Join us for a Banner Day!

Pulling fibers

The whole family is invited to join in on this congregational-wide activity - making a new banner for our worship space.  This banner will be blessed by all of the hands that worked on it - your hands - so we hope you will participate!

When? 

Laying out fibers

This Sunday, August 24, right after worship, following a covered dish meal.

Under the leadership of our own personal Fiber Artist, Jane, we will be felting this banner from wool fibers - a process which involves using warm water, soap, and agitation (working it with your hands) to get the fibers to shrink down and mesh together.  (Have you ever accidentally shrunk a wool sweater in the wash?  Same concept.)

We will be using wool fiber, some of which has been hand-dyed by Jane, but most of which has been dyed by local dyer "Miss Babs".  Our own Ivy works with Miss Babs, which means Ivy may have also dyed some of these fibers.  Check out Miss Babs' website: http://www.missbabs.com/

Dyed wool by Miss Babs.  Color: "Come Fly with Me"

So, what in the world will be on this banner?

Fibers laid out for the background

 Well, it will be a banner that we will hang in our sanctuary during Ordinary Time, primarily during Summer, when we hear a lot of Jesus' Parables, and often, the Creation Story.

Banner beginning to take shape

 Still can't make it out?  Alright, I'll tell you.

This banner is supposed to hint at several biblical themes all at once.  It should call to mind the Parable of the Mustard Seed (which grows into the greatest of shrubs, and the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches), the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, Jesus' saying about the Lilies of the Field, and also the Tree of Life/Cross connection.  (In the Communion liturgy for the Passion/Good Friday is the memorable line: "Christ our Lord, who on the tree of the cross gave salvation to all, that, where death began, there life might be restored, and that he, who by a tree once overcame, might by a tree be overcome."  Thus, the branches on our tree are meant to hint at the cross, to highlight this connection.)

So, without further ado, I give you the backdrop.

Banner backdrop

 What's left to do, you might ask?  Well, we need leaves made, flowers, fruit, birds, eggs, and nests, and it all needs to be felted.  So, there's plenty left to do!  And we'll need some strong backs and arms for the felting part.  So we hope you'll join us and bring the whole family for this banner day!

Update:
Click on our next post "Banner Making" to find out how it went and to see an "after" picture!