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In traditional Christian worship, as practised in Bosham Church, we come to offer our praise to God and allow ourselves to be fed by Him. This is expressed by the Eucharist, our main Service, which is divided into two parts – the service of the Word and of the Sacrament. Two symbolic pieces of furniture express this, the pulpit and the altar, as it is from the pulpit that the ‘word’ is expounded and preached while at the altar the symbols of bread and wine are brought and blessed to be returned to us as the sacramental Body and Blood of Christ.
Our tapestry adorns both these pieces, and was commissioned in the tradition of a long line of ecclesiastical art, in its various forms, to express our response to the presence of God in our world and convey a message to those who visit our church.
One of the main purposes for this work of art was to try to get away from traditional ‘churchy’ images while at the same time making use of symbols which are both familiar to Christians, and are also understood by those who would not regard themselves as particularly religious. In his contribution to this description, the artist, Mark Cazelet, speaks of the ‘iconography’ he has set out to express. My request to you is to seek to understand the themes displayed and perhaps to discover further subtle messages through the images, tones and colours – to take away with you something which speaks of the hope and the challenge that our faith provides.
This tapestry will be on display throughout the ‘Ordinary Time’ of the year when the vestment colour worn is green. These are from the feast of Candlemas to Ash Wednesday and from the Monday after Pentecost to Advent. The word ‘Ordinary’ has nothing to do with ‘plain’ or ‘dull’, but derives from the term ordinal referring to the fact that these weeks are numbered. During this period, rather than dwelling on the events surrounding the life of Christ, as we do during the traditional ‘Seasons’, the Sunday readings concentrate more on his teachings and parables, and our response to them.
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