Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
A couple of Sundays ago I showed my family’s Crazy Quilt during the sermon. Thinking about my relatives who lived back then, I might have met the women who created it. Odds are their parents and grandparents contributed as well. The quilt is dated 1907 and shows a slight wear in places.
I am glad that it turned up while I was unpacking an old cedar chest from my mom’s house. The quilt had been folded and stored in the bottom of that chest for decades. It is in surprisingly good shape for being more than a hundred years old. The stitching is strong throughout even though there was never a border sewn on to finish everything. The plan was to add more swatches at some point? Regardless of why, I like the idea that it is not finished and that they left room for future generations to add their pieces to this unique piece of art.
I am considering hanging it in my office as a reminder of those “saints” who lived before me. I already keep a shelf of pictures and artifacts from some of those people to remember them by. Some of those items include a communion kit and hymnal from my grandfather’s time as a minister, a photo of my mentoring Episcopal priest assigned to me when I was first ordained, a camera that was my dad’s as a boy, and my grandmother’s bible with her many years of notetaking in the margins from sermons heard and Sunday School lessons taught.
It is good for me to see these things and recall their influence in my faith life. I also like to think of them watching over and praying over my life and ministry now. When I think of the “communion of saints” these are the folks that feel very present and alive to me. All together we are celebrating the ongoing construction of our family’s Crazy Quilt.
Our Calvary Church family is obviously a collection of different people and stories of faith over the years too. Maybe we can make our own congregational Crazy Quilt over time by setting up a station in the Parish Hall. A little bit of research about Crazy Quilts can give you more history in terms of when and why this art form took off in the late 1800’s. You’ll also see that Crazy Quilting has come back as a popular activity. Adding a piece of fabric from each person’s life at Calvary would be beautiful collective testimony!
What piece of fabric would you bring? What would be the history/meaning behind your piece of fabric? Maybe you can tell that I am “needling” a bit here for a potential project leader(s). Just consider me as one of those crazy Christians and fools for Christ! I hope you enjoy the front and back photos of my family’s quilt!
Blessings, Fr. Jon
