Prayer Quilt: Sent Forth with Warmth and Prayers

On my last Sunday at church, in sending me forth into the midwest, my beloved congregation presented me with a gorgeous prayer quilt. The women (and perhaps men?) had worked very hard and quickly, I imagine, to piece together this quilt. Their dedication, commitment, love, and tenderness overwhelms me.

Each time I look at this beautiful creation, I remember that:

(1) these very talent people had pooled together their God-given skills to make this quilt for me (as they did in times past for many others as part of our prayer quilt ministry);

(2) this precious gift is only one manifestation of, one embodiment of all the love, prayers, hope, encouragement and joy that I experienced at this church, and which they were sending forth with me as I begin a new journey;

(3) the colors and materials are perfect for me -- in design and in theme -- and they probably knew exactly that about me (plus, the pattern is the exact same pattern that was used to make my sister's preaching stole which the church gifted her when she departed for St. Louis); anywhere else, this sort of knowing could only be hoped for, and received humbly

(4) each knot on this quilt (shown on the 1st photo and the 3rd-to-last photo) was tied by a well-wisher, a friend, a loved-one from this community and therefore, I am tied to this faith family in more ways than one;


On that day, all choked up with tears and overwhelmed with emotion, I joked that thin as it is, this quilt might not keep me warm in the cold St. Louis weather.

The truth is, every time I touch this quilt, I am overcome with emotion, and, to borrow John Wesley's words, am "strangely warmed" by the love that this church family has shown me. All these years in the presence of these people of genuine faith have changed me in such mysterious and wonderful and challenging ways -- for the better, for the good. This quilt keeps me warm, but it also fills me with love, joy, and wonderment for having been a part of this community.

I am grateful for this church, for God's love shown through this church. As I said during the Sundays preceding my departure, I hope we will remain connected (after all, we Methodists are a "connectional" church!). I hope we will think of each coming and going, each arrival and departure, as new ways of the Holy Spirit working within us, amongst us, and through us.

Let us pray for one another as we move into new spaces and answer different calls to ministries elsewhere in the world. Pray that our challenges will strengthen us and bring us closer to one another through the Spirit of God's mysterious ways.

Once again, to borrow e.e. cummings' words:





here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)




*For full text of the poem by e.e. cummings, visit the PoetryFoundation.org