The Tapestry Project at Seattle Unity

Transcription

1 The Tapestry Project at Seattle Unity Seattle Unity honors and affirms the truth of all sincere spiritual paths. As a living symbol of this ethos, we are adorning our Sanctuary with 4 by 6 foot tapestries accompanied by altars celebrating these diverse spiritual paths. The project of designing and creating the tapestries is ongoing; we are currently working on the eleventh (Tao) of twelve tapestries. A vision in creation In 2000, Rev. Steve Towles, formerly a senior minister at Seattle Unity Church, envisioned the major world religions peace prayers collated by James Twyman illustrated with banners depicting the symbols of these religions displayed in our Sanctuary. The Peace Prayers Annie Christensen, a Seattle Unity congregant, deeply inspired by his vision, started the Tapestry Ministry to carry this vision into our Sanctuary. She visualized wall hangings of much more depth than simple banners: tapestries depicting the essential spiritual essence of these spiritual paths. She visualized an emotional snapshot of each faith looking at the Tapestry, and being able to get that faith without words. Out of these inspirations, the Tapestry Ministry was created. The selection process In 2000 Annie researched the 12 largest populations of religious or spiritual faiths by number of practitioners. This determined which faiths the 12 tapestries would depict. She measured the Sanctuary, and figured out how large each one needed to be to fill the space. Each spiritual path was meticulously researched, then the group designed and created the tapestry depicting that faith. Each tapestry took a year or two to complete. The side altars After a couple of the tapestries were completed, Seattle Unity hosted a world chant day, with chanters from many faiths and countries gathering to lead chants from their traditions. Because the tapestries were taking so long to complete, the Tapestry Ministry created a small altar underneath where each tapestry would be hung, so that people could know what would be coming to grace the spaces. Over the years, people have enjoyed bringing various sacred objects to include on the altars of their hearts.

2 Islam Tapestry 2001 Islamic Prayer In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful, Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has created us and made us into tribes and nations; that we may know each other, not that we may despise each other. If the enemy incline towards peace, do thou also incline towards peace; and trust God, for the Lord is the one that heareth and knoweth all things. And the servants of God, most gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when we address them, we say Peace. The larger script in the central medallion of the tapestry is the Shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith: There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God. The smaller script in the lower half of the medallion is a blessing: God s mercy be upon him. Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam, is symbolically represented by the flowers above the central medallion. The border design is representative of Islamic prayer rugs. We as a group learned while doing the beginning work for the entire tapestry project, and then specifically for this tapestry, the spiritual truth that what we create together is far more than any one of us could have created alone.

3 Hindu Tapestry 2002 Hindu Prayer Oh God, lead us from the unreal to the Real. Oh God, lead us from darkness to light. Oh God, lead us from death to immortality. Shanti, Shanti, Shanti unto all. Oh Lord God almighty, may there be peace in celestial regions. May there be peace on Earth. May the waters be appeasing. May herbs be wholesome and may trees and plants bring peace to all. May all beneficent beings bring peace to us. May thy Vedic Law propagate peace all through the world. May all things be a source of peace to us. And may thy peace itself, bestow peace on all and may that peace come to me also. Om, considered the first sound of creation and the most sacred of symbols in Hinduism, is the central symbol in the tapestry. Om lies at the center of the Sri Yantra, the circle and rectangle with four gates. The four gates represent the four directions of the universe. Hindu temples are based on the Sri Yantra design. The lotus at the base of the Sri Yantra is a symbol of creation and associated with Hinduism s creation myth. Shown within the temple are Hinduism s three principal gods: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. This trinity of gods represents the creation, preservation, and destruction of the universe. The temple is central to worship; both housing and representing the deity.

4 Native American Tapestry 2003 Native American Prayer Oh great Spirit of our Ancestors, I raise my pipe to you, To your messengers the four winds, And to Mother Earth Who provides for your children To love, to respect, and to be kind to each other, so that they may grow with peace of mind. Let us learn to share all good things That you provide for us on this Earth. The intention of this tapestry is to honor the first peoples of the Americas by focusing on common themes that are integral to their way of life and their spiritual paths. Represented in this tapestry are our oneness with Earth, with all life, and with one-another; the four directions and the cycles of seasons, time and life. The hands at the four directions of the drum were inspired by the following chant by Thunder Woman: Into the silence of the night Into the silence of the moon I am making my dreams come true Wherever possible natural materials were used, including the dried iris leaves braided to create the border around the drum. These leaves were harvested from our home place, the gardens of this church.

