Ministry's blankets reach China
SAXONBURG — It's hard to know where the ripples of a good deed done will end.
For the women of the St. Luke's Sewing Ministry of St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 310 Main St., the blankets and scarves they made wound up warming ill Tibetan children in Chungdu, a city in southwestern China.
Not bad work for a ministry that started less than a year ago.
The sewing group had its first meeting in April, said Gail Gundlach of Saxonburg.
Gundlach, who the other members call the shepherd of the sewing ministry, said, “I started it. We had an older woman, Velma Boltz, on us to get one started.”
On this bright and cold Thursday afternoon, the sewing ministry members were gathered in the church basement sorting the blankets they had made for Project Linus, a nonprofit organization dedicated to “Providing Security Through Blankets” for ill or traumatized children and teens.
“We gave them over 100 in October and since then, we've made another 40 for a church program, ”said Gundlach.
But, said Peggy Crawford of Saxonburg, the sewing group's products have gone even farther afield, all the way to China.
Matthew Geppert, president of the Oakmont-based South East Asia Prayer Center, was guest minister as St. Luke's Jan. 25. After speaking about SEAPC's work with children with congenital heart problems in Tibet, he took back three large blankets, 15 baby blankets and three scarves.
“It was sort of impromptu and unplanned,” said St. Luke's pastor, the Rev. Roger Keller. “What they do is round up heart surgeons for children. They have a lot of heart problems.”
The sewing ministry members last week received pictures from Geppert of two young Tibetan patients swaddled in blankets made in the church basement.
The boy, Yixi, needed treatment for a heart condition and the girl, Suolong Quzhen, suffered from high altitude sickness, according to a SEAPC spokesman.Closer to home, Gundlach said the sewing ministry had also donated blankets to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh and other hospitals.The members also knit together prayer shawls, which go to people the congregants of St. Luke's think could use the shawls the most.“We've had some really nice comments. We have them blessed and people take them to people with cancer,” said Gundlach.The sewing circle members also make quilts for Lutheran World Relief.The materials the women work with are either donated or bought with money the ministry raised at last summers Saxonburg Festival of the Arts.The group meets every other Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and every other Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. in the basement of St. Lukes's Church.Crawford said, “We started out with seven members, but we have three new members. We started a night meeting for working women.”Crawford said the sewing ministry also has room for new members and not necessarily skilled ones.“We're hoping to get some more members, but we are glad to get anyone,” said Gundlach.“You don't have to be a member of the church. You don't even have to know how to sew,” Gundlach said. “They can cut, press or punch if they don't want to sew.”“Gail cuts these blankets. Linda (Heade) punches the holes, I crochet them,” said Crawford. “Betty's (Learn) the quilt expert.”Learn said, “I'm making a quilt for the quilt show in September. I'm using three different blocks, all interchangeable in the quilt. The quilt is called 'Allegiance.'”Crawford said, “I've been sewing for years, so quilting has been part of my life. We help each other and we tease each other.”Crawford said, “I take my day off to be with these girls.”Gundlach said, “It's just a cozy room and it has big table and you need big tables when you're doing quilts.”“It's just a blessing for everybody to attend and be tighter. In today's world, it's hard to do conversation,” said Keller.
