One stitch at a time
Project aims for 1,000 congregations to unite and make 1 million masks
In times of disaster, those armed with needle and thread aren’t typically labeled first responders. But things are different this time around.
During the coronavirus pandemic, seamstresses are needed to produce reusable masks to keep people safe, especially as Texas transitions out of quarantine.
Houston Responds is leading the “Masks for All” project, with a mission to unite 1,000 congregations in providing 1 million masks.
“This is a great opportunity for people who sew,” said Tommy Rosson, executive director of the nonprofit, which started after Hurricane Harvey, when churches banded together to coordinate relief efforts. “They’re usually not the ones running out the door with a hammer.”
Houston Responds has remained involved in long-term recovery from the hurricane – and has also taken charge in other disasters around in the city, from the Imelda floods to the Watson Valve Explosion. The organization serves as an incubator for local church coalitions, which cover Harris, Montgomery, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Orange and Liberty counties.
Recently, Houston Responds has helped faith leaders continue their work during COVID-19, providing resources to move church services online and to keep outreach efforts afloat.
A few of the nonprofit’s participating churches were already making masks at breakneck speeds, when Mayor Sylvester Turner asked Houston Responds to engage more pastors in the effort.
“We came up with the goal of 1,000 congregations and a million masks,” Rosson said.
Churches, after all, want to love and serve their neighbors, Rosson explained. “If you love your neighbor, then wear a mask and give a mask,” he said. “This is a great way to serve.”
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Pearland proves that a small army of seamstresses can make a major impact, Rosson said.
“There’s an honest to goodness need for masks right now,” said church rector Rev. Jim Liberatore, whose congregation has distributed more than 2,000 masks. “And some people just can’t afford them.”
Six women are behind the effort, Liberatore explained. They used to create baby quilts for parishioners or prayer quilts for those heading into surgery or hospice.
“But as soon as this happened, we knew we needed to make masks,” Liberatore said.
With only a handful of members sewing, he hoped to make a couple of hundred masks — and was amazed when the number rose to the thousands. He is eager to see the number grow as Houston Responds challenges other churches to join the endeavor.
“Everyone is stronger when we work together,” he said. “This is what we need to be doing.”
At Bayou City Fellowship, where Houston Responds Chairman Brandon Lackey is executive pastor, the congregation includes several ER nurses and doctors.
Lackey launched a Facebook group to start making masks for health care workers; within six weeks, the group had 600 members, who went to work sewing masks that allowed filter inserts. Each Bayou City Fellowship campus — Cypress, Spring Branch and Tomball — became a designated drop-off site, from which volunteers transported masks to area hospitals.
“We posted pictures of the nurses wearing the masks, and it just kept everyone motivated to sew,” Lackey said.
The need for masks in Houston has continued to surge. “A month ago, I realized the need was going to outstrip our ability to sew,” Lackey said.
He ordered 10,000 ready-made masks to add to the church’s distribution.
Lackey invites other Houstonians to join the effort.
“This is a simple way for the church to help,” he said. “This pandemic won’t fall evenly. We’re already seeing it with unemployment. The church should be helping ‘the least of these,’ especially in communities that are going to be hit the hardest.”
If 1,000 congregations can provide 100 to 200 masks a week, Houston Responds will soon reach its goal — and a million people in the city could have reusable masks.
Rosson said there are a number of ways to get involved – from cutting patterns to donating fabric.
“The biggest need right now is bulk material,” he explained. “That’s the bottleneck.”
Churches are also asked to serve as drop-off or distribution sites.
“Masks are a critical element,” Rosson said. “And masks are going to be needed for a while.”
Churches are able to assemble volunteers quickly and at a large scale. Rosson is convinced area churches can make a difference. “The need is just massive right now,” he said. “Local churches can see that need. It’s right in front of them.”
For more information about Masks for All, as well as instructions for how to get involved, visit houstonresponds.org/masksforall.
To learn more about the nonprofit’s ongoing efforts for Hurricane Harvey recovery, visit houstonresponds.org/farfromfinished.