The Stewardship of Quilting

           I was working on a quilt recently and, as often happens while I'm quilting, I had a churchy thought. I was cutting fabric and I found myself thinking about how well the process of quilting serves as a metaphor for so many things. Like stewardship. 

         Stewardship probably lands in the top ten list of words that seem extra churchy. It’s somewhere under atonement and tithe and fellowship. Simply put, stewardship is how we take care of something that isn’t necessarily ours, but it’s in our care for a little bit. In our church, we believe stewardship is how we care for whatever has been entrusted to us using our time, talents, and treasures. As I was working on this quilt recently, I was thinking about how quilting encompasses all three of those things and thus serves as the perfect illustration for how stewardship works.

 

Time

            Quilting takes a lot of time. It takes time to pick out a design to quilt. It takes time to pick out fabric (and time to drive to the local quilt shop and purchase said fabric). It takes time to measure twice and cut once (a rule that saves me more often than not). Sometimes you make a quilt block bigger than it needs to be, and then it takes time to trim it down. Ironing the fabric takes time. Sitting down and actually sewing fabric together takes time. When people ask how much a handmade quilt costs, they are often gob-smacked because time alone is a precious commodity. 

            When we help in the church, we can help with our time. It takes time to write someone a card or pick up the phone to let someone know you’re thinking about them. It takes time to bake cookies for a fellowship activity. It takes time to come to a meeting. A lot of things in the church require time, so I personally consider time the most valuable things a person can give. We are so busy these days. The pandemic slowed us down (or ground us to a halt in most cases) and I’ve noticed people seem to be burning out more quickly now than they did pre-pandemic. I don’t know official psychological reason for this, but I suspect it has to do with jumping back into so much activity when our bodies grew accustomed to only expecting the essential activities. Time is a valuable resource, and we can all (all = myself included) remember to use our time well.

 

Talent 

            Look, I’m not bragging. I’m just saying. Quilting takes talent. It takes talent to choose colors that might not go together at first glance. It takes talent to do free motion stitches on a quilt (a talent I’m trying to hone). I watch my mother cut and sew hexagons together and that is just a talent I have not even tried to attain yet. But every time I learn a new skill (most recently, sewing eye glass cases), I consider it a level up in my quilt talent. I use my talent to get the quilt done.

            When we help in the church, we can help with our talent. We often refer to certain talents as spiritual gifts: the things God gives us to do the work of the Kingdom in the now. Maybe you’re good at reading. Can you read a story to kids? Maybe you love to sing. Can you join the choir? Maybe you are excellent at details. We need someone like you on the admin committees or even to help coordinate Vacation Bible School! We all have different passions and different things that we’re good at, so we’re called to think about how we might use our talents to help in the church (both the local church and the global body of Christ which has no walls or boundaries). 

 

Treasure

            Yes. Quilting is expensive. Again, people are often gob-smacked when they see how much a handmade quilt costs because the fabric alone is expensive. Good quilting fabric is getting upwards of $12-$15 a yard. Batting (the soft stuff that goes in the middle of the quilt) is usually over $20. Patterns cost money. Sewing machine maintenance costs money. Special rulers that help make the quilting process easier cost money. A lot of money goes into making a quilt, so materials alone can drive the price up. As far as quilting as a hobby, I don’t ever make back as much as I spend, but I spend the money because I love what I do. 

            We certainly use our treasures to help in the church. As much as we hate to talk about money, money does help us keep lights on and doors open. Money helps us support local businesses and non-profit organizations in our area who are doing amazing work. Money helps us fulfill our mission to love God and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. 

 

            Quilting really is a lot like stewardship. When I cut fabric, I try to waste as little fabric as possible. I’m being a good steward of the materials. When I rip out stitches because I made a mistake, I cringe because it feels like waste. Some quilts I make for charity and give away. Some quilts I make for others as a way to say I love you and you’re worth my time. Stewardship is how we care for what’s been entrusted to us. We care for our world and each other. We care for ourselves. It takes our time, talent, and treasures to care for all God gives us. We use time, talents, and treasures like a holy currency. Our blessings are like money, which Dolly Levi reminds us in Hello, Dolly! Is like manure: not worth a thing unless it’s spread around, encouraging young things to grow. 

 

How do you use your time, talents, and treasure to help your church? Do you remember God calls us to give all three T’s? Are you more generous in one area than another? How might you give more in another area? 





Quilt I made recently for a non-profit organization 


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