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Photos Courtesy of Desert Southwest Annual Conference
Dog Mats
Quilters from Dove of the Desert UMC present dog mats to Soldier's Best Friend, an organization that provides rescue dog companions to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or traumatic brain injury (TBI).
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Foster Care Quilts
A quilt for a child in foster care made by quilters at Dove of the Desert UMC is displayed by Thrive AZ, an organization that helps children and youths in the foster care system in Arizona. (Photo Courtesy of Thrive AZ)
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Photos Courtesy of Desert Southwest Annual Conference
Graduation
A veteran and his new companion receive a quilted dog mat as they graduate from the training course at Soldier's Best Friend. The mats are made by quilters at Dove of the Desert UMC.
Desert Southwest Conference | June 3, 2024
In the Spring of 2021, two quilters sat in room 12 at Dove of the Desert UMC with sewing machines, masks and social distancing, doing what they love – creating something with fabric.
Meanwhile a small group was meeting in another room to discuss the book “What Every Church Should Know About Poverty.” This book study led some folks to ask the church to pray for the action to follow the study.
God guided Dove to a meaningful partnership with Thrive AZ. Thrive AZ is a Christian non-profit that helps aged-out foster young adults transition to independence. They help prevent children from being removed from their homes because of poverty and help families reunite with their children in foster care.
Upon hearing about the new partnership, the two quilters said, “we have all this donated fabric, why don’t we make quilts for the foster families of our new partner. And let’s involve the entire congregation by asking them to pray for those who will receive them and show that prayer by knotting a piece of yarn."
Photos Courtesy of Desert Southwest Annual Conference
Quilts and prayer cards
So, they started making quilts for foster care, not sure how they would be used. At first, the quilts were presented to aged-out foster youth and draped over the cribs at their home for new mothers. Now, the quilts are also given to families in their prevention and reunification programs. For some of the recipients, it is the first time anyone has prayed for them. The quilters have now made, and the congregation has prayed over, 110 prayer quilts for Thrive AZ.
Photos Courtesy of Desert Southwest Annual Conference
A Dog's New Friend
One of the graduating companion dogs enjoys his new quilted dog mat from Dove of the Desert UMC.
The quilting group has grown, and so has its mission. They were contacted by Soldier’s Best Friend (SBF), a non-profit that pairs and trains service dogs for eligible veterans who have PTSD and/or Traumatic Brain Injury. (The dogs are rescue dogs). SBF helped the Dove quilters design a dog mat that the veterans can use when they are out in the community. It provides a comfortable spot for the dogs to go to, it protects them from hot pavement, and it alerts people to their presence. (SBF is looking for sewing groups in Mesa, Flagstaff, Prescott, Show Low, Yuma, Sierra Vista, and Tucson to make mats for their veteran dog teams. If your church is interested, please contact Rev. Nancy Cushman at NancyCushman@dscumc.net.)
The quilting group added a third mission partner. They are making patriotic quilts for veterans at the Hospice Campassus in Show Low, Ariz. The quilts will be given to veterans who are in the hospice and then given to their families after they die.
As people in the congregation and beyond heard about the mission work, they donated fabric and funds for the quilters to use. The quilting group has great fun and fellowship creating their art while “doing good” with these mission partners.
This article is republished with permission from the West District newsletter of the Desert Southwest Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.