December 2019
It has been a marketing challenge to wear, exhibit and promote crochet at every opportunity. Always proud when we pull off a major PR coup, I am even more delighted when I innocently discover "someone else," not connected to CGOA, is out there helping us!
That's precisely what happened on December 16 while I was on my way to a Yuletide concert in downtown Indianapolis! I arrived a bit early on Monument Circle where the theater is located, and decided to kill time by walking around the Circle a few times. A sunny and beautiful day, I wanted a photo of what is known as the "world's tallest Christmas tree."
As I rounded the circle, what appeared to my eyes was astonishing. There in plain view to everyone was Christ Church Cathedral festooned in Yarn Bombing. Surely this work of art could not have been done by Guild members or I would have known about it! If not them, then who would have taken on such an elaborate project? I had to get to the bottom of it!
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| Photo courtesy Christ Church Cathedral |
"Hats for Indy" and Cathedral Women work together all year long on their three-fold ministry: having fun and fellowship; helping those most in need in our city; and letting our neighbors know that our church is involved in outreach while inviting them to join us. The group has forty members; and monthly averages twelve to fifteen volunteers who crochet and knit hats, sleeping mats from plastic bags; and this year "quillows" were added (blankets that can be folded into pillows). They can be seen once a month in pubs, restaurants or sitting on the circle in the summer sharing their crafts. A group of ladies from the retirement home, Marrquette Manor, also contribute to our efforts.
Cathedral Women sponsor "Festive Advent Dinner" and a meeting of the Coalition for Homeless Intervention and Prevention (CHIP). A speaker conveys the urgency of the problem for our city and participants bring donations of individually wrapped food or toiletry items.
In 2013, the tradition of Yarn Bombing the Cathedral started as a way to call attention to the plight of homelessness in our Indianapolis community and to directly reach out to those in need. Julie explains, "On any given night, there are 1,787 people without a home including a large percentage of whom are women and children. We are dedicated to help all individuals; and each day during Advent, 6 stockings are filled and hung on the railings outside the church. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited me in; I needed clothes and you clothed me; I was sick and you looked after me; I was in prison and you came to visit me.'" Matthew 25: 35-36.
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| Photo courtesy Christ Church Cathedral |
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| Photo courtesy Christ Church: Crafted Warmth in the Creche |
Congratulations to all who have worked so tirelessly. To get involved with this worthwhile mission, contact Julie at julieknits4@gmail.com
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