news article
United Methodist Church of Livonia makes 816 dresses for Dress A Girl movement
August 19, 2019 / By Rev. Hoyt W. Brown United Methodist Church of Livonia
On July 7, 2019, the United Methodist Church of Livonia (UMCL) blessed 436 dresses to be used in the Dress A Girl Around the World Campaign. Dress A Girl (DAG) dreams of a world in which every girl has at least one dress. By providing new dresses girls around the world know they are worthy of respect and that they are loved by God.
UMCL became involved with DAG a year ago when church members Robin Bedson and Sue Schedlbauer were challenged through a sermon series to let God birth a vision in their life. They heard about the Dress A Girl campaign from a friend whose church was a part of DAG and wondered if UMCL could do the same. Taking up the pastor’s challenge they set out.
They were certainly feeling unprepared to lead such an effort but knew that if they were faithful to the vision, with the help of God, they would see fruits.
They quickly marshalled the support of the congregation and dedicated volunteers from around the community and made 380 dresses in the first year. This year the ministry produced another 436 dresses. What has been particularly gratifying is that as members of the community hear about the program they ask if they too can participate. There are many ways volunteers can contribute. Some use their gift of sewing. Others provide the fabric, elastic, and buttons. Some carefully iron each dress, while others package the dresses for distribution. Even if someone does not know how to sew they can contribute to the ministry.
Through this ministry of UMCL the lives of 816 girls have been touched so far. To date DAG, has distributed over one million dresses to 81 countries.
A new dress is not just a piece of clothing. A new dress tells each precious girl that God loves them, that someone else loves them enough to have made this dress especially for them. That awareness makes a difference in how a girl feels about herself and can change her destiny. Further, DAG reports that “village pastors tell us that a girl wearing new dress presents an appearance that she is well cared for and may discourage would-be predators. Since a DAG label is placed on the outside of each dress, it sends an additional message that each girl is under the care of an organization, giving her added protection from those who would harm her, predators or traffickers.”
UMCL’s mission is to Make Disciples and Change the world. This valuable ministry is an expression of that mission. The lives of girls around the world are being changed by the efforts of the disciples of Christ at UMCl.