Last Sunday I preached at Stromness Baptist Church and used the 4 stained glass windows at the front of the church and their corresponding Bible verses as a guide to the message. In fact, it was the message and it was the dedication service of baby Stella Shiner.
The colours of the stained glass were selected a century ago by Stromness artist Stanley Cursiter who would later direct the National Galleries for Scotland. The colours represented the water (blue) heather (purple/red) grass (green) of the Orkney Islands. The verses speak of the cycle of life and death (Job 7:10, Ecclesiastes 12:7) and the challenge to be people of mercy (Mat 5:7) and purity (Mat 5:8)in the light of the shortness of life and the judgement to come. I felt Psalm 103 allowed all four windows to find convergence and a united message.
