Congratulations to the women of our church and friends, once again, for spending a month-plus this year creating dresses for the international Dress a Girl Around the World mission. After spending Saturdays throughout February at the church (and countless hours at home) for yoiung girls living in poverty, they gathered on March 1 to bless the dresses and send them on their way to a yet-to-be-determined destination, likely in Africa.

Lead organizer Judith Hill set the goal for this year at 346-plus one — one more dress than the final total last year. The final total this year — 396, amazing when considering all the snow and ice we had throughout the month that hindered travel! And even more amazing is the number of dresses completed in the 10 years since Linda Wakefield started this annual initiative in 2016 with five women — 3,279 dresses.

As she had done last year, Judith reminded the group at the blessing of the scripture, “Whatever you did for the least of these . . . you did for me”.

Judith brought 33 roses to the gathering and had each woman pick out one and hold it with one dress during the blessing. She said, “Each rose you hold represents 10 little girls. Roses are flowers of love, the most beautiful blossoms. Look at your rose and think of a little girl who looks exactly like that. With these dresses we’re giving a girl the opportunity to change the world”.

During the blessing in the sanctuary, Judith asked the women to sit in front of the altar with one dress in their lap and look down at the palms of their hands. In part, her blessing said, “Loving and Holy God, we give you thanks for the gift of our hands. Give us the grace to see our hands as you see them as instruments of love, grace, and life. May the sewing these hands have done bring joy to your heart as it does ours”.

Following the blessing, Judith gave each woman a colorful pin cushion created by her daughter-in-law Sarah Hill.

In closing, Judith reflected on the Saturday mornings of the past month: “You don’t know what it means to me to walk into the room each Saturday and see all of you at work. It warms my heart — and I hope I will see all of you back here next year.

Amen!