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SPRING 2012 / VOLUME 10 / ISSUE 2
FAITH IN
A Newsletter Especially for LWR Quilters & Kit Makers
BEAUTIFUL WORK:
SERVING CHRIST IN ONE ANOTHER
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By Jessica Katzenstein, LWR’s Program Assistant for Constituent Engagement
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Sister Camelus leads a devotion
before the Quilt distribution
Lutheran World Relief is a ministry of
U.S. Lutherans, serving communities
living in poverty overseas.
FIA-12.5K-0512
Mother Teresa once said, “Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten
by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty
than the person who has nothing to eat.” Through a combination of fabric
and thread, you create something beautiful and life-affirming: a Quilt that
shows people in need they are both loved and remembered.
This year, LWR Mission Quilts found their way to Missionaries of Charity,
the organization Mother Teresa founded. The sisters distributed the Quilts
– more than 700 of them – at Prem Dan, a home for homeless and destitute
women and men in Kolkata, India.
“The smiles of recipients were deeply inspiring and encouraging,” says
Rakhi Bhattacharya, LWR’s country director in India. “[This distribution
brought me much] faith in our work and what we do.”
LWR Quilts, stitched in love, bring joy and warmth to people in their times
of greatest need and wrap them in comfort.
Through the beautiful gift of an LWR Mission Quilt, Lutherans live out the
words and spirit of Mother Teresa’s mission every single day.
She said, “There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the
sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and
the devotion come in – that we do it to God,
to Christ, and that’s why we try to do it as
beautifully as possible.”
To learn more about quilting
for LWR, visit lwr.org/quilts.
LWR country director,
Rakhi Bhattacharya, gives a
Quilt to a resident at Prem Dan
Photo by Sourob Gomes
YOUNG LEADERS
LIGHT THE WAY
FOR SERVICE
By Melanie Gibbons, Quilt & Kit Ministry Coordinator
Sometimes, we think of children and youth as “leaders of
tomorrow,” and fail to recognize how they already serve 1
as leaders in our churches and communities today! Here
are some inspiring stories about how young leaders are
making a faithful difference in the world.
Quilts and Kits or
Bust! Youth Events
Connect to Service
1
Each January, the high school youth
of the Delaware-Maryland Synod
of the ELCA gather in Ocean City,
Md., for RoadTrip, the synod’s retreat
for older youth. For the past three
years, the group has set aside time
for an LWR service project: Personal
Care Kits the first year, Personal Care
Kits and Quilts last year, and School
Kits and Quilts in 2012.
Event coordinators divide
participating churches into groups
and ask that they contribute a
specific item to the Kit project.
This year, in combination with the
middle school youth event, Free
Ride, they collected enough supplies
to complete 267 School Kits!
Local quilting groups and youth
leaders gather supplies for Quilts.
Quilters volunteer to come to
the event to help with sewing
and technical questions. Cutting,
piecing, pinning and tying, this
year’s young leaders made 12 Quilts!
High school youth at the annual
Delaware-Maryland Synod event work
on Quilts and School Kits for LWR as
their service projects.
Pr. Ed Kay, assistant to the bishop
and coordinator of youth and
family ministries for the DelawareMaryland Synod, sees quilting as a
great opportunity for the youth of the
church to put their faith into action
on behalf of the world. Those who
have the experience can help youth
make that connection by teaching the
skills and sharing the experience.
Says Kay, “More and more, youth
are becoming aware of what they can
do to change the world…RoadTrip 3
Bethany Lutheran Church in Lompoc,
gives a glimpse of what this can look
Calif., incorporated a Personal Care
Kit assembly into their Vacation Bible
like when we work together.”
Hope from Hope:
Passing Along the
Gift of Service
School curriculum in 2009.
2
On the second Sunday of each
month, 7th through 12th graders at
New Hope Lutheran Church in
Columbia, Md., join the younger
students in a service project during
the Sunday school hour. The older
youth help teach the children about
serving others.
The Service Sundays have “been
amazing,” says youth leader Kathy
Piet. The high school youth first
encountered LWR Quilts at the
Delaware-Maryland Synod’s
RoadTrip event, and brought the
project back with them to their
church, inviting members with
sewing skills to help out.
In the fall and spring, the youth
made Personal Care Kits for LWR
as well as completing projects for
local service organizations. This past
Share your stories!
held a
Has your congregation
nal event
successful intergeneratio
Kits? Have
involving LWR’s Quilts or
church led or
the young people in your
ese projects?
participated in one of th
Let us know!
ail
Call 800.597.5972 or em
all about it!
[email protected] and tell us
School’s Out!
The Value of
Vacation Lessons
3
Vacation Bible School
programs provide a nurturing
environment for children of
all ages to learn about God’s
love. For several years, Bethany
Lutheran Church in Lompoc,
Calif., has hosted their VBS in
the town park as an outreach
for children in the community.
