Cloth Project #1: Jacket by Nancy Myers

Reflections by Nancy Myer on her "Every Stitch a Prayer" project.

What kind of project did you make?
How did it connect you to Congo?
How did you find yourself praying as you worked with "Congo cloth?"

Nancy:
I’ve been in Africa twice and both times I’ve fallen in love with the fabric. I’ve bought cloth, gotten outfits made, and worn them there. But back in the USA I don’t know how to wear all this brightly colored stuff.

My favorite piece from a 2008 trip to Liberia has been a short-sleeved summer jacket. It was actually the top to an outfit that included a long skirt, but I have worn the skirt only once—and not with the matching top. I wear the top all summer with jeans and a tank top and get compliments on it. I’ve decided that jackets are exactly the right splash of color for me. (Think Chico’s.)

When Suzanne Lind and Christine Nofsinger brought their portable Congo cloth market to the Central District Conference in the summer of 2010, I was in heaven

--a feast for the eyes that triggered memories of Congo where my husband and I spent several years in the early 1970s. I bought a 3-yard piece, which turned out to be more than enough for a jacket.



Since my sewing skills are rusty I looked for a simple pattern. I found Simplicity 4552, a kimono style.



I’ve now made two jackets and will maybe make more. I love the way they look with tanks and jeans or long-sleeved tops in the winter, as well as dressier flowy pants. I can wear the jackets and not feel like I’m in costume.

I have often prayed for Congo with great sorrow, but the cloth reminds me of joy and resilience and our shared hunger for beauty.

I think of my gorgeous Congolese sisters adorned head to toe in these colors. I’m glad to wear a piece of it.

We are glad to have Nancy as a member of the Congo Cloth Connection planning committee. nbl

MCUSA WOMEN already benefit from sale of cloth!

Christine Nofsinger and Suzanne Lind lugged yards and yards of Congo cloth to Bluffton, OH, little did they know how eager people would be to buy it. With Rose Linds help, they transformed a Bluffton classroom into an array of beauty only matched in cloth selling booths in Congo.



As a workshop for the meeting of Central District Conference in June, 2010, this launched a wider awareness of the Congo Cloth Connection project.

Suzanne and Chris each shared stories from Congo. Chris shared:

My senses were assaulted in Congo by color, smell, and sound! And the cloth! I fell in love immediately!

Chris had already made a quilt for her friends the Linds using the Chinese coin pattern. Congo cloth had been given to her as a thank you for hosting Rose in her home during stretches while both Tim and Suzanne were in Congo with their MCC assignment. But now Chris had the opportunity to choose her own cloth for purchase. Since then she has asked the Linds and every other person she knows traveling to Congo to bring one or two suitcases of fabric home with them. Chris:

At this time we have over 1,000 yards of cloth here in the US. But I think it will go really fast at Pittsburgh.

That is the hope. By obtaining booth space at the MCUSA Convention in Pittsburgh, July 4-9, 2011, Congo Cloth Connection hopes to share with many both a new awareness of the vibrant culture of Congo and a desire to pray for how church to church relationships between Mennonites in the Congo and the US can unfold. When asked about what she hoped, Chris said,

It's not about cheap cloth. "Every stitch a prayer" was my way of learning to pray for Congo while quilting. I don't know other ways to hold concerns, sometimes. We hope that everyone that buys cloth will pray for Congo as they create beautiful things. Who knows where this will lead. And at $10 a yard, we will be able to share our joy with proceeds that go back to Congo.

BOMEN SEWING GROUP will benefit from cloth sales!

In November 2010, Suzanne Lind visited the sewing project of the Bondeko Mennonite Church, Kinshasa, DR Congo. Older women teach younger women, especially teen mothers, to sew. Since tailoring is a major part of Congolese culture, this gives these women a marketable skill.



The pictures speak for themselves:







BOMEN Sewing and Training Center and Workshop is a project of the Bondeko Mennonite Church, a congregation of the CMCo (Congo Mennonite Church) located in Masina, Kinshassa, in Congo. They have recently begun this project to train women heads of household, teenage mothers, and unemployed young women in sewing, dress making and tailoring. To date only a small number have been part of the program because only two privately owned sewing machines are available.

BOMEN is asking CCC of Michiana Friends of Congo to help expand the center by providing a grant for help buy additional sewing machines, tables and chairs, supplies, and rent for a larger building for the center. Local contributions will cover personnel costs.

The project will train 100 women in basic sewing skills over an eighteen month period. It will provide follow-up to assist the trainees to find employment, and will also include a production workshop to help young women get started in their careers.

CCC hopes to raise $5000 for this project by July 2011. One sewing machine costs $75, purchased in Congo.

FAQ's

What is the Congo Cloth Connection?
Congo Cloth Connection is a project of Michiana Friends of Congo, including Florence Church of the Brethren Mennonite (Constantine, MI), Kern Road Mennonite (South Bend, IN) and Silverwood Mennonite (Goshen, IN).

Its chief purpose it to connect Mennonites in Michiana and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

How did it begin?
Christine Nofsinger visited DR Congo in 2009 and was enthralled with the beautiful fabric that fashioned much of Congolese clothing. This also reflected to her the vibrancy of Congolese culture. As a way of praying for the intense tensions – beauty and poverty, welcome and warfare – that face Congo, she began making quilts of this cloth. While sewing her motto was “every stitch a prayer.”

