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October 2009
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| 50s Plus group member Irene Vogeler works on sleeping mats at Immanuel, Palatine. |
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| A finished sleeping mat, above. See closeup of crochet stitch below. |
 | Plastic bags…they're everywhere. Grocery stores, clothing stores, dry cleaners. Shoppers quickly become inundated with dozens of plastic bags. What's a person to do with all those bags? Trash them? Take them back to the store for recycling?
The new sleeping mat ministry at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Palatine, Illinois, provides another option to dispose of all those unwanted plastic bags and at the same time reach into the community with a loving act in Christ's name. Each Friday, women from Immanuel's 50s Plus group gather to transform plastic shopping bags into sleeping mats for the homeless.
Creating sleeping mats is a team effort. One sleeping mat and tie requires 500 to 700 plastic bags and approximately 35 hours to make. The women cut the bags into rings and loop them together to form “yarn.” Then, using a single crochet, they create a 3-foot by 6-foot sleeping mat that the homeless can use to cushion themselves from the cold, wet pavement or ground. The mats are surprising durable.
There also is a need for these mats in the Gulf Coast region where there still are many homeless and “tent city” residents from Hurricane Katrina.
“Immanuel has been actively involved in the community, and for more than 20 years has been providing food and clothing through our Good Samaritan Ministries,” said Rev. Thomas R. Acton, senior pastor at Immanuel. “The sleeping mat ministry is an extension of our commitment to showing Christ's compassion for those in need.”
Youth groups, senior groups, churches, social clubs and organizations can all get involved in establishing a sleeping mat ministry. Lutheran Church Charities, a nonprofit, human care ministry of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and based in Addison, Illinois, has created a video that provides details about how to begin making sleeping mats for the homeless. The video is available for viewing on its website at www.lutheranchurchcharities.org, or to request a DVD, call (toll-free) 886-455-6466.
In addition, Lutheran Church Charities has offered to cover shipping costs for organizations wishing to donate their sleeping mats to the homeless both locally and to the Gulf Coast region.
The need is great and the women at Immanuel plan to create many more sleeping mats. You can help by collecting bags for them.
The details:
Each sleeping mat contains between 500 and 700 plastic bags. Volunteers at the church will separate them into color-coordinated groupings to allow crocheters to work a design into the bag.
Plastic bags can be dropped off Monday through Friday at Immanuel Lutheran Church and School, 200 North Plum Grove Road, in downtown Palatine, Illinois.
For more information, please contact the church at 847-359-1549.
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