On Sunday, November 1st, Messiah Lutheran Church blessed into God’s service the quilts and kits made by MLC’s Comforters and Kit Ministry ministry groups. This year the blessing, and related temple talks were part of both the pre-recorded online service and the in-person outdoor worship services. What follows are the transcripts of each of those temple talks.
In year’s past, MLC’s parking lot is used as an in-gathering location for kits and quilts, typically towards the end of August. Because of Covid-19, that location was moved to Chattanooga, and later in the year.
Comforters
Our group of dedicated ladies make a variety of quilts, lap robes, afghans and prayer shawls for those in need.
Our year was cut short in March this year by the pandemic and quarantine. Although our quilt count is down, our members have been busy. Some of us made 100s of masks to support our area hospitals, and nursing homes plus individual members and friends in need of personal protective equipment. Some of us sewed tops together in our homes. Some tied quilts – another chore that could be done in one’s home.
Sixty of these quilts have been packed up and will be loaded on a truck to go to Lutheran World Relief to be distributed around the world to people in need of shelter, a wall, a carpet, a warm blanket, or a tote to carry their belongings. These quilts are also a constant reminder that someone cares.
Some of the quilts have gone to help those in need locally. This year:
- 28 baby quilts and 5 crocheted Afghans have been sent to the Huntsville Hospital NICU.
- 5 quilts were sent to the downtown mission.
- 4 quilts were sent to Davidson farm as part of the Kids to Love Program.
- 4 quilts were given to the Bux Family after their house fire.
- 10 lap quilts were sent to Redstone Hospice
- 25 fleece throws were given to the children at the Salvation Army mission for their Christmas Angel tree project.
In addition, our church distributed 5 prayer shawls and 3 lap robes as requested this past year. These are available to anyone who needs some comfort and prayers. Please see Claire Strand for these items.
While our annual fund raising quilt auction has been postponed until spring, we hope you will be able to support us at that time. We also want to thank all the monetary support we have received from our mask outreach.
If you would like to join the comforters, we are always looking for an extra pair of hands. You do not need to know how to sew. We hope to be able to meet again on a regular basis in the near future, God willing. When that time comes we will meet on Tuesday mornings in the Fellowship Hall beginning around 9:00 am. People come and go when they need to. Please read E-news for updates.
Lastly, I’d like to thank all the Comforter members who have dedicated their time and talents to our mission this year.
Jeanette Beamer – Comforters Co-Chair
Kit Ministry 2020
Diane Davis and I have the privilege of facilitating the Kit Ministries Mission here at Messiah. I normally give you some numbers of kits assembled to indicate the scope of this mission but today I have a different take on numbers. 525,600 minutes, that’s the number of minutes in a year.
There’s a song from the Broadway musical Rent which contains the lyrics, “Five hundred twenty-five thousand six-hundred minutes, How do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee, in inches, in miles, in laughter and strife, In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes, how do you measure, a year in the life? Rent is about a group of people dealing with AIDS when it was a certain death sentence. A time when little was known about the transmission of the virus, when people thought they couldn’t get it, and when people who had it were feared and shamed.
Sound familiar? How do we measure 2020? In masks sewn, in lives lost, in lost jobs, in canceled cruises, in online worship services, in curbside pickup, in Zoom meetings? Maybe, but the title of that song from Rent is Seasons of Love. The 11 boxes of personal care kits, 16 boxes of baby care kits, and 6 boxes of quilts making their way to Tennessee this week are powerful expressions of love from the people of Messiah.
Thank you for living the verse “We love, because God first loved us”. AIDS is no longer a death sentence and COVID will someday be something read about in textbooks. Love, on the other hand, is here to stay. Thanks be to God!
Rhonda Gaede, MLC Kit Ministry Co-Chair