From Iowa,


with Love Women in a small farming town support Allentown community


ministries BY RICH LALIBERTE


It’s fair to say that community ministries in two faraway places — Allentown and a small town in northwest Iowa — are both surprised to be connected in their support of local Center City disadvantaged and homeless.


On the Iowa end, five to six women gather weekly to sew or finish quilts from donated clothing and fabric through a ministry called Justice for All in Rock Valley, Iowa, population 3,775. Teir work mirrors that of a similar sewing, quilting, and craft ministry that meets Wednesdays at FPCA. A charity that formerly received Iowa quilts no longer had use of them, but the women continued to produce and were always on the lookout for ministries in need.


One of the Rock Valley women is Jo Vander Schaaf, mother of FPCA member Rachelle Laliberte. Trough their FPCA small group, Rachelle was familiar with Helen and Charley Underwood’s efforts as leaders of our church’s Local Mission Team. When told of Justice for All’s bounty of quilts, the Underwoods enthusiastically agreed it would be helpful to


distribute these handcrafted expressions of warmth in the Allentown community.


In 2018, Rachelle and I took one of our periodic road trips to Iowa and picked up three large plastic bags full of quilts at Justice for All. Te Underwoods distributed these to ministries run by Ripple Church, a Mennonite organization ministering to those experiencing difficulty and homelessness in Allentown (see article on Ripple in the July-August 2019 edition of Tidings).


Te Iowa quilts were such a blessing for these ministries that the Underwoods expressed interest in more quilts if the Iowa women were willing and able to provide them. In May 2019, Rachelle and I returned to Rock Valley and packed the back of our minivan with six large boxes filled with about 45 quilts.


By this time, word of the quilts had spread and the shipment was designated for the Allentown YMCA’s Warming Station, where the quilts will be given to homeless people seeking shelter this winter. Helen Underwood recently sent us a note: “We have heard several times from the YMCA personnel how very grateful and blessed they feel re Rachelle’s mother’s quilts. Please let these wonderful ladies know the great work they have done for those in need.”


During our visit to Rock Valley in the spring, the women at Justice for All — gathered to sew and share coffee on a Tuesday morning — were delighted that their handiwork was going to a worthy cause. Says Lorna Van Maanen, the group’s leader, “We donate the quilts we make to share warmth with others in the name of Christ.”


Rachelle Laliberte (left) brought six boxes of quilts from her hometown in Iowa, where a community ministry similar to FPCA’s sewing, quilting, and craft group puts together quilts from donated materials (above) and has offered them to Allentown ministries such as Ripple and the Warming Station.


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