Crafts with a Cause

My mom loved crafts. It wasn't uncommon, when I'd come home from school in the afternoon or from college on the weekends, to see the dining room table piled high with craft supplies. She was happiest when she had the time to sit down with a glue gun and ribbons and turn it into something beautiful. She spent many years running Family Fun Events at our church, where she prepared crafts for kids to do at stations around the church. Sometimes, her exuberance for craft supplies exceeded her time to make all the things she wanted - our downstairs closet in the basement was stacked to the ceiling with mosaic pieces, glue, paper, markers, and sundry other materials.

And it's not just my mom. My whole family has a talent for making things. My grandmother was one of the first Bachelor of Arts graduate at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and she is an incredible painter. In the days before digital designs, she worked as an artist at a newspaper, drawing women's clothes and shoes for advertisements. 

My sister is craft-maker extraordinaire. She can crochet a scarf in one episode of Gilmore Girls and has made me countless skirts/dresses/shirts/shirt extenders (you can ask her about that last one). My godmother graduated from MICA and is a painter, art teacher, artist, and social entrepreneur. My cousin is an amazing photographer and graphic designer. While it's not the traditional sense of crafting, my dad, brother-in-law and godfather are all extremely handy and make patios, benches, tables, fences, decks, arbors, you name it (my dad can also sew and repair pretty much anything and has been known to make great dollhouses and backyard swing sets!).

Me, though? Craft talent completely skipped me. I'm not good at fiddly things and my fingers always end up coated in glue and glitter (quite similar to my adult crafting experience, in fact). Also, arts and crafts just bore me to tears. As a child, sitting at a table messing about with things made me super impatient. As an adult, I get annoyed with any crap I make because it ends up being clutter.

So when I told my family by email that I was planning to start a craft group at St. Columba's, my sister's reaction was an all-caps "WHAAATT?!?!?!!", seconded by my godmother. Crafts, while they are very much my family's "thing", are clearly not my thing. 

But little by little, over the past six months, I had begun to see how a crafts group could be a ministry for the church of St. Columba's. The idea of Crafts with a Cause came out of several conversations with people in the Mission Partners and the church about ways to engage the community more. It seems like in churches there are always random bits and bobs (v. British phrase) floating around and our Junior Church room was piled high with craft supplies from bygone years. I had a lot of random raw materials and the idea that it would attract a wide variety of people who might benefit. 

But getting it started was much harder than I expected to start a simple church group. After seeking approval (and all the official things one does to start groups at a church), and lots of back-and-forth internally, I finally settled on the idea of a once-weekly, daytime crafts group that makes crafts not just for fun, but for a purpose. (This is because of my aforementioned dislike of useless craft items that float around taking up space.) 

A huge part of the inspiration for a crafts-themed group was Christian Service Group, run by Mrs. Hilma, at Ascension Lutheran (my home church). My grandma was a member for years. The group meets once per week to make and organize supplies for other groups around the church and the community. They even painted cute vegetable-themed paperweights for the Pigtown Farmers Market last year (of which I was Market Manager). Mrs. Hilma gave me some ideas for crafts, and I love this little connection with my home church here at St. Columba's - it's a tiny piece of Ascension legacy here in England. 

After figuring out the basic idea, I started learning how to advertise. I made a flier and took it around to various York institutions, all of which said oh, yes, thank you, and then when I'd revisit that location it would have disappeared.... Another thing I realized after the first few sessions was that although the group was initially designed and geared for seniors, it could include seniors and also benefit lots of others, so I changed our fliers/mission to be a crafting group for all. (This has been good so far.) 

I learned that the best way to get people to come is the old-fashioned way - with flyering doors and posters on the railings of the church. I also pass out fliers at Carecent (the homeless breakfast program where I volunteer) and target people who could really benefit from a weekly meet-up. 

I was also struggling with coming up with craft ideas and supplies on the cheap - it was so easy when I had my mom's closet at my disposal but now I am realizing just how expensive crafting can get! I realized quickly that I needed to supplement the random craft supplies in the building with other actual necessities - glue, string, tape, scissors. 

Along the way, I enlisted a friend and congregant of St. Columba's, Jack, to help me out. He is retired but you wouldn't know it from the amount of things he still is involved in. He morally supports us and also comes to make teas for the group (this is a serious job here in Britain), even though crafting isn't really his thing. Other members of St. Columba's have been really supportive and invested as well. 

