fraction of the quilts produced over the past year were on display for the “Blessing of the Quilts” at First Lutheran Church in Ewen, MI  September 28, 2025.  Photo credit AW.  

EWEN — The Blessing of the Quilts is an autumn ritual at many Lutheran churches in early Autumn each year. At First Lutheran Church in Ewen this past Sunday, twenty brightly colored quilts were displayed throughout the sanctuary for this year’s dedication. Sixty quilts were already in transit to Ironwood for this Saturday’s gathering at Zion Lutheran Church.

Year after year, the quilts are the product of an ecumenical labor of love from area churches. Like the gospel story of “The Fishes and the Loaves,” dedicated crafters transform a few scraps into comfort for thousands.Participants gather on Wednesday mornings at First Lutheran to cut, pin, sew, layer, bind and tie coverings for people in need. Other crafters work in their homes to piece and sew the quilt tops. The dozen women that quilt at First Lutheran, ELCA include the host Lutherans, Catholics, Methodists, Episcopalians, and even “Wisconsin” Lutherans.

Quilting is not without its hazards beyond pin and needle pricks. This year, one of the quilters was wrestling with the large roll of quilt batting. Like the old-testament patriarch Jacob wrestling with the Lord’s Angel, Mary lost this round and was wounded with a broken hip. SONCO EMT’s responded to the call and transported her safely to Grandview in Ironwood. After weeks of healing at home, Mary’s first outing was back to the Wednesday morning quilting group at First Lutheran.

Mary Beth DeBonis and the other ladies at the blessing expressed gratitude to the community members who donated materials for the quilt tops, as well as bed sheets for the quilt backs. They also appreciate the leadership added by Alice Leno, a member at Frist. Money donated to WELCA (Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church) is used to purchase the quilt batting and other supplies and the donations are matched by Trident Financial, doubling the impact.

The “blessing” is just the first stop on the journey these quilts will make.

On Saturday, the remaining quilts will travel to Zion Lutheran Church in Ironwood. On the way, they will be joined by another 120 quilts sewn by the East Shore Quilters on Lake Gogebic under the guidance of Toni Applekamp.

At the Ironwood gathering, where Mary Hitt is the site coordinator, hundreds of quilts will be loaded onto a truck furnished by Hitts Furniture for a trip to St. Paul, Minn.

From there, the quilts will be dispersed through Lutheran Disaster Relief — Lutheran World Relief® and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service — to disaster areas and refugee camps around the country and around the world.

The Port of Baltimore is the starting point for most international shipments of Lutheran World Relief Quilts and Kits. From here, seafarers from all over the world transport them to ports in Africa, Asia, Latin America and beyond.

Last year, the cargo ship, Dali, crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, destroying the bridge and closing the Port of Baltimore. The wreckage trapped 10 ships and their crews in the port for several weeks after the disaster. These were crews that were ill-prepared for an extended stay and being trapped onboard their vessels. With dozens of seafarers trapped in their backyard, LWR partnered with the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center to distribute quilts and hygiene kits. In total, more than 150 quilts and personal care kits were distributed across seven ships in Baltimore Harbor.

Lutheran Mission Quilts are highly regarded throughout the world because of their quality and consistency. Each Quilt is intended to reflect God’s loving presence in a world rife with suffering. The quilts can be used as warm bedding, simple tents or floor coverings. One recipient was so awed by the beauty of the quilt his family received; It was the most beautiful item in their “refugee home” and they used it in their worship space.

The quilts also create a tangible, lasting bond between those who assemble them and those who receive them in their greatest times of need. In 2023, a total of 551,700 quilts and kits reached neighbors in 14 countries from Angola to the Ukraine.

Here in the United States, LWR also responds to domestic needs.

Under the leadership of Martha Piedrasanta, who manages LWR’s Quilt and Kit Ministry, LWR is committed to sending truckloads of LWR quilts and kits to hurricane affected communities on the East and Gulf coasts as well as to US communities impacted by wildfires and floods elsewhere in the country.

LWR also sends cash grants to distribute food, water and other urgently needed supplies to provide comfort and dignity to families during their time of need.

Community members can donate to the LWR relief effort through their local Lutheran congregation or via the LWR website (https://lwr.org/).

Of the quilts that stay behind at First Lutheran, a few will be raffled off for fundraisers for local charities like Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp and the St. Nicholas Project of Ontonagon County.

Other quilts will be donated directly to shut-ins, community members who are ill, families that have lost their home to fire or natural disasters, and other local needs.

Quilt makers believe that a quilt is a perfect metaphor to describe the church: A patchwork of colorful characters, some perhaps a bit frayed on the edges, who are sewn together by the love of God and with the Holy Spirit threaded through us all.

The First Lutheran Church of Ewen is part of the New Evangelical Lutheran Parish, which also includes Our Saviour Lutheran in Paynesville. The Rev. Kay Richter pastors the parish. If you wish to join the Wednesday morning quilters you can contact the church at 906-988-2594. Donations for supplies can be sent Quilters �… Frist Luterhan, PO Box 286, Ewen, MI 49925.