MADISON – The pews at Messiah Lutheran Church in Madison were covered with colorful, comfortable quilts during Sunday service Aug. 18.
Messiah Lutheran “has donated 122 handmade quilts to Lutheran World Relief and over 120 moving boxes full of personal care items, baby care products and school supplies,” said spokeswoman Meredith Kilby.
“The quilts hung above the pews and towers of boxes filled with kits lined the walls of the nave,” Kilby said. “‘Kit and Quilt Blessing Sunday’ has been a regular August tradition since two groups at the church began making these items in the mid-2000s.”
On August 25, the boxes were loaded onto a large trailer for their journey to the Lutheran Disaster Relief warehouse in Maryland, from where they would be distributed throughout the world.
Messiah’s Comforters, one of the groups, sews and completes the simple, colorful quilts year-round. “The quilts are designed to be used – as a soft floor covering for a refugee tent to keep it warm, as protection from the sun or to bundle personal items for transport,” Kilby said.
The Comforters group meets on Tuesday mornings from August through May to cut, piece and finish the quilts. They use donated fabrics and materials purchased at special fundraisers and fundraisers such as the November quilt sale. Visit mlutheran.org.
“You don’t have to be a member, even a Lutheran, to join us! We’re always looking for an extra pair of hands. Sewing skills are not necessary,” said group leader Jeanette Beamer. “We need people to tie knots, iron fabrics, arrange squares for quilt tops, pin, cut and do other odd jobs.”
The group welcomes donations of fabric, especially clean, unused cotton scraps and yardage from sewing projects. Fabrics not suitable for quilts are often made into backpacks for the Kit Ministry team. To donate fabric, call the church office at 256-721-0041.
The group focuses on quilts for Lutheran World Relief, but also makes items for local relief efforts, including prayer shawls and baby blankets for church families, friends and neighbors, fleece blankets for the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree, lap blankets for Redstone Hospice, quilts for newborns in the NICU for Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children, and eight fabric kits for Lutheran World Relief.
Over the course of the year, the Messiah’s Kit Ministry team has assembled countless Lutheran World Relief Kits and also sent them to crisis, famine, and natural disaster areas around the world. This team is co-led by Diane Davis and Dr. Rhonda Gaede and meets weekly on Thursday evenings throughout the year. Gaede is the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
The team packs three types of kits: personal care, baby care and school kits. Outside of regular meetings, volunteers shop for kits throughout the year, always on the lookout for sales, bulk discounts and tax-free weekends. Other team members sew simple backpacks from donated fabric, said Dana Burton, who is the council’s public relations representative.
Davis and Gaede also coordinate packing sessions for members and outside groups of all ages, including children. On August 18, Davis and Gaede led students in packing 52 moving boxes of school supplies for UAH’s Week of Welcome. Messiah Lutheran volunteers brought the boxes back to the church.
“Loading day is always unforgettable! Seeing the many boxes of kits and quilts pour out of the church and be carried and carted onto the trailer is a remarkable sight and a tangible expression of God’s love put into action through the hands of the quilt and kit makers,” said Kilby.
“The items bring relief, dignity and hope to (the recipients), but also joy and a sense of connection for all who help together in groups or participate in a kit-making session,” Kilby said.
The address of Messiah Lutheran Church is 7740 US 72 W. Founded in 1990, Messiah Lutheran is a congregation of the ELCA or Evangelical Church in America in its Southeastern Synod. Pastor Kristine Schroeder was called to lead the congregation in 2023.
For more information, visit mlutheran.org/outreach, lwr.org/kits or lwr.org/quilts.