5 Jewish Tapestry 2004 Jewish Prayer Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, That we may walk the paths of the Most High. And we shall beat our swords into ploughshares, And our spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nations Neither shall they learn war any more. And none shall be afraid, For the mouth of the Lord of Hosts Has spoken. Central to the tapestry are the four letters of the unspeakable Name of God (YHVH) in Hebrew. Since the fifth century B.C.E., this Name has been considered to be unpronounceable, since it referred to a Being beyond limits of either time or space. When this Name occurs in the text, another word is substituted in the reading, the word Adonai, which means Lord. We crafted these letters using genuine gold leaf. Behind the name of God is the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, with its ten sefirot symbolizing the various stages of emanation from Nothing to Something. The Kabbalah is a major part of the Jewish mystical tradition which focuses on the Tree of Life and the mystical nature of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The tallit (prayer shawl) surrounds the body of the Tree of Life and the four letters of the Name of God. It is worn during times of worship, celebration, and ritual. At the base of the Tree of Life are the candles, the wine and the challah (braided bread) all part of the ritual of welcoming the Sabbath. The Sh ma is at the heart of the Jewish Faith, recited daily in worship and frames the base of the tapestry: Sh ma Yisrel, Adonai Eloheynu, Adonai Echad Listen, Israel: the Eternal is our God, the Eternal is One

6 Buddhist Tapestry 2005 Buddhist Prayer May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind quickly be freed from their illnesses. May those frightened cease to be afraid, and may those bound be free. May the powerless find power, and may people think of befriending one another. May those who find themselves in trackless, fearful wildernessthe children, the aged, the unprotectedbe guarded by beneficial celestials, and may they swiftly attain Buddahood. There are an enormous number of symbols in the long history of Buddhism. Represented on this tapestry include: the Buddha 32 marks of a great being Bell & Dorje female and male, wisdom Bodhi tree under which Buddha won enlightenment Bumpa (vase) contains the nectar of immortality Chhatraratna (sacred parasol) protection from the miseries of Samsara (the cycle of life) Conch Shell proclaims the teachings of the Enlighted ones Deer Buddha's first teachings were at Deer Park in Sanath, India Dharmachakra (Dharma wheel) spiritual law Footprint reminder of the Buddha's presence on earth Four gates what Siddhartha saw when leaving the palace: sickness, old age, death and an ascetic Golden Fish happiness, fruitfulness Knot of Eternity intertwining of wisdom and compassion, the meditative mind Lotus purity, spiritual unfoldment, enlightenment Red and gold the colors of robes of two major branches of Buddhism, Theravada and Mahayana Stupa the enlightened mind of the Buddha Victory Banner the victory of Buddhism over greed, hatred & delusion

7 Wiccan/Gaian Tapestry 2006 Wiccan/Gaean Prayer Nameless one of many names Eternal and ever-changing One Who is found nowhere, but appears everywhere Beyond and within all Timeless circle of all seasons Unknowable mystery known by all Lord of the dance Mother of all life Be radiant within us Engulf us with your love See with our eyes Hear with our ears Breathe with our nostrils Touch with our hands Kiss with our lips Open our heart That we may live free at last Joyful within the single song Of all that is, was or ever shall be This tapestry honors Wicca, Pagans, and all those who follow their own spiritual path without being attached to a formalized, institutional church or religion. We dedicated this tapestry on March 26th because we felt that the dedication of this spiritual path should be done as closely as possible to the spring solstice. The solstices, and the natural rhythms of the earth, are very significant to almost all Pagan and Wicca groups. There are hundreds if not thousands of groups practicing Wicca and various forms of Paganism and Gaeacentered spiritual paths. We tried to capture the essence, the similarities, the core principles of these spiritual practices. We found that our Earth is a common theme, as are balance, love of nature, equality of male and female, an appreciation of the ceremonial, a sense of wonder, a respect for magic, the moon, joy, ritual, and passion. There are thirteen different leaf types on the vine encircling this tapestry, which represent the thirteen tree types of the Wicca moon-based months of the year. We wanted the feeling of coming upon a glade in the forest. Hidden within the branches and the leaves are many symbols representing the Zodiac, numerology, runes, tea leaf reading, runes, palmistry, the I Ching, and shamanism.. By extension, all of you who know that we are more than just our bodies, all of you who follow disciplines outside of the mainstream of accepted spiritual paths, this tapestry welcomes you home to our Sanctuary.

