All Saints Day

All Saints Day is the celebration of those who have contributed successfully to the creation of the kingdom and is traditionally celebrated on the fast approaching date of November 1st. As a church we remember and honor all the Christian faithful, both known and unknown.  Reflecting on the lives and examples of the saints has been a widespread practice of Christians since the earliest days of the church. 


It's interesting to note that Philip Melanchthon, Martin Luther's most important colleague in the Reformation, wrote of three ways that Christians should honor the saints:  The first is thanksgiving.  For we ought to give thanks to God because He has shown examples of mercy… because He has given teachers or other gifts to the church… The second service is the strengthening of our faith; when we see the denial forgiven Peter, we also are encouraged to believe the more that grace truly super-abounds over sin, (Romans 5:20).  The third honor is the imitation, first, of faith, then of the other virtues…  (Apology of the Augsburg Confession,  Article XXI, paragraphs 4-6)


I certainly can't argue with Melanchthon's suggestions! Here are a few more:

• recall family, friends or neighbors that have died...tell stores you remember about them. Light candles for them and say prayers of thanksgiving for how they touched your life.
• create a family tree. This can be done with your family and is a lovely way of telling the story of past generations to your children. This also could play out with a church congregation, Bible study or small group...ask members to chose someone from the Bible that they find inspiring. Write the name on a card. Have participants take time sharing what they have learned from this person's story. Place the cards in a time line or a family tree.
• embellish your worship space and wear stoles in white. As the Book of Revelation bears witness, God's saints are those who have ...washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:14) 
• sing or meditate on the hymn For All the Saints written by William Walsham in 1864. This hymn is a commentary on the phrase "I believe in the communion of saints" from the Apostle's Creed. An interesting note about the tune of this hymn is that it was first rejected as being "jazz music." It's nice that we got past that! The original hymn had eleven stanza's. Here is the first:

For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

* the stole illustrated here is from the Carrot Top Studio Haiti collection. The Haiti collection is a series of ministry stoles embellished with hand dyed silk from La Femme de la Croix in La Croix, Haiti. Fifty percent of the proceeds of these stoles is donated to this ministry. See the collection here.

Stoles are Teaching Tools

My young adulthood found me teaching art in Houston, Texas. That's me in the picture on a field trip with students to the contemporary art museum. If you can get past the kelly green shirt (oh, the 80's!) and the permed hair (why did I waste all of that money?) you'll see the smile on my face showing that I was really enjoying the teaching! I took pleasure in finding teachable moments in everything I did. Today at Carrot Top Studio I see a lot of similarities with ministry and have always thought of clergy stoles not just as a representation of leadership but also as a teaching tool. The colors and symbols on a stole, if they connect with worship, reinforce the Word and the moment.


I babble on like this to introduce a new concept for a stole. This summer one of our clients had an idea for an Advent stole that would engage the children (and adults) of her congregation during the children's moment because it would have interchangeable images that would help tell the story of the long awaited Messiah.

This project was a challenge and a good bit of time was spent figuring out the logistics of trying to make a stole that involved Velcro parts that maintained a level of integrity. We feel that this concept has great possibilities! The stole starts with four symbols of Old Testament prophecy: the snake (Genesis 3:15), the crown (Psalm 2:6), the tree (Isaiah 11:1) and the stone (Psalm 118:22). Each week during Advent a symbol is removed to reveal candles set in evergreens to represent Christ coming as the light of the world and God's everlasting love for us (the evergreens.) The star cross on the chest of this stole references the Christmas celebration we are preparing for. The inside of the stole has pockets for the symbols when they are not in use...this is not a time of year to be disorganized!See the entire stole here. If you have time we'd love to hear what you think...email us! 

Can the Church Celebrate American Craft Week?

A stole with a unique design-
Inspired by Matt. 6:26

October 1-10th is American Craft Week. I like "craft" defined as: An occupation or trade requiring manual dexterity or skilled artistry. This is not a celebration that Christians and churches should ignore. Scripture makes it clear that God is interested in craft/art. If this is a new thought, you might enjoy delving into Exodus 26 where much detail is shared about the particulars of the tabernacle. Throughout the history of the church, art has been crafted for precise purposes such as Communion serving pieces, calligraphy in Bibles and even the architecture of a church building. 

Carrot Top Studio of course focuses on the art and craft of textiles (particularly ministry stoles) to aid worship. In our case we apply the definition of craft as: making or constructing something in a manner suggesting great care or ingenuity. We aim to offer a clever, unique product that has evolved from the original purpose for a stole.The story goes that the stole originally derived from a kind of liturgical napkin called an orarium. Some think it is linked to the napkin used by Christ in washing the feet of his disciples, and is therefore a fitting symbol of the yoke of Christ, the yoke of service. Today the craft that comes from our studio supports those in ministry that make a visual connection using color and symbols for those that you minister to.


Do you ever question what art or craft is for?  I like to apply author Lauren F. Winner’s quote for an answer: “God reveals himself to us—if only we take the time to linger.” So I encourage you to linger in spaces where you happen upon art and craft and be moved by how the artists react to the world around them. You might also pray for the artists. And last but not least, help the church to identify artists in your community and push their gifts outwards to share their creativity on a Sunday or as beacons of Christ’s light as their serve outside of the church building. So, I wholeheartedly say YES we can celebrate craft week...worldwide.


*pictured green stole can be found on the Carrot Top Studio website here.