The Font

Recently placed in the place of worship of the Parkes Contemporary Worship Group.

"It's presence challenges us to be the commissioned people of Jesus!"

(Unfortunately these photos didn't turn out that well, but new ones on are on the way).

The Font Story:

The Parkes Contemporary worship group was initiated about 5 years ago.  Recently a new minister was called to be in settlement with the Contemporary Worship Group.  He (Rev. Tom Stuart) spoke of the importance of the baptism font being part of the furniture during worship.  This he said, was a reminder to the congregation of who they are, as the people baptised, and called to baptise, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

As it turns out the worship group is blessed with a resident sculptor who made a personal commitment to provide the Christian community, that he loves, a font of their own.

The artist was given the brief to produce a font that "said who we are and what we believe in", to use materials that reflected the rural origins and, if possible, to incorporate some flowing water. He set about looking for some "found materials" and obtained permission to use a deeply weathered hollow log section that was, in fact, a former dog kennel - known as a "doggalog".

In such a work, it was of utmost importance that the artist not simply impose his own spirituality on the group. Accordingly, he set about trying to find out what icons best represented the core beliefs of the Contemporary Worship Group as they related to baptism. A few ideas come in: the incorporation of a candle; the need to not overwhelm the log with embellishments. However, initially, people were reluctant to come forward with designs - "what do people care what I think?" Therefore, it was necessary for the artist to put forward some proposals, in the knowledge that these would be rejected but, in the meantime, possibilities might arise. The main venue for discussion was the "MiLMAN" email list where a large group of people from the Mid Lachlan Mission area exchange information and ideas. It was thought this would give a sufficiently broad cross section of input while avoiding too much of a good thing.

An example of this process was the large crucifixion the artist initially planned to visually balance the carved shelf on the opposite side, onto which he planned to place the ewer. This was instantly rejected as the UC is inclined towards the empty cross.  Meanwhile, people were trying to get the water to flow down the side of the log without penetrating and ruining the timber. After confirming that the fish is an appropriate iconic representation of Christ, it was eventually decided to use some fish to contain and to flow the water. It was then suggested that a Christ figure would be appropriate as a "fisher-of-men". As Christ was also a carpenter, a man of the people, He should be pragmatically clothed in a loin cloth (also suggestive of his death on the cross). 

It was agreed that the Trinity be incorporated and the swirling grain on one side of the log suggested itself, with a little defining color, as a "Tree of Life" (a reference to The Father). Rev Alan Palmer agreed that green and purple would be appropriate eccleciastical colours here. 

The dove of the Holy Spirit was designed to reflect the "holy flame" design of the Uniting Church logo with red (the colour of the Spirit) used sparingly on the log around the dove (also being careful to avoid the "flames of hell" allusion).

Unfortunately, with the removal of the crucifixion opposite the carved shelf, the whole mass of the work was now visually unbalanced and here, the artist took the liberty of including a reference to his own witness of salvation and learning. He included a "leviathan" (Job 41:1) "Can you draw out leviathan with a fishhook?". This is also as a demonstration of the power and majesty of Christ as God as the whale is swimming into the net.

Yes, such a work is constantly evolving and it was then found that the Christ figure and the ewer could not both fit on the shelf. Accordingly, it is now planned to put the ewer on the upcoming communion table (a work in progress). Also, the actual baptismal bowl has changed several times. At one stage it was to be a resin casting of a large clamshell but eventually a crystal bowl was used as the effective use of lighting had been planned from the start.

Like the outside, the inside of the log possessed a wonderful formation of swirling grain and exposed white ant galleries. These are shown off with internal lights that also illuminate the bowl from underneath - yet another allusion to the light of the Holy Spirit. Also, it provided yet another opportunity to use the gifts of the people, as the artist was not "electricity-wise". The font was handed over to another's tender ministrations (It is also an important aspect that, in pursuit of a consensus approach, as an artwork, the font is not signed by anyone).

It was then time to mount the log on it's plinth which was equipped with castors as the venue is a multi-purpose hall. Therefore, the fonts needed to be mobile to allow tables and chairs etc for other activities. In trying to utilise "found objects" from the local area, the artist had procured some sleeper off cuts from a farm and installed these (heavily carved and rounded) in the plinth. The result was very disappointing. It looks like a scooter! And so an empty cross was incorporated, with the rounded timber sections suggestive of Calvary.

There remain a myriad questions and genuine concerns to be addressed as the congregation and the artist now look to the completion of the communion table. Are we being distracted from the real nature of the church (as a group of people and their activities) rather than a building and its accoutrements? Is such a font merely a golden calf as inappropriate attention is paid to it? Should a communion table be so large and so designed as the central focus of Sunday worship as Christ's Open Table? Or should it, too, be sufficiently insignificant to allow a greater attention on the people themselves? These things are part of the journey and, with Christ's constant intervention, they will be addressed.