I wanted to share these photos from a retirement party at our church for all of my fellow parishioners! There will also be a book at church with ALL the images!

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Susie worked in the church office for a really long time and her friends had been working on a way to surprise her as she neared retirement! When she finally made the announcement those friends kicked it into high gear and made magic!

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One morning before church we all gathered to surprise and love on Susie!

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I loved seeing all the happy tears!

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She thought the party was the big surprise but oh man…

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The quilt!

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Kim (with the microphone) made the quilt and the way she explained it brought everyone to tears! The center with all the crosses represents all the people at Emmanuel who love one another, love God and love our church but are also unique individuals (I’m butchering the beautiful way she explained it!). All around the edge are photos of our church (it’s almost 150 years old) printed on fabric. Some of the photos date back all the way to 1867 and some are more recent. Then each photo square was hand embroidered by different women in the parish (I got to do one! Mine is in the bottom left corner!) finally finished by buttons Kim added at the end to tie it all together. You guys, it’s the most amazing quilt I’ve ever seen in my entire life!

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Susie thought so too!

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Such a wonderful morning to celebrate an amazing woman who we all love!