An article about the Sconestone in the ELTA Newsletter:

The Sconestone

  The beautiful hand-carved Sconestone, in its equally beautiful hand-carved wooden box, was a highlight of Members' day.  The current Keeper of the Stone brought it along for all to see and hear about it.

 The Sconestone was carved by a Canadian of Scottish ancestry, Warren MacLeod, based in Nova Scotia, in honour of the 'Year of Homecoming' in Scotland in 2009, when people from all over the world were encouraged to come back to their ancestral home, and learn about their Scottish roots.

 Warren was coming to Scotland not just to go to his family's area but also to attend a music festival led by Runrig (one of many cultural events which took place throughout 2009) in the town of Scone, which used to be the Royal town of Scotland, where the kings were crowned. Now, the kings were crowned on a square slab of stone known as the Stone of Scone, or the Stone of Destiny. According to legend, Jacob in the Old Testamant laid his head on that very stone when he was in the desert, dreaming of the ladder between heaven and earth, and over the years it had made its way to Scotland. It was then stolen by the English and placed in Westminster Abbey, whence it was stolen back by a group of Scottish students in the 1950s, but it was taken back to Westminster before being returned to Edinburgh Castle in 1996. There remains to this day controversy as to whether the stone in the Castle is the original or a copy, with the orginal safely hidden in the care of a 'keeper' elsewhere in Scotland; we Scots know what we believe!

 And so, inspired by the story of the Stone of Scone, and wanting to bring something from New Scotland to Old Scotland, Warren MacLeod carved the Sconestone. He used as his basis the decorated stone orbs which have been found in several neolithic sites and graves around Scotland. As nobody knows the symbolism or function of these orbs, Warren invested the Sconestone with his own meaning - it carries around the world the message of Scottish hospitality and kindness and brotherly love between nations, and is passed on periodically to a new 'Keeper', whose job it is to tell people about it, let people hold it, ask questions, and encourage acts of kindness.

 At the concert given by Runrig in Scone it was presented by no less than Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, to its very first Keeper, the Rev. Neil Galbraith, a tireless charity worker from Glasgow, whose work in Africa is supported by Runrig. Now it's come to Germany, and it's time to pass it around here and let it work its magic. If you're interested in borrowing it to show to classes or other  groups, or just seeing it yourself, get in touch. 

But remember, if you touch it, it comes with consequences: you are pledging to do an act of kindness to your fellow humans, for animals or for the planet; something extra, however large or small, that you wouldn't be doing anyway.

The Sconestone has not been idle, but travelling!

The current Keeper is very aware of the lineage of the Stone's journey, and keen to take it on new paths. From New Scotland to Old Scotland in the year of Homecoming, the Stone then went out from Scone, from Scotland, to the world, inspiring people by its ageless beauty and bearing its message of border-crossing understanding, of kindness between fellow humans, regardless of where they are in the world.

And then it found its way back to Scotland to "recharge its Celtic batteries" as it were, and the Highland community of the last Keeper gave it the warmest of welcomes home.

From the Highlands of Scotland it has now traversed the Lowlands, via K. in East Kilbride, whose family have embraced the idea of spreading kindness and compassion in their community and schools, to L. in Glasgow, who harboured the Sconestone in her home on the Clyde for the inspiration and pledges of the visiting colleagues, friends and fellow Runrig fans, and over on the ferry to mainland Europe, where another Scot, a Runrig fan too, who was privileged to be at the seminal concert in Scone where the Stone was sent on its initial journey, and even to hold the Stone, is taking it on further journeys to new fields, and new chances to engage the hearts and minds.

The Stone is on the move! Watch this space.

What a fun night!  I borrowed the Sconestone from the next Keeper, Trish Erskine to bring it up to Windsor to the Spitfire Arms for Ted Christopher's one night performance.  Ted is from Dunblane in Scotland, and is over here in Nova Scotia promoting Scotland, and establishing ties between our Province and Scotland and what better place to have the Sconestone than at this evening of great music.

Ted's songs are beautiful, and I encourage all to visit his website www.bannockburnband.co.uk and have a listen.  His story telling and musical skills are wonderful, plus he's a really great person!

Of course, no event in Windsor would be right without our very own town crier, Lloyd Smith.  He did an amazing job welcoming Ted to Windsor, the Annapolis Valley and Nova Scotia.

The Sconestone was passed around the pub, with many patrons pledging to their own acts of kindness.

This Friday March 26th at 6 pm the Matthew 25/Windsor and District Food Bank Society will be hosting a Nickel Auction at the Avonview High School.

Show your support and come out and bid on the great items that have been donated from the business leaders of our community as well as items donated by the good folk of Windsor. 

I would like to thank all the volunteers for their work and support for this event, in particular Gillian who organized and coordinated the Walk.  I would like to thank Miss Teen Nova Scotia Iona MacLeod who gave us the honor to walk with us in her Sash and Tiara.  Thank you!

The walk today is in commemoration of International Women's Day, a day to pay tribute to, not only the women of Leogane in their struggle for the right to health, the right to reproductive health and for their dignity, but also a tribute to women in other parts of the world who are facing similar struggles.

Salutary Angels is working to improve the health of pregnant women and women of childbearing age living in Leogane.  Our program will  deliver prenatal and postnatal care to women, nutrition programs, educational sessions on family planning and care for their infants.  The innovative aspect of our project is that these programs will be delivered at women's doorsteps through the service of a mobile clinic.  So women will be spared from walking 7 to 10 hours to get medical services.

Now more than ever the mobile clinic is urgently needed in Haiti, and all our efforts, and your contributions, are geared toward the purchase of the clinic.  So once again, thank you for your support and your interest in this worthwhile cause.

Jayson Baxter who is the current Keeper of the Sconestone kindly loaned out the Sconestone last night so that it could be present while a local hockey team, the West Hants Rockets presented the food and money they had collected during a recent food drive to the Matthew 25 Food Bank.

Matthew 25, established in 1965 is a charitable nonprofit organization supplying food, clothing, and all household goods to those in need in the community.  Last night Warren and I had the good fortune to be present at Matthew 25 which is located at 1699 King St. in Windsor for the drop off of food and money collected by the Rockets.  I believe it is organizations like Matthew 25 which are the backbone of our communities, providing help to those in need, and in today's economy many people are finding themselves in the position of needing help who have never had to rely on others for help before.

To the hard working, dedicated and passionate staff at Matthew 25, I can only say thank you for the work that you do; you are an inspiration for many and a beacon of hope and light in these troubled times that we find ourselves in.  To the West Hants Rockets - you guys rock!  Thank you for your community spirit, and may you continue to perform acts of kindness.  And finally, to Jayson Baxter, the 19th Keeper of the Sconestone, a big thank you for sharing not only the Sconestone for the night, but also for your time as a Keeper this past week.  I hope that the Sconestone has touched you, as your many acts of kindness continue to touch those in the community around you.

In kindness, Kari