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Missions
Awareness Quilt: Try It in Your Church! by Janet White, assistant pastor, Stanwood (MI) FMC
The world map panel was purchased at a local Wal-Mart store for less than $10. (Other fabric stores may also carry this type of panel.) WMI member Dorene Cash and I added the quilt batting and blue backing, and sewed along the longitudinal and latitudinal lines to make the quilted effect. Then the border was finished and the felt letters glued on. The quilt is held in place by a 60-inch wooden quilt frame made by Pastor Ron White. Small white appliqué crosses or lambs on various countries add a personal connection, indicating missionaries serving there who have recently visited Stanwood or locations to which people from the church have gone on mission trips. A framed montage next to the map includes mission pictures from World Mission People magazine, as well as missionary prayer cards (available from Free Methodist World Missions). This montage can be updated periodically. Adaptations for other church displays could include tacking the prayer cards directly to the map or connecting the picture to a country on the quilt with yarn. The panel could also be attached to a bulletin board with the edges tucked under, if the quilting and border were not desired. Flags from around the world could add interest. Missionary Moments is a special time in the Sunday morning services to keep the Stanwood congregation informed of mission work around the world, and the Missions Hotline is used as a prayer guide on Wednesday evenings. Fun quizzes in game show format pique the interest of everyone from the youngest to the oldest. Missions can become an exciting part of every local church. This colorful quilt panel is helping Stanwood have a global outlook. |
