One of the pastors at my church liked the Advent pulpit banners that I designed and asked if I would make a pair for Lent. Both Advent and Lent are penitential seasons in the church calendar and the color is for both seasons is purple. I asked if I could modify the totally purple theme and the pastor said that was fine with her. (I did give her an idea where I was going color wise so I didn’t exactly have carte blanche)!

For the pulpit hanging, I cut strips that were 3 1/2 inch wide and 2 1/2 inches wide. I pieced them in a random though semi-curated pattern. It was random enough that I didn’t have a good feel for the pattern until I sat in my regular pew and saw the finished hanging in place! I really liked what I was seeing.

I added 3 strips of green to the bottom of the hanging. Green in the church calendar is for everyday, ordinary times. It’s the color that is used during most of the church year. So why did I add it to the purple?

Lent is a season of preparation for new growth/rebirth/resurrection. I had been thinking a lot about the green shoots that bulbs often put up on a warm day in the middle of winter. It’s not their season to bloom and they are guaranteed to get buried in deep snow multiple times before they get their chance to bloom. The landscape is dark and brown, but here and there are light green tips of bulb, reminders that even in the depth of winter, growth is occurring.

I find Lent to be a hard season, and I know I’m not alone. The light green reminds me this deep purple season is really about hope and growth.

Our other pastor spontaneously picked on my second reason. She looked at them last Sunday and commented, that she likes the green because “the everyday” is a part of every season.

And one final reason is purely about color—green plays really well with purple!

On the lectern is a single thin hanging, 5 3/4 x 29 inches. I cut 3 inch strips and 2 1/2 inch strips for the lectern hanging.

Lent lectern hanging, 5 3/4 x 29 inches.

Both hangings have narrow 1 1/2 inch sleeve on the back side. A thin metal rod slips through the channel to hang them.

And on the subject of the back, look what’s on the back of both pulpit hangings!

Here’s the back of the lectern hanging before I put the sleeve on it.