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Love sewn into every stitch

CHARLOTTE — St. Vincent de Paul Church’s usually quiet Ministry Center Assembly Room was anything but quiet in April as sewing machines hummed and students began the annual “Quilts of Love” project.

Thanks to support from the pastor Father Mark Lawlor, the parish’s faith formation staff, donations from parishioners, an excellent team of volunteers, and the enthusiasm of faith formation students, 12 one-of-a-kind lap quilts were crafted over two Saturdays earlier this month.

The annual project serves both as a Lenten outreach program for the parish and as a way for students to earn service hours. Since the program began nine years ago, students have created and delivered more than 180 quilts to parishioners in the Charlotte area.

The quilts were blessed at the 11:30 a.m. Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 23, by Father Lawlor. Following the blessing, each quilt was packaged in a gift bag along with a bottle of holy water, a rosary, prayer cards, a handwritten “Story of the Quilt” by the student, a history of the project, a parish bulletin and other religious information. Students then surprised the recipients by personally delivering their quilts following the Mass.

Each nine-block lap quilt consists of a white 12-inch-by-12-inch center block bearing a Christian symbol drawn by the student. The students then select eight more similarly-sized blocks from a wide variety of colored and patterned cloth. Once the nine blocks are sewn together, a different cloth color and pattern are chosen to create a four-inch border around the perimeter of the quilt. To complete the quilt, a fleece backing is added to provide the warmth and weight of the quilt. To keep the quilt top and bottom from separating when laundering, the quilt is “tied” down at the four corners of the center block.

Quilts were delivered to parishioners in nursing homes, the homebound, people in rehabilitation or hospitalized, or otherwise identified by the parish to receive a quilt.
— Peggy Gibbons, Special to the Catholic News Herald

Pictured: St. Vincent De Paul students proudly display their newly-crafted lap quilts in front of the Ministry Center Chapel. Pictured are Jose Mata Esqueda, Nataline Suaris, Susan Morales, Jessica Garcia Lopez, Edward Haro, Jaime Alipzar, Emily Morales and Juan Dios Lopez. Not pictured are quilting team instructors Drenna Hannon and Imelda Panzer. (Photo provided by Peggy Gibbons)