Quilting for Lutheran World Relief

In September, my church started making Mission Quilts for Lutheran World Relief. This is a new ministry for us at St. Mark's, but Lutheran World Relief has been sending quilts to people in need since it was founded in 1945. LWR provides an average of 300,000 quilts a year to be used as warm bedding, floor coverings, or simple tents following natural disaster or war.   

On Sunday, we dedicated 12 quilts lovingly made by our group. 

Church members and friends donated their extra fabric, which we cut and pieced together into quilt tops. Members of our group sewed the quilt tops together. (Not me - I'm terrible at machine sewing.) Then we layered the top over batting and the back and hand-tied the quilts together. (I'm good at hand sewing.)

Making these quilts has been very satisfying. Quilting is something I always wanted to try but figured I would probably never do. By working with a group, I can do the things I'm good at while others do the parts that aren't my strength. It's a lot of fun working and chatting with my fellow quilters, and it's wonderful seeing the random bits of castoff material come together to make a beautiful, functional quilt. We have decided to continue our ministry in 2025, so if you're local and have fabric or batting to donate, I'll gladly take it off your hands. 

Our quilts are boxed up and on their way to the LWR warehouse, to then be shipped to the area of greatest need. We hope they bring not only warmth, but comfort. 

Confirmed!

Today's layout is about Trevor's confirmation in March. I've shared two other pages from that day - one about Trevor and his mentor and another about what our first visit to in-person church in over a year was like with all the COVID restrictions. 

Confirmed! (affiliate link)

For this layout, I used two photos from the ceremony, one of the palms decorating the entrance to the church (he was confirmed on Palm Sunday), and a screenshot from the live broadcast of the service on YouTube. It shows the special hymn we chose as well as comments of congratulations posted by friends and fellow congregants watching online.

I briefly considered making a fourth layout about the occasion (I know! Who am I and what have I done with Cindy?!) comparing my own confirmation with Trevor's. But ultimately I decided that didn't need to be in the album. While we were both confirmed at the same age and with the same denomination, the similarities pretty much stop there. Besides the glaring fact that Trevor's confirmation occurred during a pandemic, his was a ceremony for 1. My group had 12. I'm the one on the right with the pink-trimmed dress. 

While I won't be making that layout, I am strongly considering making one with photos from my mom's (and her mom's) confirmations. It would be really cool to have a page with 4 generations of Lutherans. I know I've seen a confirmation photo of my mom and I think there's one of my grandma somewhere too. Mom, next time I visit, let's look for those photos!

Church in the Red Tier

We have been to church for in-person worship exactly once over the past 15 months, for Trevor's delayed confirmation on March 28. (The rest of the time we've been attending from home via livestream.) Our county had just moved from the very restrictive Purple Tier (Widespread) to the slightly less restrictive Red Tier (Substantial), which allowed for in-person worship at up to 25% capacity. Besides the blocked off pews and mask requirement, there were dozens of other changes in place to help keep everyone safe. These included things like self-serve communion, signing in for contract tracing, closed drinking fountains and bathroom restrictions, a stationary offering basket vs. the usual passed plates, and signs reminding us to stay 'at least one polar bear apart.'

Church in the Red Tier (affiliate link)

Trevor recently had his second vaccination, which means we're closing in on the day when the family is officially considered fully vaccinated. Our county has been at the Orange Tier (Moderate) for a couple of weeks, and today California is ending the tiered system. I don't know that we'll be returning to church right away, as online worship has worked well for us. But when we do it, will be interesting to see which changes from the COVID era remain in place.  

St. Mark's Lector

Today is Trevor's 13th birthday. I cannot believe how quickly he has grown! There are no words to express how proud I am of him, or of the joy he has brought to my life over the 13 years I've been his mom. This layout is about one of countless times he's shown the world what an awesome person he is.

St. Mark's Lector (affiliate link)

Trevor served as a lector at our church for the first time at age 10. He was so small we could barely see him peeking above the lectern as he read. But we heard him loudly and clearly. He did an amazing job reading the text at just the right volume and speed, with just the right inflection.

Since then, he's done the readings 8 or 9 times. He can see over the lectern now, and his voice is just as good as it was that first time. I don't take photos in church very often, but I am so glad I took this picture. I hope he'll get a chance to do the readings at least one Sunday in Advent this year so that I can take a photo. What a great layout that would be, showing how Trevor is growing in the church in every sense of the word.