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Prayer Shawl MinistryContact / Laurie Michaels / 847-304-6639
You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb.
—Psalm 139:13Knitting can help and heal those in times of tragedy and grief. The Shawl Ministry is an inspiring movement of people who gather to knit and pray for those in need. The ministry's sole purpose is to give away the shawls they create- shawls they hope will literally wrap recipients in prayer. Developed in 1998 by graduates of the Women's Leadership Institute of the Hartford Seminary, prayer shawl ministry combines love for God and service to others in a tangible way. In July of 2005, St. Michael's Prayer Shawl Ministry began.
Shawls have been made for centuries. They are universal and embracing; they comfort and enfold; wrap and warm; mother and hug; shelter and beauty. (Knitting into the Mystery) Knitters pray for the persons before they knit or crochet and again when the shawl is completed. When a shawl is completed it is brought to the monthly meeting. The shawl is blessed by being passed from person to person in the knitting circle as each person prays for the recipient. When a shawl is given, the recipient receives a card with the knitter's name and a card with prayers and a brief history of the prayer shawl ministry attached.
Shawls are given to those who are undergoing chemo, the bereaved, those who are going through a difficult time, someone moving away, a new mother, an ordination - any occasion where someone could be touched by encouragement and prayer. An alternative lap blanket or throw is made when the recipient is a man. Prayer shawls are knit for those known and unknown. Knitting a prayer shawl helps and comforts not only the recipient, but the knitter as well.
The St. Michael's Prayer Shawl ministry meets the last Tuesday of the month in the library at St. Michael's from 7:00-8:30 p.m. Gatherings open and close with prayer. The time is used to knit (or crochet) individual shawls, talk and spend time together in community. Experienced knitters and those who have a desire to learn are all welcome. To learn more about prayer shawl ministries, copies of the book Knitting into the Mystery: A Guide to the Shawl-Knitting Ministry by Susan Jorgensen and Susan Izard are available to purchase in St. Michael's And All the Angels Gift Shop.