Sampler of Psalms

Introduction: PATCHWORK and PRAYER

National leaders, faced with overwhelming devastation and the enormous task of rebuilding following earthquake and tsunami, war and terrorism are all calling on the world community to pray. Yet, wanting to pray about what has happened, we may find ourselves at a loss for words in the face of such pain and need. No matter how extensive our stock of pious phrases; our vocabulary just doesn't seem adequate to cope with talking to God about this mess!

In his introduction to Psalms in The Message, Eugene Peterson notes that

"Prayer is elemental, not advanced, language. It is the means by which our language becomes honest, true and personal in response to God. It is the means by which we get everything in our lives out in the open before God." **

At times like these, we turn to the Psalms, and discover that the Psalmists give us the words to say: they articulate our fear, our anger, our outrage at the seeming unfairness of fate, alongside praise, adoration, and ultimate trust in our just and loving God.

This is where and why I have chosen to begin this new series. Each month, we will present a passage from the Psalms together with an appropriate patchwork pattern. As you prepare to complete each block, please read the psalm and meditate on its message. My heartfelt hope is that we will pray the Psalms together throughout this coming year, and that the patchwork we complete will serve as a visual reminder of the "prayer book that gives us a language adequate for responding to the God who speaks to us."**

**Peterson, Eugene: The Message,[The Bible in Contemporary Language], NavPress, Colorado Springs, Co. 2002. Page 910. We will be using the New American Standard translationm of the Bible for this series, but I encourage you to read the Psalms in Peterson's translation: the fresh, earthy modern language helps give a real sense of the immediacy of the Psalms as prayer for today.

FABRIC

This is a "medallion style" quilt: for the full quilt, the finished size before borders will be 36" x 60". We suggest a 6" border to bring the finished size to 48" x 72"--the perfect size for a lap quilt or charity quilt, although this design will also be striking as a wall hanging. It's only 'sort of' a mystery: the finished design will emerge as we go.

For those who aren't ready to commit to a full year of patchwork, the centre of this quilt would make a beautiful wall hanging or baby quilt on its own: finished size will be 36" square. This smaller quilt will be complete in 6 months.

Our fabric estimates are approximate and generous. Measurements are in yards: slightly less is needed for metres.

Fabric	Sketches Show	Options to Consider	Full	36"
Background	creme	black for Amish style	3	1
		black or white for bright
Greens - at least two	hunter and yellow-green	emerald, jade, sage	3/4 total	1/2 total
Yellow	gold and yellow tones	buttercup, lemon, orange	1 1/2	1
Brown	warm brown	grey-brown; dark rust	scraps	scraps
Medium/Light Blue	medium blue	sky blue; turquoise, blue-grey	1	1/2
Dark Blue	royal	navy, electric blue,	2	3/4
Red	rust	crimson, cherry	1 1/8	1/2

On to Block 1