Get a dowel about the width of most other banner rods in your church. You could use a shower curtain rod if they are easier to come by in your area. Then purchase a variety of spools of white ribbon -- grosgrain, satin, white, off-white, etc. A variety of widths is nice too and a few tulle ribbons adds a nice effect. Decide how tall you want your banner to be by measuring other banners in your church top to bottom. Then measure out ribbons that length plus 2". With a hot glue gun, attach the ribbons to the dowel (I wrap them around. If you are more of a sewing person, you can also creat loops in the tops of the ribbons to slide onto the dowel.) The ribbons should hang over the top of the dowel, all in the same direction so the pattern is something like this (see below):
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To the bottom of each ribbon, I attach jingle bells.
At the All Saints service, we read the names of those who have entered the Great Cloud of Witnesses (Hebrews) the previous year and ring a bell for each name as it is read. Then we invite the widows or loved ones to come to the banner and write the name of their loved on on the banner, using a Sharpie marker. We've used black markers, but silver or gold would be nice too.
The varied ribbons give the effect of a fine curtain between this life and life everlasting. And the jingle bells are joyful noises as the banner flows.
When I talked about this banner on a blog last year, someone designed something a little different and I liked it too. They took a solid white sheet/fabric and made a loop hole for the banner rod to slide through. Then they gave out colorful ribbons for church members to write out the names of their loved ones who had passed away. These ribbons were safety pinned to the banner for a colorful/joyful effect.
Use your imagination! The possibilities are endless!
