Churches Help Local and International Communities through Crafts Ministries.
By Marissa Neale. 12 April 2019, Matthews NC.
Churches in the Charlotte-Matthews area are ministering to people locally and around the world by using knitting, crochet and sewing skills. One church group that uses their creative skills for ministry is Christ Covenant Church’s Yarn Lovers Ministry.
“This ministry has been amazing to be a part of,” said Mary Jo Culver in an email. Culver, the Welcome & Connecting Ministry Manager at Christ Covenant, has been involved in the Yarn Lovers Ministry since it began in June 2014.
The ministry consists of a group of people who make various kinds of knit and crochet items. The Christ Covenant website reports the group has made and donated over 4,000 items such as blankets and shawls.
According to Culver the group makes a number of other items such as “baby items, coin purses, baskets, potholders, wash cloths, hats, scarves, water bottle slings, soap bags, [and] stuffed animals.”
The church website states that the ministry makes items for a total of 17 ministries. The group has served a number of local ministries and has even made items for groups abroad in Haiti.
Culver reports some of these organizations include Project 658 and Changed Choices.
The website gives the example of Yarn Lovers partnering with Levine Cancer Institute and making caps to donate to chemo patients.
Culver said the group has around 15–20 current members involved in the ministry. The members include people of all ages and the church’s website reports that the ages of group members range over a span of 80 years.
The ministry meets twice a month, but according to Culver many of the items are made outside of meetings. Some members do not come to meetings and make all their items at home.
She described that meetings allow members “to catch up with each other and to help those who are just learning. The rest of the time we work on our own.”
Culver described a typical meeting as “very relaxed” and said that during meetings they mainly visit and assist those who are new to knitting and crochet.
The meetings also serve to help teach people who are new to knitting and crocheting. The website says “all skill levels [are] needed” and experienced women in the group help newcomers grow their skills.
The Yarn Lovers Ministry will meet on April 17 for their bimonthly meeting. People who do not have an interest in joining the ministry can also help through donations. Christ Covenant’s website specifically asks for donation of (non-wool) yarn and says, “Yarn is always needed to help with our projects.”
This is not the only creative church ministries using crafts and creative skills to minister to people through making items. On April 13th, Elevation Matthews campus will hold an event helping the organization “Hope 4 Women International.”
This organization is hosting an event for the ministry, “Sewing Dresses for Dress a Girl Around the World,” which focuses on sewing dresses for international impoverished girls.
The ministry website says, “We dream of a world in which every girl has at least one new dress. We want girls to know that they are worthy of respect, and that they are loved by God.”
Dress a Girl Around the World also attaches special labels to their dresses to signify the girls affiliation to the organization and deter predators.
The Elevation events page says, “By wearing a dress made with the official Dress a Girl Around the World label, it shows possible predators that each girl is under the care of an organization, giving her added protection from those who may harm, enslave, or prey on her.”
People in multiple countries participate in helping the program make dresses. According to the Dress a Girl Around the World website the organization has “delivered over one million dresses to 81 countries.”
The Elevation web page says volunteers for this event are expected to be over the age of 10 and ideally should have sewing experience.
Mock tweet: Read about how people in the community use knitting, crochet and sewing to minister to people in the community and worldwide through Yarn Lovers Ministry and Dress a Girl Around the World.
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