Mennonite Weekly Review

CONSTANTINE, Mich. — The Florence Church of the Brethren-Mennonite congregation is stitching the world together, one quilt at a time.

Beatrice and Maurice Matsitsa of Kinshasa, Congo, hold their daughter Mauricia, who is covered with a quilt made by members of the Florence Church of the Brethren-Mennonite congregation in Constantine, Mich.  — Photo by Suzanne Lind

Quilts have strengthened the ties between the congregation and Mennonite Central Committee work in Congo, as well as between members in different parts of the world.

Florence members created a dozen colorful baby quilts in summer 2007, which they sent to Congo with Tim and Suzanne Lind, MCC workers there. The Linds have distributed the quilts to babies born to their friends and colleagues in Kinshasa, enhancing the relationship between the Florence congregation and Mennonites in Congo.

“When I wrap this blanket around my new baby boy, Samuel,” said first-time father William Kulepeta in Kinshasa, “I think about the cousins and grandmas in the United States who made it for him. I feel very close to them and thankful to have such friends.”

The Linds’ teenage daughter, Rose, spent several weeks living with Chris and Gary Nofsinger, members of the Florence congregation. In gratitude for this hospitality, the Linds gave Chris Nofsinger 33 yards of the brightly colored, uniquely designed, good quality fabric for which Congo is famous.

Nofsinger, an avid quilter, began to dream of a quilt that would use this cloth, as well as pieces from many other Congolese fabric samples the congregation has collected.

The whole Florence congregation pitched in to piece and stitch the quilt that Nofsinger designed with Congolese cloth.

Young people learned to cut, piece and quilt. Older members enjoyed renewing the congregation’s earlier custom of frequent quilting gatherings.

The Florence congregation has a long history of international connections.

MCC International Volunteer Exchange Program participants from Thailand and Swaziland have served as pastoral interns for the congregation. Exchange high school students often show up in families, and members at Goshen (Ind.) College have participated in Study-Service Term experiences in Senegal, Cambodia, Ivory Coast and Chad.