Every Monday morning they come to Tannehill Valley Baptist Church, McCalla. They’re not there to study verses or sing in a choir — their ministry is a skill that has taken years to learn and perfect.
They are Crafters, a group of 25 ladies who use their sewing, knitting and crocheting skills to bless those who receive their handiwork.
The group began in March 2013 with four people, gradually growing as more and more women heard about the ministry.
Getting started
Pat Thomas, Crafters’ founder, was a member of a similar group at her previous church, First Presbyterian Church, Wetumpka. When she came to Tannehill Valley Baptist, Thomas saw the potential to lead the ministry that she had loved being a part of.
“It’s wonderful to be able to make things for people and to be able to get to know people who you may not be as close to normally,” Thomas said.
The Crafters’ first-ever project was making what they call “tie-throw” blankets, in which two pieces of fabric are placed on top of each other and tied together in knots at the edges to form the border. Martha Green, a Crafters charter member, said they wanted to start with something simple to show ladies they didn’t have to be an expert seamstress to be a Crafter.
“We would tell people, ‘If you can tie a knot you can come on Monday mornings,’” Green said.
As the group grew, so did the expertise as women who had been sewing and crocheting their whole lives began to teach those who were new to the needle and thread.
After completing tie-throws the group made specially designed shirts for women with breast cancer. The Crafters purposely used fun patterns and decorative trim to give the women something to smile about.
The group also has made purses for Tannehill Valley’s women’s ministry.
The biggest project the ladies have undertaken was making Christmas stockings in 2013. They made more than 300 for children at Casa Betania Children’s Home in Mexico, local nursing home residents, the ill and anyone who chose to buy them. For the children of Casa Betania the Crafters embroidered each child’s name on their very own stocking. Tannehill Valley has an ongoing missions relationship with the children’s home and organizes annual missions trips to Mexico.
While the group has been making and giving, they’ve also been receiving. The majority of their supplies come from anonymous donations of fabric and money.
‘Loaves and fishes’
“The more we make and give away, the more that comes to us. It’s kind of like the loaves and fishes — the materials keep multiplying,” Green said.
If one were to ask any Crafter for a specific example of the loaves and fishes each would say, “The material from heaven.” That is what the group calls several large boxes of fabric scraps that were donated to them by a fabric store in Bessemer.
These scraps produced the Christmas stockings and window drapes for Grace Place Mission in Bessemer and will be the source of many more projects to come.
The women also were given two ironing boards, six sewing machines and one serger.
The Crafters are currently working on making diaper bags for Bibb County Save-A-Life. The bags will be filled with such items as blankets, baby booties, outfits and bibs, also made by the sewing group. Additional items, such as baby wipes, baby powder, baby oil and shampoo, have already been collected for the bags.
The ladies are planning to donate any extra items to the Bessemer Save-A-Life or a local hospital.
While the Crafters intentionally strive to sow blessings into the community, they’ve been sowing blessings within their group as well.
Donnie Handley, a Centerville resident who was a member of Tannehill Valley from age 5 until she was married, said she loves to fellowship with her fellow Crafters.
‘Willing hearts’
“Knowing that you’re doing something good with your time is just a great feeling. We all look forward to Monday mornings,” Handley said.
Although some of the Crafters don’t sew at all, their “willing hearts” are all they need to minister, Green said.
“Some of our ladies are disabled, some are slow of speech, hard of hearing, losing eyesight, have arthritis or other physical issues, but all have hearts full of the love of the Lord.”
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