More Streams of Living Water
Thank you for the Advent/Christmas series “Streams of Living Water.” We quite enjoyed it and found it very easy to use. We sent a note to Peter Hoytema telling him the same. We have used several of the series you place in the magazine in the past and will continue to do so in the future. Keep up the good work!
Janet Drent, for the Worship Committee
Second Christian Reformed Church, Brampton, Ontario
I thought I’d send a picture of the banners we hung in our sanctuary during Advent, based on the series “Streams of Living Water” featured in RW 65 (September 2002). They are made from white bridal satin, with various shades of blue cording. The following is the explanation we printed in our bulletin.
The Advent Banners: Streams of Living Water
It is the nature of water to flow, to change the landscape, and to give life to those who drink of it. The Bible is filled with figurative language about living water. Isaiah 12:3, John 4:14, John 7:38, Revelation 21:6, and Revelation 22:17 all acknowledge God as the source of that living water. The banners at the front of the sanctuary represent the movement of that living water. It flows toward and through the Word (the pulpit) and toward and through the sacraments (the baptismal font), and from the sacraments to and through the Bride of Christ, the church. This Advent, we will spend time exploring “streams” of Christian spirituality, providing an opportunity for us to reflect on how these streams of living water flow from us.
The colors of the streams on the banners move from dark blue to light blue. This represents how Advent is a time of waiting, of moving from darkness toward the light of Christ.
On Christmas Day, we hung a downward-pointed strip banner to the left of the wider banner. This represented Christ—the source of Living Water—and was a visual echo of the lighted Christ candle. The pointed tip is a reminder of his saving work on the cross.
Della Stroobosscher
Waterloo, Ontario