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The Shawl Ministry

March 6, 2007 |

Sometimes you find the most interesting thing when you search the internet on certain words. I found the following information and article at Beliefnet. This article talks about knitting and prayer.

People of different faiths are discovering that crafts like knitting can be a form of prayer or meditation.

On Sunday, some people go to church to worship. On Saturday, some go to church to knit.

“We are knitting prayers into shawls to bless those who will receive them,” said Julie Tampa, one of 40 women who show up, knitting needles in hand, to spend two hours each weekend knitting and praying at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in the Great Valley in Paoli, Penn. “It is a time to become aware of God’s presence and God’s grace.”

Tampa and perhaps thousands of others are participants in what has come to be known as The Shawl Ministry, a new way the faithful serve the less fortunate by knitting or crocheting warm, colorful shawls they hope will literally wrap them in prayer.

As with other crafting-for-charity programs, like those that make blankets for Afghans, chemo caps for cancer patients, or toys for premature babies, the Shawl Knitting Ministry works to help people in crisis-such as unwed mothers, migrant workers, and victims of domestic violence. But there is something else going on here.

In 1998, Janet Bristow and Victoria Galo, two graduates of the 1997 Women’s Leadership Institute at The Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut gave birth to a ministry as a result of their experience in this program of applied Feminist Spirituality under the direction of Professor Miriam Therese Winter, MMS. Compassion and the love of knitting/crocheting have been combined into a prayerful ministry and spiritual practice which reaches out to those in need of comfort and solace, as well as in celebration and joy. Many blessings are prayed into every shawl.

Whether they are called Prayer Shawls, Comfort Shawls, Peace Shawls, or Mantles, etc., the shawl maker begins with prayers and blessings for the recipient. The intentions are continued throughout the creation of the shawl. Upon completion, a final blessing is offered before the shawl is sent on its way. Some recipients have continued the kindness by making a shawl and passing it onto someone in need. Thus, the blessing ripples from person-to-person, with both the giver and receiver feeling the unconditional embrace of a sheltering, mothering God!

At the Shaw Ministry site you will find many helpful links including patterns, prayers and ideas on how to start a Shaw Ministry in your area.

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1 Comment so far

  1. Knitting in Prayer for Prayer! · Knitting @ CraftGossip on July 6, 2007 12:06 pm

    [...] Today I received an email from Suzanne M Harker of Trinity Shawls in response to a post on The Shawl Ministry. [...]

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