8 Christian Tapestry 2007 Christian Prayer Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be known as the Children of God. But I say to you that hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To those that strike you on the cheek, offer the other one also, and from those who take away your cloak, do not withhold your coat as well. Give to everyone who begs from you, and of those who take away your worldly goods, do not ask for them again. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. As the religion of Christianity moved farther from the time and the teachings of Jesus, the tenets of Christianity become mixed with common culture and legend. In our design process the Tapestry Group asked about the origin of beliefs and the teachings of Jesus while making decisions. The cross is split open and expanded to depict a doorway into the mysteries of Spirit. A dogwood vine (beautiful cross-shaped flowers) was added as a living and growing representation. The Gospels in the New Testament describe the spirit of God descending as a dove, a traditional symbol of innocence and reverence, from heaven. Ours is either flying toward you or away from you your interpretation. A rush of flames, representing the Holy Spirit awakening the light of a living faith. These symbols are placed on a stained glass window to suggest the deeply rooted traditions of Christianity. The incredible beauty of many Christian churches forms a part of the tradition and structure of these spiritual communities. Lastly, we have hung four beaded tassels from the four rods of this tapestry to honor the Eastern and Eastern Orthodox families of Christianity, so different than our more familiar western Christianity traditions, yet equally and indisputably Christian. We offer this Christian tapestry for all of the world s Christians, whom we honor as they follow their individual paths. The uniting and underlying truth in all of Christendom is the love and reverence for the leader, the founder, Jesus of Nazareth, and the wondrous teachings he gave so lovingly.

9 Shinto Tapestry 2009 Shinto Prayer Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us I believe are all over brother and sister why are there constant troubles in this world? Why do winds and waves rise in the oceans surrounding us? I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of mountains. Shinto is the aboriginal religion of Japan. Generally translated as the Way of the Gods, Shinto is a mixture of religious beliefs and practices, and its roots date back to prehistory. It was first mentioned in writing in 720 in the Nihon shoki, Japan s earliest historical chronicle. Unlike most major world religions, Shinto has no organized body of teachings, no recognized historical founder, and no moral code. Instead, it focuses on worship of nature, ancestors, and a pantheon of kami, sacred spirits or gods that personify aspects of the natural world. In the Shinto tradition, nearly everything possesses (or is possessed by) a kami. We have selected Amaterasu omikami, the goddess of the sun, as our honoring of all the kamis. The wooden Torii gate is a symbol of the transition between the finite world and the infinite world of the gods. Flowing water brings purification, a very important concept in Shintoism. Mount Fuji is depicted because, more than any other spiritual path we ve studied, Shinto is integrally linked to Japan. The Origami frog sitting on a stone brings the concepts both of Origami, which comes from Shinto, and all of the natural animals and the importance of the natural world. (Sumo wrestling is the other Shinto ritual now familiar around the world.) Cherry blossoms also bring in the natural world, with the reverence for both its beauty and its impermanence. The Shinto altar below the tapestry includes traditional shrine architecture, which we selected at the Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America, the first Shinto shrine in the United States, located in Granite Falls, Washington. We dedicated this tapestry both here and at the Tsubaki Grand Shrine. Our shrine architecture welcomes and houses our local kami.

10 Sikh Tapestry 2010 Sikh Prayer God adjudges us according to our deeds, not the coat that we wear: that Truth is above everything, but higher still is truthful living. Know that we attaineth God when we loveth, and only victory endures in consequences of which no one is defeated. A very sweet benefit while working on this tapestry was to have one of its sponsors, who is a long-time practicing Sikh, be involved in the design and creation of this tapestry. During the entire process, we were blessed with Sada Simran Khalsa leading us in a number of the traditional Sikh meditative chants. In our beginning work on this tapestry, we were challenged by the fact that a great deal of the depth of Sikh spirituality involves sound, which does not easily lend itself to visual representation. The archway in the foreground represents the archways into the Golden Temple. The Golden Temple is represented as a crown above the arch floating in the water. The Golden Temple in northern India holds the sacred text of the Sikhs. This sacred text is called the Siri Guru Granth. It is considered the guru of the Sikhs divine inspiration and elevation come from reading the divine texts. The Golden Temple is surrounded by water. The Siri Guru Granth is shown, open for study, on the pathway under the arch. The large symbol below the book represents Ek Ong Kar. Ek Ong Kar means there is one God for all creation. The Sikh path recognizes that all paths lead to the one God. The walkway under the arch leads one through the Ek Ong Kar and the Siri Guru Granth toward the Golden Temple. The mountains represent the area of India near the Himalayas, known the Punjab, the cradle of the Sikhs. The symbol on either side of the arch is called the Adi Shakti. It is the symbol of the Sikhs. It represents the primal creative energy of the universe. The double edged sword in the symbol represents the yin and yang of life. The circle around the sword represents the infinity of God. The two swords on either side of the circle represent the protective aspects of the Sikh path. The path of the Sikh is to defend Truth wherever he/she finds it.

