This is a Cross from the parish church in Sitima in Malawi which which we have a connection. It is part of a set of cross, lecturn and tabernacle all carved on the theme of the maize plant which is their staple food. Here the Cross resembles a maize plant, and from his death the risen Christ is emerging as new growth and soaring upwards full of life. In a farming community and one so reliant on the weather and the soil and good seed, the connection with the earth, with Creation, is so much clearer than to societies where we feel we have taken everything into our own hands and have no need of, or dependence on a Lord of Creation. Perhaps, just at this moment, we do realise that we do not have total control and that our western way of life does need to be tempered by some thought as to where it is leading and the effect it has on others.
Kendal Catholic Priest 