In 2009, the group added an
element of service to their VBS
curriculum. “We wanted to
have a mission project, and
had read shortly before about
the great need for [Personal
Care Kits],” says Linda Marks
Pauling, VBS coordinator.
2 Youth from New Hope Lutheran Church
“Our pastor gathered the kids
into a circle and told them
about children who have to
leave home quickly and may
not have time to take their
belongings with them,” describes
Linda. “He asked the kids what
they would need...‘What do you use
when you get up in the morning?’
Little by little he unwrapped a Kit
to show the items and explained
that they could make Kits just like
that.”
After seeing pictures of LWR Kits
being given to children across
the world, the VBS participants
eagerly began gathering items.
With the support of the Bethany
congregation, youth assembled
30 Personal Care Kits, which they
placed in a large rubber bucket.
“The children were so proud when
they filled up a whole bucket,”
says Linda.
The pride in taking service to others
is a lesson the children will no
doubt carry with them for life, as
the compassion and love expressed
through their gifts will stay with
families living in poverty overseas.
in Columbia, Md., gather after their
Service Sunday project making Quilts
and Personal Care Kits.
winter, the group worked on Mission
Quilts for LWR, carefully cutting
squares, sewing seams and tying
layers together.
“It’s not really that hard. You just have
to have the right tools and be precise
in your cutting,” says one young
quilter. New Hope’s youth completed
one Quilt, and made enough squares
to make five more tops!
Looking to engage the young leaders
in your congregation in service to
their neighbors? Make LWR Kits or
Quilts a part of your VBS journey this
summer, or a special emphasis during
Lent or Advent. Does your church
have a school? Consider a monthly or
seasonal emphasis, like the school in
the story on page 4 did! To learn more
about assembling Quilts and
Kits, visit lwr.org/kits.
GIFTS OF GRACE AND GRATITUDE
By Jessica Katzenstein, LWR’s Program Assistant for Constituent Engagement
Last Christmas, along with the
donation of 50 Baby Care Kits,
staff at Lutheran World Relief
received a very special present from
students at Zion Lutheran School
in St. Charles, Mo., — dozens
of hand-written cards filled with
words of encouragement and
blessings on the work of LWR.
“It was such a beautiful reminder
of the spirit of faith and generosity
behind the many Quilts and Kits
LWR receives every single year,”
says Melanie Gibbons, LWR’s Quilt
& Kit Ministry Coordinator.
Zion teaches its students that,
just as Christ has been a servant
to us, we must also serve others.
Instead of exchanging Christmas
gifts in the classroom, classes
donate their time and talents to an
organization like
Lutheran World
Relief. This year, the
junior high classes
put together 50
LWR Baby Care
Kits!
“Although the
students do not
know specifically
who will receive
these Kits, they
know God’s love
Students proudly display the Baby Care Kit
they assembled as part of their class project
works in miraculous ways,” says
Kim Poppitz, a teacher at Zion.
The students raised $1,950 for
supplies by hosting a walk-a-thon
in September and an items drive in
the winter. In December, students
assembled the Baby Care Kits as
part of a special packing day.
But they didn’t stop there.
Zion understood that Kits must
not include religious symbols or
messages, but they still wanted
to share their Christmas joy, so
they made dozens of handmade
Christmas cards for LWR
employees. In them they wrote
messages of support like “Thank
you for helping people all across the
world have a better life” and “Thank
you for all you do to serve others
around the world so they can see
Important Contact Information
we are showing God’s love.”
Assembling Kits made for a
wonderful Advent project for
the students at Zion, and these
gifts serve as powerful symbols of
Christ’s love. Kits provide a handson way for people of all ages to
get involved in putting their faith
into action. Baby Care Kits and
School Kits in particular represent
a tangible connection with children
and students around the world.
Fair Trade
Handcrafts
Baptisms.
Graduations.
Weddings.
Celebrate your new
beginnings by helping
an artisan make a fresh
start of her own.
The new Gifts of Faith collection
gives you the perfect way to
commemorate these milestones.
Go to lwr.org/handcrafts to
order gifts that change lives.
LWR HEADQUARTERS:
Lutheran World Relief
700 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21230 USA
Phone: 800.597.5972
Email: [email protected]
LWR WAREHOUSES:
Lutheran World Relief Warehouse
398 East Richmond Street
South St. Paul, MN 55075 USA
Phone: 651.457.9009
QUILT & KIT MINISTRY GUIDELINES:
lwr.org/kits
Lutheran World Relief Warehouse
601 Main Street
PO Box 188
New Windsor, MD 21776 USA
Phone: 410.635.8795
LWR BROCHURES AND VIDEOS:
800.597.5972