Ordinary Time Pt. 3

Ok- here's a close up just before I brought it down to change to Lent. I had added a lot more gold and green ribbons. I actually wrote a little blurb for the church bulletin explaining the significance of things ( in my mind, anyway :) )  that the circles represent seeds of faith, and the small/large ones remind us of our changing faith. The green is for 'growth', and the ribbons represent that He is the Vine, we are the branches. Folks seemed to like having my craziness explained :) 

Ordinary Time part 2

I added a few things this week. Years ago I saw a store display that had taken cds and linked them together with big jump rings- my daughter and I made a big window covering for her room out of all those annoying 'free internet' ones that used to come in the mail :) It makes for quite the light show as the sun catches the rainbow colored edges of the circles! So there's a few strings of them on here, plus some leaf shapes I cut from sheet copper and green metallic paper. I didn't take a close up shot, as I wanted to show just how high up in the Sanctuary ceiling this thing is :) 

*Ordinary Time*

This Sunday is the beginning of 'Ordinary time' in the liturgical church year.  If you want to know what that means, here's a link - ordinary time -and although my church happens to be Lutheran, the explanation still works :)  I went a little 'retro' this year and used some circles from a previous year- I look at them as seeds of faith. There's some vines, ribbons and leaves mixed in.  I started smaller too, because I want to make it grow every few weeks. You can also see our beautiful baptismal font that was made years ago by one of our members.  It sure looks different at 'ground level' than it does 30 feet up in the air! 

Advent Part Two

I've got a new Liturgical Arts buddy! Someone who loves making things for the Lord as much as I do :)  She designed this from some Pinterest inspiration ( but of course, the Holy Spirit gets the most credit!) Since the hanging rod is wider, to accommodate other existing banners, we added lots of ribbon to the sides- it coordinates wonderfully with the big old "jellyfish" in the middle of the Sanctuary - see below.  So thankful for creative friends.

Advent 2018

Well I'm just so excited about this year's design! I've always been a little frustrated that the thing droops when it gets heavy......you can't really tell it unless you're in the balcony, but I know it and it bugs me :) I did a little research and found some 1/2' aluminum square tubing that is waaaay stronger and actually lighter than the All-thread I have been using. So this one's a beast! I went 8 1/2 feet across ( about a foot longer on each side than ever) I also found some mirror ball garland at Hobby Lobby and added lots of shiny ribbon. I have to say, it's one of my favorites and it is straight as an arrow up top ! 

"Ordinary Time" 2018 Part 2

Boy. Am I ever delinquent in posting this :) here we are sailing through the church year, and we'll be rounding the corner heading into Advent before I know it! This year, I started small, and have been gradually adding to the centerpiece ( it's the season of growth in the church year, right? )  Most of it is ribbon that I've used before, but I also made some leaves from design paper and stuck them wrong sides together over some fishing line- I like the look it added. Also there's more gold ribbon this year- our Paraments have quite a bit of gold in them, so they compliment each other. So, the folks in the first service have commented that the light shining through the windows ( at 8:30 am) are causing quite a 'light show'......I'm absolutely sure they mean it as a compliment :) 

Lent 2018

Here's my offering for this year's Lenten season....it's hard to photograph (for me, anyway) and get the full effect- but this one comes pretty close. The sun was shining through the upper windows and it caught some of the shinier ribbons. I've been adding a little and tweaking it every couple of weeks- and for Holy Week it will get a little 'darker'.  Pastor's mid-week sermons this year are about "Jesus in 7 words or less"- trying to help us discover our own 'Jesus story' to share with others. It's a challenge, for sure. But if it brings one more person to faith, then challenge on!