Several members of the Trinity family took part in a mission of compassion with The Orlando Modern Quilt Guild (MQG) this year following the tragic shooting deaths of 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
It’s not uncommon among quilters to make a quilt to comfort a person facing a difficult time, whether in response to a loss of a family member or an event like the Fort Mac Murray wildfires which displaced people from their homes. So, immediately after the news of the mass shootings in Orlando, the Orlando MQG, a local chapter of the international organization, put out a call on Instagram (#quiltsforpulse) asking for heart blocks to be sent to the local guild to be assembled into quilts (blocks are increments of a quilt top that can be sewn together to make a whole).
The hope was to make about 100 quilts to help comfort the survivors. However, the social media post went viral and today the Orlando MQG has assembled and received over 1,500 quilts that have come from all 50 states and 23 countries.
1,500 quilts from all 50 states and 23 countries
Distribution of the quilts began in late October and continues now to a broad range of recipients including the victims, survivors, families, police and fire departments, hospital & counseling personnel, legal aid, and more.
The story isn’t just the Orlando MQG and the quilts it made, received, and distributed. Though the Guild did receive blocks that were made into quilts by the group’s near 100 members, the majority of the quilts received were completely finished. These came from other guilds, church groups, first-time quilt makers, children, libraries, scout troops, fine artists, individuals compelled to contribute through their own personal story, and so on. These quilts have stories themselves, and several came with notes expressing the maker’s condolences, words of comfort and hope, as well as personalized notes, letters and stories meant just for the recipient.
The project has been fully funded by the generosity of individual donations, fabric and quilting material suppliers and retailers, and Thrivent Financial via Trinity Lutheran Church in Downtown Orlando.
The Orlando Modern Quilt Guild is a chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild. A capstone event to distribute quilts to those who were working at Pulse, as well as City employees, Mayor Dyer, and potentially other groups, is planned in December at The Mezz in 
Downtown Orlando.
The quilts will be on display in Trinity’s Sanctuary during Saturday and Sunday worship services on November 20, 2016. Please take a moment to look these beautiful works of art where love and prayer are stitched into fabric that can be wrapped around someone touched by this tragedy and the aftermath of love, unity and support that followed.
