Schaumburg church group has distributed more than 10,000 quilts globally
For nearly 40 years, the Mission Quilters -- a group of about 20 volunteers at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Schaumburg -- have carried on a special tradition of making quilts to benefit global relief organizations.
These 40-something hands have stitched together thousands of quilts that, collectively, would cover more than 22,222 yards, or roughly 185 football fields from end to end.
The group was formed in 1985 by Carol Langseth, wife of the church’s then-pastor, with a goal of producing handmade quilts to comfort the afflicted throughout the world. Over nearly four decades, Schaumburg’s Mission Quilters have gained more members and recently constructed the group’s 10,000th quilt.
“It’s not only church members,” said Cathy Thoma of North Aurora, chairwoman of Mission Quilters. “We have a mixed group of people, which is wonderful.”
The Mission Quilters gather from 9 a.m. to noon every Thursday in the church’s basement, 119 W. Wise Road, Schaumburg.
The church receives donations of materials from the quilters themselves or other organizations, which then are cut and used for the quilts. Participants can help out in various ways, such as sewing and layering the quilt squares.
“It’s set up like an assembly line,” said Marlene Ryan of Schaumburg, a Mission Quilters member. “I usually do the layering, and then we pass to the sewers.”
The group usually makes four to five quilts every Thursday. On Quilt Dedication Sunday, they are admired by church staff members and attendees before being shipped around the world.
“We decorate the pews with our quilts, and they are blessed,” group member Barbara Peterson of Roselle said.
Most of the quilts are donated to Lutheran World Relief, an international organization dedicated to disaster relief, which distributes the quilts in nine countries. About 15% of the quilts are distributed locally, to organizations such as North Side Housing and Supportive Services in Chicago, WINGS, and Lutheran Social Services of Illinois. The quilts are simply for anyone who is in need, according to Ryan.
“Sometimes (the quilts) are used as floor mats, bed rolls, ground covers, and room dividers. A lot of the quilts that we have done have gone to Georgia, Tanzania, Ukraine, Angola, Mali, Guatemala, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” Peterson said.
Mission Quilters welcomes anyone who would like to connect over the collective mission of giving back to people all over the world.
“We’re here to serve and help other people,” Ryan said. “It’s just a nice feeling … and it’s like a sisterhood.”
Anyone interested in joining can email the Lord of Life Lutheran Church at loloffice@lord-of-life.org or simply show up to a Thursday quiltmaking session.