Prayer Shawl Ministry

Knitters and crocheters meet monthly at Immanuel on the 2nd Monday of the month at 7pm. Prayer shawls are blessed and then distributed to the sick, grieving and those in need of prayer. Becky Farniok, 952-941-5617 or Harriet Erickson, 952-906-0759.

Piecemakers (Quilters)

Participants meet at Immanuel twice a month on alternate Thursdays 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Quilting Ministry: Jan Walton, 952-465-9329. Through Lutheran World Relief, 400,000 quilts are sent to 25 countries. About 70,000 quilts are sent to the Province of Tak, Thailand where a refugee camp of 150,000 people endure evening temperatures of 50 degrees.

Wrapped in love

Piecemaker quilts distributed in Tanzania

Julie Hoff, Immanuel Member and Piecemaker

In February 2017 my husband and I traveled with a group of Immanuel church members to Tanzania. One Sunday, after attending a local church service, we traveled by bus over dusty uneven roads to Kwamorombo village on the outskirts of Arusha. It is there we met the teachers and 62 students from Elimaa school who joined us in serving the local people that day. The experience was extraordinary! It was emotional!

As we walked the difficult dirt paths between the homes, the beautifully dressed school children supported us by holding our hands to guide us and be part of God’s work to serve their community. The children stood by as the Immanuel members blessed each quilt and its recipient, providing prayers of reassurance that God's love has no boundaries and that Immanuel Lutheran Church cares for them; men and woman were wrapped in the warmth of the quilt selected for them. The joy on their faces and words of gratitude, expressed through the translators, confirmed one thing for me: The Immanuel Piecemakers have achieved their mission to provide comfort and warmth to needy people around the world. I have been blessed to be part of this fabulous group of loving woman.

I was thrilled to be a representative of the Immanuel Piecemakers, a group of woman who craft beautiful warm quilts for donation to Lutheran World Relief (LWR). Twelve quilts made by the Piecemakers, and other quilts sent by LWR, were distributed that day to community members (widows/widowers) or disabled individuals.

Lutheran World Relief distributes quilts to over 25 countries. As symbols of how much God loves us, the quilts provide warmth in the form of bedding, shelter in the form of a roof, and privacy in the form of a door. According to Pastor Wangaard of LWR, the quilts are used as tents to keep sun off children; some recipients cut the quilts up to make uniforms for children to wear to school or wedding dresses; wrap a deceased family member prior to burial.

Immanuel Piecemakers

The Immanuel Piecemakers have donated quilts over the past 23 years but have never participated in the distribution of their quilts. The first record of the Piecemaker quilting group dates back to 1993. The mission of the group was, and is, to donate quilts to Lutheran World Relief to provide comfort and warmth to needy people around the world. The quilters met twice a month from September to May. Most quilts were made of a new twin sheet, batting and tops, created by three of the members, from new or slightly used fabric donated by Immanuel members. Many of the women had small children at the time and brought their children to the nursery at church while they quilted. Each quilt represented about 10 hours of volunteer time and an investment of $7-10.

In 1993, 36 quilts were made. The first year the Social Ministry Committee, Thrivent and Immanuel members provided money to buy batting and twin sheets. The Piecemakers bought equipment, and received donations of sewing machines and fabric. A large wooden box was built by a church member and placed in the hall to provide storage for fabric donations. Maynard Goplen built a cabinet, still used today, in Room H for the quilters to store their supplies and equipment.

The number of quilts and donated blankets has increased significantly over the years. In the year 2000, the group produced 100 quilts. Since 2002 the group has always exceeded 100 quilts producing 120 in 2007 and 131 in 2016, the 23rd year of quilting. Through 2016, the Piecemakers have made 2246 quilts!

In later years, Piecemaker quilters have cut and sewed fabric together at home to create decorative quilt tops or backs. At Immanuel they assemble the top, batting and back and tie all three lays together with crochet thread to make the finished quilt. From 2013 to 2016 the Piecemakers donated a quilt to Camp Onomia for their annual quilt auction. These quilts have brought bids up to $150 (2016) and $160 (2012). One year, the group also donated a quilt to Redeemer Lutheran, a sister congregation in Minneapolis, for a quilt auction.

The Piecemakers care about the quality and design of the quilts they make and more importantly, they care about each other. They conclude their morning of quilting by sharing stories and a potluck lunch, celebrate birthdays and have a holiday lunch each year at one of the member’s homes.

You are welcome to join this group! Participants meet at Immanuel twice a month on the 2nd & 4th Thursdays 9am until noon.