A Clergy Stole for House Blessings and Themes of Hospitality and Shelter

Previously posted on July 18, 2019 —

We recently had the opportunity to be in Italy for a week. One of our stops was to go hiking in the Cinque Terre National Park which is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. This well photographed area had been on our radar to visit for years but we had no idea how we’d fall in love with it! Related to our work as an artist we were immediately struck by the intense pastel colors of the homes in each village. These are seaside villages where fishing has been a major source of the economy for centuries. Whether it’s fact or fiction the story goes that the homes were painted this way so the fishermen could identify their own from far out at sea. Home is where the heart is?

Back in the studio we took the color inspiration and gathered fabrics. We knew that a theme of homes on a stole was the direction we would go but we let the idea percolate as we gathered supplies not knowing exactly where this would take us.

The cutting table found us creating a structure base of bold, graphic, geometric shapes. A bit of (well, quite a bit!) of embroidery machine stitching and then appliquéd windows were next applied.

Ta da!! The results are two versions of an Ordinary Time stole and one in a shorter Chaplain length.

This design is fairly unique for a ministry stole. But that’s what we pride ourselves on at Carrot Top Studio! Why would one need it? We have always been intrigued by house blessings and this would be a perfect stole for just that. House blessings come in all shapes and sizes — prayers, scripture, icons, sprinkling of Holy water, and more. Here’s a favorite … St. Brigid’s Blessing …

May Brigid bless the house where in you dwell.
Bless every fireside every wall and door.
Bless every heart that beats beneath its roof.
Bless every hand that toils to bring it joy.
Bless every foot that walks its portals through.
May Brigid bless the house that shelters you.

But wait! There’s more! Ordinary Time is such a great time for a stole like this when worship leaders are exploring all sorts of different themes. This stole would also be fitting for themes of hospitality and shelter. So even though this is a unique stole we think of it as a good buy for the flexibility of use it provides. We’d love to hear how you make the visual connection in worship with this stole! Comment below.