Our Past, Present, Future

The mobile of banners was created to commemorate our 50th Anniversary. This beautiful display which graces the area above the Baptismal font resulted from the combined efforts of several parishioners.

The idea originated from a group of women who suggested to the Anniversary Steering Committee that a quilt would be an appropriate tribute for fifty years of parish growth. While the Steering Committee discussed this idea, Liturgy Director Jayne Ahearn recommended that banners rather than a quilt might better serve the needs of the liturgy both during the Anniversary and in the future. She then presented the idea to the Seasonal Environmental Team. Agreeing that this would be exciting and challenging, the Environment Team put the plan into motion. Team member Steve Erickson made some preliminary sketches based on the idea of creating one banner for each decade, and the project took off.

Ultimately, the banners represent our past, our present, and our future. With varied colors reflecting those of the stained glass windows, the length of a particular banner is commensurate with the decade it represents, the first decade's banner being the shortest and so on. The overall design is also symbolic. The number of elongated leaves appliquéd on each banner also represents the decade with one leaf on the shortest banner for the first decade up to five on the longest. Finally, the cluster of small leaves at the base of the longer leaves represent the worldwide Church from which our parish grew and to which we are now and will continue to be connected.

At one point in the planning, Environment Team members considered assigning a name to each banner, but that idea never materialized according to Ed Oskvarek. "We decided we just wanted it to mean continued growth, [and to show] where we came from," he said.

Mary Jo Kerlin, an Environment Team member who dyed the fabric and who quilted one of the banners herself, assigned parishioner Deb Ballard, an accomplished quilter, to oversee the project. Together they approached three other parishioners with expert quilting talents to assume responsibility for one of the banners. Betty Ann Eash and Judy Stein were eager to embrace the project. With meticulous attention to consistency, each one created a single banner representing one of the five decades of our parish history. Deb Ballard feels that the final result "adds to our already beautiful environment." She also expressed her pride in working on the project. "I really liked having the opportunity to involve my quilting with the liturgy, she said, but she was also quick to point out, "It really was a group effort."

Once completed, the task of hanging the banners was the next hurdle. Josh Yoakam along with Ed Oskvarek constructed the framework for the mobile and worked with the banners attached to it, making adjustments, until they all balanced. Once they were satisfied, they raised it above the font.

Approximately six months in the making from its inception to the finishing touches, the mobile serves as a beautiful and fitting symbol of fifty years of spiritual and physical growth.

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