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The Kneeler Project
Kat Bunker’s mother, Betty Bunker, had designed the kneelers of The Lutheran Church of the Savior in Bedford, MA in the early 1970’s. She went on to design ecclesiastical needlework for churches all across the country. In 1991, Kat began to get little promptings, little flashes of ideas for how kneelers would look around the communion railing at Messiah. (She kept telling God it was TOO much work, and too expensive, and no one she knew at Messiah did handwork anyway.)
In March of 1994, after God’s persistent prompting, Kat was sitting alone in the sanctuary on a Saturday, after having set up for the next day’s communion, when she could “see” the entire project finished and in place. The design, the colors, and the symbols to be used became clear. She consulted with Becky Pebler on some of the design points, and began researching symbols, graphing out the designs, estimating costs, and matching yarns to the colors of the stained glass.
In October of 1994, a presentation was made to the congregation to see if interest existed for sponsoring such a project and for doing the countless hours of stitching work. Within 20 minutes, Memorial gifts totaling over $2,000 were given and many people had signed up for needlepoint lessons. It was as if God were saying, “SEE, what did I tell you?” After that, the yarn was ordered from Appleton Wools in England, and Kat began graphing and painting the canvases for each kneeler. Betty Bunker had donated all the needlepoint canvas.
In January of 1995, a group of dedicated stitchers gathered with Kat for needlepoint lessons. Each worked a sample pincushion before beginning of the actual kneelers later that month. As each cushion was completed, Kat did the blocking of the canvas and the finishing upholstery.
The project has been a gift from God to all involved. We hope it will be a blessing to everyone who experiences the finished product for years and years to come! All our work on earth can be a praise and worship to Him who created us!
Thank You, Lord !! ~ Your family at Messiah ~
GOD gets the glory because He gave the gift!!
Each detail from the kneelers is sewn onto a background that represents the stained glass windows at Messiah. The details are shown, instead of the entire kneeler, so that they will load quickly.