Pentecost – Red

Dove Mobiles

We did a large mobile which hung from a hook usually used for a hanging Advent wreath in the chancel. The mobile was about 120 white oragami doves hung from several "layers" of poles and wire. The children in our church had made them and then we hung them right before Pentecost. It was one of the favorite "art" things that we have done here. If anyone wants more details, I would be glad to help. Just look in any oragami book for directions to make the doves. When we took them down, we offered them to anyone to hang at home or on their Christmas trees, etc.

The hanging is the hard part and not really hard, just time consuming! It took 2 of us 8 hours working together to get them hung. I would suggest using black thread, heavy duty and dowels like for closets painted black or whatever color will blend in with the surroundings.

Linda Riley,
Bristol, VA

Last year, I made a mobile with seven doves cut and folded from a pattern I found in a Christmas ornaments magazine. They were about 10" from head to tail. The mobile had four or five crossbars that hung at different levels. It hung above the altar for the whole season of Pentecost, and gently moved, with the doves sometimes dipping and swooping with the natural movement of air. This year, I am going to make the doves about twice as big, and the scale of the whole thing will be larger. It created very subtle moving shadows on the altar and even on the tile floor of our sanctuary, and so many people were very taken with it. I'd like to explore the "dove on a long pole" for the procession, but need some ideas from people about construction of that dove so that it flies and soars. I'm sure someone has worked out all the details!

Anne Davidson,
St. Mark's Episcopal Church,
Coldwater, MI,
Diocese of Western Michigan

Careful on the scale of doves, if the origami crane pattern is used. I did this at a church some years ago where each 'dove' was rather large (starting with a 30" square). I fear they were rather more like pterodactyls at the larger scale.

Eliza Linley

Crystals to Reflect Light

You could tie or hang a small Swarovski crystal bead to the beak of each dove, and the light would hit it and really shine. These crystal beads are amazing. They come in different cuts, and the more facets the bead has, the more chances for light to hit it and bounce off of it. You can get them at any bead store. The Swarovski crystal beads are about $1 each - you don't need a very large one to catch light and refract it amazingly well.

Anne Davidson

There's one called "aurora borealis" which flashes multiple colors; a good symbol of a new inclusion of the Spirit breaking down the old boundaries of exclusion.

Paul Woodrum,
Challwood Studios,
Diocese of Long Island

All kinds of neat stuff is available from your friendly local bead and craft stores! As well as as large number of catalog and on-line suppliers and bead-and-gem shows.

Those Swarovski crystals, which are intended to hang in a window and diffract sunlight, are beautiful but a bit pricey - around $10 for a large one. The Aurora Borealis ("AB") finish is available on less expensive faceted glass beads.

Crystal and glass beads are heavy, and a large one could possibly injure a person. To get more visual bang for the buck and less weight, though slightly less sparkle, consider clear and tinted-clear plastic beads, available in many formats including AB finish.

A reasonably-priced plastic bead curtain (under $50 if I remember correctly) could be taken apart to use as streamers.

Betsy Porter

Friends of the Groom Dove

I had kids tape red, yellow and orange ribbons on popsicle sticks and short dowels. This year we are using the Friends of the Groom dove on a pole for the procession. I might add that I have seen pictures of the dove mobile...it is spectacular!! It was pictured last year on the cover of the Education Journal which comes out of VA seminary, if I remember correctly.

Elizabeth Foster

Tom Long of Friends of the Groom a religious drama group, has a dove with long streamers which he flies from a long pole similar to a fishing pole but without all the "extras". We have used it many times and it is always loved.

Linda Riley,
Emmanuel Episcopal Church,
Bristol, VA

We have one of the doves on a pole too. It takes a little practice but those who've done it say it's easy to get the dove to swoop and fly in a very realistic way. I've always wanted to see it with silver and gold mylar streamers, but so far no one around here has tried that.

However you do it, it seems to be much loved--and brings out lots of wide-eyed wonder (not just in children, either!).

Anne McConney

Wearing Red

In our congregation we ask people to wear red. In fact, we've just had a "St. Mark's" shirt printed and are selling them to raise funds for Relay for Life, and we're going to get the choir to wear theirs, and try to get the congregation to do so, too.

Anne Davidson

Balloons

Something we did several years ago was tie red and white helium filled balloons to every other chair in the sanctuary. It was a fun thing for the kids (and the kids at heart) and our priest explained to the kids what the significance was and no one has forgotten the event.

