A church fan is a term used mainly in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for a

hand fan A handheld fan, or simply hand fan, is a broad, flat surface that is waved back and forth to create an airflow. Generally, purpose-made handheld fans are folding fans, which are shaped like a Circular sector, sector of a circle and made of a thi ...

used within a

Christian church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus Christ. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a syn ...

building to cool oneself off. The fan typically has a wooden handle and a fan blade made of hard stock paper (i.e. card-stock, 2-ply), often with a staple adjoining the two materials.

History

Modern air-conditioning became widely available in America during the 1950s. However, many churches (primarily African-American congregations) were unable to afford the cooling machines for their

church buildings A church, church building, church house, or chapel is a building used for Christian worship church service, services and Christian religion, Christian activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 A ...

. In addition to their function of cooling the body, the paper blade of the fans were used for printed illustrations and community advertisements. Historically, funeral homes often acquired the space on the back of the fans to advertise their services to the churches members, in addition to other local businesses and services. Illustrations on the front blade of the fans are varied in subject matter, from illustrations of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

to notable people within the respective churches’ communities.

Contemporary use

With the spread of modern air-conditioning units within church buildings, church fans have become less popular. However, many churches still supply hand fans for their members.

References

{{Reflist Ventilation fans Christian art