Christine wanted to share this way of making relationships with the broader church in addition to adding to the stunning array of cloth in her “inventory.” With the support of Michiana Friends of Congo, she began visiting other church groups and selling cloth.

CCC was featured at the annual conference meeting of Central District Conference of MCUSA (June, 2010).

Why is its purpose “relationships,” or “connecting Mennonites in Michiana and the Democratic Republic of Congo?”
One of the five priorities of MCUSA in 2002 was “relationships with the global church.” With the counsel of Mennonite World Conference, MCUSA chose to foster church to church relationships between MCUSA and the Mennonite Churches of Congo. The Democratic Republic of Congo has one of the largest memberships of Mennonites in the global Mennonite body.

While it is challenging to make church to church relationships over great distances and through different languages, the blessings are rich, and the wisdom gained essential for the on-going health and hope of global Mennonites. This project represents a shift from “rich helping poor” to “people connecting with people” in faith and hope, creativity and compassion.

Why use cloth as the connection?
Congo cloth is a hallmark of Congolese culture and creativity. Quilters and crafters are quickly drawn to its bold beauty. Creative sewing is a common task in Congo and in North America, making a common connection.

Is the cloth made in Congo?
While broadly used in Congo, only some of this style of cloth is currently made in Congo. Much is made elsewhere. It is not always easy to determine the place of production since large companies produce cloth in many locations such as West Africa, South Africa, China, Indonesia, and Holland.

Why use the name “Congo cloth?”
Wax-print cloth has been used for clothing in Congo for years. While this type of cloth has dwindling production due to economic stress, the style of cloth is seen everywhere in Congo as typical day to day dress. Some Mennonite women still produce limited amounts of hand dyed cloth. In addition, many Congolese church groups design this type of cloth for use among women’s groups, such as the recent International March for Women (October, 2010, in eastern Congo).

Who benefits from this project?
Those who work with the cloth, learn about Congo, and make new relationships, will find intrinsic benefits.

BOMEN Sewing Training Center and Workshop, a project in DR Congo, will receive the monetary profits from sales of cloth.

What is BOMEN Sewing Training Center and Workshop?
BOMEN Sewing and Training Center and Workshop is a project of the Bondeko Mennonite Church, a congregation of the CMCo (Congo Mennonite Church) located in Masina, Kinshassa, in Congo. They have recently begun this project to train women heads of household, teenage mothers, and unemployed young women in sewing, dress making and tailoring. To date only a small number have been part of the program because only two privately owned sewing machines are available.

BOMEN is asking CCC of Michiana Friends of Congo to help expand the center by providing a grant for help buy additional sewing machines, tables and chairs, supplies, and rent for a larger building for the center. Local contributions will cover personnel costs.

The project will train 100 women in basic sewing skills over an eighteen month period. It will provide follow-up to assist the trainees to find employment, and will also include a production workshop to help young women get started in their careers.

CCC hopes to raise $5000 for this project by July 2011. One sewing machine costs $75, purchased in Congo.

Who is giving oversight to BOMEN project?
The relationship will be between the BOMEN and the Bondeko Mennonite Church and Michiana Friends of Congo through CCC.

Why not create a website to increase sales and benefits to those in DR Congo?
The only way that cloth travels between Congo and the US is by suitcase of those traveling back and forth. This is due to lack of infrastructure in Congo such as a functioning postal system. Therefore about 75 pieces of cloth (6 yards/each) can travel in three suitcases with each visitor. Michiana Friends of Congo has at least four connections with people traveling back and forth one or more times in the next year.

In addition, the internet does not promote personal relationships in the same way as this ‘grass roots” style project.

Why have a CCC booth in Pittsburgh?
Since CCC shares the goal with MCUSA of fostering relationships with the global Mennonite church, CCC offers a way to engage that goal. We hope to promote awareness of Mennonites in Congo. We hope to foster prayer as well as projects that connect the two church groups. We hope to host a visitor from Congo to make face to face connections.

How can I or my local group or congregation participate in this project?
 Purchase cloth for $10 per yard for individual of group projects.
 Learn about and share with others our connections to the people and churches of Congo.
 Send a one paragraph description of how the cloth has been used, including a photograph of the process or the end product. Nina Lanctot will post these on the blog at congocloth.blogspot.com. Contact Nina at Florence.brethren.mennnonite@gmail.com)
 Send a CCC free-will contribution representing the amoung realized from any Congo cloth items sold or any other amount you feel is appropriate. This contribution with support the BOMEN Sewing Project in Kinshasa.
 Participate in the CCC booth in Pittsburgh at the MCUSA Assembly (July 4-8, 2011).
 Participate in CCC through Michiana Friends of Congo. We are open to include any Mennonite congregations in the Michiana area. Contact Vicki Smucker at

How can I find out more about Congo Cloth Connection?
 For cloth purchases, contact Christine Nofsinger: cnofsinger@gmail.com
 To share writing and photos about CCC events and projects, contact Nina Lanctot: florence.brethren.mennonite@gmail.com
 To read about CCC and see sample projects go to the blog at congocloth.blogspot.com
 To send a contribution make your check to Florence Church of the Brethren Mennonite – CCC Fund and mail to Florence Church, 17975 Centreville-Constantine Road, Constantine, MI 49704