Liturgical Vestments & Personal Prayer

In time for Summer Solstice, Will is producing several “Celebrant’s Stoles” appropriate for all spiritual traditions, from Animist to Zoroastrian. They are especially appropriate for those who celebrate the sacredness of the Solstice. Their rainbow design also makes them especially appropriate as Marriage Equality Stoles, and their use of the Fibonacci Sequence and Golden Mean make them meaningful for all Gnostic traditions, including Christian.

These stoles are 8′ long (plus two 3″ fringes) by about 6″ wide – a substantial stole in brilliant colors to make a substantial point. The warp threads are black, gold, red, green, purple, blue, gold, and red – in the Fibonacci Numbers Sequence of 1,1,2,3,5,8,13, 21. The extra golden thread in the center is emblematic of the Golden Mean (see below.) The two shown above have wefts of white, and red. There will be two more stoles in other colors.

Each or these stoles is unique, one-of-a-kind, and will not be duplicated. They are woven from 100% mercerized cotton, and are gently washable.

Price: $110.00 (plus shipping)

Order now through the EphodsandPomegranates.com website, in time for Summer Solstice.

The Fibonacci Sequence and the Golden Mean

The mathematics of the golden ratio and of the Fibonacci sequence are intimately interconnected. The Fibonacci sequence is:

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, ….

The closed-form expression for the Fibonacci sequence involves the golden ratio:

F\left(n\right) = {{\varphi^n-(1-\varphi)^n} \over {\sqrt 5}} = {{\varphi^n-(-\varphi)^{-n}} \over {\sqrt 5}}.

A Fibonacci spiral which approximates the golden spiral, using Fibonacci sequence square sizes up to 34.

The golden ratio is the limit of the ratios of successive terms of the Fibonacci sequence (or any Fibonacci-like sequence), as originally shown by Kepler:^[20]

\lim_{n\to\infty}\frac{F(n+1)}{F(n)}=\varphi.

Therefore, if a Fibonacci number is divided by its immediate predecessor in the sequence, the quotient approximates $φ$ ; e.g., 987/610 $\approx$ 1.6180327868852. These approximations are alternately lower and higher than $φ$ , and converge on $φ$ as the Fibonacci numbers increase.

The Golden Mean (1.6180327868852…..) is a key component of Sacred Geometry, significant in many spiritual traditions as the expression of meaning in the Universe.

Now available in this limited number of Fibonacci Rainbow Celebrant’s Stoles.

~ Will Melnyk

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Handwoven on the Mountain
by Sewanee Weavers

Glyn Ruppe-Melnyk (SOT ’92)
g.ruppemelnyk2015@gmail.com
610-357-6813
and Will Melnyk (SOT ’81)
w.william.melnyk@gmail.com
610-357-7291

After long careers in parish ministry, Glyn and Will have retired back to the Mountain, in a small log cabin in the woods south of Monteagle. Here they make their home, and run their weaving studio: Ephods and Pomegranates.

Vestments by Theologs, for Theologs

Although they produce many handwovens for home décor and clothing, they consider it a ministry to produce Eucharistic stoles, Personal prayer shawls (tallits,) and other liturgical items for worship leaders everywhere, and especially for current seminarians, faculty, and staff of their Alma Mater.

Most of their liturgical handwovens are unique; one of a kind. They are competitive in price with the commercial supply houses. But unlike with the big supply houses, you are not likely to attend a clergy gathering and encounter several colleagues wearing the same stole. Indeed, they are likely to look at your handwoven stole and ask, “Where did you get that?”