A new spin on Sunday service
Jul. 15—When Interim Pastor Gary Jewell, of Pullman's Community Congregational United Church of Christ, asked the congregants for their ideas on alternative ways to practice their Sunday worship, it sparked an idea in one congregation member.
Jewell said it was Lisa Carloye who came up with the idea of having the congregants join together to sew a quilt in support of not banning books as part of the Sunday worship. Literature is not something Carloye normally works with as a biology professor at Washington State University, but it is important to her.
"My feeling is literature and books can give us a look into others' lives," Carloye said.
The recent headlines around banning books, especially with content around the LGBT, race and gender concerned Carloye, she said. The church, Jewell said, values being open and accepting, and is a denomination of the United Church of Christ and is considered part of progressive Christianity.
"It's not just a craft circle, it's worship," Carloye said.
The congregants of the church can volunteer to help in sewing the pieces together during the service while listening to a sermon from Jewell and singing. Carloye said it doesn't matter how well a member can sew to be able to participate. The stitches don't need to be neat to accomplish the goal she said.
Carloye describes herself as an amateur quilter so she would work with another congregant Nancy Mack, who is a quilter, to organize the service. Mack would tell her about a type of fabric that can be run through an inkjet printer to be printed on. Carloye spent some time visiting bookstores and libraries to gather photos of the spines of commonly banned books to print on the fabric and then cut them out before the service.
"It's a way to make a statement and educate ourselves," Carloye said.
Carloye said Mack also helped to make part of the quilt that reads "We are with the banned" to appear next to the lines of book spine that will make the wall art sized quilt. The congregants will be helping to create the top layer of the quilt.
Banned books had been on Carloye's mind recently, she said, and she wanted to engage the other congregants in learning about it and make a statement. On July 23, service members will be able to sign their name to a card that will be attached to the quilt to show their support and hear from Neill Public Library Director Dan Owens about banned books.
Services are open to the public and start at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Community Congregational United Church of Christ, 525 NE Campus St., in Pullman. For more information, visit pullmanucc.org.
The finished quilt will be displayed at the church and possibly around town Carloye said so the wider community can enjoy it.
Nelson can be reached at knelson@dnews.com.
