journeys-page

As Kelly announced one Sunday, “There’s a busy bunch of hookers that meet on Thursday afternoon at 1:00.” We’re actually hookers and clackers and we’re very busy crocheting and/or knitting (and definitely a ministry) at Trinity for our Trinity members. When we started (Teresa was the senior minister at the time) we were part of UM4GI and so have continued sharing the Prayer Shawl ministry. It works like a quilting bee: come when you can, leave as you need. Few rules. A prayer shawl is between 19”-25” in width and about 60” in length. Any color, any pattern. The prayer shawls are to be given to anyone anywhere, and/or anytime to whoever needs to know they’re not alone and our prayers (and the church’s prayers) are with them. Just because the shawl gets washed, the prayers are not washed away. If you’re needing prayers for a new reason, your old prayer shawl still has prayers in every stitch. There is no cost and can only be given, never sold. (Donations to the church are OK, but not necessary). I think any change in a person’s life is a good reason for needing lots of prayers. There is a big expense in the making of a prayer shawl. About $20-$25 in yarn cost & 10-20 more hours in labor. (At $12 minimum pay, that’s about $150+ for each shawl). But no individual will see any cost. We’ve put in place a much-needed choice: a pocket prayer shawl! It’s smaller than a sandwich bag but loaded with an infinite number of prayers so can carry it in your purse, your suitcase as you travel, the glove compartment of a car or a truck, etc. Because they can be made much faster and cheaper, if you lose one, get another. They fit in an envelope with a card and can be mailed. We ask that when giving a regular-size prayer shawl, you leave us with which one you’ve selected (it will have a number), your name, the date, and most importantly the name of the person you’re giving it to. Often someone will ask if so-and-so has received a prayer shawl, finding the name “friend” or “cousin” isn’t enough to answer knowingly. We have pictures and info of the over 2000 prayer shawls already given. We’ve discovered we’re not just a local group. We trade yarn, patterns, and ideas with Aurora. We’ve given lots of yarn to the North Loup/Scotia crocheters as they make mittens, hats, scarves, dog mats, etc to give away. Donna Bently from Sargent picks up partial skeins when she’s in town and she’s been bringing finished hats to use. Last trip she brought fleece mittens with ridged wrist cuffs too. Prayer shawls from Trinity have been sent to every continent except Antarctica. We definitely are a ministry gone global. Anyone who crochets and/or knits is welcome to join us on Thursdays at 1:00 in The Gathering Place. If you want to learn to crochet, join us (same time, same place). – Linda Harris