Faith Lutheran quilts cover the needy

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

Five years ago, Faith Lutheran Church of Hawks began making quilts for Lutheran World Relief, a charitable program that provides quilts and other supplies for needy adults and children in countries all over the world. Kate Wagner, a member of the church since she was born in 1936, was there at the beginning. ?We really feel the quilts are needed, and it has been proven that they are needed,? said Wagner. ?That?s why we are doing it.? Every January, a core group of ladies and gentleman gather together in the basement of the only church inside the village limits, and begin their charitable work. This year, they worked six consecutive Mondays from early January to Feb. 14 and made 14, the most ever. Last year the tally was 13.

?WE WERE more efficient this year,? said Alan Claus, the only male involved. The quilts are then stored in boxes until October when the pastor dedicates them before they are sent to a staging area at Immanuel Lutheran Church of Alpena. From there the collected items are shipped overseas and a large amount goes to disaster areas such as Haiti, which has yet to fully recover from last year?s earthquake.

Besides Wa

gner and Claus, the quilters at Faith Lutheran include Karen Srebnik, Kay Berg, Toni McNealy, Sandy Grulke and Eleanor Prell. They are part of the Lutheran Women?s Missionary League. Quilts are created from pieces of new and slightly used bed sheets donated by church members and people who want to help out. There is a mixture of full-size and crib sized quilts. According to Lutheran World Relief fund, 1,455 tons of quilts valued at $13 million were collected in 2008 and distributed to 740,000 people in 27 countries, including Haiti, Uganda, India, Ukraine and Kenya. ?Some were used after Katrina,? said Wagner.

IN SOME countries, recipients use quilts as room dividers or to make tents. Prell, who has been a church member for about 60 years, enjoys sewing and takes some of the quilts home to work on the edges. ?It makes me feel good doing something for somebody else,? said Srebnik. ?This is an organization that is involved with world missions, as far as spreading the story of Christ Jesus, but it also is an organization we can work through for these various service projects,? said Wagner. ?We have a great time doing it. It?s fun.? Wagner added that there?s always room for more people to get involved when the time comes next January and they do it all over again.?