The Sacred Ally Quilt Ministry is an exhibition of 10 quilts that together memorialize the final desperate words that George Floyd spoke as he was pinned to the pavement under the knee of a Minneapolis Police officer. These quilts were the collaborative effort of nine United Church of Christ churches in New Hampshire. A documentary film “Stitch, Breathe, Speak: The George Floyd Quilts” by New Hampshire filmmaker Chris Owen, chronicled the creation of these quilts. The quilts will be on display and we will watch the movie. A question and answer session and discussion with Mark Koyama and Dr. Harriet Ward will follow.

Watch the trailer for the film here – https://stitchbreathespeak.com/

Mark Koyama and his family have been coming to the World Fellowship Center since 2003. He has served on the Board as co-chair, and also on the Executive Director Search Committee. Mark grew up in South East Asia and New Zealand before coming to live in the United States in 1980. He was educated at Bates College, Union Theological Seminary (MA 1992), University of Massachusetts Amherst (MFA 2010) and Yale Divinity School (MDiv 2015). Mark teaches literature and religious studies at Northfield Mount Hermon School, and is the settled pastor at the United Church of Jaffrey, in Jaffrey New Hampshire.

Dr. Harriet Ward is a scientist and a Christian activist. Her doctorate from Brown University (1988) empowered her to serve infants and young children with vision loss, blindness and additional health and developmental challenges. Called by Christ to Antiracism work, Harriet is a powerful voice in the United Church of Christ where she has served on the Board of Directors of the National United Church of Christ and as Co-Chair of the Racial Justice Mission Group of the New Hampshire Conference. Harriet is a talented and inspired quilter. This comes naturally to her. She grew up making meals, clothing, rag rugs and quilts out of scraps and leftovers.