MADISON – Sanctuary pews at Messiah Lutheran Church in Madison were covered with colorful, comfortable quilts at Sunday worship on Aug. 18.

Messiah Lutheran “blessed into service 122 handmade quilts for Lutheran World Relief and over 120 moving boxes filled with personal care items, baby care and school kits,” spokesperson Meredith Kilby said.

“The quilts were draped over the pews and towers of boxes filled with kits lined the sanctuary walls,” Kilby said. “‘Kit and Quilt Blessing Sunday’ has been a regular August tradition since two of church’s groups started making the items in the mid-2000s.”

On Aug. 25, boxes were loaded into a full-size trailer for their journey to the Lutheran Disaster Relief warehouse in Maryland for distribution across the globe.

Messiah’s Comforters, one of the groups, piece and finish the simple colorful quilts year-round. “The quilts are designed for use — as soft floor coverings of a refugee’s tent for warmth; shelter from the sun; or to stow personal belongings into a bundle for transport,” Kilby said.

The Comforters group meets Tuesday mornings from August to May to cut, piece and assemble the quilts. They use donated fabric and supplies purchased from dedicated offerings and fundraisers, like their quilt sale in November. Visit mlutheran.org.

“You don’t have to be a member or even Lutheran to join us! We’re always looking for an extra pair of hands. The ability to sew isn’t needed,” group leader Jeanette Beamer said. “We need people to tie knots, iron fabric, arrange squares for quilt tops, pin, cut and other odd jobs.”

The group appreciates fabric donations, especially clean, unused cotton remnants and yardages from sewing projects. Fabrics unsuitable for quilt toppers often are transformed into backpack totes for the Kit Ministry team. To donate fabric, call the church office at 256-721-0041.

The group focuses on Lutheran World Relief quilts but also make items for local outreach, including prayer shawls and baby blankets for church families, friends and neighbors; fleece blankets for Salvation Army’s Angel Tree; lap quilts for Redstone Hospice; NICU quilts for Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children; and eight Lutheran World Relief fabric kits.

During the year, Messiah’s Kit Ministry team has assembled countless Lutheran World Relief kits, also shipped worldwide to regions of strife, famine and natural disasters. Co-led by Diane Davis and Dr. Rhonda Gaede, this team meets weekly on Thursday evenings year-round. Gaede is Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

The team packs three types of kits: personal care, baby care and school kits. Outside regular meetings, volunteers shop year-round for kit items, always looking out for clearance sales, bulk discounts and tax-free weekends. Other team members sew simple backpack totes from donated fabric, Dana Burton said. Burton is Council Representative for Outreach.

Davis and Gaede also coordinate kit-packing sessions for members and outside groups of all ages, including children. On Aug. 18, Davis and Gaede led students in packing 52 moving boxes of school kits for UAH’s “Week of Welcome.” Messiah Lutheran volunteers transported boxes back to the church.

“Loading day is always memorable! To see the boxes and boxes of kits and quilts pour out of the church, carried and carted into the trailer is a remarkable sight and a tangible expression of God’s love put in action through the quilt- and kit-making hands,” Kilby said.

“The items bring relief, dignity and hope to (recipients) but also joy and a sense of connection for everyone who serves together in groups or participates in a kit-making session,” Kilby said.

Messiah Lutheran Church’s address is 7740 U.S. 72 W. Founded in 1990, Messiah Lutheran is an ELCA or Evangelical Church in America congregation in its Southeastern Synod. Pastor Kristine Schroeder was called to lead the congregation in 2023.

For more information, visit mlutheran.org/outreach, lwr.org/kits or lwr.org/quilts.