On Faith: A Collective Journey

The easy answer to this question is that I am a quilter. I love colour, texture and fabric. I am a toucher, a feeler of beautiful (to me)things. I love how cutting and piecing merge the skills of precision and creative art. The process of unfolding from thoughts to vision to substance is magical to me. And healing. Soul satisfying. Quilting has been on my ‘wish’ list for some time, and 2 years ago I was invited to join a women’s quilting group at a local Baptist church. It has been a beautiful fit for me - a safe ‘coming home’. I have had a rough and rocky history with the formal church. Much to my surprise, and delight, I have found true friendship, open hearts and minds, and a sister-welcome into their group. If there has ever been a time that I would consider ‘church’ attendance, it is because of this group of women, who range in ages from early 40s, to 90. Such rich experiences, and profound wisdom. Commonalities and differences. Open hearts. It surprised me, honestly....

In the beginning God created.  To work, build, make beautiful things, brings us joy as we have been wonderfully made in God’s image as creators.   I am a carpenters daughter.  I remember the joy my father had in building, creating, doing.  He loved to serve with his hands.  My mother grew up during WWII so she was a master at making beautiful things with limited resources.  She could sew, knit, cook and make laundry folding look like an art form.  She too felt that she served God, her family and her community through her varied gifts.  They lived generous, joyful, purposeful, God honouring lives, and we as children were blessed by their example.   As a child I loved the library. I loved the colourful books filled with crafts that I could make. I remember the Christmas my parents gave me a large box jam-packed with craft supplies. The rainbow of craft paper, scissors, glue, tape, markers, and paint kept me creatively blissful for a l...

I do not think of myself as a creative person so this was a hard topic for me to write on. I am not naturally artistic – I do not paint, sew, draw, quilt, dance, play any musical instrument (other than the stereo) or even know how to apply makeup on myself – other than a smear of lipstick every now and then. But I do love looking at art, listening to music, seeing the love, work and effort someone has put into a dress, quilt, painting and so forth. And I love the colours and patterns and beauty that God shows to me in his creation. The sunrises I get to enjoy each morning that I drive the bus. The calming motions of the waves against the shore. The beauty of so many birds, creatures and animals in all their colours, shapes and the sounds that they make. The sound of the wind in the trees and how they bend so gracefully like they are dancing with each other. The majesty of the mountains – that I have only seen in pictures – but how I imagine they must be – so large and permanent...