The Idea: Ours could be described as the most problematic era in human history. It also offers unprecedented opportunities for creative change.
Horrific weapons, grinding poverty, overpopulation and environmental degradation threaten our children's future. As the tide of awareness and concern rises in ordinary people like ourselves, we realize that we must act.
We stitched our first Peace Quilt in 1981. A "friendship quilt" for people of the former Soviet Union, it linked people of rival nations--affirming our common humanity and taking a tangible step toward understanding and cooperation.
Since then we have presented dozens of quilts to people who have made remarkable contributions to peace, justice, and environmental stewardship.
A new traveling quilt exhibit from MCC began a three-year tour on April 1, 2005 at the Pennsylvania Relief Sale.
It features quilts made by Mennonites in Canada and the United States, and distributed in the Netherlands after World War II.
In this lesson, students discuss and learn vocabulary related to quilts and quilting. Students explore quilt-making around the world, then decide on a design and create their own peace quilts. This lesson may be set up as a WebQuest. Teacher-directed discussion and instruction is interspersed with independent, online student learning.
The purpose of this project is to document the Mennonite Relief Sale Quilt within the United States and Canada. The Relief Sale Quilt is that genre of quilt produced to be auctioned at the 45 Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) relief sales held throughout the year across the United States and Canada.
Feb. 8, 2003; Recently Salford Mennonite Church in Harleysville, PA. made two quilts. Daryl Byler delivered one half to the White House as a gift to President Bush, and Christian Peacemaker Teams took the other half to Iraq. Here is a photo of the two halves put side by side.
Page last modified 02/28/2006
Zion Mennonite Church (503) 651-2274
6124 S Whiskey Hill Rd
Hubbard, OR 97032
