Wayne Zion seeks volunteers for sewing circles

     Wayne Zion Lutheran Church is hosting a couple of social and mission-centered sewing groups for all ages and abilities to enjoy.

     Useful Hands meets at the church the second Tuesday of the month at 9 a.m. It will next meet on Sept. 14.

     “This has been going on at Wayne Zion for a number of years,” offered Sharon Kell.

     Deb Lacock said Useful Hands is tasked with seeing that a need in the community is met. Right now, and the past few years, Useful Hands volunteers have been making quilts and giving them to Waypoint Services and the Jones County chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace. They’ve also given quilts to Camp Ewalu and church members seeking care in the hospital.

     “We also sell them at our Harvest Festival,” said Kell.

     While roughly 10 ladies assist Useful Hands, not all are able to make each monthly gathering. That’s why the group is looking for more people who might be interested in being a part of the mission.

     Kell said you don’t necessarily need to possess great sewing skills; they need volunteers to put quilting squares together, cut material, and put matching fabric colors together.

     “Then someone takes it all home to sew the top together,” said Kell. “They bring it back to the church where we put the filling in, and it’s taken back home to finish off.”

     “We’re happy to work with anybody,” urged Lacock. “There are a lot of retired people still around.”

     Wayne Zion is also looking for community volunteers to join Days for Girls (DfG), an international organization that sees that young girls in South Africa are equipped with washable, long-lasting menstrual pads.

     Roughly six years ago, Wayne Zion started working with a church in Cedar Rapids to supply these pads for DfG kits, which also include other personal hygiene items.

     “We make some of the components, not the whole kit,” explained Lacock.

     It was Lacock who brought DfG to Wayne Zion after hearing about the mission from her husband’s college friend.

     “His wife told me all about it, and I just couldn’t even imagine not having the needed supplies, so it really stuck with me,” shared Lacock. “So I asked how we could get something like this started. Silly me…”

     All she had to do was ask.

     DfG meets the first Wednesday of the month at 9 a.m., with their upcoming gathering on Sept. 1.

     The Cedar Rapids church also gives Wayne Zion the material needed to make the items; all they have to do is piece them together and sew.

     “There is a certain way we have to do it,” Kell said of the particulars.

     “There are certain standards,” added Lacock. “There is some oversight and inspection.”

     Both ladies said doing the work for this mission is rewarding before they know where the items are going and that it’s doing some good.

     “It’s needed,” added Lacock.

     In addition to the washable pads, Wayne Zion also donates $200 a year toward DfG to purchase needed supplies for the kits such a soap, a washcloth etc.

     On a good day, Lacock said they only have about five ladies assisting with this project right now.

     “It’s not very many,” she said, encouraging others in the community to lend a hand. “We’d love to continue this mission.”

     For both DfG and Useful Hands, it’s more than just sewing. Both circles provide time for socialization and fellowship. And if the group remains busy throughout the day, lunch is even an option.

     “It makes you feel good doing something like this,” said Lacock. “There’s plenty of work for others to do besides sewing.”

     If you are interested in either or both sewing circles, contact Wayne Zion Church at 319-465-4834.