Fire threads through our religious traditions:
it is the universal symbol of
judgement
catastrophe
new life.
Fire is the continuity between our soul-search
and our everyday living.
Fire-flames consume the fragile environment.
Fire-flames warm the living rooms of our homes.
Fire-flames fan wartime terror.
This bowl of fire becomes for us a symbol of
the warmth of common affection
the ashes of old hatreds, superstitions and bigotry
and the embers of new life.
Here we burn past memories and hurts,
outmoded beliefs and limiting prejudice
and our single-minded commitment to self-fulfilment.
Into the ashes of the past
we sow the seeds of our planet’s renewing life:
and humanity joining a common destiny.