Dar, I'd love to incorporate charity quilts as one of the projects. A dear friend who moved away had a prayer/crochet group at our parish for years and they made lap blankets for the nursing home. I regularly make baby quilts for the right to life group and incorporate fabrics with Christian motifs. I don't think the ladies at church would be too open to quilting, unfortunately - old habits die hard. That's why I thought of having a general quilting group.
There are a couple of locations that I know would be happy to accommodate us. There is a community center with class rooms and the local library. I know the woman who books activities and she's always looking for something new and interesting. Maybe we could start out with something simple like a strip quilt or simple BOM.
I certainly have a big enough stash to start them off with! I'd like everyone to bring their own machine, but if people are just starting off, they might not have one that is portable. That's another consideration.
Perhaps I can ask for lightweight ones on Freecycle?
As for the leadership issue ... years ago I was involved in running everything under the sun - cub scouts, a community garden, beach clean up, etc. I still chuckle about getting involved with cub scouts. They told me it is "just an hour a week". Hahahaha! Not. The crafts and activities I did were so popular that the parents stayed to do them, too! And, of course, no one helped.