The document describes a project by the Welcoming Sanctuary Task Force at the First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn to create banners depicting the Unitarian Universalist Sources of Inspiration to hang in their sanctuary. The task force worked with artists Cooper and Melody to design beautiful banners inspired by their architecture and stained glass that will provide newcomers a clear visual understanding of UU values and enhance everyone's worship experience. A congregational meeting will be held on October 21st to vote on endorsing the project.

1. The Unitarian Universalist Sources and Values Banner Project
Back in 2007 the Board of Trustees created the Welcoming Sanctuary Task Force and charged it with the task
of “transforming our buildings …into a truly welcoming and inspirational space, alive with the unique spirit of
our congregation in particular and of Unitarian Universalism in general.” We started our work in the vestibule
– cleaning, de-cluttering and repairing. We installed a new brochure rack and bought a stand for our rainbow
flag . And then a little over a year ago after soliciting design ideas from the congregation, in 2010 we installed
the much admired Chalice and Welcome sign in the tympanum. Our artist, Cooper Miller, designed,
fabricated and installed this sign.
Once we completed the tympanum art project, we were ready to think about ways to make our sanctuary itself
more welcoming. The Task Force members and most people who come into our sanctuary find it very beautiful
– the Minard Lafever gothic revival interior, the Tiffany stained glass windows, the two rose windows and the
beautiful angel mosaic on the west gallery wall. But as beautiful as the sanctuary is, the visual message that
most people receive when they enter is not a Unitarian Universalist message. If any religion is evoked, it is
Christianity, which is not surprising since our forbears considered themselves Christians and even named this
building the Church of the Savior. Our clerestory windows depict individuals who can be considered UU
“saints,” but still the visual “message” of this space is largely Christian, Euro-American and 19th century.
The Task Force wrestled to find a way to bring in our UU message, along with a 21st century vitality and color,
while still honoring the sanctuary’s existing beauty. What we have come up with is a set of banners to hang
from the balconies that evoke our UU Sources of Inspiration. The shape of the banners is inspired by our
gothic revival architecture and the colors are inspired by our Tiffany windows. We are so fortunate to have
within the congregation and Task Force two terrific artists, Cooper and Melody, who were able to take the ideas
we brainstormed and turn them into beautiful images. These images will give newcomers and congregants an
immediate visual understanding of who we are as UUs. The Task Force believes that this clear visual message
about who we are and what is important to us can only help us attract and retain new members. And the
beauty and vibrancy of the banners themselves will enhance everyone’s worship experience.
-Nancy Witherell

2. Sources and Values Banner Project
First Unitarian Congregational
Society in Brooklyn
Source:
Direct experience of that transcending
mystery and wonder, affirmed in all
cultures, which moves us to a renewal
of the spirit and an openness to the
forces which create and uphold life;
"To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much
from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary
whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me.
But if a man would be alone, let him look at the
stars.... The stars awaken a certain reverence, because
though always present, they are inaccessible; but all
natural objects make a kindred impression, when the
mind is open to their influence." - R.W. Emerson
Copyright © 2012 Demonstrous Productions, LLC

3. Sources and Values Banner Project
First Unitarian Congregational
Society in Brooklyn
Source:
Words and deeds of prophetic women
and men which challenge us to
confront powers and structures of evil
with justice, compassion, and the
transforming power of love;
Love - Peace - Justice
This is an intimate yet magical depiction of
a red heart in the hands of the viewer at the
moment of transmission; love in the process
of being offered or just received. Like a
heart, Love is tender and delicate yet radiates
vitality in all directions; there is no symbol
more befitting.
Copyright © 2012 Demonstrous Productions, LLC

4. Sources and Values Banner Project
First Unitarian Congregational
Society in Brooklyn
Source:
Words and deeds of prophetic women
and men which challenge us to
confront powers and structures of evil
with justice, compassion, and the
transforming power of love;
Love - Peace - Justice
The dove is the universally understood
symbol for the rarely practiced virtue of
peace. Hands releasing the dove against an
indigo sky illustrate that true peace thrives
when we are willing to release our tight grasp
on other living entities and material things.
Its feathered wings reflect the angels’ wings
in the stain glass windows.
Copyright © 2012 Demonstrous Productions, LLC

5. Sources and Values Banner Project
First Unitarian Congregational
Society in Brooklyn
Source:
Words and deeds of prophetic women
and men which challenge us to
confront powers and structures of evil
with justice, compassion, and the
transforming power of love;
Love - Peace - Justice
Lady Justice once personified a universal
virtue of unbiased fairness, but now adorns a
system that too often favors the underwriters
of the law and creates victims by labeling
them criminals. In this banner an old
verdigris statue of Justicia holds a scale that
has fallen out of plumb. A small human
hand reaches up to raise the plate lowered by
the elements and neglect, in an attempt to
restore the balance of justice.
Copyright © 2012 Demonstrous Productions, LLC

6. Sources and Values Banner Project
First Unitarian Congregational
Society in Brooklyn
Source:
Wisdom from the world's religions
which inspires us in our ethical and
spiritual life;
Artist Statement:
The wisdom of many religious practices and
faiths are represented in these sacred objects: the
Yoruba dance wand, the Shinto Torii, the
Buddhist prayer wheel, the indigenous people's
smudge bowl, the Muslim prayer rug, the Taoist
Meditation Balls, the Sikh Kirpan blade, the
Hindu prayer beads.
Copyright © 2012 Demonstrous Productions, LLC

7. Sources and Values Banner Project
First Unitarian Congregational
Society in Brooklyn
Source:
Jewish and Christian teachings which
call us to respond to God's love by
loving our neighbors as ourselves;
Artist Statement:
In this sky blue banner crepuscular rays
permeate the clouds and fall on two houses
of worship in a divine embrace of Judeo-
Christian neighbors.
Copyright © 2012 Demonstrous Productions, LLC

8. Sources and Values Banner Project
First Unitarian Congregational
Society in Brooklyn
Source:
Humanist teachings which counsel us
to heed the guidance of reason and the
results of science, and warn us
against idolatries of the mind and
spirit;
Leonardo Di Vinci's famous image of the
Vitruvian man was inspired by Vitruvius’
proportions of man and Pythagorus’ sacred
geometry which posited that the square represents
the material and the circle, the spiritual.
Humanism rejects the duality of spirit and body,
the Vituvian man depicts the unification of the
two. In this banner we have incorporated a female
figure to account for the feminine aspect which
science has revealed is actually the default human
form, thus unifying another cultural duality. The
banner is gold to reflect the value of Humanism to
the UU tradition.
Copyright © 2012 Demonstrous Productions, LLC

9. Sources and Values Banner Project
First Unitarian Congregational
Society in Brooklyn
Source:
Spiritual teachings of earth-centered
traditions which celebrate the sacred
circle of life and instruct us to live in
harmony with the rhythms of nature.
"Nature, in its ministry to man, is only the material, but is
also the process and the result. All the parts incessantly work
into each other’s hands for the profit of man. The wind sows
the seed; the sun evaporates the sea; the wind blows the vapor
to the field; the ice, on the other side of the planet, condenses
rain on this; the rain feeds the plant; the plant feeds the
animal; and thus the endless circulations of the divine charity
nourish man" -R.W. Emerson
Copyright © 2012 Demonstrous Productions, LLC

10. Viewed together the banners form a rainbow, which
symbolizes diverse sources forming a cohesive whole.

12. Please come to First Unitarian’s Congregational meeting
after the service this Sunday October 21st, 2012 for the vote
to endorse this project.
Thank you
- The Welcoming Sanctuary Task Force