St. Philip’s Anglican Church in Nanaimo is home to the Angel Sewers and Crafters, a group of around eight parishioners who meet once a week to quilt, crochet, knit and sew.
The group started out in 2021, when St. Philip’s parishioner Susan Dobson heard through Facebook about a group of women who were making quilts for Residential School Survivors. So, the Angel Sewers and Crafters started making quilts. They made six quilts in total, which were hand delivered to Alert Bay by diocesan executive director Brendon Neilson.
In January this year, Brendon got in touch with the quilters again to let them know about a tour he had recently done of the New Roads Therapeutic Recovery Community, a residential program for men and women with substance use disorders and who have experienced homelessness.
Five members of the Angel Sewers and Quilters — Susan Dobson, Heather Rendell, Ann Thomson, Daryth Patten, Lorretta Zink — got to work and were able to make 13 quilts for the women residents of New Roads. They prayed over each quilt and St Philip’s incumbent Leslie Flynn blessed the blankets too. Susan hopes that when the women at the centre use the blankets, they will know that they were made with love and that God’s love is in them too.
“I see people out on the street and my heart aches for them. I don’t know how to help them. But I can do this. It passes on the love that I have felt through the years from God and from my church community,” says Susan.
Susan and some of her fellow quilters were able to deliver the quilts to New Roads. They had the chance to meet Cheryl Diebel, the director of New Roads and a recent recipient of the Order of the Diocese of BC. The quilters took a tour of New Roads and met some of the women staying at the centre. The quilts will remain at New Roads and the Angels hope that they will be able to bless many people over the coming years.
Julian Daly is the CEO of Our Place Society, which operates New Roads Therapeutic Recovery Community. Julian is also a parishioner at Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria. He expressed his gratitude to the quilters of St. Philip’s: “These quilts mean so much to the women’s community. They are cherished not only for their warmth and comfort but also for the love and care that went into making them. Many of the women have rarely experienced such acts of kindness and generosity in their lives.
“The quilts provide more than just physical comfort; they offer emotional comfort as well. Knowing that there are strangers out there willing to dedicate their time to create something beautiful for them is truly touching.”
The Angel Sewers and Crafters are taking a break from quilting for the rest of the year. They have recently been busy organizing and hosting a craft fair selling some of their creations at St. Philip’s. The craft fair raised over $2,000, which will go towards renovating the kitchen at St. Philip’s. But they have plenty more fabric that they hope will go on to bless many more.
