Once a month on Thursday morning the church’s Choir Room comes alive with animated conversation and laughter as women gather for Hearts and Hands for Others projects. The newsletter staff visited one recent meeting to see what went on. 

In one area of the room, donated bed sheets of every color were being torn into the right size strips to make bandages. (This editor was delighted to see one of hers going to a good cause!)

Seated at several long tables were ladies working in teams of two to roll the strips into bandages that will be sent to hospitals in Cameroon, Africa. One team member held the strips straight and taut and snipped errant threads, while the other operated the wooden bandage roller machine held onto the table by a vice. These ingenious devices were invented and built by our own Bob Fogt – another indication of the many and varied terrific talents in the PGCC congregation!

On the other side of the room, women were tracing and cutting circles from all kinds of used greeting cards and fashioning them into beautiful, durable placemats. These will be given to area nursing homes to brighten the meal trays of patients.

Everyone was enjoying their time together, as well as the delicious refreshments to nibble on as they worked. Lorna Gerbrandt summed up the feelings of many as she said, “When you think of where these items are going and who they’re helping, it’s so exciting!”

In addition to the monthly work days, Hearts and Hands ladies sew layette items for newborn babies in Cameroon, and knit lap robes and shoulder shrugs for nursing home patients. All projects are done to send the love of Christ out from their hearts and hands of love.

All women are invited to participate whenever they can on the third Thursday of each month.

Teamwork is apparent as five ladies place a transparent cover over a placemat made of circles they cut out. Left to right are Jorene Page, Norma Bothe, Cela Armstrong, Rose Hespenhide and Jerry Lane.

Mary Phillips and Maxine Gruebele discuss selection and placement of circles that the ladies have cut out of cards.

Lorna Gerbrandt (left) steadies a fabric strip and Louise Darvas inserts a scripture while rolling the fabric into a bandage.

Sue Hogshead draws a circle around a picture which will become part of a placemat.

Dee Wasser rolls a bandage using one of the wooden rollers designed and built by Bob Fogt.