Jane McPherson,
Jacksonville, FL

I have often wished we could do something like this either for Pentecost or for Rally Day in the fall. HOWEVER, several years ago we had a big party in the parish hall with lots of helium balloons. The fans were turned on and the few stray balloons were sucked up to the ceiling and the strings or ribbons wound around the fans and the motors burned out. Since we have fans in the santuary, and since there's always someone who overlooks the signage..."PLEASE DO NOT TURN ON THE FANS!" I hesitate to invite another problem. It's a great idea, if you don't have fans, but if you do....be aware of the burn out factor.

Elizabeth Foster

Flame Shapes

In our tiny church last year we made a large net out of thin fishing line, and cut out and hung flame shapes from a piece of mylar from 3-m., over the narthex. The wind picked them up nicely. What really interested me was that in the end, there were about 4 families there cutting and hanging, and none of them knew the pentecost story! So it became quite a learning event.

I always get a lot from looking at the work of Julie Taymor (the lion king) and her set designs and props, spectacular. Her bird kites are breathtaking.

Nancy Chinn,
Little River, CA

At last years' parish we simply hung strips of red, orange, and yellow crepe paper from the lights - eight strips, one from each side of the octagonal lights - varying lengths and colors - and the breeze ruffled them. In a very plain and u-g-l-y 1960 church, it was a bright and fun color punch. I had originally wanted to hand flame shapes, but... every pattern I tried looked more like drops of blood!

Martha Berger,
Wauwatosa, WI

We are going to have the children make "tongues of fire". They will be from 4" to 8" long and both sides will have red glitter on the border and yellow glitter on the inside. I think we will hang them from the ceiling on either side of the altar. If we have enough we may use some in the narthex also.

Jane McPherson,
Jacksonville, FL

Flames

A great visual element that we used at Grace last year was a very large clear glass bowl filled with olive oil and seven floating wicks. The bowl was set on a pedestal at the head of the main aisle. Flame was taken from the Paschal Candle after the Epistle lesson and the fire transfered to the wicks in the "bowl of flame." The light refracting from inside the bowl had a very lively presence. We then used the oil from the bowl to anoint members of the congregation adding a phrase something like "as you are anointed by the Holy Spirit, go forth into the world in power and love to serve Christ in all persons." Last week I had several people ask if we could do it again this year.

Brent Norris

Kites, Banners and Streamers

For Pentecost, when the weather is usually pleasant and windows may be open, airborne art is especially attractive as well as liturgically appropriate. Although it's fun to get the kids together for church art projects, adults can do good stuff too!
In particular, consider kites, ribbons, and unlined silk banners. They can be rolled up compactly and stored from year to year, and they are relatively easy to hang, at least if your church building is set up to hang an advent wreath.

If mid-air hanging is not practical, consider suspending your kites or banners from long, flexible, floor-mounted fishing poles.

There may be someone in your congregation who (like me) likes to paint on silk with dyes. Although this artform usually involves stretching and decorating pre-hemmed silk scarves, it can be effectly used for yardage and of course for banners. You don't even have to hem the sides if the selvedges look OK. Put a dowel through the top hem, and weight the bottom corner with plastic pendants.

About 7 years ago I made a large (45 x 90 inches) Pentecost banner, depecting a human-size descending dove in red-and-rainbow mandorla, for Trinity Church, Princeton, NJ - a large historic church with cross-shaped floor plan and central altar, above which is a trap door from which the Advent wreath is seasonally suspended. Therw the banner was hung from the middle and both ends of a plexiglass dowel, using three K-Mart fishing reels for height adjustment. The doors and windows were open, so the banner swung about in the breeze most satisfactorily.

One great advantage of seasonal items is that they provide an opportunity to take some liturgical and iconographic risk. If the work is disappointing, it can be used once or twice and then gracefully retired. My project (which included vestments, altar cover, bookmarks and pulpit hanging as well as the banner) was my own idea – I got sketches approved by the Worship Committee but encountered some opposition from the Altar Guild, who were used to embroidered and appliqued work, and didn't quite see the potential of unlined lightweight silk with the design showing on both sides. It all worked out reasonably OK - I received many compliments, and those who didn't care for it were too polite to say so. I've been living in the Bay Area for almost 6 years now - but as far as I know, this set is still in use for Pentecost.

Betsy Porter,
Oakland, CA

Red quilted altar hangings are an interesting idea - perhaps a red quilt instead of the traditional damask!

Also what about a kite with red streamers?

Mary-Pat Ashby,
Diocese of Maryland

Discussions
   
      Lent
   
      Pentecost – Red
   
      Pentecost – Green