Family CCD Group Welcomes New Neighbors

By Amy Kotsopoulos

Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker movement, believed that the only way of showing our love for God whom we have not seen is by showing our love for those whom we do see. Our family CCD group has embraced the concept of loving our "neighbors" by incorporating into our program this year a number of service projects. Our children assembled and delivered Thanksgiving food baskets, baked bread in honor of St. Joseph's Day, helped sort through over 10,000 pounds of food donated through the town-wide food drive.

St. Ignatius describes love "as an exchange of gifts." These gifts can be material in nature or less tangible, in the form of our time and talent. Our last service project of the year combined the gifts of time and talent to create a gift of welcome for our neighbors in the Little Brown House. The kids created a hospitality quilt.

Quilt making has been a treasured art form in America since early colonial days. The art form is appreciated for the historical significance of the craft, its messages, and for its engaging power of expression. Thanks to Teresa Bashant's creativity and skill, the kids transformed colorful fabric swatches into a rainbow mosaic.

The kids were responsible for designing the squares that would be included on the quilt. Two of them saw to it that Frs. Paul and Dennis' images were immortalized in cloth. The quilt was presented to the current residents of the Little Brown House - Anthony and Lincoln. The children met them and were thrilled to see their hard work so beautifully displayed.