Children and leaders at Rutland Street Rally recently discovered that knitting can do far more than make a blanket - it can bring people together and bless families in need.
When Rally leader Tony Foster was looking for an activity for term 3 that met Rally objectives of learning a life skill and serving others, he connected with Rosalie Frost (Rutland Street Church) who coordinates knitting blankets for Mission Without Borders’ Operation Cover Up, an organisation that sends much-needed blankets to families in Eastern Europe.
The Rally children and leaders took up the challenge to knit the 56 squares required to make a blanket to send to Romania. They needed wool and needles, so a call was put out to the church. Several knitting enthusiasts responded - providing not only wool and needles, but also their time, expertise, and conversation.
For six weeks these ladies committed to coming to Rally on a Monday evening to teach the children (and leaders!) to knit, patiently fixing mistakes and encouraging progress.
Tony shares “It was so special to see these ladies who wouldn’t normally be involved in Rally interacting with the kids. They really loved getting to know the children and they were so keen to use their passion to teach the kids.”
There were many unexpected outcomes. Tony says:
“Having to find helpers outside of the normal Rally team strengthened our connection to the church... All the kids and all the leaders participated in this activity which meant we were able to slow down and have really great conversations with the kids as we knitted together.”
Leader Angela Foster also reflects:
“I loved seeing the kids sitting around knitting and chatting and getting to know each other. Rally is often so busy there is not a chance for the kids to talk to each other.”
The project even spilled over into homes. Children talked about it with their families, which encouraged some parents and caregivers to contribute squares as well. In the end, there were enough squares to complete two whole blankets.
Tony plans to reveal the completed blankets during a special Sunday morning service in the coming weeks displaying tangible evidence of what can happen when skills, service, and community are knitted together with purpose.
