A carving of the crucifixion has been gifted to Crowle Church by Tim Rogers who lives in the village. Tim is a retired teacher who taught himself to carve and over the last 20 years has been creating 19 different carved panels depicting the life of Christ.
Tim said: “When a big tree came down in Crowle churchyard, I was able to collect a number of pieces of wood to use for carving and I was keen to give something back to the church. I had created three different crucifixion scenes so asked whether the church would like one of those to say thank you.”
The carving is created out of Jelutong, which is a relatively soft wood with little grain making it easier to carve – it doesn’t split or crack as oak might. Each panel takes Tim a couple of months to carve.
“I’ll start with the blank wood and begin by roughing out the design. As a carver I enter into a kind of conversation with each piece of wood – what I hope to do might not always be possible. Once I’ve finished the piece, I’ll sometimes colour it with dye and will give it a coat of varnish to increase the longevity of the carving.”
Tim grew up as a Methodist and has always been interested in biblical stories. He said: “The stories in the New Testament have always created phenomenal pictures in my mind and it’s been a challenge to recreate them. The rest of the 18 carvings will be given to a friend of mine and displayed in his church just outside Guildford.
My other passion is World War One and alongside the biblical panels, I’ve also been creating a WW1 aid station depicting injured soldiers – it’s been 30 years in the making and I’m determined to get that finished as my next project!”
The crucifixion carving will be placed on display in Crowle Church. Rector, David Morris, said: “We were absolutely delighted to receive the gift of this carving. It is a wonderful work of art depicting the sacrifice at the heart of our faith and it will be given pride of place. Tim and I have had an interesting conversation about what an individual piece of wood contains within it and what it reveals – we are delighted with the end result particularly as it is carved from a single piece of wood. It has already touched many people with its depth of feeling. The carving is on permanent display in Crowle Church so we welcome anyone to come along to see it.”
