Our Newest Banners

A History and Explanation of the Designs of our Banners.

It all started with a vision by Bill Frey.  He envisioned panels to adorn the wall behind the altar and suggested this to our, then Rector, Ann Markle giving her some ideas he had found on the internet.  June Tebbetts and Linda LeBreux were enthusiastic and in mid-2013 began the process of designing panels that would fit the space and represent the various seasons and Holy Days of the church calendar.

In the past, panels for Advent and Pentecost had been made by Kathie Wadley and former parishioner, Cynthia Freels.  A beautifully detailed appliqued banner of St. Raphael for carrying in procession had been made by Helen Parker.  Their size was found to be inadequate for the space, though their designs were beautiful.  We wanted to make sure to incorporate these in some way.  So it was determined that these could be utilized by adding borders to make them the uniform size of 48 inches by 60 inches.

We would begin with Advent, the beginning of the church year.  Since we already had Advent banners, all that was needed was material for borders on each of the panels.  But Christmas came soon behind and white panels were needed. Utilizing a design in a book on banners, white panels were designed with one featuring the star and one featuring the cross allowing them to be used for both Christmas and Easter.  Green panels for Epiphany included a border being added to the existing St. Raphael banner and creating a matching banner.  A Tree of Life was designed to complement the St. Raphael banner. These were also used for “ordinary time”, that long season after Pentecost.  Borders were added by Nancy Stewart and Joan Gittings to the Pentecost banners and we had all the seasons covered as we decided that Lent would have no banners.  But green “Ordinary Time” is so long.  And we had inspiration from the original ideas shared by Bill Frey.

Inspired by a photo of a contemporary banner, we decided to incorporate some of the leaves of native trees and plants in Tennessee just as the kneelers at our altar rail, so lovingly needlepointed, showcase the wild flowers of the region.  One panel highlights the fern and red bud tree leaf and was made by June Tebbetts; the other features the dogwood blossom and the tulip poplar leaf and was made by Linda LeBreux.  The batik material was acquired in Texas by June Tebbetts in the spring of 2014.  Dedicated on January 11, 2015, the panels will hang in our sanctuary for the season of Epiphany starting January 18 until Ash Wednesday, February 18, when Lent begins.  They are likely to return during “Ordinary Time”.

Because the St. Raphael banner was repurposed into a larger banner, it was no longer appropriate to carry in procession.  A professional graphic designer was contracted mid-2014 to design a logo for our website that would represent St. Raphael’s Church in some way.  The design selected by the Vestry is a circle to represent the round window above and behind our altar.  Within the circle on the left is a fish.  St. Raphael was said to have healed Tobit with the gall of a fish and a fish is often used to represent St. Raphael.  On the right of the circle is a wing representing St. Raphael as one of the seven archangels.  This logo was printed on canvas.  Beautiful green ultra suede material that was given to the church by a former parishioner, Rita Varney was used to create a backing and border around the canvas.  The new banner will be used in the procession at subsequent East Tennessee Diocesan Conventions and other appropriate functions.

St. Raphael Logo Banner:  A professional graphic designer was contracted mid-2014 to design a logo that would represent St. Raphael’s Church in some way.  The design selected by the Vestry is a circle to represent the round window above and behind our altar.  Within the circle on the left is a fish.  St. Raphael was said to have healed Tobit with the gall of a fish and a fish is often used to represent St. Raphael.  On the right of the circle is a wing representing St. Raphael as one of the seven archangels.  This logo was able to be printed on canvas.  Beautiful green ultra suede material that was given to the church by a former parishioner, Rita Varney was used to create a backing and border around the canvas.  The new banner will be used in the procession at subsequent East Tennessee Diocesan Conventions and other appropriate functions.