Friends & Fun: Craft Night

Reprinted with permission from the Cedar Rapids Baha’i Newsletter, June, 2012

Craft Night, hosted by Jan King once a month at her home, serves as an opportunity to make and strengthen friendships. Jan restarted the monthly gathering last fall per request of a couple of Bahá’í’s and describes the event as “very open.” “[Craft Night] is inconsistent; sometimes people come and sometimes nobody comes,” said Jan. Regardless of attendance, Jan uses the reserved night for personal stitching projects.

Craft Night attendee, Shannon Beck, has helped boost participation via personal invitation, and generally the group consists of Bahá’í’s and members of the local chapter of the Embroiderer’s Guild of America (EGA), of which King is a member.

The inclusion of EGA members at Craft Night has “led to a lot of questions about the Faith,”said Jan. Besides being a time to discuss the Faith, Craft Night provides a creative atmosphere to pursue artistic interests and interact with members of the community.