Quilters for Christ
Kay Jaschob knew she wanted to honor her mother’s memory after her passing. So she took her passion for sewing and started a quilting group at her church, Immanuel, Waupaca, Wis. The quilters get together each month to take old scraps of fabric and turn them into beautiful, large blankets.
What started as a legacy for Jaschob’s mother has now blossomed into a thriving ministry. It began when Jaschob worked at the nursing home of Pastor Robin Robbert’s grandmother. During this time, Jaschob got to know Pastor Robbert, who serves King of Kings, Wasilla, Alaska. Jaschob told the Immanuel Quilters about the church, and the group decided that the residents living in the cold climate could use their quilts. King of Kings has been donating those blankets to homeless shelters and other families in need.
“It is such a labor of love,” Robbert says.
From there, the ministry has started donating their quilts to several different organizations. The Immanuel Quilters provide quilts to local homeless shelters, as well as children’s ministries like Mission to the Children in Sonora, Mexico, and Warm Hugs Ministry in the Apache mission field.
They also provide blankets to Lighthouse Youth Center in Milwaukee, a facility for 10- to 18-year-olds to engage in safe and fun recreational activities, while also receiving spiritual and academic assistance.
James Buske, Lighthouse’s executive director, says the organization is thankful for Immanuel’s blankets, which are given to the youth in their program.
“Many of the kids in the organization have seen a lot of ups and down, and the blankets provide hope that there are some people out there who love them and care for them,” he says. “It’s a comfort item that’s personally their own.”
Members of Immanuel help to make the blankets in a variety of different ways. About ten women come to sew quilts each month. Others are encouraged to donate pieces of fabric and to cut patches. One 96-year-old member hand-binds each quilt in her home. Each person’s unique talents come together to create gifts that comfort and warm hundreds of different people.
“We figure that this is the way to treat your fellow man,” Jaschob says. “We have the opportunity to serve someone, and as Christians that’s something we want to do.”
Gabriella Moline
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Author: Gabriella Moline
Volume 105, Number 3
Issue: March 2018
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