Much of the work of General Synod is serious stuff, confronting knotty theological, political, financial and social issues.
But a debate on church floristry inspired a suitably flowery contribution from the Bishop of Norwich.
First the serious bit, as the Church of England’s lead bishop for the environment supported a motion encouraging churches to consider using seasonal, sustainable, locally sourced flowers and foliage and phase out single‑use foam – followed by a bouquet of fascinating faith-based floral folklore.
Did you know that:
Cowslips were known as Herb Peter because the flowers look like miniature keys, with St Peter traditionally believed to keep the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
The endangered purple pasque flower (from paschal, relating to Easter and Passover) blooms around Easter and is also called the ‘anemone of Passiontide.’
“And if they had leaves or petals in threes,” said the bishop, “the Victorian spiritual herbalists went into overdrive. Irish shamrock with their three-lobed leaves, and the three-petaled Trillium, and the tri-coloured pansy, were immediately labelled symbols of the Trinity.”
Bishop Graham talked about flowers representing theological themes in art, with paintings of the Annunciation showing the Angel Gabriel giving Mary a white lily as a symbol of her purity. At Easter lilies speak of resurrection and rebirth and red roses of sacrifice and love.
And he had suggestions for locally-sourced Easter foliage.
“With palms not natively grown here, pussy willow was traditionally waved in England on Palm Sunday with their silvery catkins and bright, golden flowers,” he said. “The elder, was known as the Judas tree, on which Judas hung himself. It is even the host for a small, brown, jelly-like fungus named Auricularia auricula-judae – Latin for ‘the ear of Judas.’
“The hawthorn is held to have been used to make Jesus’s crown of thorns, and its flowers literally smell of death.
“The aspen’s scientific name is Populus tremula because its lengthy leaf stems cause it to appear to shiver and tremble in a light breeze. Folklore and tradition credit it with providing the wood for the cross, now forever condemned to tremble for the role it played.
“So, as well as daffodils and lilies and roses, this foliage adds stories, once rich in our culture, to the decoration of our churches, leading us yet more into the mystery of God. I say, bring in the local and the seasonal flower power!”
General Synod agreed to support the principles of the Sustainable Church Flowers movement (started by flower-arrangers from a Worcestershire village church) and encourage churches and cathedrals to consider using local, seasonal flowers and foliage where possible, and moving away from non-biodegradable and non-reusable floral products.
