WAUWATOSA — Inside Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church, one small room is creating big change, locally, nationally, and around the world.

It began about a year and a half ago when longtime member Shirley Carter approached Pastor Kate Jones with an idea.

“We were doing some remodeling,” recalled church member Carolyn Dressler. “And Shirley said, ‘We need a mission room.’”

Pastor Kate moved quickly, put out a call for sewing machines, and within days, four arrived. Soon, the sound of stitching, cutting, and conversation began filling the space.

The women started by turning grocery bags into sleeping mats, cutting them into strips and weaving them together.

“Those mats go both locally to Saint Ben’s, Repairers of the Breach, and a food pantry on the South Side, and to the Midwest Mi

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