Quilting ministries pull communities together.BOOK REVIEW Fabric of Faith A Guide to the Prayer Quilt Ministry By Kimberly Kimberly may refer to:
Morehouse Publishing ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-8192-2193-7 US$23.95 May 2006 "This ministry isn't about quilts. It's about the prayers. Only the prayers.' The founders would rather have you add ties and prayers to a store-bought blanket than have you make a prayer quilt so beautiful, perfect and intricate it could win first prize in a quilt show." (p. 37) I HAD TO PAUSE several times while reading this book, till my eyes dried enough to focus. I'd hear myself say, "Oh, no," as I'd come to another "Story of A Quilt" and feel overcome with emotion again and again. It's easy to pick out these little vignettes, so I found them and read them all in one go, to get the crying out of the way. Practising traditional crafts like quilting quilting, form of needlework, almost always created by women, most of them anonymous, in which two layers of fabric on either side of an interlining (batting) are sewn together, usually with a pattern of back or running (quilting) stitches that hold the layers brings a rootedness in tradition, similar to what many find in their religious practices at church, whether Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist or Native American. There exists a connectedness to our past, to the community. The prayer quilt is tangible, physical evidence of faith in God, love and prayer. The prayers and instructions offered in this book explain how to let the Spirit guide you in choosing the fabrics, how to make a "cheater quilt," the meanings of colours, quilt symbols, how to involve people, and 12 pages of prayers. Yet, the greatest contribution of the book is the sense of a prayerful prayer·ful adj. 1. Inclined or given to praying frequently; devout. 2. Typical or indicative of prayer, as a mannerism, gesture, or facial expression. community, the pulling together, the participation of even hundreds of people for that one person who receives the quilt. And the beauty of it all is you do not have to know how to thread a needle to be part of this meaningful ministry. The author admits she does not quilt. But she ultimately "got it," at a church service where five quilts were presented and then laid out for prayers and tying of the layers together. A woman explained how the quilts were tied, and that as they are tied prayers are said and that they believe those prayers are literally bound into the fabric of the quilt: "Among the fast people to approach the quilts were an elderly man and a small girl--grandfather and granddaughter, no doubt. The man, dressed in his Sunday Sunday: see Sabbath; week. best suit, took the girl's soft little hands in his two gnarled gnarled adj. 1. Having gnarls; knotty or misshapen: gnarled branches. 2. Morose or peevish; crabbed. 3. ones and placed them together on the ties of the first quilt. He bent his head down to her and said, 'See? Like this,' as he wrapped the thread right over left, left over right. 'Now pray with me.' he said. They bowed their heads together, his gray and white one a few inches above the gold and amber of hers." This book is splendid Splendid was a musical duo featuring Angie Hart and Jesse Tobias, who at the time were also husband and wife. History The duo met in Canada, August 1996, when Australian band Frente!, fronted by Hart, arrived to play over two weeks of support dates for Alanis Morissette's , and is worth reading whether you intend to plan a prayer quilt ministry or not. Saskia Rowley, art director for the Anglican Journal, is a quilter quilt n. 1. A coverlet or blanket made of two layers of fabric with a layer of cotton, wool, feathers, or down in between, all stitched firmly together, usually in a decorative crisscross design. 2. . |
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