Creation Banner by Lois Prahlow

Creation Banner designed by Lois Prahlow. Jpg. not for republishing.
 Original Banner 11 ft. across, made with felts.

      The Creation banner ties together two texts from Scripture: Genesis 1-2:3 and John 1, and the concept of light. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… And God said, Let there be light, and there was light… And God saw that the light was good. (Genesis 1).” “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God   In Him was life, and the life was the light of all people (John 1).”

      The banner is divided into eight segments, seven for the days of the creation, and one for the day of new creation, the day of salvation in which we live. In the lower left, the separation of light and darkness is depicted on Day One. Proceeding clockwise, Day Two symbolizes the separation of the waters; Day Three, the establishment of dry land and plant life; Day Four, the creation of sun, moon, and stars; Day Five, the creation of fish and birds; Day Six, the creation of animals and man, with male and female being given dominion over all of creation; Day Seven, God’s resting from his labors, with open hands extending in blessing. Day Eight shows the hands of Jesus, God’s Son, marked with the wounds of the nails. From a chalice, droplets of blood splash beneath those hands. A cross and Host, marked with IHS (monogram for Jesus) are central to the eighth Day.

      Pure light, when broken up by a prism, reveals the spectrum of the rainbow. Hence the banner was constructed using the rainbow color progression to emphasize this quality of light. The center of the banner depicts the Spirit of God (dove) who moved over the face of the waters when the world was created, and Jesus Christ the pure Light of the world. article and design by Lois Prahlow.