Welcome to the Saint Martha’s Guild
We are a group of women from St. John Cantius Church in Chicago, IL who are attempting to revitalize the waning art of Ecclesiastical needlecrafts.
We are deeply concerned that those who really know these arts are 95 years old and cloistered – that the knowledge they have is slipping away. So, we peer at their masterpieces through magnifiers, we buy their very old machines, we collect their silks and books and generally stumble our way through this very intimidating and lovely pursuit.
This pursuit enriches and feeds our affection for beauty (It also has a knack for rooting out our impatience and pride). More importantly it allows us to serve our wonderful priests and contribute our small labors to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
We meet weekly to sort out any mending needs of the parish and to inch our way forward in whatever new adventure is currently on the table.