By Nancy Williams
Have you ever wondered about the beautiful ‘memory quilt’ that hangs in the chapel entrance?
In 1992, when St. Francis de Sales was celebrating it’s Sesquicentennial (150 year) anniversary, Father Braun asked a few parish members to head up a 12 month program of celebrations. Dinners, plays, concerts and a parish festival were planned, but the committee wanted to have a lasting remembrance that would showcase the many groups that make up parish life and how they came together to create the family that is St. Francis de Sales.
A square of muslin material was given to 20 parish groups (including one to Father Braun), with the instruction that it should be decorated in a way that represented their contribution to parish life. The squares were collected, and a group of parish ladies assembled the quilt and quilted the center. It was meant to hang on the wall where it is showcased today, and an anonymous benefactor paid for the hanging and the acrylic protective covering.
Each square is identified by the name of its organization, and looking from left to right across the top, these groups are:
- 4-year old Kindergarten Program
- Parish school (made by 8th grader Patricia McCarthy)
- Home and School Association (Established 1951)
- School Board
- Widowed, Divorced, Separated, Single Group
- Religious Education
- Junior and Senior High School Religious Education
- Right of Christian Initiation (RCIA)
- Celebration Choir
- Centerpiece of St. Francis de Sales Church 1842 – 1992
- Contemporary Choir
- Altar Society (started in 1896)
- Eucharistic Ministers, Lectors and Ushers
- Catholic Daughters of the Americas (Court of St. Mary 914 – chartered in 1924)
- Father David Braun – St. Francis de Sales and all of the priests that have served here
- Parish Council
- Knights of Columbus Council 1647
- Rectory Staff
- Mission Society
- Queen of Peace Rosary Group
- 150th Jubilee Celebration Committee
What a great way to honor the many parts of parish life in 1992 and today!