This sculpture is in John Dane park in Canterbury. I noticed it almost immediately we entered the park. I recognized the communion table, and thought "What!!!". "What is that doing in a secular park?"I walked over and started taking the obligatory tourist snaps of it. Near by, shown on the insert in the picture is the title "Silent Table" - and indeed it is, unless you hit it (which I didn't). The sculpture remained in my mind throughout the holiday. Somehow the thought that the main Christian religious ceremony could be silenced would not go away. Think some more though. The sculpture is in some ways just as indicative of Christianity as the cross, but probably less well known. It sits in the corner of a park in the city that is, arguably, the centre of the Anglican version of Christianity.What does the church have to say? Could the voice of the church really fall silent in THIS city? The answer of course is yes, it could. If we are no longer prepared to speak out the gospel of Christ, not only could it, but it will. When Jesus said "I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." (Luke 19:40) he was not talking about Canterbury, or 2008. The stones may well be all there is that is left of the message of the cross, if we are not careful. Having listened to some Bishops and their sound bites from the GAFCON conference, it seems that the church certainly doesn't have anything relevant to say to the world (from either side of the divide). We should, and could be doing so much better.
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