THE COMMUNION TABLE COVER An article by the artist, Rosie Furlong who created the cover. She explains the reasoning and symbolism connected with the communion table cover:
Chrissie White (Head of Textiles at the Glasgow School of Art and Member of the Church's Committee on Artistic Matters) suggested that there was no need to make the cloth match the pulpit full, nor indeed was there any need to make each end the same. When she saw my first sketches, she approved in principle, but thought I should be less formal in my approach. She also felt that I ought to stress the Celtic Art theme a little more. With this liberating advice, I got on with the task.
Firstly, as to theme, I took the communion itself as my starting-point -the commemoration of the Last Supper with the Bread and Wine symbolising the Body and Blood of Christ, and Life Everlasting.
On one side I have represented the Bread or Body of Christ with a sheaf of corn, done appropriately in gold work. The basic shape is taken from a Celtic motif, where spirals double back on themselves in a point. This influenced the final shape of the wheat/corn sheaf. I felt also a more rounded form would have been too mushroomlike; the pointed form, being more treelike, is reminiscent of the Tree of Life. (There are also underlying subtexts Bread being the Staff of Life, leading on to the rod and staff of the 23'd Psalm. The other, more pagan aspect, is the resemblance - unlooked-for, I assure you - to the ace of spades, which itself is a highly formalised version of a sword. The sword of truth, maybe: a motif in which Mr Lamb had expressed an interest. I know that this is all semantics, but there is a connection of sorts!)
The sheaf is bound with a three-way plait, itself a theme in Celtic art, and symbolic of the Trinity. The ears of grain are a decorative representation of wheat, oats, rice and barley, to symbolise the staple grains grown in different parts of the world, though some, like maize, sorghum, buckwheat, also widely grown, are missing. I felt a selection would have to represent the whole. The undeniable message is that Christ's sacrifice was for all people, whoever and wherever they may be.
This central motif is bounded by a wreath of flowers, particularly those associated with cornfields, such as cornflower, corn poppy, etc. These had a symbolic meaning for me apart from having 'corn' in their names. I'll explain further in the next paragraph. Others have been included because they are mentioned in the Bible, sometimes by Christ himself. Finally, some have been included because they have Biblical-sounding names, such as Jacob's Ladder or St John's Wort. And so, clockwise:
1Rose - Rose of Sharon - I don't know if the flower mentioned in the psalm is indeed either of these, but both are included for their colour and beauty if nothing else. However, the wild Hedge Rose is particularly representative of Christ's Life, which was beautiful but fleeting. Though surrounded by fierce prickles and thorns, He left a lasting legacy in the shape of blood-red hips.
2Purple Vetch - the royal colour, but also a reminder of bitter herbs. The tendrils symbolise the lashes of His tormentors. 3Flax - blue flowers are always a symbol of heaven, but mainly they remind us of His winding cloth made of linen and how He rose from the dead.
4Corn Marigold - it's all in the name, isn't it? It is also a healing herb.
5Corn Cockle - has a wonderful colour and though the connection is merely in the name, pilgrims wore cockle badges, did they not?
6Jacob's Ladder - points back to the old Bible story.
7Anemone (Pasque Flower) - this is mentioned by Christ himself, some think, as the Lily of the Field. This flower is itself a symbol of Easter and of Christ's Passion.
8Corn Poppy - a potent symbol of sacrifice.
9Star of Bethlehem - if one little flower could be taken to symbolise Christ, this could be it, recalling the old sweet story.
10Mortagnon Lily - perhaps this really was the flower He was talking about, so I've included it, just in case!
11St John's Wort - Tutsan - heal all, symbolising Christ the Healer, foretold by John.
12Corn Mint - another herb.
13Mustard - from a small seed ...
14Field Buttercup - beautiful, golden and tenacious. One of the most widespread of wild flowers. I once received a card of pressed flowers from the Holy Land, among which were buttercups. I like to think of Him walking among them.
15Corn Camomile - another healing herb.
16Field Pansy - heart's ease: we all need that!
17Field Bindweed - for His bonds.
18Cornflower - just for the heavenly blue.
19Corn Spinney - just because it's little and insignificant; like the sparrow, it is not forgotten.
20Thistles - as mentioned in parables, but mainly for the Scottish connection.
21Shepherd's Purse - He was a Shepherd and He told us to render unto Caesar that which was Caesar's.
The other end of the cloth represents Christ's Blood and the wine, in the form of a chalice, which I have worked in silver, since this creates a contrast, and it also represents the 'Water of Life.' To reinforce this, the stem of the chalice is a fountain and could be thought of as the fount of Knowledge or of Life. The spirals bring to the fore the Celtic motif again and the leaping fish is Christ himself, in the secret symbol.
Here, too, the wreath theme is repeated, but this one represents the fruits of the earth, particularly those which can be used to make beverages (though not all), prime amongst which is:
1Grape vine - this is of primary importance in the symbolism of communion.
2Passion Flower - the story I was told was that the whole plant symbolises Christ's Passion in that the tri-form pistil indicates the trinity; the five stamens are the five wounds of Christ; the purplish corolla is his crown of thorns; the pale sepals, which vary in number, so I believe, between ten and twelve, are taken to be the apostles, with or without Judas and/or Peter. The twining tendrils are the whips and bonds and the palmate leaves are hands that were laid upon Him.
3The Blackthorn - if ever I visualised what would be used to make His crown of thorns, this to me is the one plant, with its vicious long thorns, its pure white flowers and bitter fruit, which, incidentally, turns gin the colour of blood.
