Upstate New York SWO honors Katie Luther

by Eva James Yeo

The Upstate New York synodical women’s organization tripled its goal to sew or tie 500 blankets and quilts to honor the 500th anniversary of the reformation and Katharina von Bora Luther.

At their synodical women’s convention this past September, they celebrated the completion of their 500 Quilt Challenge for the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation with 1,538 blankets and quilts.

Synodical president Susan Fox, Grace Lutheran Church, Oswego, N.Y., said that women from more than 30 congregations participated in the challenge.

“We had at least seven churches participate that do not have a Women of the ELCA group,” Fox said. “We felt this was a great way to reach out and show our church where women are doing wonderful work.”

[bctt tweet=”The women in Upstate New York look to Katie as a role model… ” username=”womenoftheelca”]

The challenge honored the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in October 2017.

Katie as a role model

The women in Upstate New York look to Katie as a role model, especially for the care she took of the family home and business when her husband, Martin, was teaching and preaching, she said.

The SWO honored Katie through the quilt challenge because of her contributions to the Reformation movement, Fox said. After the quilts were counted and blessed, the SWO donated many of them to Lutheran World Relief.

Quilting brings women together, said Judy Holmes of Atonement Lutheran Church, Syracuse, N.Y., one of the churches that participated in the challenge. Many hands were needed to reach the goal. Even if they couldn’t sew, they were welcomed, she said.

“What a fun challenge for our quilting groups,” Holmes said. “It’s also an opportunity to help women, children and families receive a warm quilt for a cold evening.”

To learn more about Katie Luther, download our free resource, “A Bold Life of Faith: Katharina Von Bora Luther,” at welca.org/resources.

Eva James Yeo is director for membership for Women of the ELCA.