The third challenge to the group was figuring out what causes would actually want our crafts. This has gotten way easier as time has gone on. At first it was a challenge and we made pocket calendars and cards for homeless guests at Carecent (which was sort of a gimme, as at the time I was organizing the Winter Support Bag program with members of St. Columba's, and we could just tuck those items into bags of supplies for homeless people in York). 

Then we made bird feeders for overwintering birds, clay pots to donate to a senior group that needs raffle prizes. Many of the materials were cheap or recycled (which pleases my environmentally-conscious self). I still didn't feel like these were sustainable type crafts to help communities in need, as fun as they were. 

But then I connected with the coordinator for the Street Angels (a St. Columba's Mission Partner). This lovely woman is also a volunteer for Operation Orphan, which donates warm clothes to vulnerable children in Moldova. She came in and did a special session where we learned about her work (and her friend came as well). I did some special outreach for this series of three sessions that began in January. 

Because it was a session that was particularly relatable for many people, we had a huge turnout. People who knew how to knit or crochet taught the others. I'm a beginning crocheter - I can't be my sister's sister without at least knowing something - and because this is my fourth attempt at learning I'm finally getting the hang of it! 

Other crafts I have planned are more specifically targeted for groups in need. This week, we've started our first project as a group. We're making a bunting sign for the Oxfam charity shop to hang in their window that tells people to come volunteer. This is in conjunction with another program I'm running at church called Fairtrade Fortnight (since Oxfam supports Fairtrade, it's on-message). Oxfam also donated us a TON of supplies for only two pounds, which did my bargain-hunting heart good. (I told Derek and Isobel this, and Derek said he thought I was becoming more and more British every day - thriftiness being such a virtue here.) 

Somehow I suddenly have the next two and a half months planned out with solidly fun, simple, affordable, and useful crafts for groups in York. I'm amazed, but it really is because of all of the years of my mom crafting in my vicinity. Many of my ideas come from her projects for Family Fun Events and other activities. No matter how much I tried to avoid it, I think I soaked in some of her expertise and enthusiasm and it got buried really deep down. So now my latent craft-enthusiasm is surfacing, at least for this year.  

And I'm pretty sure my mom is kinda laughing at me right now. All the years I hated on crafting, and now here I am, brainstorming, shopping, and prepping crafts for people every single week.

The weirdest part? I'm totally loving it. Crafts with a Cause is one of the highlights of my week. I love the creativity of planning and the thrill of the hunt for craft supplies. I also even like doing outreach, even though talking to people in a persuasive kind of way is usually my least favorite thing. 

The biggest reason I love it, though, is the people that come. Several of the guests at Carecent (which is the homeless breakfast program where I volunteer every Monday morning) come, a fellow volunteer friend, some church members from St. Columba's, and the wife of our organist all attend and consider themselves a part of the group. I love getting to know these people better because of CWAC. I'm hoping more people come as time wears on. 

And excitingly, some folks from the neighborhood have become more-or-less regulars too! Connecting with the local community is something that Derek (my supervisor) feels strongly about us pursuing as a church, so I am quite pleased that this group can help achieve that goal. 

Last week was one of the most special. A few guests from Carecent had come, as well as a woman who uses crutches or a wheelchair to get around. We were having a really good conversation and one of the Carecent guests mentioned to the woman about how she must have a hard time getting around (it was relevant but I can't remember the details). He was worried immediately that he'd offended her but she looked so astonished and said, "No, you're absolutely right. No one ever acknowledges that, thank you." She continued and said that it feels like people just look past her when she uses a wheelchair like she's not even there. One of the other women, who is homeless, said she feels the exact same way about sleeping on the streets. It was such a powerful conversation. 

It's an eclectic group of people who attend, and I think in that way it's achieving one of the purposes of my role here, which is to open the church up to more members of the community and make people feel welcome. I feel a thrill when someone new walks in the doors. 

Lots of things remind me of my mom, and Crafts with a Cause makes me think of her all the time. I feel her presence when I'm standing in the small crafts room that contains my hodgepodge supplies - I know she's looking over my shoulder and would be inspired by the items I've collected for future sessions. I can sense it when I'm standing in Boyes, trying to pick out affordable supplies (she was all too aware of my angst and annoyance about any sort of shopping). And I feel it when I'm welcoming new members to the group, because she was passionate about our church being a welcoming place for all.  

At times, it is hard to be doing something so near to her heart without her here to offer me her advice and crafting knowledge. But it also a great joy for me to create something that she would have loved so much.