On Sunday, May 30, 2021, at Christ Episcopal Church in Springfield, a dedication and blessing took place to celebrate the completion of a project involving 15 members of the church, starting in 2008. The project produced 15 kneelers with needlepoint motifs and a needlepoint banner for the church’s Chapel of the Good Shepherd.
“This was a long labor of love and we wanted to share some photos and a bit more about it,” said Mary Christiano, one of the needle pointers involved in the twelve-plus years it took to produce the kneelers and banner.
The Chapel of the Good Sheppard Kneelers were commissioned by the Altar Guild and designed by Edith Anderson Feisner, a college fine arts teacher in Livingston, New Jersey, and a skilled needle pointer as well as an Episcopalian who understands church art and expresses her own Christian faith through it.
The 15 kneelers represent the seasons of the church year and Christ’s life. The year is symbolic in that it stretches to infinity and cycles forever. Each kneeler has a cross and motif designed for the season.
The stitches used are also symbolic; basketweave is the weaving of man’s life with God’s word and the finding of Moses.
People working on the kneelers and banner: Martha Cordonnier, Mary Christiano, the Rev. John Biggs, Kathy Sheppard, Karen Fields, Spencer Meyer, Fay Ollis, Glenda Barnard, Judy Adams, Evelyn Mangan, Dr. Eloise Thomas, Beck Hogan, Pam Tynes, Jan King, and Kay Zaumseil.
