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Sew For
Peace
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As the war in Iraq continues, U.S. soldiers are not the only ones receiving care packages and kindness from the states. A group of women in Pennsylvania has a unique way of reaching out to those in the war zone. They are sending hundreds of homemade dresses to girls as part of a project called “Sew For Peace.” Jim Melchiorre reports. |
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SCRIPT:
(Locator: Harrisburg, Pa.)
Thursday mornings, Paxton United Methodist Church in Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania is like an assembly line.
Cecilia Sevon/Member, Paxton United Methodist Church: “I think it’s the
little girls.
I think it kind of touched our hearts.”
It started when Pastor Rick Denison shipped out as chaplain to an Air
National Guard unit, and ended up in a village north of Baghdad.
The Rev. Richard Denison/Pastor, Paxton United Methodist Church: “One of
the little girls looked up and said to me, ‘Mister, do you have any
dresses?’ And we thought of the kind of clothing we have in the United
States, and it wasn’t appropriate to Arabic culture where they prefer
long dresses. So I thought to write back to the folks here at Paxton
Church, and I sent them by e-mail some pictures of the kind of clothing
that the little girls there wear and asked them if they could make
dresses that looked something like this.”
They could, and they did. Twenty eight dresses.
Their reputation spread, and their pastor sent another e-mail, ordering
900 more.
Ellen Shatto/Member, Paxton United Methodist Church: “We can see our
dresses being distributed. We love to get the pictures of the children
and see the smiles on their faces and things like that.”
So far, 500 dresses have been shipped.
Ellen Shatto/Member, Paxton United Methodist Church: “We’re called to be
peacemakers. Maybe just by these expressions of love we can change
attitudes.”
But “Sew For Peace” is about more than just clothing.
The Rev. Rick Denison: “So much death and destruction occurs over in
Iraq and this was a very people-to-people way of showing that someone in
America loves and cares. That we have a lot of things in common, we all
love our children, we love our families and we all hope for the same
peace.”
TAG:
The “Sew For Peace” project has already recruited other churches in the
Harrisburg area, and organizers report receiving inquiring phone calls
from across the country.
In addition to the dresses, the ladies at Paxton Church also ship
sandals that are donated to their project. You can contact the church
for more information at 717-545-7994 or email
Ellen Shatto at
elshatto@verizon.net.