UPDATE: On Maundy Thursday all the banners will be gathered together, collectively blessed at the evening liturgy, and offered up as an embodiment of the prayers of the community.
You will need a piece of cloth about 3" wide, and between 12" and 24" long. You can pick one up from the bin placed on the front patio of the cathedral during the day (M–F, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). Or you can make one yourself, using whatever fabric is at hand.
Using a Sharpie, fabric marker, or another method that will be permanent and waterproof, write your prayer intention on the cloth, in whatever style makes sense to you. You can write a small note in one corner or the banner, or your lettering can fill the whole space. You can write a lot, or just a single word.
Then, make a prayer pilgrimage to Saint Mark’s!
Bring your prayer banner—or make one on the spot—and then take a clip from the bin on the patio to string your banner along with others around the labyrinth. (The banners will be more permanently attached at the end of each day.) If you cannot make it to the cathedral in-person, please mail your banner to the cathedral at the usual mailing address.
When we put our prayer banners together this way, even though we may not be all walking there at the same time, we are connecting with each other, taking time to be present at the labyrinth in prayer, and leaving something of ourselves that we share. As we string our own prayer banners, we pray for all the others who have walked and placed their prayers here in community.
Contact Canon Jennifer at jkdaugherty@saintmarks.org with any question.
Canon Nancy Ross discusses this offering in the second half of the video below:
