If you look on the Christleton website you will find the pictures Richard so kindly took of the Flower Service which capture something of the atmosphere in that act of worship. I suppose that using the theme of the Rainbow was asking for mixed weather which duly came so that, sadly, we could not be outdoors. But there was plenty of sunshine and colour in Church, and plenty to think and pray about through this Summer.
We introduced the service by listening to, and acting out, these words of Desmond Tutu, which form a preface to his book: ‘The Rainbow People of God:’
“At home in South Africa I have sometimes said in big meetings, where you have black and white together: ‘Raise your hands!’ Then I’ve said: ‘move your hands,’ and I’ve said: ‘look at your hands – different colours, representing different people. You are the Rainbow People of God.’ And you remember the rainbow in the Bible is the sign of peace. The rainbow is the sign of prosperity. We want peace, prosperity and justice and we can have it when all the people of God, the rainbow people of God, work together.”
As we worshipped in Church that morning, the Church was full of people of all ages and backgrounds and joined with the rainbow people of God through the whole world, by the Holy Spirit – a real sense of one family.
Then our Rose Queen, Elizabeth Arden, read the passage from the end of the story of Noah and the flood (Genesis 6-9). After the flood God promises:- “As long as the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” Then he says that the rainbow in the sky is to be a sign for ever of the promise he has made.
Through he service the rainbow theme developed in such richness, variety and colour that it was difficult to keep up with! That is the very nature of god’s giving to us, if only we have eyes to see. It is a modern heresy that we are all the same. The truth is that each one of us is unique and God creates in diversity. It is only when we come together that we see the rainbow – the whole spectrum of God’s creative powers. So seven people each, in turn, brought up a colour of the rainbow in a long cloth and talked about the gifts of that colour and their significance. And it took off! It was amazing how each person gave something of themselves in developing the theme so that whole new vistas were opened up. A simple talk became proof in itself of the richness and diversity of God’s gifts in creation and in each of his people.
Each colour of the rainbow was linked with a continent:- red for Africa with its dusty roads; orange for Asia with its saffron spices: yellow for Europe with the Canary Islands: green for South America with its rain forests: blue for Antarctica with its deep blue sea and ice: indigo for Australasia with its blue-purple vistas of Blue mountains: violet for North America with its purple amethyst. So the seven swathes of coloured cloth were woven together. This weaving showed not only how we are bound together as god’s wonderful world, but how we are stronger together than apart – our relationships weave a pattern in life linking us together in a rich mosaic.
At the end of the service the children were given different coloured balloons and the flowers – so many, and in such a rich variety of type and colour, were blessed. These were placed on the graves of those whose lives are linked with ours in the Communion of Saints, and who brought colour, light and laughter in earlier generations and passed on the faith to us. We are reminded that the rainbow is a complete circle, and it is only the horizon which prevents us from seeing it whole. The circle is complete when seen from Heaven.
During a quiet time, as we heard Eva Cassidy sing:- “Somewhere over the rainbow”, coloured ribbons were woven into baskets to link our prayers together and to God. Peter Dodds led us in the prayer below, which he had written for the service. Our thanks to everyone who helped bring the Rainbow together in such a wonderful way.
Yours sincerely
