Totem poles
and the birth of the church

I read this the other day and it reminded me of the work of Jesus and the early church as the foundation carvings on the pole. It also gave me some relief to know that even if our work on the completed end of the "gospel pole" isn't quite as good a reflection of the bottom; that maybe He designed that way too?

"So, to be certain the totem looks professional and well-executed, the chief carver personally carves the bottom ten feet of the pole and allows the inexperienced apprentices to carve the higher regions. The most intricate and best carved figures are usually placed on the bottom end with the story thinning out towards the top. Many poles (but certainly not all of them!) are topped off with Thunderbird, sort of a generic capper figure, something like a Christmas star, who often has far less meaning than all the carefully thought out symbolic creatures carved into the lower regions. If anything, the lower figures on a totem pole are slightly more important." From "Totem Poles".