Prayers & Squares International

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1 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE ONE PRAYER AT A TIME Prayers & Squares, Chapter One recognized their 25th Anniversary in October, Please take a few minutes to read the article about the recognition in this newsletter. Prayers & Squares International NEW CHAPTERS Chapter 1243 Episcopal Church of the Resurrection Spokane, WA Chapter 1244 Church of God Holiness El Dorado Springs, MO It was a great opportunity to remember that Prayers & Squares chapters are a community of people that support prayer through quilts. Our chapters and their volunteers are as diverse as their unique locations around the globe. The invisible thread that unites our hearts and empowers our willing hands is that we pray for others. As much as we love to keep track of the number of Prayers & Squares chapters and how many quilts are freely given and how many years we have been blessed by this ministry, the most important number to us is the amount of prayers said for others, one prayer at a time. In 1992, the founders were quietly tying the knots on the first prayer quilt for little, Kody. One of them looked up and asked, "Is everyone else praying?" Someone responded, "Yes", and another said, "There's got to be a prayer in every knot." The prayer quilt was born. Thank you to the founders for establishing this ministry. Thank you to all who continue to support this prayer ministry, one Prayer at a time. Blessings, Corky Kuhlman Chapter 1245 Westfield Baptist Church Westfield, NC Chapter 1246 Tire Hill Church of the Brethren Tire Hill, PA We started our group, Patchwork and Prayers, through our church, Tire Hill Church of the Brethren. We began about two years ago making Tote Bags, Pillows, and Hats for our local hospital for their cancer patients. Though this project we came across Prayer & Squares, the Prayer Quilt Ministry. We do quilts for our local Church of the Brethren Home and Baby Quilts for anyone who needs one. We started doing little girls dresses for Africa, made from pillowcases. We also make Pillowcases for the children at the Pittsburgh, PA hospital. We also make quilts and pillowcase dresses, and shorts for the Joe Brown Ministries Dump Dwellers of Tijuana. Chapter 1247 St. Mary Catholic Church Escondido, CA Joined in partnership with Ch 334, St. Timothy's Catholic Church, Escondido. Chapter 1248 First Assembly of God Lima, OH We have been making quilts and throws for our members and those with serious illnesses. We have had a good response but want to be more. We make surgical squares and small squares for mailing cards, etc. Great bunch of ladies doing a wonderful ministry.

2 Chapter 1249 Oak Grove United Methodist Church Decatur, GA Chapter 1250 Wade Baptist Church xmoss Point, MS Chapter 1251 First Baptist Church Everett, WA We heard about Prayers & Squares from a wonderful woman who is a part of the group at another church. Chapter 1252 Catholic Church of the Assumption Keyser, WV We are a small but active church. We are an aging community and looked for an outreach ministry. Our ladies guild made the decision to provide Prayers for Squares, instead of Prayer Shawls. (We found you online). There are a few of use who are quilters so we have a lot of education to provide. Our guild is very enthusiastic. We love your organization and the support you will provide. God Bless you. CHAPTER STORIES From Chapter 1236 Immanuel Baptist Church Oxford, FL Immanuel Baptist Church (aka IBC Quilters) has been a member of Prayers and Squares since March. (#1236) We have been making and giving away prayer quilts for several years but without a formal organization. We love the labels and are especially proud of our deacons and the use of the 3 1/2 inch prayer squares. As they are made, the deacons lay hands on them and pray for those who will receive them in advance. They each keep a stash of the squares as they visit homes and hospital rooms. The quilters attach a scripture and note to let the person know they are being prayed for. As an older church population, more and more time is spent in hospitals and sick beds. These squares have been a great comfort to those individuals. We are giving away 3-4 prayer quilts a month. Our group of 12 ladies is doing a great job of keeping up with the demand. We have a non-quilter who adds all the ties and pins the notes on the small squares. We are truly blessed to offer this service to our church. Jan Newbrough IBC Quilters From Chapter 1062 Temple Church Nashville, TN Glenda Alvin sent in a story about their chapter. Covered With Prayer Covered With Prayer (CWP) at the Temple Church in Nashville, TN meets monthly to work on quilts. Our skills range from beginner to professional, so the more experienced train those who have basic sewing skills. Some members bring their sewing machines, while others insert ties or work on bindings. We have provided quilts for those who are going through traumas which range for sudden death of a love one, serious illness or injury or those going through extensive medical treatments. When our Pastor s wife was going through breast cancer treatment,

