When shortages of PPE were reported throughout the nation as the pandemic took hold in mid-March, the women of St. Francis Episcopal Church in Eureka, Missouri mobilized to offer their services to St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield. The volunteer coordinator at St. Luke’s asked if they could make cloth masks for the support staff giving the quantity thought to be needed in the near future. Overwhelmed with the number given them, Donna Bernert, a member of St. Francis contacted the Diocese of Missouri ECW Board, asking if they could mobilize volunteers across the diocese to sew cloth masks.
The ECW Board approved the appeal and Deborah Caby, current president of the ECW Board, Dio.MO, made sure all logistics and safety protocols were in place and put out an appeal to the women of the diocese asking for help in sewing masks. Within the hour of being published, the phone began to ring with dozens of women from the various parishes in the diocese offering their time and talent in sewing cloth masks. The diocesan ECW Board acted as liaison between individual volunteers and the women of St. Francis, and took over the administrative details.
Donna Bernert and Sally Hader, members of St. Francis, spearheaded this pickup ministry. They designed a system where sewing materials were prepared, assembled into kits complete with all materials needed to make 25-30 masks. Delivery of kits followed stringent safety protocols to keep everyone safe during this project. Several men assisted with driving and member Charlie Coleman made meals for the women at St. Francis so they could utilize their time assembling kits and sewing masks. Not a detail was skipped. In a few short weeks, over 3100 masks were delivered to St. Luke’s.
This was all accomplished without members from St. Francis or members throughout the Diocese of Missouri leaving their home. Social contact was perhaps a wave from a window, but many times, no one saw each other’s face. While the work was solitary, the bonds of sisterhood and friendship grew.
Blessings seem to overflow when doing the work of The Lord. St. Francis is a very small parish but met the challenges of shortages of materials as businesses shut down and lack of funding for the ministry, with the belief God would provide what was needed to do the work. They found friends along the way who donated materials and money to make sure the support staff at St. Luke’s had cloth masks. There were several volunteer sewers who did not attend church, but hopefully will remember the seeds of Love planted through this ministry.
With thanksgiving, the women of St. Francis acknowledge the outpouring of love from women around our diocese. The women of St. Francis have now turned their attention to sewing cloth masks for the Episcopal churches in the diocese, as they begin opening their doors for worship. Over 500 masks were delivered to various parishes with an additional 25 specially designed masks by Sally Hader were delivered to St. Thomas Deaf Episcopal Church with clear plastic inserts added, allowing worshipers the ability to read lips.
Submitted by Deborah Caby, President
ECW Board, Diocese of Missouri
