Lent Meditation Banner

This is an example of a client giving us an idea for us to transform it into a small meditation banner. It measures 24 x 30". The broken cross and scattered wood are symbolic of Good Friday...the old moving to the new to come.The brown crown of thorns radiates into a gold crown as another symbol of Christ's journey to Resurrection. And last but certainly not least we see a bit of red to symbolize the blood shed for us.


Lord, may we always remember
To be kind and care.
And ever watchful
For opportunities to share.Reflecting good with all our might
Inspired by Your holy light!


We hope that this work will help heighten the people our client leads to an increased time of reflection and prayer.

Why Purple for Lent?

Purple, often a somber, dark shade, is worn during the penitential seasons of Advent and Lent. Purple signifies great solemnity, with connotations of both penance and royal dignity. 


Purple is associated with mourning and so seeing it helps us anticipate the memory of the pain and suffering of the crucifixion. Purple is also the colour associated with royalty because it was originally a color only the wealthiest could obtain.Jesus was clothed in purple as a sign of royalty, but also in mockery of His claim to be the promised Messiah and  heir to the throne of David.


As Christians we prepare for our King through reflection and repentance, therefore purple is the perfect penitential color.

Preparing for Lent

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Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday is quickly approaching. The word shrove is the past tense of the English verb shrive, which means to obtain absolution for one's sins by way of confession and doing penance. During the week before Lent, historically, Christians were expected to go to confession in preparation for the penitential season of turning to God. Growing up in the Dutch area of Pennsylvania, Shrove Tuesday was much anticipated because it was "donut day". For this sweets lover this was the best! There are many other traditions surrounding this day. The popular celebratory aspect of the day developed long before the Protestant Reformation, was associated with releasing high spirits before the somber season of Lent. From what I understand many of these of this are associated with food...like in my current hometown where people gather at churches for "pancake day" feasts. 


Preparing for this year's Lent makes me think of not a last hurrah of sugar treats but of the things that we take for granted and for the many things that we have in our lives that are not truly necessary for living. As I write we are experiencing our second major snowstorm in Pittsburgh since Saturday. Many people are without power so their homes are cold and grocery stores are reporting that staples such as milk have been sold out. I know I take my food and shelter for granted and learning of so many neighbors without has caused me to think about this. Additionally this weekend my family welcomed our oldest home from his first mission trip to Haiti. He tells us of the joy for the Lord the Haitians have and are able to express while they don't have so many of the things we consider to be necessary for living. Both of these situations are making me wonder how to approach Lent this year. Granted we will probably continue my childhood tradition of having donuts on Shrove Tuesday, but I will also be thinking of how to approach the mystery of Lent. How do we experience this season properly so we are prepared for the joy of transformation from dying and rising, the joy of Easter?


*Carrot Top Studio stoles for Lent can be found here. It's not too late to order--we ship Priority mail (2-3 business days).

Lord's Prayer Banners

It's good not to neglect my background as a teacher so I always enjoy jumping back into the classroom for brief stints. Last night our church started a four week workshop for third and fourth grade students that focuses on the Lord's Prayer. Each night the children will rotate through a lesson on prayer, a drama station, and the art room. In the art room we're making worship banners! The goal is to have a different color represent each phrase of the Lord's prayer. So the children broke into small groups and brainstormed color associations. Some of their interesting comments included:

• "our Father" should be the color of silver or gold...because those are the best and that's what our Father is.
• it was also suggested that "our Father" be the entire colors of the rainbow because "God is everything."
• "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" should be light blue because being forgiven would be peaceful like this color.
• "lead us not into temptation"...several groups declared purple to be the perfect color for temptation. Interesting.
• "but deliver us from evil"....the color red was chosen as 'evil' by every one of the groups.
• "Amen"....should be bold like a bright yellow-because if you're going to say it you should mean it!

Children can be such great thinkers. I suspect that I will be learning much from their perspective as the weeks go by. 

Stay tuned for details of how the banners turn out!

*the above image in this post is from a Carrot Top Studio workshop several years ago....children focused on symbols of faith through a series of exercises and we created banners based on their insight.


Update...The banners are done! They hung in worship on Sunday and the children were so proud of their work and they made a great visual statement/connection.