3 he reported that she took her prayer quilt with her to the chemotherapy appointments. The church s former Kitchen Coordinator reported that he took his prayer quilt to dialysis. Temple has a pre-school program and one of our early projects was making care bears. The pattern was shared with us by Barbara Robinson, President of the Busy Stitchers, a prayer quilt group at First Baptist Church of Fairview Heights. The bears are so popular that the Program Director requested more, so we are making them as a regular project. We have donated fourteen this year and still working on more. CARE BEARS prayer. The pastors, Rev. Brian Kent and Rev. Drew Davis, graciously devoted all three services to Prayers & Squares that weekend. People were encouraged to bring their prayer quilt or prayer square to the service, draping them over the pews. During the service, the pastors had a question-and-answer session with Wendy Mathson sharing how Prayers & Squares began and where it has grown to today, worldwide. Wendy emphasized that Prayers & Squares is a prayer ministry that makes prayer quilts rather than a quilt ministry. This goes to the heart of the Prayers & Squares motto, It s not about the quilt, it s all about the prayer. Chapter 1 members worked lovingly all year making pocket prayer squares that were given to each person who walked through the door. During the service a knot was tied on each pocket prayer square and then given to the person next to them. Wendy Kallen, music director at Hope UMC enhanced the celebration with the songs she chose. From Chapter 1 Hope United Methodist Church San Diego, CA CHAPTER 1 CELEBRATES 25 YEARS Chapter 1, at Hope United Methodist Church in Rancho Bernardo (San Diego), CA, celebrated their 25 th anniversary the last weekend in October After much discussion on how to celebrate, the chapter decided to stay true to the roots of Prayers & Squares and celebrated in

4 THANK YOU TO BONNIE HUNTER WHO GRACIOUSLY ALLOWED US PERMISSION TO INCLUDE HER A Quilter s Prayer ON OUR WEBSITE. Chapter 1 is very fortunate to have three of the original members, Cheryl Dumas, Wendy Mathson and Carolyn Wright still making prayer quilts after 25 years. Cheryl and Carolyn have been at Hope the entire 25 years. Wendy went to another church, started Chapter 2 and thus, Prayers & Squares began to grow and grow. (Wendy has since returned to Chapter 1). When these three ladies began this ministry, they did not have a grand vision they just kept making prayer quilts, one at a time. They are very humble and take no credit for the amazing growth of this ministry they give all the credit to God. May God continue to bless Chapter 1 and all the chapters of Prayer & Squares. You can follow Bonnie Hunter at quiltville.com.

5 Cracker Barrel Prayer Quilt 2017 by Wendy Mathson for Prayers & Squares, PrayerQuilt.org Quilt is 34 x 51 before borders; 44 x 61 with 2 borders as shown. Background Fabric: 11 8 yards Cut strips from width of fabric: for inner border 1 5 for side triangles 2 6½ for blocks and corner triangles Outer Border: ¾ yard Cut Contrast fat quarters (or scraps to get pieces shown in diagram, right) Cut as shown in diagram: 2 x about ½ x 20 x ½ square 7½ square about Use 6½ Background strips to cut 10 squares, 6½. Set aside 8 squares to be used in Step 4. Cut the 2 remaining squares in half once on the diagonal to make 4 Corner triangles. (These are oversized!) 8 squares exact 6½ Cut 2 squares in half for corners 2. Use 5 Background strip. Remove corner, then cut 6 Side triangles as in diagram. 3. Cut Background strips in half so they are about 20 long. Make 8 strip sets with 2 matching Contrast strips on either side of a Background strip. Cut 3 segments, 6½, from each strip set to make a total of 24 blocks. 6½ 4. Arrange blocks and Background squares as shown in quilt diagram above. Rearrange until you are happy with the layout. Add the Background Side and Corner triangles. 5. Cut the 7½ Contrast squares twice on the diagonal to get 4 triangles from each square. Place triangles so fabrics match the pieced blocks. You will have 16 triangles left over. 6. Sew in diagonal rows as shown below. As you get to the Contrast triangles, sew them into full blocks with 4 triangles, or half blocks with 2 triangles. Square up the full blocks to measure 6½. Do not square up the half blocks. 7. Sew rows together, matching seams. Press well. Trim quilt, measuring ¼ away from where the seams cross on the outer edges. Add inner borders, then outer borders to finish. 6½ Full blocks Half blocks