Warm hearts lead to warm quilts

­­­By Carol Walker

 

When Maria Birch was offered an assortment of old quilt squares awhile back, she had an idea what she was supposed to do with them: make quilts for the Pine Ridge Reconciliation Center. Making 10 quilts seemed like a reasonable goal for her and a few other people to accomplish, but somehow this endeavor gained steam and before all was said and done, 44 quilts were assembled with love and delivered to Pastor Dan Johnson for the Reconciliation Center.

Birch’s connection with quilts was fueled by an award-winning article she wrote for the Central Dakota Times about a project undertaken by the Kimball Protestant Parish in Kimball. A congregation drawing from about 1,000 people in that area took on a similar quilt project that generated 250 quilts.

When her article was posted online, the first person to comment was Pastor Johnson. The second person was Stacy Roberts, a friend of Birch who said, “Oh, Maria I have some quilt squares from my grandma Carmen and cousin Carol who didn’t get them made into quilts. Would you like to have them?”

Birch was interested, but since the huge tote full of squares was in the Pierre area, she needed to find someone to bring it to Hill City. She posted the need on Facebook, and who should respond but Johnson who was going to be in Pierre in a few weeks and offered to pick up the tote.

“I think this was one of those God moments where God said, ‘Are you listening to me?’ and so I went to Pastor Jeremy [Duprey] at Community Lutheran Church and told him about my idea to make quilts,” said Birch.

“Let’s do it,” he said.

Additional confirmation came when Pastor Johnson sent a video of the Reconciliation Center, beginning with the storage room, which was empty, devoid of any quilts that might be offered to people in need. He said there are grandmas who need quilts for grandchildren staying with them or homeless people out in the cold. Birch felt inspired to get at least 10 quilts into that storage area.

She and a few other ladies began Jan. 11, deciding to meet one Sunday a month after church, beginning with a potluck and then diving into the task of assembling the quilts. Someone sewed squares together, others added batting and a flannel backing and finally some individuals tied the quilts. If there was a need for more work during the week, Birch put out a phone-tree request for help, and it was always there.

Hearts began to warm toward the idea and enthusiasm for the project seemed to be contagious as Community Lutheran women, children and even some of the men got involved. One woman said her husband helped to square up the lines of quilt squares at home. Pastor Jeremy came over one Sunday afternoon and learned how to sew. 

“Pastor Jeremy always tells us that God loves us. Well, this is a way that we can show His love to others,” said Birch.

As interest grew, individuals said things like, “I have fabric that is out of style today. We could use that,” or “I have a quilt I don’t really like. Could I donate that?” or “I found a star quilt at a pawn shop. I will bring that.” Members of the Heart of the Hills Quilt Guild donated a few quilts, and others bought quilts on sale from stores. Maria was grateful for whatever type of quilt offered and always said, “It will be warm.”

Connie Prautzsch helped Birch with this project from the beginning and really wanted to complete of 44 quilts. That number held significance for her.

“The first country school I taught at was Hill 44, my daughter is 44, I liked the 44th President Obama, and I taught school for 44 years,” said Prautzsch.

When the time came for the dedication of the quilts March 5 there were 22 handmade quilts and 22 purchased quilts for a total of 44. There was a quilt on every pew at church. The energy in the room was “crackling” according to Birch.

“People were asked to stand up and grab onto a quilt. Every person in the church had their hand on one of the quilts as they were dedicated that morning,” said Prautzsch.

Birch made arrangements to deliver the quilts to Pine Ridge that same week, but plans fell through twice. A blizzard came in that lasted through two of the days scheduled to drive there.

“Plan A and Plan B failed, so we contacted Pastor Johnson, who was going to be at the Bear Butte Conference in Rapid City March 12,” said Birch.

The quilts were transported to the conference, displayed on a table there until it was time to load them up in Johnson’s vehicle. With all the help, it took only about seven minutes to move the quilts to his car.

Birch believes the way the interest spread from a few at Community Lutheran Church to others in the community, this has truly been God’s doing, and a sign the project should continue. Rather than just a church project it has come from the hearts of the whole community.

“There is a year-round need for quilts, so we plan to meet again Sunday, Apr. 2 after church. Will we continue through the summer? I’m not certain, but we will see,” said Birch.

Anyone can join the effort. Questions can be directed to Pastor Jeremy at 406-930-2835.

The group is hopeful the love put into the quilts will spill out of the quilts, offering warmth and comfort to each recipient at Pine Ridge. The Pine Ridge Reconciliation Center no longer has an empty storeroom, and Birch wants to keep doing this until she is told, “Stop, I don’t need anymore.”