Schulze poses with the Hayses in front of the wall hanging
Schulze poses with Judy and Richard Hays in front of the weaving.

Duke Divinity School held a worship service Oct. 20 that included the dedication of a woven banner to honor Richard B. Hays, the George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament and dean of the school from 2010-2015, and his wife Judy Hays.

The banner now hangs over a side altar in Goodson Chapel that will be used for services of anointing and prayers for healing.

Sharon Schulze, a senior M.Div. student, created the banner and a table runner, both woven of cotton in plainweave.  The weavings, titled "This is the Day," are a material expression of the truth that the darkest threads cannot diminish the threads of God’s light running through life, according to Shulze.

Shulze said she was inspired by Romans 8:18 and Psalms 118:24, Biblical passages that were of particular importance to the Hayses during the process of illness and healing after Richard Hays was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.