Chris Whitaker
The Americus Times-Recorder
AMERICUS —
Imogene Marchant and Carolyn Joiner were two in a group of women who recently volunteered a day of their time sewing clothes with Allentown United Methodist Church’s Agape Stitchers.
And during the 11 a.m. service on March 20 at Lee Street United Methodist Church (UMC), Agape Stitchers’ founders Grace Wicker and Frances Purvis will present this ministry as part of the church’s United Methodist Women’s Day.
“They will tell us about their faith story and how they started it,” said Joiner, a past president of the United Methodist Women at Lee Street UMC. “They’ll share some slides they took while working in the Dominican Republic. They spent about two weeks there teaching them how to sew clothes. I think it was an eye-opener to them about the needs of children in a country like that. They kind of stepped out of their comfort zone to a whole new world.”
According to the South Georgia Advocate, the Agape Stitchers was founded in 2003, and this group of women range in age from the 60s to 90s. Marchant, the current UMW president at Lee Street UMC, said the group has sewn more than 5,651 dresses, 2,631 boys outfits, 924 baby blankets and 474 school bags. They have sent these items to needy children around the world. Even a men’s prison in Indiana helped sew items at one time.
The church is located in Laurens County, and Marchant said several people — not only church members — from the community help support the ministry.
“All of us have been concerned and say we want to help people in need,” she said. “We say we’re sorry and want to relieve the hurt and suffering. These Agape Stitchers learned about the poverty of children, have organized themselves and are making a difference. These ladies did something. Their motto is, ‘Little is much when God is in it.’ These ladies are retired, and they said we need a mission project — that is what the United Methodist Women are all about. We are the mission arm of the church. We contribute more to missions than the regular church does.”
The group spent eight days at the Dominican Republic, teaching more than 30 women, some as young as 13, to sew.
“I think it’s wonderful, what they’re doing,” said Joiner. “I didn’t realize it was as big of a production as it is. They have a good ministry going there.
“After hearing some of the stories the ladies told us, it made me feel good we were helping. One little one said, ‘Is that dress for me?’ It made me feel good to see something good being done to help someone in need. I go back and think of myself as a little girl thinking about getting a new dress. This was good for them.”
Marchant said she always sewed dresses for her daughters growing up and was glad to be a part of the recent work day; the group has two work days a month. The tasks range from cutting, sewing, hemming, embellishing, decorating, ironing and packaging.
She said items have been distributed to 18 foreign countries, including Afghanistan, Ghana, Kenya, Haiti, Honduras and the Philippines.
“I felt very humbled I could be a part of such a big project that touched so many lives around the world,” she said. “I was just impressed how they not only heard about something, but they got busy and organized and did something.”
The church will present Wicker and Purvis with fabric and a monetary donation, and an offering will be taken for the ministry. Thirty dolls that were handmade by two women in the church will also be given to them.
“For a small church to be able to come up with a project such as this and the story as far as our faith being able to do something to help someone else, especially the children because they’re usually vulnerable, is great,” Joiner said. “Some children don’t even have clothes.”
