A prayer inspired by the Sacred Ally Quilt Ministry*
Loving God,
Stitch us anew
Forming the fragments
Of your human family
Into something more
Than the world sees
As possible or probable.
Let no story be scrapped
As unimportant
Or unworthy of notice
All carrying something of you
And your beloved unfolding.
Let your Christ-presence
Bear a new beginning
Sewing souls together
In sacred discovery
Of beauty too long hidden.
Let each stitch
Of your loving presence
Bind us closer to you
And to each other
In awe of common breath
Forming a Holy wholeness
Through sacred recognition
Of our need to remember
Stories too long stacked
In the scrap-pile of history
Yet not forgotten by you.
By your grace,
Stitch us ever-anew
With your Christ-love
Broadening the quilt
Of your loving design
Until every last piece
Is given its proper place
As part of the whole
You are already forming.
Yes, form the fabric
Of anger and awe
Of worry and wonder
Into some sacred piece
Freeing us from fear
Bearing a precious peace
Otherwise impossible
Without our sewing Spirit
Able to make all things new
Scrap by scrap, bit by bit
In time and beyond time.
Grant us grace to consent
To your call to be used
In this grand quilt
Of your desire and design
That delight may emerge
Ever-anew for everyone
All created as beloved
By your loving hand.
Yes, Love, stitch us
With you for nothing less
Than this of your revealing.
*Photo: The ‘Resurrection Cross’ of the Sacred Ally Quilt Ministry was fashioned by Dr. Harriet Ward and Jarhy Blayr of the New Hampshire Conference, United Church of Christ, as they listened to the fabrics that wanted to be together. Dr. Ward offers this helpful background, ‘The head of the quilt is all about Africa. The top left is a batik from Cameroon. Beside it is an almost Sankofa bird (no egg). The two squares below were designed by a South African. The leopard is indigenous to Cameroon and West Africa. The fabrics with red are the heart.’
