The Cross at Christmas Easter and Pentecost

I've just finished recording a short video for Pentecost. Its something I've wanted to do for a while to make the link between Christmas and Pentecost using a symbol to link the Festivals. christmas We have a Christmas Tree each year which we put in church. We actually  call it a Christmon Tree because we hang Christian mongrams and symbols on the branches. Everything we hang on the tree has to be made by hand. Its actually a really nice thing to see. Especially when your hanging things on the tree that were made by friends and members who are no longer with us. Anyway when Christmas is over we take the tree and cut its branches off it and turn it into a cross. It sits in the church during Lent rather scraggy and bare looking.  A reminder to us of the humility and agony of Jesus. flower-crossHowever on Easter Sunday the congregation come into Churh and find the cross gloriously covered from head to foot with flowers. Its a wonderful symbol of resurrection and new life.  Of course within a few days the flowers begin to wither and we usually put it out in the rubbish. I've never been quite convinced about the way we dispose of this symbol. Some how I've always felt we could give it a better ending. So I held on to the tree this year and decided we would use  it as a symbol during Pentecost. hence the opening line of the blog regarding the video. Why not go and look up the video on St Andrew's home page and tell me what you think The logo of the Church of Scotland has at its centre the burning bush reminding us that the church must always be open to the purifying presence of the Spirit. Pentecost reminds us of that fire. Would to God that we would allow the gospel to burn us up in such a way that the whole nation of Scotland would catch the fire. So many things we need to rid ourselves of. So many thoughts and ideas that need to come under the purifying fire of God. BOGLE'S PARAPHRASE Just like that- the noise was deafening, there was a wind that nearly blew the roof off, the house. This all happened while they were still sitting. They were burning from head to toe, you would have thought fire was resting on each of them. They were burning up and the tongues of fire turned to real communication. They spilled out onto the street which was full of international travellers. Everyone of them the travellers I mean, understood the message. Acts 2.2
4 Comments
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Posted By: John   On: 23 Jan 2015   At: 9:29pm

LOL.  The sad part is that it’s true!  I rmeember that year.  I just don’t rmeember which year it was exactly and why it happened.And for the record, our tree is not up either.  Only going up next weekend because we don’t have J the weekend after that or I’d wait until then.  Too much work to keep kids from taking off ornaments!

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Posted By: vpatricia cano   On: 1 Jun 2009   At: 2:38pm

Hi Albert

i really liked the video, however, it would be nice if there was a link to the video done on the World without walls website concerning the christmas Tree at St. Andrews. Just a thought.

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Posted By: Dickiebo   On: 1 Jun 2009   At: 1:47pm

Amen to that, bro’!

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Posted By: AnneDroid   On: 31 May 2009   At: 10:00pm

Hey Albert.  I liked the Pentecost video a lot - so much so that I posted it/blogged about it.  Hope that’s okay - don’t know how to post a link here so check out today’s post.

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