Our readers are well aware of the distressing outcome regarding the toxic political rhetoric about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, OH. Motivated by the thought, "What can we do to help?", inspiration struck. Under the umbrella of the Welcome Quilt Project, we realized we could readily mobilize a swift and heart-centered response in Patagonia. With the help of Cassina Farley at the Patagonia Creative Arts Association, we organized a fabric square-making workshop on Sept. 22nd at the PCAA. Participants drew messages of welcome and support to our new friends in Springfield. All of the squares were then sent to our dear friend, Gale Hall, in Oracle, AZ. Gale is a retired early childhood educator, gifted quilter, and creator of the Welcome Quilt concept with whom Voices has been partnering since the inception of the project. Gale was at the ready with her quilting supplies and sewing machine. In record time, she created two beautiful Welcome Quilts from the squares that we sent to her.
The next question was where to send the quilts in Springfield, so it doesn't feel like sending a package to Santa Claus at the North Pole. Gale learned that Rev. Michelle Boomgaard of the Christ Episcopal Church in Springfield, OH was scheduled to speak via Zoom that very week to her Episcopal Migration and Response Network at the Church of the Apostles in Oro Valley, AZ. Kismet and problem solved! Gale reached out to Rev. Boomgaard who advised sending the quilts directly to her, saying she would give one to the Haitian Community Help and Support Center for display in their community center and the other would rotate among a number of other established churches with Haitian members. As a result, this will make the quilts and their messages visible to a large section of people, and also be shared with other denominations who have joined together to speak out against hate. At the time of this writing, the quilts are in the mail and on their way!
But wait...the story doesn't end there! In the meantime, a beautiful and unexpected thing occurred; word spread within the Episcopal Migration Ministries national community. Folks from New Orleans and Marfa, TX reached out to Gale to ask how they, too, could make Welcome Quilts for the Haitian community in Springfield. Currently, more quilts are being made and will be sent from New Orleans, Marfa, Gale's congregation in Oro Valley, and another from Green Valley, AZ. These quilts will also be circulated and displayed in churches and other public spaces within Springfield.
This is the letter that we sent to Springfield along with the two Welcome Quilts:
Hello friends and greetings from the Welcome Quilt Project
These Welcome Quilts were made especially for you by people living in or around Patagonia in southern Arizona. A Welcome Quilt aims to counter messages of hate and fear directed to those new to the United States with words of hope and welcome. These reflections are hand drawn by people across the country and then sewn together by quilters. We at the Welcome Quilt Project have been distressed to witness how the dangerous and dishonest comments made by politicians about people who are immigrating to the US have impacted Springfield, Ohio, especially Haitian friends and neighbors. Since those politicians don’t speak on our behalf, we felt led to initiate a heart-centered response to Springfield that begins in Patagonia, AZ.
Patagonia is a small community 18 miles north of the Arizona/Mexico border, and its daily reality is one of multicultural diversity. It is estimated that 40% of the students in Patagonia are the children of at least one person who has immigrated to the US. The community has been enriched by immigrants, and celebrates the many cultures that make the borderlands unique.
The Welcome Quilt Project is a partnership that includes Voices from the Border, a non-profit organization based in Patagonia and Gale Hall, a retired early childhood educator, quilter and creator of the Welcome Quilt idea. Voices serves migrants and asylum seekers waiting in Nogales, Mexico for entry into the US by providing safe housing, medical care and other basic necessities. On the US side of the border, Voices engages in “creative activism” using the arts as a vehicle to build understanding and empathy about the lived experience of migration. In this case, the art form is quilts.
Why quilts, you may wonder? Quilts represent safety and security, softness and warmth. What better way to welcome a new friend! Our intention is to wrap the Springfield community and its new Haitian neighbors in a warm embrace of love. The quilts that we have sent you are a gift from us; the Patagonia community, Voices from the Border and Gale.
We see you and we support you.
Sincerely,
The Welcome Quilt Project
India, Maggie, and Gale
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