It was on a snowy cold night in February of 1983 that a group first met to discuss the idea of altar rail kneelers. The need for new cushions was apparent and to the delight of the Reverand Jack Wiechert, then rector of the parish who was the motivating force behind this undertaking, there were enough interested ladies willing to needlepoint for the church. At each subsequent meeting many decisions were made:    --there would be nine cushions,    --the symbols would be of saints because our church is so named,    --the saint symbols would include the apostles, the evange?       lists, and saints from various countries to reflect the      many nationalities which make up All Saints' congregation,    --a professional artist and staff from Needlepoint Only were chosen,    --yarns, colors and canvas were selected,    --the ladies of the committee chose or were assigned a cushion to      needlepoint,    --the congregation was given the opportunity to donate financially to      the project,    --a professional upholsterer and finishing materials were selected,    --information about the saints for the dedication was gathered and      printed in readiness for All Saints' Day, November 2, 1986. The materials arrived from the artist in June of 1984 and the stitching began. Hours spent in doing the actual needlepoint can only be estimated and we think it to he between 300 and 400 hours per cushion. The center cushion, however, is of a smaller mesh requiring more stitches per inch and each individual leaf alone took 4-5 hours of stitching. There are approximately 100,000 stitches on the top of each cushion. The sides (boxing) are also done in needlepoint and add an additional 60,000 stitches or so to the job. Some of the women shared duties on several cushions and it is heartwarming to know of the extreme cooperation among all concerned on this project. There were occasional snags throughout the course of this project, but persistance won out and all obstacles were overcome. These nine cushions now enhance our altar because of the diligent work of many people. Special mention should be given to Marcia Day, the coordinator of our needlepoint efforts, for the many hours she devoted to this project. Between the time Father Wiechert retired as our Rector in May 1984 and the Reverand Thomas Schirmer took over in February 1985, Marcia kept our project moving along. A special thanks goes to Shelah Brodsky and Patti Weeks from Needlepoint Only. These two ladies taught us and followed our work with great interest to ensure the success of our efforts. Patti is the artist who painstakingly painted the symbols on the canvas in color square by square, allowing our needlepointers to follow the designs exactly. We especially appreciate their part in beautifying our church.