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The Ring

None of us lives for herself...

The best known and most enduring symbol of the original “Order of the Mustard Seed” was a ring, worn by every member. For them, having a ring on their finger was a constant reminder of the pledge they had made to be true to Christ, kind to people, and a carrier of the gospel message, in every situation of life.

The original rings were inscribed with the following text in Greek:

We asked a lecturer in new testament Greek to provide us with a contemporary translation, and in his view the words are best translated as follows:

“None of us lives for himself”

The inscription reflects the practical heart of the Mustard-Seed vow. Instead of the self-centeredness which lies at the heart of our materialistic, consumer oriented society, it challenges us to remain:

• True to Christ (Jesus-centered)

• Kind to Others and Gospel focussed (People-centered)

Should I wear the ring?

We would encourage those who are adopting the Mustard-Seed vow as their “rule of life” to consider using a personally and culturally relevant symbol to express this. Symbols have been used throughout the bible and in almost every historical expression of the Christian faith as a means of expressing the truths and values to which we are committed.

In Western cultures, a ring remains the most widely used covenant symbol (for example, the use of a wedding ring as part of marriage ceremonies and to symbolise marriage). Many members of the OMS community wear a ring bearing Zinzendorf’s original Greek inscription as a symbol which expresses our values and acknowledges our historical inspiration.

You are under no obligation to come to the same decision. You may feel that a ring is not appropriate or meaningful in your own cultural context, and may prefer to identify a different symbol as better expressing the heart of the vow which you have made. We would counsel you to think carefully about this decision: the vow is intended to be a life-long commitment, and the symbols you choose should be similarly enduring rather than a product of the "throw-away" culture of fads and fashion amidst which many of us live.

How do I obtain a ring?

There are 2 ways to get hold of a ring with the OMS inscription:

1) You can get a ring inscribed by a jeweller (traditional or on-line). It is increasingly common for people to ask for engraved wedding rings, so many jewellers can provide this service. You will need to print out the Greek lettering for the jeweller (as above or download a pdf version), and make sure that they can engrave these characters (some don't have the templates for them).

2) We originally had some custom made rings produced by fair-trade jewellery manufacturers Cred jewellery. Unfortunately, the small co-operative who were making the rings went out of business in 2006 (taking the moulds with them), and we have not been able to source a replacement. Although most of the stock has now gone, we do have a few rings left in the smaller sizes.  You can check your size using this international size convertor and ring sizing template. To order online, CLICK HERE NOW.

Our humble request is that you do not produce or wear this design merely as costume jewellery. Please respect the deep meaning that it carries for those who wear it – there are plenty of other brilliant designs around which you can use as a fashion accessory or a symbol of your faith!

 For More FAQs, click here

Our thanks to Glenn Balfour at Mattersey College for the Greek bit.

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