Memorial Church Banner

On July 15th, the day after Matthew's 18th birthday, the family dedicated a memorial banner in memory of Matthew.

As taken from the Church Bulletin: Memorial United Church

July 15, 2007

Dedication of Banner

The banner to be dedicated today is called, “Gifts of God”.  People say that a picture is worth a thousand words.  Symbols are like that, very rich in meaning.  Symbols can speak to us on more than one level.  They can stir memories and thoughts and ideas; they can cause us to pause and to go to a deeper place in our hearts.

I believe this banner does these things.  After Desma and I spoke initially about the idea of creating a banner in memory of Matthew, Desma consulted with someone who is very talented in doing these kinds of things, Susan.  Together they designed it and Susan created it.

On the banner you can see there are symbols of faith – the wooden cross, a bible, a beautiful white dove in flight (a symbol of peace, hope and of God’s Spirit continuing with us).  Near the bottom is a flowing river, a reminder of the waters of baptism and the promised water of eternal life.

For the family, you would see some further, more personal layers of meaning, remembering Matthew’s baptism, remembering a reluctant dove at the graveside.

Our eyes are drawn to the wonderful colours of this banner, colours that shift from the green of a pasture to blue, to purple and pink (which were Matthew’s favourite colours) and moving up to a hint of yellow at the top.

For those who knew him, these vibrant, joyful colours may remind you of Matthew.  To me they also speak sunrises and sunset and of God’s presence with us through all our days and nights.  The colours remind us of the promise of a new dawn and or a new life.

There are many “gifts of God” portrayed in this lovely banner.  The meaning of the name Matthew itself is “gift of God”.  He is remembered in love as another gift of God, on this day, one day after what would have been his 18^th birthday.  We now dedicate this banner to God’s glory in memory of Matthew.

Rev. Thorne