting
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Anointing
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As a sign of salvation
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As a sign of peace
The Mercy of God.
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Nourishing
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Cleansing
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Restoring
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Illuminating
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Blessing
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Saving
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Peacemaking
Our community should be like the olive tree.
The Trellis
We are still growing and the trellis gives us the guidance and framework for growth, without forcing or controlling. The trellis image inspires support, guidance and space. You can see through it, plants grow on it in different directions and they intertwine, their shoots weave together, enhancing and strengthening each other. The trellis hosts an exuberant mixture of plants growing together – holding fast to the trellis with space to breathe and produce richness and beauty.
