Crafting Spiritual Lessons

Baggs, the “art-chitect” of Sparrows, has used training received at Moore College of Art and Design and her natural artistic bent in developing the program. After a brief devotional, usually by a woman in the church, Baggs instructs the girls in a handcraft for the day, often related to the speaker’s topic. The idea is to provide a fun, visual reminder of the spiritual lesson.

At the Sparrows kickoff meeting in October, the speaker explained how God uses life’s circumstances to mold His children. Then Baggs showed the girls how to work with different colors of sculpting clay, molding it into a marbling effect around a writing pen’s plastic shell. After the projects were baked, they reinserted an ink tube, creating a distinctive designer pen.

The impact of Sparrows extends far beyond elementary-age girls. From the beginning, it has promoted intergenerational relationships at Tenth Presbyterian. The idea emerged out of a women’s Sunday school class, based on the book Spiritual Mothering, by Susan Hunt.

“In one class, I was struck by a comment, ‘Don’t ask who your spiritual mother is—instead, ask who is your spiritual daughter.’ It echoed my desire for an outlet to teach crafts to girls,” Baggs said.

“Having ‘been there, done that,’ I felt I had something to offer and longed to be involved in the life of a girl. When I first heard the concept of a spiritual daughter, it sounded awesome. Loving crafts, but having three sons that didn’t, I thought it would be great to do something with girls.

“A week later I talked with Sarah Peterman, then our WIC (Women in the Church) president, who suggested combining this idea with a spiritual dimension.”

Connecting the Covenant Community

Peterman spoke at the first Sparrows gathering in 1998, and the craft for the day was making beaded geckos. It was the first of many quarterly events touching the lives of hundreds of girls—and women.

“The most important work happens around the tables. When making things together, you talk—and can enter into some deep discussions. In many churches, there are few opportunities to truly mingle as a covenant community—this is one way,” Baggs noted. “Sparrows forms a network of spiritual big sisters, mothers, and grandmothers.”

Jessie Bible, who has assisted Dori Baggs since the group’s inception, agrees. “Sparrows wasn’t meant as a ministry to moms, but it’s helpful to them, enabling them to make connections with other people. It’s also great for women who don’t have daughters, including those who aren’t married.”

That included Amy Voorhis. Her involvement with Sparrows started about six years ago. “I was single at the time and liked making crafts, so I enjoyed it. I saw it was not just for moms and daughters, but for any woman willing to encourage and mentor a girl,” Voorhis said.

Now married with a toddler son, Voorhis remains involved. “For me, Sparrows is not only about being with the girls. It’s also good to be around other women as I enter different stages of my own life.”

Outside of Sparrows, Dori Baggs devotes much of her time to her three sons, including Colin, 21; Taylor, 19; and Cameron, 12.

And she is known for tastefully decorating her house in surprising ways. For instance, friends have admired the 20 vintage, red-handled wooden rolling pins she arranges in two large crocks in her living room. “I call them my home security system,” she jokes.
But without question, Sparrows has been her passion, even in the face of family calamities.

Overcoming Adversity

In November 2004, Dori’s husband was working as a courier, transporting business documents. One afternoon an assailant approached Jim’s car and shot him with a 50-caliber pistol through a closed window. The carjacker opened the door, threw Jim on the road, then drove off.

“When they got him to the emergency room, the medical staff were surprised he was alive. When the gun fired, the bullet was headed straight to his heart, but somehow it turned. We believe it was the finger of God, deflecting it just enough to miss his heart or his spine,” Baggs said. “It appeared to be a tragedy, but it’s a testimony to God’s goodness. Through the entire ordeal, we felt overwhelmed with God’s peace.”

Jim was out of work for nine months, wearing a brace from his shoulder to his hips to keep the area immobilized so the bone could form a solid mass. Amazingly, at the annual Sparrows breakfast in March 2005, Jim was there making French toast as he usually does, still wearing his brace. Other men came to help.

“It was a wonderful testimony just to see him there,” commented Dori. “But it wasn’t our strength of character that carried us through, but the grace of God. We never felt burdened with the gravity of the situation. It actually brought us closer, reminding us of what’s really important.”

Then, just months later, an 80-foot oak tree fell on the Baggs’ house at about 12:30 a.m., shattering through two floors. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Despite these incidents, Baggs guided Sparrows uninterrupted. As Voorhis observed, “Through it all, Sparrows never faltered. I never saw a ‘Woe is me’ attitude. She always came with the same energy and excitement. She reaffirmed for me the truth that God is good—always.”

Cheryl Brubaker, chair of Tenth’s women’s council, has had two daughters in Sparrows. “Dori makes sure what the kids are taught is communicated clearly so they can understand the gospel message. She is very visual, always concerned about making a connection between the spiritual message and their physical craft.

“When children are baptized we promise to help raise them in the church, but how can we do that if we don’t know them?” noted Brubaker. “And now Dori has a huge number of daughters.”

As Jessie Bible noted, “I have often said that we need more Dori Baggs—she had a vision for Sparrows and was able to execute her vision. Some people are good at executing, some are visionary, but Dori is able to do both. She eagerly works with other people and commits everything to the Lord in prayer.”

Robert J. Tamasy, a member of North Shore Fellowship in Chattanooga, Tenn., is vice president of communications for Leaders Legacy, Inc., an Atlanta-based ministry to business and professional leaders, author of Business at Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace, and co-author of The Heart of Mentoring with David A. Stoddard.