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October 2001
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Oh, dear ones, All I can suggest, ALL I can suggest, is that we take our trembling fingers, our bruised hearts, and begin to create a Ribbon piece again or for the first time. Cut the fabric you choose to match the size of those pieces that embraced the Pentagon, the White House and the Capital in a burst of color and creativeness on August 4, 1985. Those pieces holding our hearts, so to speak, were 18"X36". We used embroidery floss, crochet needles, batik, knitting needles, looms, paint brushes to put on those small rectangles what we could not bear to think of as lost in a nuclear war. A rabbi once said, "I have been blessed in that I have never needed anything until I had it." We are blessed because we have the memory of the Ribbon's growth from small living rooms to the National Cathedral, from a goal of 2000 pieces to 25,000 pieces. We know a grassroots organization can flourish as people create works of art and each piece is a work of heart. When the days' news is unbearable, take your prayers, your good thoughts, your hopes for the future and create a Ribbon piece holding an image of what you hold dear. This task can ease our aching hearts as the news pours out relentlessly. We need a new binding cloth for this planet. The promise in that first Ribbon is the promise now. We can imagine such a binding cloth stretching around the site of the World Trade Center, one end moving to hold an Islamic shrine, the other around the United Nations. And back again. Someday we will do this. Yes, I have written some poems since September 11 burst into our lives: "It Will Not Be Easy" which I have sent to President Bush and three others: "Bi-Location", "1000 Cars" and "Hurting". The embroideries are ones you may have seen before: "Shalom"" and Promulgation", that 18"X36" piece to honor God and God's Creation. The THANK-YOU for financial support is to Winifred Hardy whom I have known for 16 years. Yes, I plan to go to Assisi to honor Saint Francis and on to Spain to honor Saint Teresa of Avila. They are two of the saints who keep propelling me along. What keeps you moving with hope on dark days? Yes, I plan to be in Bailey, CO doing retreats and workshops during Advent. If you need me to come to your community in the New Year, please send an email. Yes, I am making tiny stitches to create Wild Blackberry blossoms for Marcus and ALL the children of the Earth. How will you say yes? with Love, Justine
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