Prayer Shawl Ministry
The Prayer Shawl Ministry of Media Friends Meeting gathers every month to worship in community and to create together prayer shawls and lap blankets. With each stitch on the needle and loop on the hook, the maker prays for the person who will receive the shawl, and, in turn, the maker feels blessed to be able to extend their love and compassion, even if they don’t know the person. We attach a prayer to every shawl and blanket, hoping that the recipient might feel joy, comfort, and healing through the words while wrapped in the warmth of the shawl or blanket.
Our group has knitted and crocheted prayer shawls and lap blankets to celebrate life transitions like graduations, marriages, and births. We also create shawls and blankets to provide comfort for people who are suffering from an illness, grieving the loss of a loved one, or experiencing some worry and concern in their lives. We have made warm scarves distributed during the holiday season to people suffering housing and food insecurity and healing lap blankets sent to a local hospital’s hospice program.
As a group, members knit or crochet 12” squares in any color of worsted-weight acrylic yarn, which are then assembled into prayer shawls and lap blankets. We need 10 to 12 squares for a prayer shawl and 12 to 20 squares for a blanket, depending on the need of the person receiving it. Individual members can make shawls and scarves on their own.
Some responses we received from prayer shawl recipients:
“Warm thanks for the prayer shawl; it is as beautiful as the caring thoughts that brought it to us. We will cherish it.”
“I’m trying to find the words to express how touched I am to receive the prayer shawl you knitted for me. It’s truly a wonderful gift and I’ll treasure it.”
“Thank you so much for the beautiful shawl and all of the love that went into making it … I appreciate all of your prayers and support. I will cherish my prayer shawl forever.”
For information about background of the Prayer Shawl Ministry, see https://www.shawlministry.com.
Prayer Shawl Ministry meets via Zoom on the second Thursday of every month from 7 until 9 PM. To join us, see the Zoom log-in information on the Media Friends Meeting website at https://mediafriendsmeeting.org.
