{"id":23960,"date":"2024-07-05T04:17:13","date_gmt":"2024-07-05T04:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/?p=23960"},"modified":"2024-07-05T04:17:13","modified_gmt":"2024-07-05T04:17:13","slug":"quilting-the-last-hurrah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2024\/quilting-the-last-hurrah\/","title":{"rendered":"Quilting: The last hurrah"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Frank Ramirez<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.<\/em>\u201d So it says in scripture (Ecclesiastes 3:1), and so, it seems, is the case for the Association of the Arts in the Church of the Brethren (AACB), which has announced that this is the last year the group will host quilting at Annual Conference. The decades-long Conference quilting bee will be capped by the last quilt auction this Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done quilting since the early 1970s,\u201d said Tara Hornbacker, recalling the history of the event. \u201cOver the years we used to also arrange for art exhibits and bus tours, but for the last 20 years we\u2019ve focused solely on quilting. We had to change with the times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hornbacker, who is Emeritus Professor of Ministry Formation, Missional Leadership, and Evangelism at Bethany Theological Seminary, is currently interim pastor of New Carlisle (Ohio) Church of the Brethren. She is not just an organizer, but also a fixture of the annual event.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Chris Brumbaugh-Cayford<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

And changing with the times is part of what is leading to this decision. \u201cWhen Annual Conference changed the one-week structure of the event we had to change as well.\u201d There are now fewer blocks of time to quilt, and fewer people with the skill to share. \u201cNot a lot of churches are turning in blocks,\u201d she admitted, \u201cso we made the decision to lay this down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe only had 48 blocks donated,\u201d said Margaret Weybright of Goshen, Ind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have only four quilts to get down,\u201d Hornbacker agreed. \u201cThe time has come. I feel absolutely thrilled about all we have done all these years. We\u2019ve had the kind support of the denomination, and in return we\u2019ve been able to give away thousands of dollars to alleviate hunger. Others can do something in a similar way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final AACB Quilt Auction will take place at the end of business Saturday afternoon, July 6, 2024, on the Coffeehouse Stage in the Exhibit Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#cobac2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n

———-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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