4Fig - mentioned again and again in the Bible. I included it for its fruitfulness. I seem to remember a parable in which the barren fig tree would be spared if it produced as much as a single fruit, which I have taken to represent Sarah, the mother of the line…
5Pomegranates - fruit like drops of blood; how the children of Israel sighed for them.
6Orange - evergreen, with sweetly scented flowers that are symbols of purity, its fruit golden and wholesome.
7Rowan - of course!
8Olive - what can I say?
9Apple - the child of the north: if you can't make wine, make cider. No wonder it was the downfall of mankind. This is the start of it all and why eventually we had to be saved by His sacrifice.
THE PULPIT FALL A personal account by Mrs Rosie Furlong, D.A. who (with suggestions from the Kirk Session Committee and the family of the late Mrs. Mary Anderson who met all the costs and with the guidance and help from MissChrissie White, D.A., Head of Textiles at the Glasgow School of Art and member of the Church's Committee on Artistic Matters) designed and made the Pulpit Fall dedicated on the 28th February, 1999.
“When I was asked to present a design for the Pulpit Fall for the church I was honoured and intrigued - pleased because Mr. and Mrs. Jackson were work colleagues and I felt there was a link there, though I had never met Mrs. Anderson herself - excited by the challenge it presented, especially as I had never done anything as ambitious as this before. I knew nothing at all about St. Margaret of Antioch, and as for having the design vetted by the Church of Scotland Artistic Committee, this was a complete surprise. I had supposed that once the designs had been passed by the congregation it was simply a matter of starting on the Project. After my basic credentials had been found acceptable by the powers that be in "Embro", I gained several pieces of valuable advice. It became a severely steep learning curve for me.
At this point I bought a book on the Saints, which fortuitously fell open at the very page .
But after consulting with Miss Chrissie White, I found ideas starting to evolve, so many in fact that at one stage I ran out of big sheets of paper and was reduced to using newspaper pages just to get down large scale ideas and variations before they got lost in a limbo of memory. I knew the whole design was going to have to be colourful, not so much as to compete with the wonderful stained glass windows in the church, but at least to hold its own. I was determined that it was to appear glorious. Turquoise blue seemed an appropriate background colour especially as I was not required to abide by any of the four seasonal colours. That was the first decision made.
The cross of St. Margaret itself has been given a basic "Celtic" form, but influenced more by the style of lettering associated with ancient illuminated manuscripts rather than by the more robust shape of the cross carved in the vestibule, though this cross first suggested the Celtic format to me and I particularly wanted to echo the ring of glory.
The device of splitting the cross represents St. Margaret's own act of faith when, beset by the "Dragon" she traced a cross of protection upon her breast which, growing and expanding, shattered and banished the evil vision. The spiky rays serve a multiple symbolic purpose, representing the teeth and claws of the Dragon/Devil being finally thrown outward and away, spreading and changing her surroundings into radiant light and the confident hope of spiritual salvation. Secondary to the Cross of Glory and supporting the main theme are other decorative devices. Most important to me was the express wish of Mrs. Anderson's family that the St. Andrew’s Cross be included in the overall design. This cross of St. Andrew I have shaded from the palest creamy colour to the specific white as if lit by a glow of glory from the cross.
The inner jagged shape dividing the flag from the rainbow can be taken to represent the crown of martyrdom and chimes with the outer spiky shapes. The points are ornamented with tiny glass beads, because as a youngster I was told that every tear is a jewel in a martyr's crown. I imagined the poor maiden weeping with hunger and fear, assailed by frightening visions and ever threatened by her tormentors. I don't expect these tiny beads to show up, just to glint mysteriously now and then as light catches them. This is one crown.
While working on the ideas for this project I dreamed I was drinking tea with Chrissie White - who has been a great and continuing source of help and advice - and told her I was going to include some kind of rainbow effect. Within a couple of days she phoned to suggest some kind of rainbow theme ...
The second part of the same story, after laying out my threads in "rainbow order" and threading up the very first bit of red, Jan Jackson phoned to say how much she liked the notion of a rainbow because her mother never failed to point out the message of hope whenever she spotted one. So - the rainbow colouring = symbol of hope and life everlasting - a spreading radiance vanquishing the dragon and casting it out. By counter-changing the colours of the rainbow I hoped to convey a sense of both inner and outgoing faith.
The split in the rainbow repeats the device of the split cross but it's really another rainbow story. My father who had been a pilot in WWII told me that a rainbow is actually a circle as long as you are high enough to see it. The ring of heaven he called it and that's good enough symbolism for me. It also physically, on the design, marks the point where the spikes (teeth and claws) of the dragon, are unable to pierce the "armour" of Margaret's faith and are no longer a threat. They have become harmless and, changed into rays of light, have become assimilated into the rainbow. Something else about the jagged points, there are ten in the upper part of the cross and eleven in the lower part, (the difference caused by the thickness and thinness in the "legs" of the cross) and these can be taken to represent the Apostles, firstly without the traitor Judas and secondly without either Judas or Peter, who denied the Lord Jesus.
The dove = the Holy Spirit, from whence she derived her faith. The dove also symbolises gentleness which, from my reading, seems to have been one of her characteristics, which is why I chose the luminous pink for the cross to show that we all could hope to emulate the radiant faith and steadfastness of one simple gentle brave young girl in the face of adversity.