United Congregational Church of Tolland Scarf Project to Help Raise Awareness About Bulling and Violence

 This evening my blog story is from the UCCT project regarding a project that is very important.     In an effort to support and show solidarity against bullying and violence the Knit and Pray Group of 20, plus 24 other church members and friends have donated 122 hand knitted or crocheted scarves to be used at United Church of Christ’s General Synod, being held June 28-July 2 in Long Beach, CA. Along with other UCC donors’ scarf contributions they will be given to attendees in return for the recipient’s pledge to take an action about bullying and other types of violence when they return home. The United Church of Christ hosts this biennial General Synod conference for faith-based people around the world. Several years ago it was held in Hartford and it was truly an awesome event with then-senator Barack Obama being the key note speaker. Each rainbow-colored scarf donated to the Synod by UCCT is in the pattern used by the Knit and Pray members, who create prayer shawls in memory of or to honor an individual or an occasion. In the past 10 years the group’s shawls have been sent to people in many of our United States, as well as to people in Japan, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Poland. Each of the scarves sent to the General Synod also has the group’s unique label sewn onto it, as well as a small handmade wooden cross (made by Fred Isch) attached to it. Anyone who receives a scarf sent from Tolland will know where it came from. The original goal of the group was to send 50 scarves, but 122 were finally sent. This was a very exciting project for all involved. We may take on a new endeavor in the fall to have people knit or crochet squares at their leisure. The UCCTolland recently adopted a school in India that takes care of girls who have been involved in sex trafficking, and we may make afghans for those girls. If anyone in the community would like to get involved in our next task, whatever that may be, please call the church (860-875-4160) and we’ll include you on our list of interested people and contact you in the fall when a new project begins.