St. John’s women’s group blankets others in warmth
Pomerene Hospital nurses Fallon Miller, left, and Olivia Coblentz celebrate another delivery of baby blankets from St. John’s Women’s Ministry with group member Sue Banbury, who started this blanket ministry years ago in her basement.
The warmth of a soft, warm blanket can be a very satisfying and comforting feeling.
It certainly worked well for Charlie Brown’s best friend Linus, who carried his blankie with him wherever he went.
The St. John’s Women’s Ministry meets every other Tuesday, and each meeting they sit down and go to work, carefully creating blankets for two hospitals.
The group makes close to two dozen larger blankets they craft together and take to the Cleveland Clinic to support cancer patients.
The blankets are all made of fleece, and the remnants of those blankets aren’t wasted.
The group turns the excess material into small baby blankets they donate to Pomerene Hospital in Millersburg. The women fashion six smaller blankets each month and deliver them to Pomerene, where it is the nursing staff’s discretion as to how they distribute them.
“A 4-inch square comes out of each of the coverlets in the blankets we send to Cleveland, and we put those together to make these small blankets that we bring to the hospital for each baby to take home,” group member Sue Banbury said.
The ministry began many years ago in Banbury’s basement, where a little idea has blossomed into a much larger ministry.
While it could be a costly endeavor to purchase the material for the blanket projects, Banbury said they have been blessed with the donations of many in the community who know about their ministry.
“It all comes from donations,” Banbury said. “We’ve worked hand in hand with Save & Serve Thrift Store, and we have many people who donate to us quite a bit. The donations cover all of it.”
While bringing comfort and joy to the recipients, it also is a heartwarming experience for the women in the group, knowing they are making a positive impact. Because they donate locally to the infants and their parents at Pomerene, it is especially gratifying.
“The nurses here at Pomerene get the reward by physically being able to hand the blankets to the parents to wrap their newborn child in, but knowing that we are doing something that is making others happy is very satisfying,” Banbury said.
She said when she takes blankets to the Cleveland Clinic, it creates another unique celebration.
“They welcome me and treat it like it’s Christmas every time I make the trip to the Cleveland Clinic,” Banbury said. “It’s always cold when someone is taking chemotherapy, and having their own personal blanket to keep them warm that came from others who show they care about them is always heartwarming.”
In addition, they take blankets to patients going through kidney dialysis, where they receive the same joyful thanks.
Banbury said blankets aren’t the only thing the women’s group invests in, adding they put together soup suppers and sauerkraut dinners and are part of a birthday ministry through Love In the Name of Christ of Greater Holmes County’s Gap Ministry, which helps individuals celebrate their birthday.
However, for the women’s group, this particular ministry has become a passion for them, knowing the work they do is bringing not only physical warmth to the recipients, but also warming the hearts of patients and parents who know there are people out there caring for their well-being.
While each blanket goes to a grateful recipient, there is an additional benefit that is derived from the ministry, that being the group of around 16 women on any given evening can fellowship, share their lives and have some laughs together.
“Oh, we solve all of the world’s problems when we get together,” Banbury said. “No, we truly do enjoy our time together. It’s special.”
If someone would like to donate fleece material or financially to the ministry, they can do so by calling the church at 330-674-5366 or stopping by during church hours at 8670 state Route 39, just west of Millersburg.