BEAUTIFUL BANNERS: SOUTHERN ILLINOIS CHURCH PARADES HAND-CRAFTED DESIGNS FOR EASTER SEASON

ANNA, Ill. -- A year ago, Anna Heights Baptist Church decided to begin a banner ministry, with a total budget of $200.

To purchase one banner would cost $300, so members of the banner committee started looking for alternatives.

"The best part of the story is how God provides," said Kathy Cotton, who heads the banner project. "It's an incredible ministry. He is in it, so he's going to take care over everything. It's been like loaves and fishes. Whatever we have needed has been provided."

Cotton, who is also the church secretary, explained that a banner ministry offers another way of reaching people.

"Many people are visual by nature," she said. "To see something expresses to them even more than hearing something. I had been collecting information on banners. Banner ministry was in my heart."

The church had done a series of paper banners, but this would be their first venture into fabric.

The committee took a road trip to a factory in DuQuoin where bridal gowns are made. The factory had end bolts of 60-inch wide fabric. "We bought a huge amount," Cotton said. "They sold it by the pound. And we got all these wonderful colors that had been used for bridesmaids' dresses."

They traveled on to Fairview Heights, Ill., to the factory's parent company. At the fabric outlet store there, they purchased colors they couldn't get at DuQuoin.

Armed with bolts of bright satin, the committee sat down to make a banner.

"We only bought one pattern in order to get us started, since we really didn't know what we were doing," Cotton said.

After the first banner, Cotton determined she could design some different ones. In all, 20 have been completed.

The banners are 5 feet by 7 feet and follow a theme, the names of Jesus. Eight hang in the church sanctuary all the time. The designs are rotated.

Each of the banners is based on a scripture verse. The vivid colors have spiritual significance as well.

For example, the banners in the sanctuary for Easter are shades of royal purple.

Most of the designs are done with fusible fabrics rather than stitching. The designs are simple, Cotton explained.

The Jesus Banner is the pivotal piece to the banner display. It is 18 feet long and 4 feet deep. This banner includes the verse "Every knee shall bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord."

Each of the 5x7 foot banners proclaims a name of God.

"Savior, Deliverer, the Rose of Sharon, Lamb of God, we have an abundance of choices to work with," she explained.

The church also put together a banner book, with photographs of each banner, the Biblical text, fabric swatches and other explanations.

The banner poles, used for carrying in the banner and displaying them, are made of plastic PVC piping. "It's cheap," Cotton said. "And it's wonderful."

The committee asked for help building bases for the banners. The carpenters happened to have scrap lumber available to complete the project.

When the committee needed somewhere to store materials, Cotton learned that Wal-Mart was auctioning off old cabinets. Cotton went to the store before the auction to see what was available. As she looked a the perfect cabinets, the store manager said she should take them at no cost.

A roll of silver mylar tape, which came from a recycling center, adds shine to the Easter banner honoring Cotton's father.

"It has been a very powerful ministry on many levels," Cotton said. "What we try to do is make his praise glorious. I think the banners help us do that."

HOLY WEEK SERVICES

Holy Saturday

Christ Episcopal Church will hold the great vigil of Easter at 7 p.m.

Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Cairo, Ill., will hold a vigil Saturday. It includes the service of lights, service of lessons, a renewal of baptism vows and communion.

Easter

Fairview General Baptist Church near Advance will hold a sunrise service at 6:30 a.m. Breakfast will be served after the service.

Church of Jesus Christ in Jackson will have a 10 a.m. service at Main Street Fitness Community Room.

Hobbs United Methodist Chapel will have a sunrise service at 6 a.m. with a continental breakfast following. Worship services also will be at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. An Easter egg hunt begins at 7:30 a.m.

Bald Knob Cross near Alto Pass, Ill., will hold its 63rd annual sunrise service beginning at 6:30 a.m. The Rev. Larry Johnson will speak. A breakfast will be served beginning at 4 a.m. For information, call (618) 893-2344 or (618) 893-2170.

First Presbyterian Church in Jackson will hold a sunrise service at 6:30 a.m. at Bent Creek Clubhouse. A Sunday School program will be performed at 9 a.m. in the church fellowship hall. An Easter celebration service will be at 10 a.m.

Good Shepherd Lutheran Chapel will have a 6:30 a.m. sunrise service with a breakfast at 7:30 a.m. A Sunday school Easter celebration begins at 8:45 a.m. and at 10 a.m. is a festival service. Special music by the choir and handbells will be performed during both services.

Christ Episcopal Church will hold a service at 10:15 a.m., with holy Eucharist.

St. James United Church of Christ, on County Road 366 near Tilsit, will have a sunrise service at 6:30 a.m. A pancake and sausage breakfast will follow the service.

Dr. Robert C. Reynolds will lead worship at First Presbyterian Church at 10:45 a.m. Reynolds is executive presbyter of the Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery in St. Louis. The church choir will perform Beethoven's "Hallelujah" with Claire Syler as guest soloist.

Perkins Baptist church will have an outdoor sunrise service at 6:30 a.m. near three wooden crosses on the church grounds. A children's egg hunt will be held at 9:30 a.m. and then a worship service at 10:30 a.m.

Evangelical Church of Christ will have a sunrise service at 7 a.m. A breakfast will be held immediately afterward. Sunday school will be at 9:15 and a worship service at 10:35 a.m.

Westminster Presbyterian Church will have an informal sunrise service at 7:30 a.m.. It begins in the fellowship hall but concludes outdoors. A light breakfast will be served afterward. The traditional worship service begins at 10:45 a.m. with a congregational anthem, "Sound the Trumpets."

The churches of Delta will sponsor a community sunrise service at 6:30 a.m. in the Delta Community Center. A breakfast will be served after the service.

Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Cairo, Ill., will hold a resurrection Mass at noon, with the Rev. Arnold Hoffman.

Hanover Lutheran Church will have a surnrise service at 6:30 a.m., in the church parking lot, weather permitting. A breakfast will be served at 7:30 a.m. A 10 a.m. festival worship service is planned also and includes the dedication of a processional cross.