If you've ever wondered where Litany gets its name, it might come as no surprise that it is inspired by an ancient form of Christian prayer. A litany is a long list of petitions that are recited as a call and response. It is repetitive and rhythmic, musical in quality, and simple so as to be easily imitated. The litany of saints, for example, involves stating the names of various saints to which all respond, “pray for us.” It is a unitive, collaborative type of prayer, ordered toward love and creating something good.
First and foremost, Litany was named as such because of the litany of saints. Each of our garments is inspired by and named in some way after a particular saint and when the pieces all come together, we see the unique yet cohesive beauty that the saints possess as well. Each garment is imbued with rich meaning and meant to inspire the wearer to live a deeply beautiful life, hopefully striving for unity with God and each other as the saints did.
But as with all beautiful things, litanies continue to inspire us in new ways that are unfolding over time. One of the new ways our own name has touched our mission recently is through the call and response nature of this prayer. At Litany, we are aware of our calling to love everyone, and we are striving to respond to that in many different ways. In particular, we are focusing on viewing our supply chain- everyone from the workers who dye the silk all the way to the woman receiving our garment as a gift- as more than just a list of people but as many opportunities to respond to that call to love.
Our supply chain has become a #LitanyofLove to us because it is made up of people with whom we collaborate- working together to respond to each other's needs, in order to create something good. We desire to respond to the real needs of our suppliers and not just ask them to respond to ours. We strive to simplify our process so as to be manageable, repeatable, and easily imitated by others. We hope to show love and consistency to our customers, so they know they are worthy and special in so many ways. We have received a call to do things differently, and this is our response. We hope that you’ll join in with us.
Stay tuned for the next couple weeks as we highlight our designers, suppliers, laser cutters, customers, and everyone in between and how we plan to respond to our call to love them!
