Weaver Juditha Murashige describes the creation of the banner this way: “I initially wove [the strips] during the first gulf war. I intended these for an art piece which was unsuccessful. Reluctant to toss all that work, I tried for several years to ‘rework’ the strips. The colors worked with the other woven piece, and I have a fondness for the niche by the altar, so the strips became the foundation for the banner. Carol Langner, Randy Castello, and I attached the branches.”

The red strips of cloth and thorny brances bring to mind Jesus’ torn and blood-saoked garments and the crown of thorns from the Passion Gospel read on Palm Sunday.

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