COLONY — If you’ve ever felt you have no talents worth sharing, Colony’s United Methodist Church will prove you otherwise.
“Cathy cuts, I stuff, Jane sews, and Pat totes,” Debbie Wools said of the crew’s assigned roles. “Oh, and Pastor Welch. Well, she just pastors.”
Together, the women are making dozens of teddy bears destined for Iola’s Humanity House, a nonprofit that serves the poor.
Together, the women have gained a sense of purpose that separately would not have been possible.
Pastor Dorothy Welch sees the effort aligning with the church’s mission.
“We feed the hungry, clothe the naked and care for the prisoner, whether they’re trapped by grief or poverty,” she said.
And while the women appreciate the mission aspect of the project, they also view it as a challenge. “There ain’t no stopping this train once it gets rolling,” said Pat Hildebrand of Le Roy.
Even though we’re in a house of God, the women openly admit they idolize Jane Ward’s talent as a seamstress.
“She’s the master,” they affirm.
Ward’s career has included six years at Country Critters in Burlington, a business that specialized in dolls, puppets, and stuffed toys. She’s also been an avid quilter.
And when she is unable to sleep in the wee hours of the morning, she seeks respite at her sewing machine.
“It helps,” Ward said in her understated manner.
Hildebrand also crafted a bear that resembles Winnie the Pooh.
“By the time I got that bear done, Jane had already made about 15,” she quipped.
The bears are unique.
