A keepsake to remember – Area couple provides parish families a Baptismal quilt

They have provided over 40 families a keepsake from a special day intended to last a lifetime, a memory a child could one day pass on to the next generation.
Peggy and Kevin Menning of New Auburn have presented families at Glencoe’s Christ Lutheran Church with 43 hand-made quilts over the past four years. Their hope is to continue making quilts for Baptisms as long as possible.
They presented a family the first quilt Easter Sunday of 2015. The 43rd quilt will be given to a family this coming Easter Sunday, April 21. There is no sign of a decline in the number of children the church’s members are bringing to Baptism.
“What a great problem to have,” Kevin said.
“They say it takes a village,” Peggy said. “We thought, let’s be part of that. I think our church does a good job of growing with the kids.”
The fabric Peggy and Kevin select for each quilt is unique. They’ve purchased the fabrics and materials primarily with their own money. They typically don’t know the family receiving the quilt. The fabric is gender specific. They will keep a quilt or two in reserve for a little girl and a boy.
Peggy has the final say on the fabric selection, but Kevin is usually in agreement. Each quilt is a collaborative project, Kevin said.
“We’ve had ones I think look good and ones he thinks look good,” Peggy said. “It normally goes pretty smooth.”
There’s been no direction on how the quilts should be made. The couple takes that as a sign a family appreciates the gesture.
“You hope they like it,” Kevin said.

(For the complete story, see the March 27 print edition of The Chronicle.)