11 Native African Tapestry 2012 Native African Prayer Almighty God, the Great Thumb we cannot evade to tie any knot; the Roaring Thunder that splits mighty trees; the all-seeing Lord up on high who sees even the footprints of an antelope on a rock mass here on Earth. You are the one who does not hesitate to respond to our call. You are the cornerstone of peace. Before countries Africa was divided into tribes, tribes defined the borders. At one time there were more the tribes across the continent of Africa. Woven in every community are myths, legends, fables, songs and proverbs that define the individual cultures. Much research went into this project as we listened to story after story seeking the common threads amongst this vast collection. We found more similarities than differences in all African traditional religions. Always a sense of the importance of community, and ordinary community life; rituals of passage illustrating the cyclical nature of African spirituality: rites of birth, where the infant represents a connection to the spirit world, bringing forth an important message from the spirit world rites of adulthood to ensure the shaping of responsible, productive, and community-oriented adults rites of marriage to build families and communities; rites of elders as they represent tradition and the wisdom of the past, along with new infants because these two groups represent the closest links to the wisdom of the spirit world rites of ancestors, the passing over into the spirit world. African philosophy the spirit of the deceased is still with the living community, and that a distinction must be made in the status of the various spirits, as there are distinctions made in the status of the living and that life was cyclical/communal in nature, with a deep reverence of the ancestors and the spirits Almost all had a creation story. Often, God is worshiped through consultation or communion with lesser deities and ancestral spirits. The deities and spirits are honored through libation (A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid as an offering to a god or spirit or in memory of those who have died), sacrifice (of animals, vegetables, or precious metals). The will of God is sought by the believer also through consultation of oracular deities, or divination. In many African traditional religions, there is a belief in a cyclical nature of reality: the living stand between their ancestors and the unborn. African traditional religions embrace natural phenomena - ebb and tide, waxing and waning moon, rain and drought - and the rhythmic pattern of agriculture In the background in the Adinkra symbol Gye Nyame - Except for God, I fear none. It is the symbol of the supremacy of God, and of the inclusion of God in all matters in native African Spirituality. The giraffe holds sacred space for all of the reverence and interconnection with animals and the natural world.

12 Tao Tapestry 2016 A Taoist Teaching ~Lao Tse I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle, and you can be bold; be frugal, and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others, and you can become a leader of men. Gentleness brings victory to him who attacks, and safety to him who defends. Those whom Heaven would save, it fences round with gentleness. The greatest conquerors are those who overcome their enemies without strife. The Tao Te Ching, the best known text of Taoism, begins The way you can go isn t the real way. The name you can say isn t the real name. This fluidity and non-namingness made creating something in physical form extremely challenging. The more we studied, the more complex and baffling things became. We finally made the choice, as we did with the Christian tapestry, to go back to one basic principle of this spiritual path, and essentially ignore all of the elements of Taoism as the religion in all its forms as it is practiced historically and today. Our concept illustrates a very basic idea of the Tao, that this material world, the world called the 10,000 things is essentially a distraction. That formless Truth exists calmly apart from, yet interrelated with, this material world. We begin to master ourselves by education, observation, practice, play, and seeking the simplest path. We have the central circle, a multi-layered pond, illustrating the 10,000 things. We collaged this, and if you get close, you will see in this pool food, and fashion, and sports, and politics, and pets, and religion, and many, many other pleasant/unpleasant distractions. The pool is deliberately the shiniest, most eye-catching element on the tapestry. It s also designed to portray the yin and yang symbol. We ve used coins (a core element of the 10,000 things) as the dots to the yin and the yang. Surrounding the pond is a stone wall or not? It s also a dragon, symbol in Taoism of eternity, wisdom, and power. Is the dragon eating its tail? Or not? Lao Tzu, representing all of the many sages and teachers of this spiritual path, sits calmly in focused meditation upon this dragon/stone. Or is he just asleep? The background of abstract earth, water, and cloud forms completes the design..

13 Baha i Tapestry 2018 Baha i Prayer Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be fair in judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness, and a home to the stranger. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be a breath of life to the body of humankind, a dew to the soil of the human heart, and a fruit upon the tree of humility. Essentially a mystical faith, and a new faith, (begun in the mid-1800's), the Baha i teachings focus on the soul s relationship with the eternal, unknowable essence of God, and recommend daily prayer and meditation to everyone. In the center of our central motif is the Arabic symbol for "the Greatest Name of God". This symbol is frequently found in Baha'i Houses of Worship. The number nine is significant: the number of perfection, completion and fulfillment. The Baha'i star is generally shown with 9 points. The center of the center motif is this 9-pointed star, with lacy swirls representing so much of the beauty and grace of the decorations on many of the Baha'i Houses of Worship (who have only one per continent). Baha is believe in peace, justice, love, altruism and unity. The Baha i faith teaches the oneness of God, the unity of humanity and the essential harmony of religion. They promote the agreement of science and religion, the equality of the sexes, universal education for all, and the elimination of all prejudice and racism. We carefully painted the cloth made into the people holding hands including every skin color of humanity. The 9 hearts linking the people are all of different colors and materials. Nature is represented in the flowers, leaves and wood making up the outer limits of the central star. We included other faiths in the beaded symbols in the river of Spirituality. Birds are frequently used as Baha'i symbols: the balance between male and female, and between people's two powers, one in the material world, and one in the spiritual. How can a bird fly with only one wing?